Strangers - Red Dead Redemption Guide - IGN (2024)

This page contains information on Stranger side missions that can be undertaken in Red Dead Redemption.

The good news for John, though, is that each of these strangers have a task for him to complete, and if he does so successfully, he will be rewarded with all sorts of goods, from money to outfits and more. But perhaps most importantly, getting through a stranger mission successfully will contribute to your coveted 100% completion rating. All stranger missions must be completed (in conjunction with all of the other game's mandatory events) for you to reach 100%.

There are 19 stranger missions to complete in RDR. Some of them are extremely brief and will only take a moment or two of your time, but others yet will involve long, drawn-out sequences that will pop up all over the map.

• American Appetites
• American Lobbyist
• Aztec Gold
• California
• Deadalus and Son
• Eva in Peril
• Flowers for a Lady
• Funny Man
• I Known You
• Jenny's Faith
• Let No Man Put Asunder
• Lights, Camera, Action
• Love is the Opiate
• Poppyco*ck
• Remember My Family
• The Prohibitionist
• The Wronged Woman
• Water and Honesty
• Who Are You to Judge

Either way, contracting yourself a stranger mission occurs the same way each time. Your map and HUD, as you know, are covered with all sorts of circular icons. These direct you towards everything from new missions to stores to gambling games. But if you see a circle with a question mark icon in it, then you know you've run into a stranger.

Head towards the question mark icon and speak to the person there (sometimes, the opening conversations happen automatically when you approach, while other times you'll have to follow the on-screen prompt to begin the conversation in earnest). During a cutscene, the stranger in question will introduce you to their plight, no matter what it is.

You'll then be sent off to complete the first leg of your mission, which will be marked in a more general way on your map, in a large violet-colored circle. Completing that first leg of the stranger mission may wrap things up for you in certain situations, but chances are, strangers will have even more in mind for you beyond that initial task.

Once you've done everything a stranger wanted you to do, that stranger mission is considered wrapped, and both your in-game percentage meter and the strangers menu should reflect this. You're then free to go about your business until you encounter the next stranger, which of course begs the obvious question, when should you undertake these missions?

As you already know, stranger missions appear rather randomly, and in fact, they are all triggered by completing specific main quest missions. And they appear rather randomly, and are temperamental and tend to disappear if you ignore them. So to avoid having to wait around for question marks to show up on your HUD and map, we recommend detouring and taking care of stranger missions as soon as they appear. Once they're done, they're done, and you don't have to worry about if they'll disappear and then reappear later on.

Head to the location shown on your map. There, you will find a man in a shirt and tie leaning over the railing of a gazebo in the middle of Blackwater. This man wants your help in taking care of a little problem he's been having. Basically, a politician in Blackwater doesn't much care for him, and he wants to show that man that he has pictures of him coming out of a brothel. All this man wants Marston to do for him is to show him the pictures and get him back on track. Naturally, you'll agree.

This Stranger task is extraordinarily quick. From the gazebo in Blackwater, walk across the lawn right near you towards the bank. There, on the first floor, you'll find the person you're seeking. During a cutscene, John will show him the illicit pictures that were snapped of him. Suddenly, the man's attitude towards your new friend at the gazebo isn't quite as unsavory as it once was. With his attitude adequately adjusted, all that's left to do is to return to the gazebo to retrieve your paltry prize.

I Know You is a multi-part side quest that will require you to stick with things for a little while. The cool thing about this Stranger side quest is that, by seeing it all the way through to the end, you'll be able to make decisions that will affect your honor, and perhaps even earn you a little cash. For starters, head to location #2 on the map we've provided. This location is on Hennigan's Stead, southwest of the MacFarlane Ranch, and to the east and slightly to the north of Lake Don Julio. There, you'll find a mysterious man who knows you, though you don't seem to know him. He knows about your past, and about the things you've done. And it appears that he wants to put you into situations that force you to make decisions, whether for good or for bad.

The first thing this mysterious Stranger is going to have you undertake is a brief, simple quest in Thieves' Landing. He'll tell you that there's a man there who is about to make a bad decision, one that's bad for him as well as the people that love him. Agree to help, and you'll be able to go to Thieves' Landing at your leisure. Outside of the illicit pub there (as designated on your in-game map, and HUD), you'll find an old man hitting on a younger woman; presumably, she's a prostitute. When you arrive, you'll find two onscreen prompts. The first will allow you to encourage the man, and even give him money to pay the woman for a good time. The second decision has you convincing him to not go through with his plans. Either way, one way or the other, your first task will be completed, and you can return to the mysterious man, who has now changed positions.

This time, you can find the man southwest of El Matadero. The location will be on your map, so you should have no issues getting there. He'll inform you of another task he has for you. This time, he wants you to go to Las Hermanas, where a nun can be found. You can either help or hinder her cause; it's entirely up to you. Travel to Las Hermanas, and you'll find the nun in question. She'll be collecting alms for the poor, and you really can't miss her. You can steal her money, or you can give her some and help her out. Again, it's entirely up to you. If you're curious about the decision we made, well… we gave her some money, of course. Who's going to attack a nun!?

But you're not done with this particular mysterious stranger. No sir, not yet. Next, you're going to have to find the man, who is still roving around. This time, as you'll see on your map and HUD, you'll be able to find him in the middle of a field at Beecher's Hope, due west from Broken Tree, and due west even further from Blackwater (also, northeast of Manzanita Post). Here, you'll be able to wrap up this lengthy Stranger string of missions, though you won't be able to do so without an interesting ending cutscene. Seems this mysterious man knows you from all over the place, though he refuses to give his identity. When he walks away, Marston will take some shots at him with a pistol, only to find that the bullets careen right through the man. What the hell?

John Marston doesn't seem to be one for humor and comedians, yet he's going to meet just such a man at the location shown on our enclosed map. There, within a train station at Benedict Point, you'll run into a jovial man named Jimmy. Jimmy comes from out east, and writes for one of the many well-known monthly magazines that many Americans read at the beginning of the 20th century. It seems that Jimmy has a knack for adventure, as well as for writing flashy headlines and glitzy articles. When your initial conversation with Jimmy ends, you'll be at a loss as to how to proceed with the task at hand. But rest assured, you'll learn soon enough just how much trouble this funny man can get you into.

The first location you're bound to run into Jimmy the journalist is at Gaptooth Breach. Now, Gaptooth Breach is in itself a gang hideout, which is fully covered in the Gang Hideouts section of this guide. So, we're not going to go into detail here as to how to get through; you'll have to read-up on your own if you're interested. The mine shaft at Gaptooth Breach is key, because that's where Jimmy is bound-up and tied, waiting for you to come and rescue him. As you shoot your way through the hideout and into the shaft (where the shooting very much continues), seek out Jimmy's location and cut him free. You'll run into him again in similar circ*mstances once he makes his escape here, though, so don't feel too badly for him.

The next place you're bound to find the frustratingly-helpless Jimmy is at Pike's Basin. Again, Pike's Basin is a Gang Hideout, and you'll need to refer to the Gang Hideouts section of this guide (linked above, from Side Quests) to get information on how to get through the hideout successfully. The good news is that, unlike when Jimmy was captured at Gaptooth Breach, you should be able to get through to Pike's Basin to rescue him with minimal enemy interaction, if any at all. Of course, this all depends on how you approach. Once you arrive at Jimmy's location, you can cut him free and have a brief conversation before he dashes off once again. But you haven't seen the last of him, yet. Aren't you happy?

The third and final location you'll find Jimmy is at yet another prolific gang hideout. Of course, this time you'll be traveling south of the border, towards the gang base known as Tesoro Azul. At Tesoro Azul, you should be ready for yet another experience like your earlier two. You could complete this hideout properly if you'd like, but it's not exactly necessary to do so. Instead, we recommend that you clear as many enemies out of Tesoro Azul as you can before breaching the roof of the makeshift roof on the left side of the village. Up there, you'll find your friend Jimmy, once again bound-up and in danger of losing his life. This time, he's finally gotten the point, and fearing for his safety, agrees to flee back to the east coast. And all the better, too, because Jimmy's days were certainly numbered here in the Wild West. And just like that, this lengthy Stranger mission concludes.

You'll meet a friendly man named McAllister at location #4 on our provided map. This location, which is right next to Coot's Chapel and east (and a bit south) from Armadillo (or southwest from MacFarlane's Ranch), is a campsite. McAllister is the only man there, however, and although he's friendly and upbeat, he's also in a bit of a bind, and can use some help. A rod nearby indicates that he probes for water. After all, in an arid section of Earth like the Wild West, each landowner could use a wellspring to keep the fresh water flowing. But McAllister is having some issues with a specific landowner, who refuses to let him drill on his land. McAllister asks John for help, and naturally, John will prove to be of service here.

The landowner in question sits on his parcel northwest of Armadillo, near Cholla Springs and Twin Rocks. Following your conversation with McAllister, you should be able to see the location on your map, and can head there straight-away, either manually or by fast travel. The location you find yourself at is nothing more than a small, rundown cabin, with an elderly man as its only occupant. When you arrive and speak with him, he'll pull a rifle on you. But John is good at talking with people, and he eventually talks him down, and convinces him to sell a deed on some of his land for the sum of $200. From here, you can either speak to the man again and pay him straight-up, or you can kill him in cold blood and take the deed from his body. One way or the other, with the deed in hand, you can then return to McAllister and hand over the deed to complete this brief mission.

In Armadillo, you'll be able to find a man named MacKenna who is need of your help. MacKenna is at the location designated on our map, on the outskirts of the settlement. He lives in the back of a small building that's currently acting as a primitive movie theater. When you speak to this man, you'll learn that he has some pretty grand designs as to what he wants to do with the fledgling film industry still very much in its infancy. He wants to make New Austin into the center of the American film movement, but of course, he'll need land deeds to make his magic work. And naturally, that's where you come in. At Thieves' Landing, Liar's Dice games often net the winner a land deed. If you're up to the challenge, you can help MacKenna out and get him a land deed, so that he can chase his dream in earnest.

Follow MacKenna's advice, and get over to Thieves' Landing. There, you can enter a tavern and play Liar's Dice (if a game's available, that is... if not, simply wait around until players show up at the table). You should know how to play Liar's Dice by now, as it's not a hard game. If you do need help, however, then consult the Gambling and Games section of this guide. All you have to do is win here. If you lose the first time, just keep playing. For winning, you'll receive cash, as well as the land deed that MacKenna requested. Now, there's only one thing left for you to do. You'll have to head to Benedict Point to take care of one of MacKenna's rivals, so that he's out of the picture completely.

Following your victory in Liar's Dice, simply head on over to Benedict Point at your earliest convenience. At the little station there, you'll run into the actor MacKenna was telling you about, an elderly cowboyish gentleman named Silas. When you approach Silas, he'll engage you in conversation almost immediately. This guy doesn't beat around the bush; he doesn't like you, and he's not afraid to tell you why that is. He'll eventually challenge you to a duel, and naturally, you should accept. The idea in this duel, as the game will prompt you, is not to kill him. In fact, you must keep him alive to successfully complete this mission. So, shoot his gun arm (his right arm, on your left) to disable his ability to attack. Once Silas has been nullified, you can then return to Armadillo, speak to MacKenna, and hand over the land deed he wanted. That's all there is to it! Your task is now done.