The newest role to Red Dead Online’s Frontier Pursuits is The Naturalist. After a much anticipated build up and many rumors, including a photographer role, the latest role is a welcome addition to the content barren wild west.
A new role was planned and hinted at way back in the early days of 2020. The first rumors began, hinting that it would be a photographer role. Players guessed that a photographer role, for if that’s what it was, would be an offshoot of the existing Collector. Players were split on a photographer role. Many thought it would be fine if there was more to it, others were angry that it would cost gold to wander around and take pictures, others liked the idea of the relaxing gameplay associated with it.
After the Newswire introduced the new role, hinting at an upcoming “naturalist” role, players began to suspect it was a combination of photographing and hunting.
Turns out they were partially correct. The Naturalist has two branches: a studious conservationist and a poacher. The poacher adds many more clothing options. It may be possible to do both at once, but Harriet (the lead of the conservationist side of the role), will know and may react accordingly.
Role rewards by rank
As with the other roles, The Naturalist unlocks different rewards as you progress. There are four tiers of progression: Novice, Promising, Established, and Distinguished. Each tier has five levels, giving the Naturalist 20 levels.
Unlike the Outlaw Pass, where things can be purchased with gold after unlocking them through leveling up, two systems are at play in role rewards. For most, once you progress to the next tier, you unlock part of the kit. The kit will be all purchasable items. And yes, you’ll need to buy them with gold or the ingame money. With the exception of the final rank 20 rewards (the final Gypsy Cobs, and Underhill Charms), all of them are unlocked once you reach the next tier.
Special Tokens are rewarded at every rank. Sometimes they are the only rewards for that rank. We tried listing Special Tokens as part of the rank rewards, but it looked repetitive and silly. If a rank is not listed, the only reward is two tokens.
Novice Rewards
Novice encompasses ranks one through five. The notable rank rewards include:
- Rank 3: Kit Satchel Upgrade
- Rank 4: Naturalist Events
- Rank 5: Legendary Eagle Eye
The Novice Kit rewards are:
- Foxmore Saddle
- Thorburn Gun Belt
- Gypsy Cob (White Blagdon and Piebald coats)
- Sedative Varmint Cartridge Pamphlet
- The Tilliston Outfit
- The Zapata Headband
Promising Rewards
The Promising tier is levels six through ten. Notable rank rewards include:
- Rank 6: Mercy: The ability to mercy kill wounded animals.
- Rank 7: Naturalist Opportunities
- Rank 10: Animal Focus
The Promising Kit rewards are:
- Animal Reviver Pamphlet
- The Sagemoor Outfit
- The Minstead Gloves
- Varmint Rifle Variant
- Blending Tonic Pamphlet
- Wilderness Camp
- Black-Tailed Belt Buckle
The Promising Kit’s Wilderness Camp enables players to place a temporary camp to rest and cook, a feature that was requested for a long time.
Established Rewards
The Established Tier is levels 11 through 15. Notable rewards include:
- Rank 15: Animal Attraction
The Established Kit rewards are:
- The Kennewick Outfit
- Legendary Animal Pheromones Pamphlet
- Thorburn Holster
- Bindweed Gauntlets
- Gypsy Cob (Skewbald and Palomino Blagdon coats)
- Tangled Locks hairstyle
This tier unlocks the midtier Gypsy Cob. Their stats begin to improve here and they are better quality mounts than the first tier horses. Although their colors could be better.
Distinguished Rewards
The Distinguished Tier is the last stage and encompasses ranks 16 through 20. Notable rewards include:
- Rank 16: Master Tracker
- Rank 18: Tonics Satchel Upgrade
The Distinguished Kit is different from the others. Some items unlock right away, others only unlock at level 20. This is the only tiered kit that is split by level.
- Rank 15: The Hemiston Outfit
- Rank 15: The Take Note emote
- Rank 20: Gypsy Cob (Splashed Bay and Splashed Piebald coats)
- Rank 20: Underhill Charms
The Distinguished Kit’s Gypsy Cob is the highest tiered horse available from this role. A brief note on the Gypsy Cob is below.
The Gypsy Cop, the Naturalist’s Horse
Let’s be honest: the only thing we care about in the new role is the horse. And the clothes. But mostly the horse.
In terms of stats, the Cob is the Kladruber, but faster and stockier. The third Cob that can be unlocked will have max health and max stamina, the same as the Kladruber, plus eight speed with the saddle. It’s not the fastest, but speed doesn’t matter much in Red Dead Online. Still, it outpaces the slower, bigger Kladruber. Plus, the Cob has some really cute, fluffy hooves.
Gus’ Rewards
Gus’ rewards are different than typical level up rewards. Gus acts like the trapper in single player, crafting sets and items for the player. We do not have the sets unlocked, those may become available as you take on Legendary Animals.
Garments available:
- Cornhill Hat
- Seaward Hat
- Dotson Hat
- Flixton Hat
- Farnholme Bandolier
- Farnholme Double Bandolier
- Tanguma Bandolier
- Tanguma Double Bandolier
- Maerbay Coat
- Glenwood Coat
- Maxwell Jacket
- Tierney Gauntlets
- Mountfleet Gloves
- Lawncliff Pants
Trinkets:
- Beaver Tooth Trinket
- Buck Antler Trinket
- Javelina Tusk Trinket
- Ram Horn Trinket
- Snowy Egret Trinket
Equipment:
- Horned Variant
- Bigpaw Saddle Bag
- Softcoat Saddle Bag
Ammunition:
- Five Arrows
- 60 Varmint Rifle Cartridges
- Four Nitro Express Rifle Cartridges
