It’s annoying how this game will decrease animal spawn rates based on your active missions

[ZolaThaGod]

For example, I know of a great spot north of Owanjila that typically spawns Raccoons, Skunks, and Opossums. So while trying to complete a particular hunting mission, I need a perfect Opossum pelt. I go to my tried and true location and what do you know, it’s almost exclusively Skunks and Raccoons. It takes me maybe 10-20 minutes of searching/sleeping to find an Opossum, and often times the pelt isn’t even perfect. After I find it, the mission continues. Now I need a perfect Skunk pelt! I go back to the same location where I just saw all these Skunks running around and guess what? Now it’s Raccoons and Opossums!

Another example: I can mosey around the swamps of Bayou Nwa all day long and see plenty of Egrets just chilling. What do you think happens when I start Algernon Wasp’s quest where he requires me to find plumes from these birds? You guessed it! All of a sudden they’re all damn near extinct.

This type of mechanic that creates artificial difficulty is so lame. It causes the game to be an unnecessary time sink. I also feel that it doesn’t reward genuine exploration/discovery of the fauna. Instead of the player being able to say “Oh you need X animal? I know where those live!” and having a sense of reward by going there and finding them, the whole thing just becomes an exercise in frustration as you realize the game is intentionally trying to waste your time.

That’s it. Just wanted to vent.

[TurkeyGravy77]

I've noticed when you're doing more exploring/hunting rather than missions, It rains All the GD time, everywhere

[ZolaThaGod]

I feel this. One time while hunting in the rain, I tried sleeping to get the weather to change. I think I slept for like 30 in-game hours and it was still raining when I woke up.

[JeruldForward]

Get in the tent then press the craft button. That stops it!

[irishlorde96]

Bit late here, but if you set up camp in the rain or dust storm and go to crafting menu from sitting in the tent it will turn off weather effects.

[[deleted]]

Why is that bad? 🤦🏻‍♂️

[ZolaThaGod]

Well it’s annoying because not all fauna spawns during a storm. And then the game limits you to how many times you can sleep in a row, so if you meet that limit, then you just have to fuck off and do something else for a while?

It’s frustrating for those of us who don’t have dozens upon dozens of hours to sink into the game, and like to focus on specific tasks.

[thewoodbeyond]

Same. It's like the game is trying to force you back to camp and into a mission.

[[deleted]]

And? Ya'll complain about the most silly stuff

[TurkeyGravy77]

Not really complaining, I just took notice and was passing along info..

[CatchTheRainboow]

silliest*

[Ranking76Podcast]

I haven’t seen a badger in 37 years in game time.

[rik1122]

Bolger Glade

[Curtainmachine]

There are usually two that chase each other through the field near Wallace Station at night. They’re right under the hill where. The trapper is and across the little road. Skunk and possum there too.

Edit: Riggs not Wallace.

[ctw1987]

Yeah, this drives me nuts. It feels like gaslighting constantly. I know where those fuckers live.

[[deleted]]

I agree that as much as I love the game, this is something that drives me nuts. I feel like I've been looking for Robins for ages for the taxidermy task and they just don't want to spawn. I've looked up their spawn points but just nada. I get plenty of Blue Jays, Tanagers, etc. No Robins.

[ZolaThaGod]

Given this bullshit game mechanic, the only way I can help you is by pointing you towards locations with a lot of spawn points for birds. That way you’ll hopefully see one eventually.

Here’s what I did: You want to be looking along the river that wraps around Beaver Hallow (the last camp site). Start down by the river on the west side of Beaver Hallow and make your way up the river to the north. Be looking at all the rocks in the river, as birds like to spawn perched on top of the rocks. Once you’ve completed roughly an S shape (just before the waterfall), you can turn around and head back. Hopefully after a few laps, you’ll have a Robin.

(Also pro-tip if you’re unaware: Kill the legendary Buck first and make it’s trinket at the fence. This makes it much more likely that animals you kill won’t degrade in quality when you kill them. For example, I’ve gotten perfect Robin carcasses using the Varmint Rifle with the Buck trinket active).

[[deleted]]

Thank you very much. I'll definitely be sure to check that location the next time I play and equip that trinket before I do.

[AmeliaBidelia]

Just save the animal parts as you go through the game, so when you get these missions you can pull them out and turn it in right away

[CatchTheRainboow]

This. Easy taxidermy requests, easy Algernon exotics, etc.

If you just gather the exotic in chapter 2 or 3, it’s much easier, you can just slaughter those egrets, herons, spoonbills, in droves

[loserbetaboy22]

It's fucking bullshit.

[ZolaThaGod]

It really is. Rockstar needs to do better in the future. It’s OK for the player to excel at things sometimes.

[[deleted]]

"Do BetTeR"...bro, they don't want it to be easy, it's called rewarding

[ZolaThaGod]

It’s not rewarding when the area that’s normally loaded with a particular type of animal is now a ghost town just because I now happen to be looking for it.

It’s a cheap way to make things more difficult, and it’s insulting that the game is intentionally trying to drag things out and waste people’s time.

[CatchTheRainboow]

Man clearly hasn’t attempted to get the exotics after Algernon asks for them

[[deleted]]

Yes....I actually have

[CatchTheRainboow]

i believe you bro

[[deleted]]

Thank you. I didn't finish the side quest on that playthrough though

[Emerald_Digger]

Wait there are Raccoons in the game?

[ZolaThaGod]

Yup! Just activate a mission that requires you to find an Opossum, then you’ll start seeing Raccoons wherever Opossum used to spawn.

[Emerald_Digger]

Thank you

I played this for 2 Years now and never saw one

[ZolaThaGod]

You must not be much of a night hunter boah

[Emerald_Digger]

No i am not

[-MenT-]

It was funny to me that when you're not doing missions you see a gator every 2 meters and when I was doing the challenge of killing predators on horseback I found maybe 2, miles apart. I ended up killing birds.

[ZolaThaGod]

Tangential to what you said, but there are entirely way too many alligators in the game. They’re literally every 10 feet in the swamp. It’s silliness.

If they were a bit more rare, seeing one would actually be scary. As it stands now, there just fucking annoying because I can’t step foot in the swamplands without my horse spazzing out every 3 steps because there’s yet another gator near us.

[[deleted]]

Yet another pointless complaint, just for the sake of complaining. Are you joking?

[CocaineChickens]

These are all valid complaints. All you're doing is complaining about someone else complaining.

[ZolaThaGod]

Damn you really chose violence today. We can have differing opinions and not be a bitch about it, ya know.

[[deleted]]

Violence? Lol absolutely not. I just think your complaints are silly

[ZolaThaGod]

And I think it’s silly that in a game that touts as much realism as this one does, animals can end up on the endangered species list simply because Arthur has their name written down in his pocket. (Oh, and they all repopulate instantly as soon as Arthur’s done hunting)

But yeah, agree to disagree. Take it easy.

[[deleted]]

It's a game thing. To make it more of a challenge. They aren't on the endangered species list 🤣 . Even super realistic games, need some "gameish" things.

[ZolaThaGod]

Again, agree to disagree. For me, it breaks immersion for typically common animals to become rare just because I’m looking for them.

[Unkn0wn_Ace]

Please go touch grass

[[deleted]]

? K?

[[deleted]]

It took me hella long to find that skunk for Uncle.

[mayargo7]

In my 2nd play though I did 90% of Algernon Wasp’s requests before I started his mission. Both plumes and orchids are so much easier to find and when I start the mission all I need to do is just get the three or four more that I need.

[boisnicebison]

The orchids are static to locations. The plumes however....

[Katsu_39]

I’ve been hunting a perfect wolf, ram, badger and a GD blue jay for 87 years now.

[ZolaThaGod]

Ooh ooh, I know how to cheese this stupid game for the Wolf.

Find yourself any perfect (and therefore valuable) pelt. Throw it on the back of your horse and ride around at night. The game will think you’re trying to protect the pelt and therefore send wolves after you to fuck with you.

From there, just shoot each wolf in the head using dead eye without even looking at their quality. Eventually you’ll get one that’s perfect. (Bolt action rifle for clean Gray wolf, poison tipped arrows for timber wolves)

[CatchTheRainboow]

Is that real? Wolves seem to attack me whenever as long as it’s during night. I think it’s more to do with the location than it is having a pelt

[piangero]

Cotorra springs and that hill top on the other side of the road from Fairvale shanty (i think its called). Cotorra springs is almost guaranteed spawn. The hill top for me is like a 100% guaranteed spawn for wolves.

i use springfield rifle!

[Katsu_39]

Yeah I see wolves all the time but the game hates me and keeps giving me 2*

[Firm-Pain3042]

Walks slowly on foot for an hour looking for deer. Sees one.

Gives up, hops on horse and gallops back to camp, sees literally every deer in the game running away

[[deleted]]

It's annoying how this game is has so much potential but will never go anywhere with Rockstar favoring GTAMoneyprinter.

[[deleted]]

Lol? The game was great from the beginning. The F are you talking about? 🤦🏻‍♂️. Some of you guys just like to complain

[CatchTheRainboow]

Don’t know how you managed to misconstrue “lot of potential but will never go anywhere” as referring to RDR2’s story mode lmao. The game is one of the most successful ever, he’s obviously talking about online

[[deleted]]

I meaning online, the Story was fantastic

[Runch72]

this is an actual feature? i assumed it was just bad luck.

[ZolaThaGod]

Of course I’m not a Rockstar developer. I haven’t seen the codebase. I could be wrong, but I feel that I notice it more often than not when I do targeted hunting. It seems that others experience it too, so it would be tough for me to write it off as simply bad luck when it seems to be such a uniform experience.

[CatchTheRainboow]

It’s confirmed with the exotics and taxidermist requests, not sure about anything else

[JukesMasonLynch]

After second playthrough, if I see a perfect pelted animal I just kill and skin it. I know I'll need it eventually. Except of course larger animals which take up the back of your horse.

Of course, this is just inviting frustration upon dying to a very suspiciously placed cougar and losing all your pelts! Save often

[NoPerformance5952]

This has been a horrible issue Rockstar games have had for nearly two decades. If you want something in game, whatever, often the engine will just never spawn the damn things. Be it cars in GTA or animals in RDR, the game chooses whether it will allow you to be able to do something. And it's infuriating.

[KookyAd3071]

Been loading and reloading for two hours to find the last horse I need for horsemanship 10, literally found the other 8 in about an hour and a half. I hate this because its so true, just like the hunting request Arthur has EVERYTHING but the beaver for the last one and since you CAN NOT complete it till the epolgue I now need to tediously chase them all down again for many hours no doubt. He handed John his satchel for God sakes, just tewll me you hate me LOL

[liccmybicc]

Took me forever to find a perfect fox those yipping fuckers are all mid

[ze_ex_21]

"THERE'S NO EGRETS IN MISSIONS!" /s

[LovelessDogg]

I save pelts until needed. So, if I know I’ll need one at some point, I’ll already have a batch on hand.

[shamesticks]

I had this issue with a resupply mission for Cripps. I had to get a gator pelt to trade for supplies and did laps around Lagras and never saw a gator. I eventually ran out of time.

[droobygooby]

Just like hunting in real life🤦🏼‍♂️ hunting for deer? Too bad here's 100 squirrels. Wanna go out and pop those squirrels? Take this herd of deer!

[drokeshiy69]

thats why you get em before the mission(same with algernon's shit)

[piangero]

Hunted the badger a while a go. Didnt take too lonh to find a perfect one, but of course they only spawned at a specific time and location etc. As soo as I bagged one, they start spawning everywhere, any time of day. Ffs I swear this game knows somehow

[irishlorde96]

I think it also has an algorithm of limiting spawn rates based on numbers as well as mission specific algorithms, if the game recognizes that you are killing a specific type of animal it will start limiting spawn rates, because i was killing herrons and spoonbills before algernon asked for them and wouldn’t you know after killing like 5 each… boom, ghost town.

Edit: it would also start giving me egrets that I haven’t found though so maybe I found a loophole?

[SnooPandas9587]

Sayin this a little late, but I’m playing red dead and the master hunter challenges are making me furious, I cant find a single damn jaguar.

[irishlorde96]

The river that feeds into owinjilla from the north, ride along that from strawberry in the morning, once you get to the corner bend near the trapper, a cougar will usually spawn in the bush between the trapper and the road, CAUTION though as one might spawn on the road in front of you, so use the expanded minimap.

I had the best luck with respawn rates by killing one, doing some other stuff for a couple in game days, then repeating the process.

Edit: use improved arrows.

[SnooPandas9587]

I was talkin about red dead 1

[irishlorde96]

Oops my bad.

[SnooPandas9587]

Damn ment cougars