15 Red Dead Redemption 2 Secrets You May Have Missed

As many of you may know, there are plenty of hidden treasures in Red Dead Redemption 2. Some of those include weapons, horses, and secret missions alongside weird and wonderful finds.

The world of Red Dead Redemption 2 is big, beautiful, and filled to the brim with different secrets. Like all Rockstar games, the huge open world is full of wonderful hidden gems, and your explorations will most definitely be rewarded. But as much fun as it is to investigate a vast rich landscape, what’s wrong with a little helping hand to speed up the discovery process? After all, would an explorer turn down a map? No? Well then, here are 15 secret finds that you don’t want to miss out on.

1/15

Enjoy good company at the Aberdeen Pig Farm

The Aberdeen pig farm is located in Scarlett Meadows, close to the border of Roanoke Ridge. It is one of the more difficult side missions to find as you have to first find the location and then interact with its inhabitants to kickstart the whole debacle.

The Aberdeen pig farm has made countless appearances in many different YouTube videos, so it could be argued that it is one of the most known side missions in the game. Nonetheless, it can be difficult to find, and even once you have found it, getting it started can be another challenge in itself. It could well be possible that more people have seen the interaction on YouTube rather than found it and experienced it for themselves.

2/15

Spark up a conversation at cryptid’s hidden cave

Fans were surprised when there was no mention of Bigfoot or Sasquatch, given that they had made an appearance in the previous Red Dead Redemption. But despite the lack of a clue, fans may have found the cryptid’s hiding place.

The instructions to find Bigfoot’s cave may seem peculiar but it works. On the lake, at Calumet Ravine you can expect to find a flock of birds. Startle the birds then follow them carefully through the mountains to a cave that will be blocked by boulders. You will then proceed to hear a thunder-like voice that will coax you over for a rather interesting conversation.

3/15

Meditate with the mountain monk

If you don’t like exploring on your own, it is unlikely that you have or would have come across this meditating monk as it is quite out of the way. The monk resides on top of a mountain south of the “R” in Grizzlies East. The real challenge is making your way up the mountain as it’s more difficult than you’d think. If you plan to go via horseback it could be wise to pack some horse reviver, in case you fall off the mountain with your trusty steed.

Once the trek up the mountain is completed you will be greeted with a beautiful view and a peaceful monk meditating on the rocks in a remarkable outfit. Now you can do with the monk as you wish, but if you were to shoot him or push him off the cliff it will affect your honour, just like in real life!

4/15

Uncover the gunsmith’s basement business

This basement can be found at the Gunsmith in Rhodes, in the Lemoyne region of the map. Entering the basement can unlock the Lancaster Repeater in your inventory for free; you can also steal ammunition from the store but it will affect your honour, despite the gunsmith’s dishonorable actions.

There are a couple of ways to unlock the backroom activity at the Rhodes Gunsmith. One way is if you happen to hear a tip from someone you rescue, or if you manage to overhear a conversation in the overworld. However, one of the easiest ways is to walk past the Gunsmith’s shop and observe the man through the basement window outside the west side of the Gunsmith’s shop near the bottom, as seen in the photo above.

5/15

Gain a reward in the cave of statues

This is one of the stranger secrets in Red Dead Redemption 2. Seven slender and creepy-looking statues all stood staring at a smaller strange looking statue. Taking the time to solve this abstract puzzle will reward you with gold bars! 

Just beside the cave with the statues, there is a painting that will provide you with some details to help solve the puzzle. You can find the painting at Window Rock, which is north of Cumberland Forest. Walk beneath the overhang to find the painting, and push the prompt to add a drawing of it to your journal.

6/15

Find Dragic’s robot in the mountains

This mission starts with helping a man named Marko Dragic showcase his invention: a remote-controlled boat that destroys targets on a pond. After this, Dragic’s laboratory can be discovered where you will help him use lightning rods to inject a robot he has built to life. Although Dragic’s experiments succeed he comes to a bitter end when his very own creation kills him and escapes to the Grizzlies mountain.

Revisit Dragic’s workshop, collect the notes left by Dragic and travel to the northwest Grizzlies near Colter. This is where you will find a sad and lonely robot, overlooking the view below and contemplating its role in the death of its inventor. This is definitely of the sadder side missions in the game leaving you almost empathising with the sad robot despite its actions.

7/15

Become a detective in this American dream

This might be the most thrilling side mission yet. The ‘American Dreams’ side mission is a murder mystery that has you as Arthur turn into Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery and ultimately find the killer.

There are three separate crime scenes that you will come across that include clues necessary to identify the cold-blooded killer. Each crime scene has a map piece somewhere near the body, or what’s left of the body, that needs to be collected. Each piece will take you to a new corpse left by the killer. Once you have all of the map pieces, you assemble them to find out where the killer is located.

8/15

Discover a Viking tomb

The old tomb is located slightly northwest of the mining town of Annesburg, just over the other side of the river.

If you head down into the tomb you will find a Viking hatchet, which is just by the altar in the middle. If you head into the side rooms you will also find the Viking helmet on top of one of the skulls. There is also a Viking comb, however, it is a little harder to find because it is hidden behind some of the skulls lined up in a side room near where the helmet is found. If you use Eagle Eye you may be able to spot it or just shoot the skulls and it will soon reveal itself.

There is a deeper story to the Old tomb that Strange Man explains in detail along with a brief walkthrough of how to find these items in his YouTube video.

9/15

Visit a magical cauldron

To some, finding the witch’s abandoned and mysterious cauldron may seem like an inconvenient task, especially when there are so many other distracting and exciting discoveries in Red Dead Redemption 2. Finding the cauldron is worth the effort, especially considering it’s so close to the meditating monk as mentioned above for secret number 3.

The witch’s hut has many different items scattered around that you can collect, some of these items include different potions, tonics, and even a chest you can loot. Even though you may have been taught to not take things from a stranger these rules don’t apply in RDR2 so I say take a sip from the cauldron for a surprise.

10/15

Get acquainted with the ghost of Agnes Dowd

Agnes was a young woman who happened to fall in love with a man that her parents did not approve of. It’s not directly said but it is implied that her father murdered said lover, and Agnes driven mad by grief, went on a killing spree before taking her own life at the unfortunate age of 19; a twisted Romeo and Juliet if you will. She now haunts the upper-left corner of Bluewater Marsh.

The Bayou is arguably the scariest part of the entire map, so get ready for some goosebumps as many triggers are waiting to spook you or your horse at every step, and that’s before even mentioning the dreaded Nite Folk. If you are up to the task then head between the “B” and the “L” of Bluewater at night.

11/15

Encounter the Braithwaite girl

Heading towards Braithwaite Manor, you will come across an outhouse with a crescent moon on the door. If you look inside you’ll be greeted with an arm reaching out, belonging to the locked up Braithwaite Girl. If you look at the hut from the right angle and zoom in you can see said Girl and her disfigured form.

Later, you will come across Penelope Braithwaite, who explains that the girl chained in the hut is her cousin. Penelope will also explain in more detail what happened to her and why she’s there. When returning to the area during the epilogue you will be able to see what happened to her, thanks to events concerning the Braithwaites.

12/15

Shepherd some circus animals

Hunting is a big activity in Red Dead Redemption with many animals to hunt, from rabbits to bison to wolfs. There is also a list of legendary animals for you to hunt across the map, but one of the stranger groups of animals to find in the game are the three “exotic” circus animals that have gotten loose.

The three animals encountered in this mission are a zebra, a tiger, and a lion (oh my). Though it turns out that the zebra is just a painted horse and the tiger is merely a painted mountain lion, make no mistake as the lion is the only animal that turns out to truly be what it is said to be. You will, unfortunately, have to end its life before it ends yours and other nearby civilians.

13/15

Visit Vetters Echo

In the Big Valley region of the West Elizabeth territory, lies a little cabin known as Vetter’s Echo, which is southwest of Hanging Dog Ranch, across the Little Creek River. Enter the cabin to find a couple of items for folks back at camp.

The reason the cabin is called “Vetter’s Echo” is that there once lived a real-life mountain man who was named Vetter, he was one of the few documented cases of someone killed by a bear in the 1800s. Since you are likely to die in this encounter first walking in, it “echoes” Vetter’s death.

14/15

Go hunting for UFO’s

There are 2 locations for UFO sightings in RDR2. The first takes place at Hani’s Bethel in the Heartlands and the second at Mount Shann in Big Valley, West Elizabeth. If you climb to the top of Mount Shann between midnight and 4 a.m., you will eventually see a small craft hover in the sky for a brief minute before disappearing.

Hani’s Bethel is a little different, and can only be experienced in a schoolhouse that has been abandoned, where it looks as if a cult has committed mass suicide. If you happen to be there at 2 a.m., you will be engulfed in a glowing green light from a much larger UFO directly above you before it departs.

15/15

Talk to a time traveller

This mission can be started as early as Chapter 2. If you head northwest of Strawberry, you’ll find a small cabin inhabited by a man named Francis Sinclair with a distinctive birthmark. The mystery of Francis Sinclair has to be one of the more interesting ones in Red Dead Redemption 2, with many different theories and speculations.

This mission has you looking for rock carvings which Francis claims he desperately needs to find. When your character first meets Mr. Sinclair and they start conversing, Francis makes them suspicious mainly because they can’t understand him due to his strange accent and phrases.

Things only get stranger upon your return to the cabin after capturing every carving, as Francis is gone, and standing before you is a woman holding a baby, with the exact birthmark sported by the very same Francis Sinclair. This RDR2 mystery is one you could most definitely get lost in as the theories are endless.

Did you find all of the above? Or do you know of a secret that we missed? Either way, let us know in the comments below! For more Red Dead content check out our playthrough of Red Dead Redemption Online here.