How to duel (and win duels)

In the original Red Dead Redemption, there are many random open-world activities that John Marston can participate in or stumble upon on his adventures in New Austin (and beyond). One such mini-event is a duel, Red Dead RedemptionAdaptation of the classic Western shootout at noon.

There are several ways to start a duel Red Dead Redemption – but once you draw your gun, you better be ready to shoot faster and more accurately than your opponent. This guide explains Red Dead Redemption The duel system and offers tips for beginners on how to win duels more often in Rockstar's original western.

Like a duel in Red Dead Redemption

How to start a duel in Red Dead Redemption

For a duel in Red Dead Redemptionthere are several ways to start a fight – or get someone so angry that they can't help but challenge John Marston to a duel.

• A chance encounter: While wandering around New Austin and beyond, you may encounter random antagonistic townspeople who want to fight John, usually one per large settlement.
• Become famous: Once you become famous enough, more random duel encounters will appear around the world
• Annoying NPCs: If you push an NPC hard or run over them with your horse, there's a good chance they'll stand up and challenge Jon to a duel on the spot.
• History and unfamiliar duels: During some of the Story and Stranger side missions, you have to fight a story character. These enemies cannot be disarmed, John must kill them.
• Play poker: If you get caught cheating at poker in the Red Dead Redemptionthere is a good chance that another player at the table will challenge John to a duel.

After the duel begins, Red Dead Redemption players must head to the designated location.

The duel will begin after John arrives at the designated duel location, which should be marked in the world by a floating X symbol.

Red Dead Redemption duel mechanics

When the duel begins Red Dead Redemptionyou will enter a special event, like a mini-game where you and your opponent face each other – a scene from an old western.

When the match starts, the screen will flash “DIE” and two meters will appear. The red meter is your opponent's Duel meter and the blue meter is John Marston's. Your goal in a duel is to fill your meter before your opponent fills theirs.

To fill the Duel meter, Red Dead Redemption players must fire arrows at their enemies while Dead Eye is active. Take out your weapon as soon as it says “TAP” and fire shots with the right bumper on your controller (or tap on an enemy while playing Red dead on a PC).

Depending on where you fire your shots, your Duel meter will build faster. Your reticle will indicate how much you'll build up with each potential shot: a white reticle means your shot will build up a large portion of your meter, while a red reticle will build up a small portion of your meter.

Some enemies are more difficult than others, but if your meter is filled with enough well-hit shots on your dueling enemy, the duel will end and you will emerge victorious. You can either kill your opponent or shoot them out of their hands to end the duel – or of course your enemy can win the duel.

Tips on how to win duels in Red Dead Redemption

U Red Dead RedemptionThe fights seem more difficult than they really are. If you're quick on a draw, be careful with your aim to take advantage of “weak spots” and use a few other simple dueling tricks, Red Dead Redemptionplayers will win almost every time.

• The head and arm of your target with a pistol are the weakest points of all Duel targets and will give the most Duel meter when shot. Carefully point the reticle at your target's head to kill them faster, or at their gun to disarm them.
  • Firing more than a couple of shots into an opponent's arm in a duel will kill them – after confirming that you've disarmed them in Dead Eye, end the duel.
• When it comes to drawing, clicking the left trigger (or right mouse button on PC) is more reliable than using the analog stick or mouse. You're more used to aiming while holding down this button, so you won't waste time once you draw your weapon.
• If your target has a hat on, you can shoot them after releasing the gun from their hands to confuse them