In Red Dead Redemption 2, it’s okay to talk to strangers. Stranger missions are crucial when trying to complete the game 100 percent, but they also introduce players to a host of interesting characters and storylines. These characters even provide unique dialogue and interactions at the end of the game (if you know, you know).
You can search for dinosaur bones, hunt down a serial killer, and help a doctor get his wagon back, among many other adventures. Here, we’ve put together a ranking of the best stranger missions in Red Dead Redemption 2, with details on the characters and the missions themselves. Have you met all of these people yet?
10 No Good Deed – Dr. Alphonse Renaud
Once the gang has settled in Clemens Point in Chapter 3, you can encounter Dr. Alphonse Renaud in front of the Gray Woolen Mill in Rhodes. First, he will act strange and apologize for offending Arthur, then try to run away. When pressed, he will explain that his wagon and medical supplies were stolen by a group of thugs, citing that they robbed him because of his race.
Arthur must retrieve the wagon from Macomb’s End, where he will encounter about six thugs. Dr. Renaud is exceedingly grateful when you return with his supplies, and gifts you with a health cure pamphlet. To somewhat avoid spoilers, there is unique dialogue if you do this mission in Chapter 6.
9 A Better World, A New Friend – L. Hobbs
A Better World, A New Friend introduces players to Ms. L. Hobbs, a taxidermist. First, you must find posters around the land asking for perfect animal carcasses, which should be sent to Ms. L. Hobbs from a post office. The first request is in Valentine, the second in Strawberry, and the rest in Rhodes, Saint Denis, and the Van Horn Trading Post. Additionally, this mission can only be finished in the Epilogue. Once you visit L. Hobbs at the Taxidermist House as John Marston, she’ll reward you with a squirrel statue.
Ms. L. Hobbs herself is an art enthusiast. She lives northeast of Strawberry, and her taxidermy is more whimsical than your average hunting trophy. She poses and dresses up her subjects, more into making art than simply displaying a stuffed animal. The squirrel statue itself even resembles John.
8 A Test Of Faith – Deborah MacGuiness
You can meet Deborah MacGuiness in Chapter 2 in the Heartlands area of New Hanover as she is excavating a large dinosaur bone. She will give you the mission of finding 30 dinosaur bones and mailing their locations to her, for which she will send you back rewards. Again, many of the bones can only be found in the Epilogue.
Deborah MacGuiness is an amateur paleontologist who has been rejected from almost every University because they disagree with her theories about dinosaurs. You can eventually learn more about her from a newspaper article after turning in every location. Apparently, she goes on to present her dinosaur, the Totalisaurus, to a group of scientists and archaeologists.
7 Arcadia For Amateurs – Albert Mason
Arcadia For Amateurs has many parts to it, but Albert Mason is such a charmingly enthusiastic wildlife photographer. Arthur befriends him after saving him from various wildlife encounters, such as wolves, gators, and a coyote that steals his bag. You first encounter him southeast of Strawberry in Chapter 2, where he is adjusting his camera.
Albert Mason tells Arthur that he wants to photograph predators before “the greatest predators kill them all and stick them on some clubhouse wall.” Albert will photograph wolves, horses, alligators, and eagles during your encounters, asking you for help luring the animals closer or, in some cases, fending them off.
6 The Noblest Of Men, And A Woman – Theodore Levin
There are seven people to meet in this mission, beginning with biographer Theodore Levin in the saloon in Valentine. Once the gang has set up in Horseshoe Overlook in Chapter 2, you can head into town and explore. Theodore will ask you to take pictures and talk to each legendary gunslinger for his biography about Jim “Boy” Callaway, giving you a camera and their last known locations. Theodore also gives you permission to “shoot them” if they become uncooperative.
Black Belle is holed up in her shack in Bluewater Marsh, where bounty hunters will set upon you both. Billy Midnight was last seen around the Rhodes train station and is located in the bar car of the train. He will run from Arthur, and eventually, challenge him to a duel. Emmet Granger is located on a pig farm south of Horseshoe Overlook. He will barter stories for help cleaning out the pig stalls but refuses to share more than his own exploits. Flaco Hernandez is located at a camp near Cairn Lake with the Del Lobo Gang. You can either ambush the gang or convince them to let you have a peaceful meeting, but either way, Hernandez will challenge you to a duel. After Chapter 4, this mission can be continued, where you will meet Annesburg State Marshal Slim Grant, an old enemy of Callaway. Old rivalries rear their heads, but the book eventually sells well, according to a letter from Theodore.
5 The Veteran – Hamish Sinclair
You can meet Hamish Sinclair in Chapter 6 near a rock in Grizzlies East, where he will be sitting. He explains that his horse, Buell, ran off with his wooden leg, and requests your help retrieving him. This mission also has multiple parts, and Hamish can be found at Veteran’s Homestead after initially helping him. Hamish is a US Army veteran who lost his leg to a cannonball in the Civil War. He comes to regard Arthur as his only true, genuine friend, and shows admiration for his skills.
Hamish first invites you to go fishing at O’Creagh’s Run, where he wants to catch a fish called “the Tyrant.” Upon your next visit, he will ask for your assistance in hunting a wolf on his property. The final part of this mission involves hunting a wild boar. Hamish eventually gifts you his horse, Buell, a big golden Dutch Warmblood. In order to keep Buell, you must complete the final part of this mission in the Epilogue.
4 The Wisdom Of The Elders – Obediah Hinton
The Wisdom Of The Elders is another mission with multiple parts where you get to meet some interesting characters. During Chapter 5, you can come across a distressed man lying near a bridge west of the Van Horn Trading Post. His name is Lemuel, and you ascertain that he wants to be taken to Butcher Creek. There, you will meet Obediah Hinton, who explains that Lemuel has not been himself “since the troubles began.”
The people of Butcher Hollow are deeply religious and spiritual, and look up to Obediah as one of their elders. When a shaman comes to town, they believe him when he says there’s a curse on their land and that demons torment them. This mission involves killing rabid dogs, dealing with the “shaman,” destroying evil talismans in the woods, and exploring a poisonous mine. Eventually, the “shaman’s” two-timing ways will be revealed, and the Butcher Creek villagers are grateful.
3 A Bright, Bouncing Boy – Marko Dragic
This mission can be started in Chapter 4, in Saint Denis. Professor Marko Dragic can be found having a meltdown in a park, and upon introducing yourself, he enlists your help presenting a new remote-controlled boat he’s invented to some investors. Things don’t go well, as the investors are not impressed enough to back the project, and Dragic destroys his invention.
To continue the mission, Dragic can be encountered again at his workshop. After talking with him through a microphone and assuring you’re not there to rob him in the night, he will let you in. He then explains that he’s been having trouble with his newest invention. After a few tasks, the invention seems to be a tentative success, and Dragic is happy. You can go back to the workshop a few days later to discover what became of the man and his robot.
2 American Dreams – Edmund Lowry Jr.
This mission puts you face-to-face with a serial killer who’s been leaving grisly murder scenes in the area. There are three gruesome scenes to discover, where the killer has left clues on pieces of a map. Once the map is complete, the clues will lead you to his lair, located in Lucky’s Cabin.
Edmund Lowry Jr. dismembers and displays his victims, leaving notes like “Look Upon My Works” near the corpses. Clearly, he wants recognition for his crimes, but that hubris will be his downfall when you eventually find him and bring him to the sheriff in Valentine. This is a mission that you can either kickstart by stumbling upon a murder scene or be given as a bounty by the sheriff during Chapter 2. Either way, it’s an interesting mission that pits you against real evil.
1 Geology For Beginners – Francis Sinclair
Geology For Beginners opens up a whole new world of speculation. This mission introduces you to Francis Sinclair, who lives in a shack northwest of Strawberry. When you talk to him, he will task you with finding 10 rock carvings, for which he claims he will pay handsomely. An important detail to note about Francis is he has a large birthmark over his right eye.
Once you find the carvings and send the drawings back to Francis, you can return to the shack. There, a woman will greet you while holding a baby. The baby, strangely, has the same birthmark as Francis. She says that Francis’ father, Tom, recently died, possibly thinking that’s who you’re looking for. Inside the shack there’s a mural on the wall featuring drawings of the unusual carvings. Could this be a case of time travel? Whatever it is, it’s an interesting scene that poses a ton of questions about the world and its storytelling.
