Red Dead Online: The West is as wild as ever, but it’s gonna be a grind

With the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, fans were excited to jump into the game and live out the immersion of the Wild West. But, hype has begun for the next phase of the game, Red Dead Online. This mode would allow players to get online with their friends and rob stagecoaches or race their horse’s for money. This of course follows the massive success of GTA Online, which raked in another billion or so for Rockstar, on top of the billion in 3 days that GTA V made.

However, as much as players love the games, they have been quick to mention that their online mode is mainly consisted of grinding missions to earn enough in-game money to buy in-game items, which had their prices inflated considerably compared to single player mode. This has forced players to buy Shark Cards, the microtransaction for GTA Online. With Red Dead Online, the same issue is seen albeit much worse. The economy of the game has been inflated to force players to grind twice as much now that the game’s monetary value is different compared to GTA. Since Red Dead Online takes place in the late 1890s, the value of the dollar is higher than in GTA Online, but developers haven’t leveled it out for prices and mission payouts.

For example, the Mauser pistol in the online mode costs $1,000. A average mission payout is between $4-$7. This means a player would need to grind mission after mission and race after race or whatever the player does to make money, to even buy the pistol. Many items are inflated while some items have been deflated to control player income. Gold watches are now $0.10 cheaper than a can of beans, which in story mode is not the case. The fencing of stolen goods is now a new grind and no longer a way to make a quick was of cash.

Although the mode is in it’s beta, players are frustrated that Rockstar would again force their players to consider buying in-game currency, with Red Dead Online having Gold bars as it’s premium currency. They’re worried they’re gonna have to spend more money in order to obtain items to help gain the edge over other players in the game. It shouldn’t have to be this way, yet Rockstar is part of Take-Two, and they have shareholders to satisfy, although if they’re not happy with the 5 years or revenue from GTA 5 and the $700+ million from Red Dead Redemption 2, then nothing can satisfy them. So in that case, what is Rockstar trying to do with their online modes that they know they can get away with in story mode? Hopefully we can see a change in their practices when the online is pulled out of Beta and into full release. Until then, I guess I got some missions to grind out now.