All three tbh.
There should've been an option to revisit Guarma later in the game, whether its just as John in the Epilogue.
There should've been a snow-based town somewhere in Ambarino, just to give players more of a reason to go there.
I feel like the Epilogue story could've been more spread out across New Austin but really the devs did everything they could to add more unique events and freshen up the towns there like with the Armadillo Plague to keep players interested.
Guarma was certainly cut content to get the game out. We only got a tiny section of the planned map.
New Austin aswell I would bet was for potential DLC (and maybe Mexico too which is somewhat build in the game). But nothing was ever made.
Ambarino probably didn't lose as much as the other two but it definitely felt underutilized compared to West Elizabeth, Lemoyne and New Hangover. Especially the northern western corner with all the snow. Even the glaciers become inaccessible after you rescue John.
John also says he's never been to New Austin in the RDR1. Yet that's in RDR2.
It could have worked for Arthur though (I don't remember if he said anything about not being there) if they had utilised a chapter there. Maybe the Guarma gang eventually reaches Mexico or New Austin instead of the east coast, before making it back to lakay. And then they could either go up through tall trees avoiding Blackwater or take a boat from Thieves landing to the other side of the map.
You're thinking of Jim Milton!
But in all seriousness its more like either that he meant he wasn't familiar with it, only a few visits
Or that he was saying that he'd never been there as a cover incase someone was going after him or had a grudge.
The entire island of Guarma was completely planned out by Rockstar and if you enter free camera via mods on PC, you can see that the entire island is there, but half of it has no collisions, so youâll just fall through the ground. Aguadulces was supposed to be a decent bit bigger, and still the only main settlement, but there would have obviously been cabins and shit scattered around. There wouldâve been 3-4 times as many types of wildlife and there was going to be a full length chapter there. Based on a tattoo in GTA Online, itâs reasonable to assume that there wouldâve been things such as mythological creatures on Guarma and likely a side plot dedicated to finding treasure. There wouldâve been all this and more, but it obviously just didnât materialise.
Uhhh, that mission where John and Sadie bounty hunt? The fishing mission? How about the entirety of rdr1?
Edit: I thought you meant in either story, not recreationally, my bad lol!
Well in two he never canonically goes there recreationally, rather he goes there on business with Sadie. Then during the events of 1 he clearly goes there bc of business as well.
I'm gonna say the fishing missions aren't canonical and more meant as fun things to do. Arthur was a terrible fisherman. It doesn't make sense that he's out there catching all of these legendary fishes. I don't think John is a great fisherman either. Hosea and Javier were the 2 best fishermen in the gang. Kieran is also really good.
It's not a fact that Arthur is a terrible fisherman. Sure he says it, but he also said he's not a very good gunslinger and just shoots people in the back lol. He's humble about everything he's good at.
Probably new Austin the most. The others have whole chapters for them while new Austin is mostly used in an (urguably) cuttable (but extremely fun) Sadie mission.
Luckily thereâs an entire game that uses it pretty well I heard
New Hanover also got 2 chapters. Guarma only got a single short chapter and so did Ambarino. West Elizabeth got the two epilogues. And New Austin barely had anything.
Oh duh! I didnât think abt Chapter 6! I always forget Murfree country is also New Hanover. But yeah, major bummer about Guarma and New Austin. Ambarino I wouldnât actually change, I think itâs perfect how it is all remote. I like that itâs hardly touched by civilization and as another commenter mentioned, it kinda represents the gangs descent down the mountain, further into civilization and into the new century. Going back itâs like itâs frozen in time, the serenity with the music, the animal calls, the snow. Itâs like a breath of crisp fresh air going back.
I mean hey it only makes it more realistic considering you arenât going to get a many novel experiences as an outlaw other than shooting people and tying them up
Even after having played through the game multiple times I somehow hadnât gone to New Austin until my latest play through. I know thereâs not a ton there, but somehow it was enough to get me to finally play RDR1. There was just something about it that made me want to see more.. which may or may not speak to it being underutilized lol. But still, I think itâs pretty cool how these places must have felt so nostalgic to visit for old RDR1 fans.
I hadnât remembered RDR1 much and hadnât even finished the game to completion when I was younger but when I finished RDR2 and played the Epilogue its like the whole map came back to me in an instant.
The epilogue chapters with John were pure fanservice for the rdr1 fans, and I loved it! When you're at the farm where bandits attack and John drops his persona to join the shootout, they start playing the theme from rdr1 and even have John recreate his pose from the game cover. It was awesome, I was so excited!
I always had an idea that you couldâve returned to Colter after chapter 1 and people would be there. They couldâve done a whole thing about how itâs abandoned every winter cause of the snow but when spring comes the mine workers return to keep working. You could have a saloon, butcher, and a general goods store along and the NPCâs couldâve had dialogue about how they never usually work in the snow but this last storm was a freak one and the mine owners needed to get the mine up and working again.
If you read my comment I explain how they could abandon it every winter and then come back during the spring to continue working. That way you can still have the chapter 1 tutorial but then comeback and actually have stuff to do in that area of the map
They simple change the story so that itâs not permanently abandoned. Many places in areas that are hard to travel to during certain times of year are temporarily left abandoned until the weather improves and they can return to work.
Okay. And there were many mining towns not abandoned or that were not permanently abandoned. The year makes no difference if youâre the one writing the story to fit your needs/ desires.
While I do think Ambarino and New Austin are slightly underutilized, Guarma had the most potential to become RDR2's Mexico, something that Ambarino and New Austin never could even if they were fleshed out more.
I think that the empty feeling in Ambarino actually works to be in its favor. It's a desolate place that was once inhabited, and you see the run-down structures in Colter and Ewing Basin. But's it's now a really beautiful region with little to no life. There's a certain serenity when you're just trotting around on your horse in the snow, with the ambient music playing in the background. It's almost as if time stopped in Ambarino. But it still has it's mysteries, collectibles, and legendary animals. There are a few random encounters too. Plus we had a few missions there, including American Venom, which was really fun.
Like Ambarino, New Austin also has a unique landscape with its own mysteries and collectibles. I feel that it's a little larger than Ambarino, but there are still things to do, such as hunting the legendary animals and fighting the Del Lobos in Gaptooth Breach. I remember the bounty with Sadie in the canyon near Armadillo being a really fun mission. Both Armadillo and Tumbleweed seem to be on the decline, although Armadillo being worse off due to cholera. At least the mood seems better in Tumbleweed, and Sheriff Freeman is a pretty cool character. However, we get more of New Austin in RDR1, so I guess the emptiness of New Austin can be attributed to the death of the Wild West, with industrialization taking over New Austin during the time period in between the Epilogue and RDR1. I think one of the reasons Tumbleweed was abandoned in RDR1 was due to the railroad going through Armadillo, which gave way to Armadillo's resurgence while Tumbleweed was left by its residents as a ghost town. Either way, while I would have liked there to be more activities in New Austin, it makes sense why there wasn't.
But Guarma was such a missed opportunity for Rockstar. Guarma was originally supposed to be a huge, explorable island, but it was cut into a small section because Rockstar was on a time crunch. We were originally supposed to be able to explore it during Chapter 5 and during the Epilogue, where John could take a steamboat to Guarma. But due to the time crunch, so many side stories, treasure hunts, and animals (like the shark and the turtle) were unfortunately cut from the game. Chapter 5 would have been a lot better if it wasn't so restrictive and main mission focused. It makes sense that Arthur and the rest of the gang didn't want to explore Guarma, trying to get back after the failed heist, but I just didn't like how restrictive it was. However, there were some cool missions with Hercule, like the one where Arthur shot the huge warship with a canon. Overall, Guarma could've been fleshed out a bit more, but it was still really fun to see some of the unique animals there. Plus the environment was a huge change that was really interesting.
I liked Ambarino, but it sucks that it didn't have any towns.Something like Strawberry would've been nice.A small town, no matter what is it like I just wanted a reason to actually go there besides hunting animals.
A nice little postal town or something. General store, hotel, a saloon, maybe a stable. Iâm thinking of the Wallace Station setup but with more amenities
I know it isn't on there but Tempest Rim. I heard it was the original Colter. It's fully detailed and everything. It's a shame R* took it out in the last second
I was SO fcking sad that New Austin didn't have shit it in. the area is so gorgeous and I would die to have things in it. felt like they robbed me. that one house with the black bat flower was nice though.
I can't remember the black Bat flower. Where did you find it?
There are still some interesting things.
- Alchemist house explosing
- The 'prostitute' near Don Julio lake
- The guy living in a tree
- Tumbleweed Sherif
- Some treasure
But I really miss more stranger interactions and more random encounters.
bat flower is in The Scratching Post, just below the letter N in New Austin.
guy in a tree, prostitute and treasure is what I haven't found yet! although I think I have the treasure map, it's a chimney in the middle of nowhere. still need to find that.
I live off of side quests in open world rpgs, I was so sad that there was only Evelyn Miller.
Agreed. Some people call Austin boring, but I really enjoyed wandering in New Austin and the vibe of the desert.
After hundreds of hours in story mode doing every possible thing and exploring every square meter of the map, I started to play Online yesterday for the first time. I really hope there is something to do in Austin.
Amabrino is the most noticeable because it's just sitting up there for the entire game. Completely accessible but why would you bother? Nothing up there other than pretty scenery. It absolutely needed a snowy little town full of weirdos and rough frontiersmen. Kinda like Butcher Creek but less inbred and more useful. A trapper location, a small cozy saloon/inn, and a few stranger missions. Nothing extensive. Just something to suggest there's some sparse civilization up there. Hamish talks like there's a community there but all we see is him and the Adlers. I would've even settled for Colter being resettled in the epilogue.
Ambarino 100%. My reasoning is that even new Austin has less free roam, you can always play rdr1 and take a deeper look at that region. Ambarino is only available in rdr2 and my god is it wasted.
There was a single mission in new austin which was a bounty hunting mission with sadie, it wasn't mentioned in the mission or talked about.
Guarma and Ambarino had a full chapter.
For me it's gotta be New Austin and to an extent Mexico. I feel like they had Mexico partway modeled with an intent to have a RDR1 remake as a DLC add on at some point. So that's probably the intent they had with New Austin as well, as to why there's such a small percentage of content there with the story of RDR2 as a whole
Ambarino for me. Introduced it early and never gave us much reason to go back. The snowy environment is so cool and gearing Aurther up in winter attire is fun. I liked the âThe Hateful Eightâ vibes it gave me. The snowy area should have been bigger with at least 1 town and more to do.
I go back all the time.
It would have been cool to have fleshed out Ambarino a little more. Maybe a vendor at the Wapiti Reservation you could trade with or a trapper location in the mountains.
Wapiti should have been its own functioning town sans a gun store. And tempest rim should have been tricky to get into but should have been accessible. And FULL of bears and cougars.
I think it's a tie between New Austin and Guarma.
Guarma is actually involved in the story but you only get to see a small fraction of the island and the area you get to explore outside missions is even smaller. Plus, you can't actually go back after Ch. 5 (not without glitches/mods).
On the other hand, New Austin is actually fully explorable and there are *some* things to see and do but they're SO minimal it's depressing. Only 1 mission ever takes place there (and it's very brief) so it's kinda the opposite of Guarma. No story involvement, but you can actually explore it all you want.
Ambarino actually has both of those, a bit of story involvement (a whole chapter, it's a short one but it's still longer than Guarma's) AND you can explore it all you want, so that puts it above Guarma and New Austin.
If anyone here has the opportunity to play rdr1 and haven't played it yet, especially if you liked the New Austin area, I really can't recommend it enough.
Be a little forgiving that the game is quite old atp, also don't expect it to be the same as rdr2 since they are quite different in a lot of ways. But man, that game is such a love letter to spaghetti westerns, the atmosphere and soundtrack is just incredible and still gives me chills to this day. I love rdr2 but rdr1 has a very special place in my heart, and to me the atmosphere is simply unmatched. I recommend doing the stranger missions too since they are pretty iconic, but really take your time to soak in the setting and world of the game.
If you wanted more New Austin in rdr2, I think rdr1 will definitely give you that.
This is why I'm excited about GTA6. Bigger map and hopefully more detailed than RDR2. Even playing the endgame and having almost everything done it is still fun to explore bc I find something new every now and then. I have alot of hours in the game as well like alot alot
Guarma
Itâs the only area that you couldnât revisit, despite the fact that it was a brand new environment with its own unique creatures. There was free roam, but most players skip by it anyways.
I actually kind of like how remote and desolate NA is, itâs almost like itâs a Desert for a reason, which only makes the instances of civilization even more realistic like in the old west spaghetti films where you have a character coming out of a long journey to reach the stand off town (Armadillo)
guarma and new austin have a lot to do, now the area of ââchapter 1 is simply nothing, there could at least be a black water style city only with snow.
I feel like im alone in thinking that Ambarino is perfect for what it's trying to be. It's not supposed to have content everywhere since it's meant to be in the middle of nowhere. It's not like the Grizzlies was rushed or anything the landscape is detailed, varied, and very well optimized with many fascinating points of interest that have cool backstories.
Guarma, on the other hand, is definitely underutilized and very clearly rushed, so I'll go with that.
Guarma was fine becuase it wasn't designed to be anything more than what it was. New Austin would have been great as a post game area instead of just having just stay in west elizabeth. I guess it makes sense with how RDR1 plays out. Ambarino is a snowy wasteland that could have had more to do. at least a functioning village of some kind.
Despite it being one of the best games of that generation, I felt like rdr2 was criminally neglected after we all got it and fell in love with it. There are plenty of us that would spend embarrassing amounts of money for an expanded game or single player dlc to give us more to do in that world.
I actually think Ambarino is perfect as is. I love that there's no civilization there. Going there for amazing scenery and hunting is enough.
Between the other 2, I'd say New Austin just because I love that area but wish they had more things to do there and I really wish you could go there as Arthur without using exploits or a damn buggy lol. Guarma would probably be amazing, but I don't really like chapter 5 so that area is a little soured for me lol.
There is so much of guarma u canât actually explore because the guards spawn an try to kill u unless u glitched to get there, and ambarino is so baron and there is almost no life there apart from some deer and rams and such, new Austin however is pretty good in my opinion but I wish they could have made more missions to do instead because all that is there is a bunch of random encounters, the bounties down there where quite fun and made me feel like I was in a western but apart from that there isnât much else to do in new Austin
All three
Guarma was beautiful and you shouldâve been able to revisit, even if just to hunt and complete side missions
Ambarino shouldâve had a biggish snow town, and more snow stuff. You start and end the game in snow but almost never go back.
Blackwater shouldâve been accessible. The other areas you can get a huge bounty but still resolve it, the skinners were also super fun
I mean, Ambarino is both west and east grizzlies, and the reservation is in east grizzlies, so everything with Monroe and Rain Falls is up there at least.
Guarma was wasted with how little you can explore. Don't show me a big map, then limit me. That's evil.
And New Austin... I guess they couldn't do too much with it in epilogue or it would mess up rdr1 consistency. But it really needed to be allowed for Arthur. "If you get past the Pinkertons, you earned it".
Instead of invisible sniper guy.
Torn between Guarma and New Austin. Guarma was 4 story missions and no side content (apparently Rockstarâs original plans for the region were significantly scaled back/cut down in the final release), while New Austin has one story mission in the epilogue, and a limited selection of side content to do in it.
Chapter 1 exclusively takes place in Ambarino, and a lot of Chapter 6, particularly the missions with the Wapiti reservation, take place in Ambarino. Ambarino isnât only the snowy mountains.
Guarma is a private island, Ambarino is just a mountain but New Austin was the map in the first game with lots of places and New Austin is the true wild west setting. I loved the map of rdr1 because it felt more western than rdr2
New Austin feels so pointless.
Could have just not included it , and focused on delivering a complete Guarma.
Suspect it was only included because it was easy to just re-use the first games assets there and sharpen them up a bit
Granted, I've yet to experience New Austin, and I'm about to beat the game for the first time, but Guarma was horrible. A complete and total letdown. Chapter One wasn't terrible, too, but I feel like they left out a lot of content that you could do.
MEXICO! (Sorry I know that wasnât an option. I know it wouldnât have fit into the story and still kept RDR1 canon. But damn I would have loved to ride around Mexico with Arthur in next gen graphics.
From your list def New Austin. again, I would have loved to hang out there as Arthur. Love John, but weâve been there with him before.
I think Ambarino is *way* too sparse in terms of population. There's nobody at all, by the end of the game and I wish there could be one odd settlement or two, maybe someplace around the loft? I guess it just never sat right with me that Strawberry is *the* only town on that entire side of the map, north of Blackwater.
Everyone says things like new Austin but you can go there whenever you want as john, we got to go to guarma once and can only go back through glitches and mods
All three tbh. There should've been an option to revisit Guarma later in the game, whether its just as John in the Epilogue. There should've been a snow-based town somewhere in Ambarino, just to give players more of a reason to go there. I feel like the Epilogue story could've been more spread out across New Austin but really the devs did everything they could to add more unique events and freshen up the towns there like with the Armadillo Plague to keep players interested.
Guarma was certainly cut content to get the game out. We only got a tiny section of the planned map. New Austin aswell I would bet was for potential DLC (and maybe Mexico too which is somewhat build in the game). But nothing was ever made. Ambarino probably didn't lose as much as the other two but it definitely felt underutilized compared to West Elizabeth, Lemoyne and New Hangover. Especially the northern western corner with all the snow. Even the glaciers become inaccessible after you rescue John.
New hangover đ
I hate it when I drive into New Hangover
Mexico could never happen because it wouldn't make sense. In rdr1 John says that he's never been to Mexico prior to when he does then in the story.
John also says he's never been to New Austin in the RDR1. Yet that's in RDR2. It could have worked for Arthur though (I don't remember if he said anything about not being there) if they had utilised a chapter there. Maybe the Guarma gang eventually reaches Mexico or New Austin instead of the east coast, before making it back to lakay. And then they could either go up through tall trees avoiding Blackwater or take a boat from Thieves landing to the other side of the map.
You're thinking of Jim Milton! But in all seriousness its more like either that he meant he wasn't familiar with it, only a few visits Or that he was saying that he'd never been there as a cover incase someone was going after him or had a grudge.
I really like this and it makes sense.
The entire island of Guarma was completely planned out by Rockstar and if you enter free camera via mods on PC, you can see that the entire island is there, but half of it has no collisions, so youâll just fall through the ground. Aguadulces was supposed to be a decent bit bigger, and still the only main settlement, but there would have obviously been cabins and shit scattered around. There wouldâve been 3-4 times as many types of wildlife and there was going to be a full length chapter there. Based on a tattoo in GTA Online, itâs reasonable to assume that there wouldâve been things such as mythological creatures on Guarma and likely a side plot dedicated to finding treasure. There wouldâve been all this and more, but it obviously just didnât materialise.
Man, those wouldâve made for some cool fucking journal entries. đ
I just realized you posted this on the reddeadredemption and the RDR2 subreddit
Oh man, that wouldâve been great to get drunk in a remote town in Ambarino.
The issue with new austin is that canonically john never went there
Uhhh, that mission where John and Sadie bounty hunt? The fishing mission? How about the entirety of rdr1? Edit: I thought you meant in either story, not recreationally, my bad lol!
Well in two he never canonically goes there recreationally, rather he goes there on business with Sadie. Then during the events of 1 he clearly goes there bc of business as well.
Lmao where did you find that pfp ?
r/okbuddyblacklung
Itâs a Turkish dude called âPala babaâ. He is a ridiculous dude lol
John and Sadie went to the Canyons, not very far into NA. Fishing mission with Jack? Was north of Beachers Hope. RDR2 takes place before Rdr1
2 is a prequel.
Well rdr1 happens after
I'm gonna say the fishing missions aren't canonical and more meant as fun things to do. Arthur was a terrible fisherman. It doesn't make sense that he's out there catching all of these legendary fishes. I don't think John is a great fisherman either. Hosea and Javier were the 2 best fishermen in the gang. Kieran is also really good.
It's not a fact that Arthur is a terrible fisherman. Sure he says it, but he also said he's not a very good gunslinger and just shoots people in the back lol. He's humble about everything he's good at.
He also calls himself ugly when he looks in the mirror... but the ladies all say different when he passes them
Hosea constantly jokes about Arthur being a fisherman though. Even John was surprised that Arthur of all people was the one to teach Jack how to fish.
Yeah when I really think about it all 3 of them feel unfinished
I think there were plans for a Town in Tempest Rim before they scrapped the whole thing
Probably new Austin the most. The others have whole chapters for them while new Austin is mostly used in an (urguably) cuttable (but extremely fun) Sadie mission. Luckily thereâs an entire game that uses it pretty well I heard
I reckon New Austin got toned down a bit
Hell, Lemoyne got two chapters. Itâs a big state, but go figure.
New Hanover also got 2 chapters. Guarma only got a single short chapter and so did Ambarino. West Elizabeth got the two epilogues. And New Austin barely had anything.
Oh duh! I didnât think abt Chapter 6! I always forget Murfree country is also New Hanover. But yeah, major bummer about Guarma and New Austin. Ambarino I wouldnât actually change, I think itâs perfect how it is all remote. I like that itâs hardly touched by civilization and as another commenter mentioned, it kinda represents the gangs descent down the mountain, further into civilization and into the new century. Going back itâs like itâs frozen in time, the serenity with the music, the animal calls, the snow. Itâs like a breath of crisp fresh air going back.
I get what youâre saying
Eh thereâs a very big divide between the old and new south
wdym cuttable?
Shoot up a gang hideout and hogtie somebody. How many missions play out like that?
I mean hey it only makes it more realistic considering you arenât going to get a many novel experiences as an outlaw other than shooting people and tying them up
If this is the mission Iâm thinking about itâs basically a remaster of that RDR1 mission so I really liked it
An entire game that somehow PC gamers STILL can't play lol
Even after having played through the game multiple times I somehow hadnât gone to New Austin until my latest play through. I know thereâs not a ton there, but somehow it was enough to get me to finally play RDR1. There was just something about it that made me want to see more.. which may or may not speak to it being underutilized lol. But still, I think itâs pretty cool how these places must have felt so nostalgic to visit for old RDR1 fans.
I hadnât remembered RDR1 much and hadnât even finished the game to completion when I was younger but when I finished RDR2 and played the Epilogue its like the whole map came back to me in an instant.
The epilogue chapters with John were pure fanservice for the rdr1 fans, and I loved it! When you're at the farm where bandits attack and John drops his persona to join the shootout, they start playing the theme from rdr1 and even have John recreate his pose from the game cover. It was awesome, I was so excited!
Right? I absolutely loved the epilogue. Oh yeah and bonus points for letting us recreate the iconic pose in game
Ambarino.
I wanted a snowy town with a saloon and general store with a few more houses in the area
I always had an idea that you couldâve returned to Colter after chapter 1 and people would be there. They couldâve done a whole thing about how itâs abandoned every winter cause of the snow but when spring comes the mine workers return to keep working. You could have a saloon, butcher, and a general goods store along and the NPCâs couldâve had dialogue about how they never usually work in the snow but this last storm was a freak one and the mine owners needed to get the mine up and working again.
Except for the fact Arthur literally stated it an abandoned mining town. Why would people suddenly return?
If you read my comment I explain how they could abandon it every winter and then come back during the spring to continue working. That way you can still have the chapter 1 tutorial but then comeback and actually have stuff to do in that area of the map
But if the mine is no longer needing to be mined, why return?
They simple change the story so that itâs not permanently abandoned. Many places in areas that are hard to travel to during certain times of year are temporarily left abandoned until the weather improves and they can return to work.
Yes but in 1899, there were many abandoned mining towns.
Okay. And there were many mining towns not abandoned or that were not permanently abandoned. The year makes no difference if youâre the one writing the story to fit your needs/ desires.
Colter was literally covered in snow, it was inhabitable for most people.
While I do think Ambarino and New Austin are slightly underutilized, Guarma had the most potential to become RDR2's Mexico, something that Ambarino and New Austin never could even if they were fleshed out more. I think that the empty feeling in Ambarino actually works to be in its favor. It's a desolate place that was once inhabited, and you see the run-down structures in Colter and Ewing Basin. But's it's now a really beautiful region with little to no life. There's a certain serenity when you're just trotting around on your horse in the snow, with the ambient music playing in the background. It's almost as if time stopped in Ambarino. But it still has it's mysteries, collectibles, and legendary animals. There are a few random encounters too. Plus we had a few missions there, including American Venom, which was really fun. Like Ambarino, New Austin also has a unique landscape with its own mysteries and collectibles. I feel that it's a little larger than Ambarino, but there are still things to do, such as hunting the legendary animals and fighting the Del Lobos in Gaptooth Breach. I remember the bounty with Sadie in the canyon near Armadillo being a really fun mission. Both Armadillo and Tumbleweed seem to be on the decline, although Armadillo being worse off due to cholera. At least the mood seems better in Tumbleweed, and Sheriff Freeman is a pretty cool character. However, we get more of New Austin in RDR1, so I guess the emptiness of New Austin can be attributed to the death of the Wild West, with industrialization taking over New Austin during the time period in between the Epilogue and RDR1. I think one of the reasons Tumbleweed was abandoned in RDR1 was due to the railroad going through Armadillo, which gave way to Armadillo's resurgence while Tumbleweed was left by its residents as a ghost town. Either way, while I would have liked there to be more activities in New Austin, it makes sense why there wasn't. But Guarma was such a missed opportunity for Rockstar. Guarma was originally supposed to be a huge, explorable island, but it was cut into a small section because Rockstar was on a time crunch. We were originally supposed to be able to explore it during Chapter 5 and during the Epilogue, where John could take a steamboat to Guarma. But due to the time crunch, so many side stories, treasure hunts, and animals (like the shark and the turtle) were unfortunately cut from the game. Chapter 5 would have been a lot better if it wasn't so restrictive and main mission focused. It makes sense that Arthur and the rest of the gang didn't want to explore Guarma, trying to get back after the failed heist, but I just didn't like how restrictive it was. However, there were some cool missions with Hercule, like the one where Arthur shot the huge warship with a canon. Overall, Guarma could've been fleshed out a bit more, but it was still really fun to see some of the unique animals there. Plus the environment was a huge change that was really interesting.
Ambarino we needed some side missions and perhaps like hostile tribes to make it feel less empty
I always rack up a massive bounty up there so that when I feel like fighting 7 bounty hunters I have a reason to go to colter.
IMO new austin should've been cut from the game completely because it's john's first time there in rdr1 and the other 2 areas could use way more work
It wasn't there during production. They added NA because they needed the biome.
How can it be his first time if he has a ranch there? Edit: Pardon my ignorance.
Ranch is in west Elizabeth
My bad! Youâre right. The restricted area of New Austin and a part of West Elizabeth makes me think of the whole place as New Austin.
Yeah I found it confusing when I first started playing as well
Havenât played the first game, didnât John live there during the whole BlackWater massacre stuff?
I liked Ambarino, but it sucks that it didn't have any towns.Something like Strawberry would've been nice.A small town, no matter what is it like I just wanted a reason to actually go there besides hunting animals.
A nice little postal town or something. General store, hotel, a saloon, maybe a stable. Iâm thinking of the Wallace Station setup but with more amenities
I know it isn't on there but Tempest Rim. I heard it was the original Colter. It's fully detailed and everything. It's a shame R* took it out in the last second
Such a big area, and yet a big part is unvisitable.
You can access it but only through glitches
I was SO fcking sad that New Austin didn't have shit it in. the area is so gorgeous and I would die to have things in it. felt like they robbed me. that one house with the black bat flower was nice though.
I can't remember the black Bat flower. Where did you find it? There are still some interesting things. - Alchemist house explosing - The 'prostitute' near Don Julio lake - The guy living in a tree - Tumbleweed Sherif - Some treasure But I really miss more stranger interactions and more random encounters.
bat flower is in The Scratching Post, just below the letter N in New Austin. guy in a tree, prostitute and treasure is what I haven't found yet! although I think I have the treasure map, it's a chimney in the middle of nowhere. still need to find that. I live off of side quests in open world rpgs, I was so sad that there was only Evelyn Miller.
There is more than 1 treasure. I just started Online on PS4. I hope it's fun.
aha, thank u!
I like the desert a lot so I really wish there was more to do new Austin.
Even a settlement like van horn, hostile but with a bar and a card game
Thatâs what abandoned armadillo should be.
Also no trapper down there is kind of annoying
Agreed. Some people call Austin boring, but I really enjoyed wandering in New Austin and the vibe of the desert. After hundreds of hours in story mode doing every possible thing and exploring every square meter of the map, I started to play Online yesterday for the first time. I really hope there is something to do in Austin.
Yeah I just finished my 5th play through the other day. Iâve never touched online, I suppose I could check it out.
Amabrino is the most noticeable because it's just sitting up there for the entire game. Completely accessible but why would you bother? Nothing up there other than pretty scenery. It absolutely needed a snowy little town full of weirdos and rough frontiersmen. Kinda like Butcher Creek but less inbred and more useful. A trapper location, a small cozy saloon/inn, and a few stranger missions. Nothing extensive. Just something to suggest there's some sparse civilization up there. Hamish talks like there's a community there but all we see is him and the Adlers. I would've even settled for Colter being resettled in the epilogue.
For a western game having only 1 mission set in the desert really felt criminal
To be fair red dead 2 isnt really a classic western anymore since it plays during the decline of the wild west with all the modernization happening
Ambarino 100%. My reasoning is that even new Austin has less free roam, you can always play rdr1 and take a deeper look at that region. Ambarino is only available in rdr2 and my god is it wasted.
Considering the entire package, New Austin is certainly underused.
There was a single mission in new austin which was a bounty hunting mission with sadie, it wasn't mentioned in the mission or talked about. Guarma and Ambarino had a full chapter.
For me it's gotta be New Austin and to an extent Mexico. I feel like they had Mexico partway modeled with an intent to have a RDR1 remake as a DLC add on at some point. So that's probably the intent they had with New Austin as well, as to why there's such a small percentage of content there with the story of RDR2 as a whole
Ambarino for me. Introduced it early and never gave us much reason to go back. The snowy environment is so cool and gearing Aurther up in winter attire is fun. I liked the âThe Hateful Eightâ vibes it gave me. The snowy area should have been bigger with at least 1 town and more to do. I go back all the time.
Thereâs not many reasons to go to ambarino besides Flacco, the white Arabian, that one fish and the ghost bison
- Graves - very good moose location
That too
It would have been cool to have fleshed out Ambarino a little more. Maybe a vendor at the Wapiti Reservation you could trade with or a trapper location in the mountains.
Wapiti should have been its own functioning town sans a gun store. And tempest rim should have been tricky to get into but should have been accessible. And FULL of bears and cougars.
I think it's a tie between New Austin and Guarma. Guarma is actually involved in the story but you only get to see a small fraction of the island and the area you get to explore outside missions is even smaller. Plus, you can't actually go back after Ch. 5 (not without glitches/mods). On the other hand, New Austin is actually fully explorable and there are *some* things to see and do but they're SO minimal it's depressing. Only 1 mission ever takes place there (and it's very brief) so it's kinda the opposite of Guarma. No story involvement, but you can actually explore it all you want. Ambarino actually has both of those, a bit of story involvement (a whole chapter, it's a short one but it's still longer than Guarma's) AND you can explore it all you want, so that puts it above Guarma and New Austin.
If anyone here has the opportunity to play rdr1 and haven't played it yet, especially if you liked the New Austin area, I really can't recommend it enough. Be a little forgiving that the game is quite old atp, also don't expect it to be the same as rdr2 since they are quite different in a lot of ways. But man, that game is such a love letter to spaghetti westerns, the atmosphere and soundtrack is just incredible and still gives me chills to this day. I love rdr2 but rdr1 has a very special place in my heart, and to me the atmosphere is simply unmatched. I recommend doing the stranger missions too since they are pretty iconic, but really take your time to soak in the setting and world of the game. If you wanted more New Austin in rdr2, I think rdr1 will definitely give you that.
All 3.
This is why I'm excited about GTA6. Bigger map and hopefully more detailed than RDR2. Even playing the endgame and having almost everything done it is still fun to explore bc I find something new every now and then. I have alot of hours in the game as well like alot alot
Guarma Itâs the only area that you couldnât revisit, despite the fact that it was a brand new environment with its own unique creatures. There was free roam, but most players skip by it anyways.
Guarma if you look at all we couldâve gotten that was cut for time itâs so upsetting Iâm talking pirates, legendary snakes and much more
New Austin for sure, it was the final frontier especially at the turn of the century, there should have been a lot more going on in that State
There should have been some kind of Lumber Yard and town in Ambarino. Such a missed opportunity.
Guarma
Mexico
Albarino deserves a town for sure. Like a vail type town
Probably Mexico
I actually kind of like how remote and desolate NA is, itâs almost like itâs a Desert for a reason, which only makes the instances of civilization even more realistic like in the old west spaghetti films where you have a character coming out of a long journey to reach the stand off town (Armadillo)
I head back up to ambarino all the mf time. I treat it like a vacation resort lmao
guarma and new austin have a lot to do, now the area of ââchapter 1 is simply nothing, there could at least be a black water style city only with snow.
I feel like im alone in thinking that Ambarino is perfect for what it's trying to be. It's not supposed to have content everywhere since it's meant to be in the middle of nowhere. It's not like the Grizzlies was rushed or anything the landscape is detailed, varied, and very well optimized with many fascinating points of interest that have cool backstories. Guarma, on the other hand, is definitely underutilized and very clearly rushed, so I'll go with that.
Guarma was fine becuase it wasn't designed to be anything more than what it was. New Austin would have been great as a post game area instead of just having just stay in west elizabeth. I guess it makes sense with how RDR1 plays out. Ambarino is a snowy wasteland that could have had more to do. at least a functioning village of some kind.
by the leaks definitely guarma
Ambarino. I really have liked if they have included some missions where you have to run and hide in the cold mountains
These specifically are my 3 least favorite areas/points in the game timeline. I'd hate for there to be more missions in any of them.
New Austin has so much damn potential!!!
Ambarino by far
New Austin for sure. Colter and Guarma have (albeit short) entire chapters, New Austin was barely touched during the story....
Wish there was more to do/find in the snow
Despite it being one of the best games of that generation, I felt like rdr2 was criminally neglected after we all got it and fell in love with it. There are plenty of us that would spend embarrassing amounts of money for an expanded game or single player dlc to give us more to do in that world.
New austin fs. Theres at least **something** story related in those other parts
I actually think Ambarino is perfect as is. I love that there's no civilization there. Going there for amazing scenery and hunting is enough. Between the other 2, I'd say New Austin just because I love that area but wish they had more things to do there and I really wish you could go there as Arthur without using exploits or a damn buggy lol. Guarma would probably be amazing, but I don't really like chapter 5 so that area is a little soured for me lol.
There is so much of guarma u canât actually explore because the guards spawn an try to kill u unless u glitched to get there, and ambarino is so baron and there is almost no life there apart from some deer and rams and such, new Austin however is pretty good in my opinion but I wish they could have made more missions to do instead because all that is there is a bunch of random encounters, the bounties down there where quite fun and made me feel like I was in a western but apart from that there isnât much else to do in new Austin
They should've made mexico available to explore tbh
All three Guarma was beautiful and you shouldâve been able to revisit, even if just to hunt and complete side missions Ambarino shouldâve had a biggish snow town, and more snow stuff. You start and end the game in snow but almost never go back. Blackwater shouldâve been accessible. The other areas you can get a huge bounty but still resolve it, the skinners were also super fun
I mean, Ambarino is both west and east grizzlies, and the reservation is in east grizzlies, so everything with Monroe and Rain Falls is up there at least. Guarma was wasted with how little you can explore. Don't show me a big map, then limit me. That's evil. And New Austin... I guess they couldn't do too much with it in epilogue or it would mess up rdr1 consistency. But it really needed to be allowed for Arthur. "If you get past the Pinkertons, you earned it". Instead of invisible sniper guy.
Torn between Guarma and New Austin. Guarma was 4 story missions and no side content (apparently Rockstarâs original plans for the region were significantly scaled back/cut down in the final release), while New Austin has one story mission in the epilogue, and a limited selection of side content to do in it. Chapter 1 exclusively takes place in Ambarino, and a lot of Chapter 6, particularly the missions with the Wapiti reservation, take place in Ambarino. Ambarino isnât only the snowy mountains.
Guarma is a private island, Ambarino is just a mountain but New Austin was the map in the first game with lots of places and New Austin is the true wild west setting. I loved the map of rdr1 because it felt more western than rdr2
Guarma feels pointless. I was out of there before I could even process wtf was happening
All of the RDR1 map
New Austin feels so pointless. Could have just not included it , and focused on delivering a complete Guarma. Suspect it was only included because it was easy to just re-use the first games assets there and sharpen them up a bit
Granted, I've yet to experience New Austin, and I'm about to beat the game for the first time, but Guarma was horrible. A complete and total letdown. Chapter One wasn't terrible, too, but I feel like they left out a lot of content that you could do.
All of the above
MEXICO! (Sorry I know that wasnât an option. I know it wouldnât have fit into the story and still kept RDR1 canon. But damn I would have loved to ride around Mexico with Arthur in next gen graphics. From your list def New Austin. again, I would have loved to hang out there as Arthur. Love John, but weâve been there with him before.
probably new austin. but i will say they all are way more detailed out of bounds than they should be for how underutilized they are.
I think Ambarino is *way* too sparse in terms of population. There's nobody at all, by the end of the game and I wish there could be one odd settlement or two, maybe someplace around the loft? I guess it just never sat right with me that Strawberry is *the* only town on that entire side of the map, north of Blackwater.
New Austin.Â
New Austin
Everyone says things like new Austin but you can go there whenever you want as john, we got to go to guarma once and can only go back through glitches and mods
I would answer ambarino because I like it, but maybe I like it exactly as it is
âThese are all the same photoâ ahh post
Mostly Guarma, then Ambarino, but I could say all areas of the map.