Rockstar has detailed the next set of updates and new features that will be added to the Red Dead Online Beta. These improvements and enhancements include a new Law and Bounty system, weapons balancing, changes to player blips on the mini-map, and more. This update will go live on February 26.
The new Law and Bounty system are set up by criminal behavior. Depending on the severity of the crime, the bounty and honor will scale. For example, killing another player may lead to a higher bounty while messing with townfolk or animals will lead to a lower bounty if the crime gets reported. Some crimes such as looting or ransacking will only decrease your honor. Players with a high bounty may also get NPC Bounty Hunters on their tail in addition to the other players.
Select weapons will be re-balanced based on player feedback. One of the weapons, the Varmit Rifle, will get its accuracy brought down to be more in line with other longarm weapons. Other changes that’ll be coming include voice chat getting reduced to work at closer proximity and making sure that pelts and carcasses are more persistent after death or responding.
The visibility of blips over long distances is getting reduced. This is to ensure certain types of destructive behavior will become minimized. Your position won’t display to other players unless you are within 150 meters. If you are slightly further away, you will only become visible if you are firing your weapon.
Rockstar is also introducing a new system that will highlight overly aggressive behaviors. If someone demonstrates this kind of behavior, their blip, as well as the blips of their posse, will appear darker and darker which increases visibility to other players. Visibility will become increased through bad deeds such as attacking and killing other players or their horses outside of a structured play mode, free roam mission, event or competition. The shorter the time between bad deeds, the more your visibility will increase.
Posse-wide parleys are also being introduced. You will be able to initiate Parley that will apply to your attacker’s entire Posse after a single kill. Feuds are also being improved, where you can challenge an opponent by initiating a Feud, Posse Feud or Leader Feud also after just one kill.
Daily challenges will be coming into the game as well. You can complete individual objectives that will cover every aspect of life on the frontier. You will earn gold nuggets and XP from objectives that range from collecting herbs, selling items to a fence, hunting, and skinning animals, clearing hideouts, wining Feuds and much more. Daily challenges will expand and evolve over time bringing in specialty challenges and rewards, streak bonuses and more.