Step 0: Where to start and what to know
I suggest you to complete some story missions to get a horse, a weapon and some information.
Begin to memorize how to farm profitably killing animals and defeating opponents.
(You can find everything about fighting XP bonuses below: "Fighting/Hunting XP Bonuses").

Then you can think about farming, check the next step.

Step 1: Daily challenges, waiting Challenge Streak 3
The first way to earn XP and Gold Bars is with Daily Challenges.
I suggest you not to go too fast, it could be useless; just keep your Challenge Streak actived completing x1 Daily Challenge a day at least and don't worry about the others until day 14 (end of Challenge Strike 2).
After the 15th Day (Challenge Streak 3), rewards will start to be onerous, then you can think about completing as many challenges as you can, earning Gold Bars.
You will earn 200 XP (it applies to Role XP too) with each Daily Challenge completed.
Completing x1 Daily Challenge during the 28th Day profits you 100$ and a x1 Treasure Map as bonus.
(Check the section below: "How Daily Challenges work")

Step 2: Awards
Awards are passive cumulative challenges that can be completed on Free Roam mode and Competitive mode.
Some of them are made up by 5 goals, each goal profits between 50 XP and 500 XP.
5 Goals Awards can be resetted too (up to 10 times), they profit 0,4 GB every time.
(Check the section below: "Earning XP and Gold Bars with Awards")

Step 3: Telegraph Missions and "Call to Army"
After the first steps, you can think about joining the Call to Army mode: it is really good to farm kills so that you can also earn XP.
As I said before, there are many Fighting Bonuses to consider in order to optimize your time:
A good combination can profit 50 XP every kill. Call to Army mode is made up by 10 waves and a total of 500 enemies.
You can earn 1 GB, 294,50$ and 2475 XP every 10 waves completed.
At your first try it will take 50 - 60 minutes.
Check the section below: "Easy XP with Call to the Army")

The only problem with this mode is that there is a cooldown of 45 minutes when completed. That's why I will talk about "Roles" now.

Step 4: The first Role
After 15 Gold Bars you can think about buying a Role, I suggest you to be:

• A Bounty Hunter if you want to farm Gold Bars.
  
• A Collector if you want to earn XP and RDO$ (I think this last one is the best if you want to reach Rank 50).

The roles could be played solo. These two are perfect to switch between "Call to Army" when cooldown is actived because their missions are simple and fast.
(Check below the sections: "Collector: how to begin" and "Bounty Hunter: how to begin"[/b])

Step 5: Updates and Benefits
Check the news about updates and benefits to know if there are special rewards, discounts, multipliers, etc.
Benefits can boost a lot your profits and you can save many hours. Check the Benefits every Tuesday to know all weekly/monthly advantages.
(Check the section below: "Updates and Benefits")

Step 6: Farming Route
This is the last step: If you got the Collector Role, Call to Army missions and good armaments, you can follow this path and do it over and over again until you reach Rank 50.

1. Start Call to Army mode and kill as many enemies as you can so that you farm Gold Bars, RDO$, XP and Kills.
   
2. While you are waiting for the cooldown to finish, max out Awards and look for collectibles.
   
3. Repeat it.

This is a basic path to farm XP and RDO$.
Rank up to 50 requires 175.300 XP. So, you can farm for a couple of weeks and get the achievement.

If you are interested in a more complex path but a lot more lucrative, check the section below: "Over Rank 50: Tahiti, I'm coming!"

Roles route:
It's time to combine Roles e begin to earn real money and XP.

1.0. If you purchased the Moonshiner Role: make a recipe earning XP. I suggest you Wild Cider Moonshine because you can buy all ingredients with Catalogue and Madam Nazar.
1.1. Storw in your wagon 3 Pelts skinning 3 Legendary Animals with Harriet's missions. I suggest you Icagi Boar (41,25), Banded Gator (40,62), Rutile Horn Ram (56,25), Payta Bison (58,75) or Moonstone Wolf (38,13).
2.1. Harriet will get upset with the third Legendary Animal killed, you got 15 minutes cooldown.
3.1. Go to your camp to donate as many materiald as possible to Cripps. Your Mateterial status bar have to be full, it's done for next 200 minutes and you stored other 90-100 materials at least.
4.0 While you are waiting the Supplies Option, you will be around looking for collectables. It happens to see Police roadblock as result of your Moonshiner attivity: complete these bottlegger missions to earn XP, it request only 5 minutes or less.
4.1. While you are waiting the Supplies Option, you can begin some collection. Start to collect not random collectables as Flowers, Bottles, Cards, etc. (Remember: you can complete 3 Flowers collection every day. It will take you 40 minutes with a good horse and the Wilderness Camp updated with Fast Travel.)
5.0. Your Strong Moonshine must be ready to be delivered. Complete the delivery and go back to the Shack to make other Moonshine.
5.1.Right after the latest flowers collected 40 - 50 minutes. Cripps request you Supplies: Order Supplies and change lobby to get an instant Supply delivery.
6.1. Repeat these steps for 3 hours about: your Goods Delivery have to be ready, you have to have 3 - 4 collection completed, and you completed 3 Moonshine deliveries.

Results:
- 500$ and 2000 XP (large delivery)
- 809,50$ and 12.900 XP (x3 flowers, bottles, eggs collection)
- 907,48$ and 4188 XP About (x4 200 XP When you order moonshine and 226,87$ and 847 XP)
=2216,98$ 19.088 XP with 4 Hours.

Basic Info:
Every time you fight an enemy or you hunt an animal, you earn XP.
By performing special actions, you can earn Bonus XP.

There are many cumulative and combinable bonuses you have to know.
With a good combination, you can earn 30 XP - 50 XP, improving a lot your profit, example:

• Dead Eye
  
• Saddle Score
  
• Distance
  
• Headshot
  
• Kill
  
• Special Ammo
  
• Last Chance

Killing or Defeating Opponents Bonuses List:

Note: you can earn Bonus XP only when your opponent is hostile and detected by the game as an enemy. It doesn't count killing pedestrians, farmers, citizens and travelers.

Hunting and Skinning Bonuses XP List:

Always with you:
Volcanic Pistol: It can purchased for 270,00$ reaching Rank 21.
Use it on short/medium range: 2 bullets in the chest are enough to kill every regular enemy.


Pump-action Shotgun: It can purchased for 266,00$ reaching Rank 5.
Use it on short range: "One shot, One Kill".


Bolt Action Rifle: It can purchased for 216,00$ reaching Rank 7.
Use it on long range: the aim focus is really fast and one bullet is enough to kill every regular enemy and big animal (aiming the head).


Particular conditions:
Lancastern Repeater: It can purchased for 170,00$ reaching Rank 12.
Use it on medium/long range: It is not as powerful as Volcan Pistol but the magazine is really large. I suggest you to use it when you approach an armored weapon keeping the distance with Dead Eye.


Carcano Rifle: It can purchased for 456,00$ reaching Rank 50.
Use it on long/very long range: Useful if you need to keep the distance or conditions are forcing you to use free-aim.



Hunting:
Bow: It can purchased for 124$ reaching Rank 10.
Improved Bow: it can purchased for 275,00$.
The bow is the best weapon to hunt: It doesn't produce sound, arrows can be collected when used and every arrow can almost match with every size animal in the game.
Check my guide to know everything about hunting:

Perfect Pelts 

A Guide for Red Dead Redemption 2

By: Lord Vampair

How to study, track and hunt animals getting always perfect pelts.

Otherwise, the bow is great if you need to attack other Rivals Player: one Dynamite Arrows is enough powerful to destroy every wagon.


Varmint Carabine: It can purchased for 72,00$ reaching Rank 08.
It is the only weapon that matches hunting small size animals.

Basic Info:
You can equip your Ability Cards with your Menu > Abilities.


Each card can be purchased for 50$ and upgraded twice for 350$ and 500$.
To upgrade an Ability Card, it has to be equipped earning XP with you:

• Lv. 1 to Lv. 2 requires 10.000 XP.
  
• Lv. 2 to Lv. 3 requires 15.000 XP.

You have to reach Rank 10, Rank 20 and Rank 40 to equip more cards together.


Card Category:
There are four Card Ability Category:

• Dead Eye (Red)
  
• Combat (Yellow)
  
• Recovery (Green)
  
• Defensive (Blue)

You have always set one Dead Eye ability into the first card slot. About other card slots, you can choose what you prefer.

Best Ability Cards On PVE:
Playing PVE you don't need to inflict so much damage. The priority for you is to stay alive, take advantage against AI and perform as many points as possible.


The combination of Eye for an eye and Paint it Black is really powerful. It means you can abuse of the Dead Eye to restore your Dead Eye, performing Headshot with Dead Eye is really simple.
The previous combination can be reinforced with Strange Medicine: you can restore your Health using Dead Eye.
As last one: you can equip Kick in the Butt to restore your Dead eye taking damage, it works even when you use your tonics: a Lv. 3 Health Tonic triples your Health and you can restore until 30% of Dead Eye.

I think these four cards together are one of the best combinations (maybe the best) about PVE. They make you almost invincible with "unlimited" Dead Eye and Health.

To access in Call to Army you need to open your satchel: you can find the Telegram under the Documents section.


The easiest map are Valentine, Blackwater and Armadillo, as result to offer different protections like rooftops and buildings.

It's not easy to finish this mode alone. Aid friendly NPC (yellow points on the map) during the timeout, you have only 30 - 60 seconds.
Stay on the rooftop and shot at everything. With the latest waves, the modes become hard as result of armored enemies, wagons armored with machine guns, snipers, etc.


You don't need to complete this mode to get rewards, just play and farm XP killing people.
As I said above, every enemy killed gives you 5 XP (20 XP if you are playing with "free aim") with other bonuses to add.

Of course, there are many other bonuses such as Execution, Meele Weapon, etc.
A good combination can profit 40 XP for every kill.
This mode is made up by 10 waves and 500 enemies... A lot of XP.
Other positives: you can earn 1 GB, 294,50$, and 2475 XP every 10 waves completed as bonus (to get these rewards you have to wait for the final scores).

Basic Info:
Awards are passive challanges and they profit XP completed.
There are two type:

• Five goals Awards (resettable): 50 XP, 100 XP, 150 XP, 350 XP, 500 XP with Gold Belt.
  
• Two goals Awards (not resettable): 500 XP with Gold Belt.

Resettable Awards are made up by five goals, every goal profits individual XP (1150 XP overall). After all 5 goals completed, they can be resetted up to 10 times profit 0,4 GB everytime.

So, every 5 goals Award maxed out are going to profit 4 GB and 11.500 XP


After 10 times (4 GB), you can't pin or reset an Award anymore.


Check your Awards in your Progress.

Note: Awards are actived on Free Roam mode and Competitive mode and they are pooled.

Fastest and Easier Awards:
Here is a list about easier and faster 5 Goals Awards:

• 2 animals killed at once.
  
• Jump on a train by your horse 100 times.
  
• Kill 100 animals on a moving train.
  
• Sell 100 herbs.
  
• Buy 1000 items.
  
• Collect 1000 items from your Delivery box.
  
• 1000$ spent.
  
• Survived 120 minutes as "wanted man".
  
• 100 headshots using bows.
  
• 1000 enemies killed using Dead Eye.
  
• Collect 1000 parts of animals.
  
• Drink 100 Harriet's tonics (Naturalist Role required).

Infinite Trade In Awards:
The only exception to the "10 times rule" is the Bounty Hunter Awards: "earn 10.000 Role XP".
This award can be completed as many time as you want and it profits you 0,5 GB, 100$ and 500 XP when it is resetted.

Tips To Farm Killing Awards:

• 100 kills with bows
  
• 100 headshots with bows
  
• Survived 120 minutes as "wanted man"
  
• etc.

You can antagonize the cops so the game detects them as enemies.
Saint Denies police station is a perfect place: you don't have to look your back, enemies come from one point, there are some covers and you can use arrow saving money.
Then, if you are tired, you can escape climbing the wall behind you and cops will have a hard time chasing you through the swamp. You can follow the tracks to escape faster.


Tips about "Hunting Award: 2 animals killed at once":
It's pretty simple complete it. Use your fishing rod to make fish spawn, then throw a stick of dynamite.
If you are lucky, you can perform five or six kills just with one stick complteting half goals.


Tips about "Sold 100 herbs":
You can purchase herbs from Madam Nazar and sell them to some Doctor.

Basic Info:
Daily Challenges are divided into:

• 7 Daily General Challanges
  
• 9 Daily Role Challanges

You will earn 200 XP everytime you complete a Daily Challange.
Completing a Role Daily Challange, you are going to earn 200 Role XP (yellow) and 200 XP.


Challange Streak Multiplier:
The challenges increase Gold Bars profit every week as result of the Challenge Streak multiplier.
The base bonus reward for every Daily Schedule completed is 0,3 Gold Bars as "bonus" (there isn't a difference if Role Challenges are made up by 9 and General Challenges by 7).


Challange Streak increases every week (up to day 22): x1, x1,5, x2, x2,5.
After Challange Streak 4 (day 28), the Challange Streak resets by itself profit you 100$ and one Treasure Map.


The All Challanges Bonus scales with the Challange Streak: 0,3 GB, 0,45 GB, 0,60 GB, 0,75 GB.


You need to complete one Daily Challenge at least every day to keep your streak.


Daily Challenges Profit:
(Gold bars = GB)

Note: Daily Challenges update everyday at 6 AM (UTC)

Basic Info:
There are weekly/monthly updates that ensure benefits and discounts.
Benefits can make you save a lot of money and improve your profit with multiplier.
The game is updated every Tuesday, you have to check Menu > Benefits to know more.


Benefits examples:
Here is an example with a Legendary Bounty:
There was a month with x3 multiplier actived. I could earn 0,48 GB, 562,50$ and 4500 XP maxed out the rewards. Impressive if we think "Carmela Montez" pays out "only" 125$ and 1000 XP.


Another example with "Call to the Army":
Months ago, there were "Call to Army" mode with x3 multiplier.
I could earn 3 GB, 883,57$ and 7425 XP completing all waves and it took me only 30 minutes.

Basic Info:
Free Roam events and Role events are mode which follow a planned schedule.
You can join only when you get a notice, Check below the section: "Event schedule".


Events description:

Note: all times are in local time zone UTC+1

Purchasing A Role:
This is your real first goal: earning enough Gold Bars to purchase a Role.

There are five roles:

• Bounty Hunter (15 GB + 15 GB): the best if you want to farm gold.
  
• Collector (15 GB): the best if you want to earn money and exp.
  
• Trader (15 GB): a passive role where you can earn only money and exp.
  
• Naturalist (25 GB): a simple and slow way to get only money and exp.
  
• Moonshiner (15 GB + 25 GB): a passive role where you can earn only money and exp.

What To Be And When:

1st Role: Collector or Bounty Hunter
The firsts role I suggest you are:

• Bounty Hunter if you want to farm Gold Bars.
  
• Collector if you want to earn XP and RDO$.

3rd Role: Naturalist
I suggest you to buy the Naturalist Role if you have already bought two previous roles.
The Naturalist is a "solo" role (as Collector) and it is not very good to farm BUT with this role you can unlock the Wilderness Camp.
The Wilderness Camp can be upgraded with Fast Travel and it is a must-have for every player because you can travel from anywhere and anytime.

4th Role: Trader
The next role is suggest you is Trader. I suggest this role only with the Naturalist Role.
The reason is simple: you can hunt Legendary Animals with Harriet's Missions speeding all the process up about Materials and Goods.
Another way to Rank Up faster is buying Trader Role to play with other high Trader Rank players, so you can earn a lot of RDO$ and XP.

5th Role: Moonshiner
You are going to earn RDO$ and XP with Deliveries and New Story Missions.

Being a Collector:
You need to talk with Madam Nazar to start this role. She is an NPC who moves every day through the map.


She sells the Collector's Bag for a price of 15 Gold Bars.


Basic info:
The role is simple: you have to collect items through the map.
There are 17 collection sets made up by 184 collectables. Use the maps sold by Madam Nazar to know their location and help yourself with the Eagle Eye to see them: they can be in the ground, in the trees or lying around.


You can check your collections with your Satchel, Role Progress or Collector's Bag.

Advanced Collectables:
There are few items you can unlock raising your Role Rank. They are necessary to get specific collectible sets.
Madam Nazar will sell them likewise she did with the Collector's Bag (Tools section).


Shovel: you can unlock it reaching Collector Rank 5 and it costs 350$ and 2 Role Tokens.
(You can play with a friend equipped with a shovel and collect items inside a lockbox in the ground even if you don't have the shovel).


Metal Detector: you can unlock it reaching at Collector Rank 5 and it costs 700$ and 2 Role Tokens. Open your inventory to equip it.


Weapons and Collectables:
Varmint Rifle*. You can unlock it reaching Character Rank 8 and it costs 72$.


*The Varmint rifle doesn't require Collector Role to be purchased but you need the Collector's Baganyway to collect the collectibles. Here is an example: you have to collect eggs shooting to the nest. Varmint is a low-damage rifle and it is the only one to do it.

Regular Sets and Values:
There are 17 sets to collect. A complete set is worth bonus 1500 XP.
Many sets need some requirements to be taken (not all the collectibles need those requirements to be taken but you have to must comply with them if you want to collect the complete set).



Weekly Set Info:
It's possible to collect the weekly sets: collectibles about these sets and rewards change every week (usually they are worthy of 85$ - 120$ and 1000 XP).
These sets are made up by three elements. They could mix collectible items with crafting items such as perfect pelts, teeth, claws, etc. and they expire after a week.


Collect the deliveries in your camp or in postal office to get informations about weekly sets or check your Collector's Bag.

Set Value Info:
Each individual collectables profit 100 XP - 300 XP. A complete set is worth Bonus XP and RDO$ as Bonus when collected and sold. Every collection you sell, you earn 1000 XP - 1500 XP.

Don't sell single items if you don't want to waste your time! Stay patient.

Tips and Profit:
You can find a card earning 100 XP - 150 XP and sell it for 9$ - 10$ but if you wait selling a full card set, you can earn 286,50$ getting extra 1500 XP.
Overall, a complete set is worthy of 286,50$ and 3600 XP, not just 129,50$ and 1400 XP.


You can sell sets talking with Madam Nazar or sending them to her talking with post clerk.


Remember: collectables update every day at 02:00 AM (UTC +1)
It means you can complete x3 flowers sets, x4 cards sets, x1 bottles set, x1 eggs set and x1 family heirlooms set every day.
The amount with this daily crazy farming is 2155,50$ and 15000 XP (only complete set, individual collectables XP not added yet), you need just the Collector's Bag and Varmint rifle to do it.

Collector Unlockables:
Lantern: it can be unlocked with 350$ and 1 Token.


To purchease a Lantern: Manage Owned Horse > Saddles > Currant Saddle > Lanterns > Lantern.


The Lantern is really usefull to play during night time.


Collector Best Horse:
Criollo Horse (Bay Frame Overo & Marble Sabino coats):
they can be unlocked at Collector Rank 15 with 950$ and 3 Role Tokens.
This is one of the best horses in the game. It can be compared with the most expansive horses.

Being a Bounty Hunter:
Approach a Bounty Board outside the Police Department or Sheriff's Office to buy a Bounty Hunter License. It cost 15 GB but it's often discounted by 5 GB.


Base Info:
You don't need special equipment, just your guns, a horse and a lasso.
Most of the bounties are really easy: follow the mark on your map, capture or kill the bounty and turn it in the Jail/Prison wagon.


There are few bounties where you have to track the target down. It can be a bit boring.
I suggest you to avoid them and play these bounties only when Daily Role Challenges require it.


You can encounter Fugitive Bounty exploring the map. They are like any other bounty.


Bounty Player: players could get a bounty. You will receive a notice if you are close to them. Accept the invite to begin the hunt and turn them in.


Prestigious License:
You need "Prestigious Bounty Hunter License" to access Infamous Bounties.
You can interact with a bounty board to purchase it for 15 GB.
The Prestigious Bounty Hunter License adds 10 Bounty Hunter Ranks, 3 Legendary bounties and 13 Infamous Bounties.
I suggest you to buy it as last purchase with Gold Bars in the game, when you'll have bought everything you need to improve your profits.
You can find Infamous Bounties switching $$$ Bounties on the bounty board.

Bounties Category:
When you approach the bounty board, there are 4 categories you can choose:

• $: easier bounties, one target, slight resistance.
  
• $$: this category can include "track down" missions or more bounties at once.
  
• $$$: hard bounties with a short story, made up by many little steps.
  
• Infamous: added with Prestigious Bounty Hunter License, these are like $$$ but with short cutscenes.
  
• Legendary: hard bounties with a short story, many steps, the particular environment, growing difficult, onerous rewards and 45 minutes of cooldown when completed.

Farming Gold:
To be easy, Gold Bars increase with timing: It happens every 6 Minutes and if you complete a Bounty in under 3 minutes you earn only XP and Money.
Gold Bars multiplier is the same for all bounties, it doesn't matter if we talk about standard or legendary.


I wrote a separate chapter about the rewards because is a really complex argument, check below:
- "Bounty Hunter: rewards with Standard and Infamous Bounties".
- "Bounty Hunter: rewards with Legendary Bounties".

Here is a scheme about difficult, condition and target counter multipliers:

Here is a scheme about timing multiplier:

Here is an example about a $$ Bounty with 2 targets (1 alive, 1 dead) completed in 12 minutes.

Legendary Bounties List:
There is a total of 13 available Legendary Bounties.
They all are different from each other: if you are not interested in what are you going to face, just the first 4 columns with "150$, 125$, 100$" and P (to know if you need Prestigious License).

Legendary Bounties difficult:
Legendary Bounties are a bit different from Standard and Infamous Bounties.
Every time you complete a Legendary Bounty, the difficult increases*.
It happens up to 5 Stars: higher difficult = more RDO$ and XP.

*remember: you can't reset or reduce Legendary Bounties difficult.

Rewards and Bonuses:
All the concerns about Legendary Bounty are timing and difficult, nothing more. They don't have a condition and target multiplier. It doesn't make any difference if you turn in a bounty alive or if you deliver a corpse. You can do what you want with your target because your rewards won't change.


Gold Bars do match only with timing, not with stars, multiple targets, conditions.

Bounty Hunter unlockables:
I suggest you to buy Rinforced Lasso, Bolas and Prison Wagon as the last thing.
(There is Tracking Arrow Phamplet too but It's useful only when you need to complete Daily Challenges that require Tracking Arrows. I won't talk about it.)


Rinforced Lasso: you can unlock it reaching Bounty Hunter Rank 1 and it costs 350$.
You can buy it in the catalogue.


Bounty Wagon: you can unlock it reaching Collector Rank 10 and it costs 875$ + 3 Role Tokens.
You can buy it with the catalogue or at stables.


The Bounty Wagon can be useful if you want to complete bounties with two or more targets.
You can turn in two bounties at once also without it (one on your horseback and the other one dragged with the lasso but it is an awkward procedure), but I suggest to buy it as soon as possible.
To use the Bounty Wagon: Stable > Vehicle > Owned Vehicle > Bounty Wagon.



Bolas: you can unlock it reaching Bounty Hunter Rank 10 and it costs 30$ and 3 Role Tokens.
You can buy Bolas from the catalogue or interact with the Fence.


Prestigious License unlockables:
The Prestigious Bounty Hunter License can expand your inventory with new Bolas. These variants can be unlocked with the Veteran Kit.


Bolas variants cost 75$, 100$ or 120$ each one. You can extend your inventory up to 12 Bolas purchasing them at the Fence.
They are more expansive than standard ones but remember you can collect them from the ground when they are used. I suggest you to keep 6 or 9 bolas at least in your inventory.

Animalist VS Hunter:
You have to visit the hotel in Strawberry.
You will see Harriet (an animalist) and Gus (a hunter) argue in the hotel.


Now you can get special rewards for encountering Legendary Animals.
These animals are a particular variant of a species that you can find during Narutalist Role missions and in Free Roam mode.

Harriet Davenport (animalist): sedate and sample animals for XP and Money.


Gus Macmillan (hunter): hunt animals tradeing their pelts for Money and special outfits and trinkets.


Base Info:
Naturalist Role adds the chance to encounter 42 Legendary Animals, three for each supported species:

• 14 animals are target of Legendary Animals missions.
  
• 28 animals could be found exploring the map on Free Roam.

(Remember: you can't use auto aim with Legendary Animals.)

You have two ways: sample legendary animals or skin them for pelts and parts.
Check below the sections with more details:
- "Naturalist: sampling animals"
- "Naturalist: rewards sampling animals"
- "Naturalist: hunting animals"
- "Legendary Animals: free roam"
- "Legendary Animals: missions"

Note: Naturalist Role effects Trader Role. Check below the section: "Trader: materials with Naturalist Role".

Being a Naturalist:
Harriet sells the Sample Kit for 25 Gold Bars. It is necessary to collect samples and Rank Up the Naturalist Role.
She requests you to sedate animals and sample them for Money and XP.


What you need:
You need a Varmint rifle equipped with .22 Sedative ammo. Harriet sells these ammo for 0,80$.


Use the Varmint rifle equipped with .22 sedate ammo. Then, approach the sedated animal to sample it (You can store only 10 Regular samples and 3 legendary Samples at once).


Bonus Naturalist XP:
You will get access to new Bonus XP:

• 10 XP for reviving sedated animals (good way to regain Karma but Reviver Animals are pretty expansive).
  
• 50 XP for studying animals (it can be completed once for each animal).

New missions and events:
You will get access to Poached Animals Missions which profit 150 XP.
There are also new Role Events for Naturalist:

• Wild Animal Tagging: 05:22 and 18:52 (UTC +1)
  
• Protect Legendary Animal: 02:22 and 12:52 (UTC +1)

These events are pretty good because you can get a Sample of a Free Roam Legendary Animals. Check above the sections "Free Roam and Role Events" and "Events Schedule".

Legendary Animal Missions:
After rank up to Naturalist Rank 5, you will unlock "Legendary Animal Missions".
The goal of this mission is sampling or skinning animals: you will get 300 XP when you sample the Legendary Animal (Check "Legendary Animals: missions" for the complete list).
You have to wait for the reset If the mission you are interested for is not present. The missions reset by themselves every 45 Minutes.

Note: you can find legendary animals in Free Roam Mode. They are necessary to complete a category, check below to know more details: "Legendary Animals: free roam".

Selling Samples:
When you sell a sample, Harriet will mark that animal in your Animal Field Guide.
You can get a bonus Money and XP trading with Harriet a complete category.
It doesn't apply automatically, you have to redeem it as you can do to reset an Award.
(Check below the section: "Naturalist: rewards sampling animals")


Check your progress in your Progress or with Animalist Field Guide:


Ranking Up:
The Naturalist Role is pretty simple to max out but the hardest one to complete as result of the cooldown. Every Legendary Animal have to be found three times at least (two on Free Roam mode) and during the encounter you have to take a photo, track them down, study them, skin them and sample them just once at least.
It's really hard and you need a lot of time.
Just think there are 119 animals (77 animals and 42 Legendary Animals).

Make Harriet up set:
Harriet will get mad when you kill too many animals.
When you talk with her when she is upset, she will render you unconscious. You can't interact with her for 15 minutes as result of a cooldown.

Rewards sampling animals:

The rewards are less profitable than other roles (as Collector or Bounty Hunter, check above) if we think about how much time you need to complete a category and you can't farm Gold Bars but the best thing of the Naturalist Role is the possibility to farm pelts to use as materials with Cripps.
Check the section: "Trader: farming pelts with Naturalist Role".

Farming Naturalist XP:
Anyway, if you want to max Naturalist Role out quickly, go to Emerald Ranch.
You can find 8 - 10 Merino Sheeps there. 8 Merino Sheep samples are 200 XP, you can sell samples and repeat it by changing loggy as many times as you want and every try will take you few minutes.

Being A Poacher:
Gus requests you to collect pelts and parts hunting animals.
Selling him pelts and materials, he will make available Garment Sets and trinkets.
If you want to know what weapon you have to use, check my guide "Perfect Pelts":

Perfect Pelts 

A Guide for Red Dead Redemption 2

By: Lord Vampair

How to study, track and hunt animals getting always perfect pelts.

You have to kill an animal to skin it.
You can do it by encountering Free Roam Legendary Animals or starting Harriet's Mission.


Gus' Rewards:
Legendary Animals pelts makes available Garments Sets (42, one for each legendary animal):


Parts of animals and collectables makes available trinkets with passive effects.

Crafting Garments Sets and Trinket is optional, they don't bring great changes in your game but I suggest you to craft these two trinkets if you can spend money:

• Buck Antler Trinket: it costs 775$, 1x Buck Antlers, 1x Dane Topaz Necklace.
  Perks: if you kill an animal with two stars without damaging the carcass, it will become three stars animal when your skin or collect it.
  
• Snowy Egret Trinket: It costs 800$, 3x Snowy Egret Plume, 1x Braxton Amethyst Necklace.

Perks: health and stamina cores drain slower by 10% for all your horse.
Note: Trinkets need collectibles from Collector Role to be crafted.

Hunting Wagon to store pelts and carcasses:
Remember: the only way to store pelts when you are on Free Roam mode is using Hunting Wagon unlockable with Trader Role. (Check section "Trader: optional items")


Don't use it to hunt:
You can use what you want to hunt Legendary Animals except dynamite and fire bottles:

Fast Travel When You Want:
Wilderness Camp: is unlockable at Naturalist Rank 5 and it costs 750$ and 2 Tokens.
The Wilderness Camp is useful if you need to rest, craft, cook and if you need to complete Daily Challenge about it.
Most important thing: it can be upgraded becoming one of the best item skill in the game.


You can upgrade Wilderness Camp with Fast Travel. It costs 1260$.
This skill let you teleport from any position when you want. You can purchase the Wilderness Travel Skill Page from the Fence.


Naturalist Role Best Horse:
♥♥♥♥♥ Cob (Splashed Bay & Splashed Piebald) is actually the only horse with a full Health and Stamina core improvement. Highly versatile and strong.

Hunting legendaries on Free Roam:
Free Roam Legendary Animals are complex: they spawn with a yellow "?" in your map and they can escape.


Use Legendary Pheromones to help yourself when you detect a Legendary Animal on Free Roam mode: It prevents an animal to escape immediately giving you more time to find it.
(You can't use it while you are on your horseback).
When Legendary Pheromones take effect, you will see a yellow wave spreads in the map (check the screenshot above).


If a Legendary Animal escapes, gets killed, or sedated, or if you complete a Harriety's Mission, every other Free Roam Legendary Animals of the same species will stop to spawn for 72 real-time hours.

For example: if you miss a Sun Gator, also the Teca Gator will suffer 72 hours cooldown.


You need to stay with another player not affected by a cooldown to solve this problem but it works only with the samples: an animal can be samples by many player at once.
Unfortunately, Pelts and materials can't be shared.

Free Roam Legendary Animals List:

Caption:

Harriet's Missions:
Legendary Animals are the targets during the Harriet's missions.


Every mission is made up by only one Legendary Animals and it could escape when it detects you (it depends on the species).


All missions finish when you get a sample or skin the animals, as result: you can't collect a carcass of a Legendary Animal or revive it during a mission.

Legendary Animal Missions List:

Being a Trader:
You have to collect "Letter from Cripps" by the Post Office or your Delivery box.
Cripps will write to you he wants to go into a business with you creating the "Cripps Trading Company".


After the cutscene close to Valentine's Shop, travel to your camp and interact with Cripps in your Camp at Wildrness Outriff to buy the Butcher's Table for 15 GB.
(All your camp updates will be unlockable by talking with Cripps at Wildrness Outriff.)



Now your Camp is updated with the Butcher's Table and you are a Trader.
Cripps will be always there, producing materials o helping you.


Base info:
Here is what all you need to know about Butcher's Table info:


*Check below the section: "Trader: required items".

Trader is a "passive" role. Everything you have to do is hunt animals and donate Materials to Cripps at Butcher's Table. Then, Cripps will elaborate Materials producing Goods and he will request you to complete Deliveries earning Money and XP.


To Rank Up Trader Role, you need to complete Supply Missions, Special Stews or Deliveries, Trader Role Events or donate materials to Cripps.

Note: you can save your time getting in posse: if the leader starts a delivery, you will get half of the rewards (Money and XP). It means you can Rank Up (2000 XP) completing two Large Deliveries. Check below the section: "Trader: deliveries and profit"

Improved Delivery Wagons:
The Trader Role needs to be upgraded as soon as possible with improved Wagons.

• Medium Delivery Wagon can be unlocked at Trader Rank 6 with 500,00$ and 1 Role Tokens.
  
• Large Delivery Wagon can be unlocked at Trader Rank 11 with 750,00$ and 2 Role Tokens.

Both Delivery Wagons can be purchased talking with Cripps in Wilderness Outfitters > Equipment.


Capacity and Goods:
Small Wagon (default) let you delivery only 25 Goods at once.
You need to upgrade it to Medium Wagon (50 Goods) and Larger Wagon (100 Goods).
When a "goal" (25, 50 or 100 Goods) is reached, a bonus multiplier will be activated.

Remember: even if you own the Small Wagon, Cripps will continue to create Goods until 100 unity. You don't lose anything accepting Small Deliveries but you can't earn Bonus Size.

Adding Materials:
To add Materials you need to interact with the Butcher's Table.
Every donations profit you 5 XP and 5 Trader XP.
(If your Hunting Wagon or your horse will be close to the table, pelts and parts stowed in them will be detected and available to be donated.)


Goods Production Time:
1 Goods requires 2 minutes and 2 materials to be producted.
Cripps will halt to Product Goods:

• He doesn't run out of Materials (Material Status: colour Red).
  
• He needs Supplies (Supplies Status: Halted)
  
• The Butcher's Table don't finish the capacity of 100 Goods stored (Productional Status: Halted).

Check the Materials bar to know the material status.

Goods Production stops by itself if your Camp is dismissed: It happens when you get in another posse, starting a Matchmaking, playing a Story Mission, a Legendary Bounty, a Legendary Animal, joining Free Roam Events, etc.

To speed the Goods Production up, you can earn Goods completing Resupply Mission (Check below: "Supplies".) or joining to Role Event: Trade Route.

Trade Route is really profitable. You will earn until 18 Goods (saving 36 materials and minutes) completing and it is a good way to farm kills too.

Supplies:
Every 25 Goods produced, Cripps halts the material production because he will need Supplies. You can Order Supplies with 20$ or start a Resupply Mission:

• Order Supplies: you have to wait 15 minutes to receive them. (To save time: if you change lobby right after the purchase, the supplies will be there when you log in the next lobby).
  
• Resupplies Mission: you will earn XP and Bonus Goods to add instantly to the Butcher's Table saving materials and time.

Farming XP with Resupply Missions:
There is a particular Resupply Mission can profit 500 XP every bag stolen.
You can complete it and earn 500 XP or playing with other posse members (up to four members) and earn 2000 XP with them.
Anyway, if you are playing with others, you can deliver all bags expept one and change the lobby. That way let you earn 500 XP - 1500 XP every time and you can restart the Resupply Mission as much time as you want to earn a lot of XP.

Remember: other players can help you adding their parts of animals to your Butcher's Table.

Bags and Goods:
A delivery is made up by one bag at least, each bag is made up by 25 Goods:

• x1 Goods requires 2 minutes and 2 materials to be producted.
  
• 25 Goods profit 62,50$ with the Small Wagon, as default.

Bonus size:
Small, Medium and Large size deliveries get a bonus of x1, x1,113 and x2 when a Wagon is at maximum capacity. You can check the size with the Goods Bar or in the Delivery Details.


Bonus Range:
Then, there are two delivery range: Local and Distant.

• Local Deliveries: they are pretty simple and fast. They take only 5 - 10 minutes and the risk to lose the cargo is low. The base profit Increase x1.
  
• Distant Delieries: They take 15 - 25 minutes and the risk to be attacked is high. Often Cripps requires you to cross half-map or more. The base profit increase x1,25.

Losing your cargo:
During a Delivery Mission, your cargo can be attacked by enemies and Players.
Your wagon can be destroyed when it happens and you have to bring each bag with your horse.
Bags can be stolen by other players and your profit will be based on the amount of delivered bags.


Rewards:
Upgrading your Wagons, you can earn 62,50$ - 625$ and 200 XP - 2500 XP.

The final profit depends by bags quantity, size and delivery range:

Here is a summary of every profit as leader:

If you are a member posse, your profit will be reduced to x0,50.

Hunting Wagon:
The most important purchase you can do with the Trader Role is the Hunting Wagon.
You can unlock it at Trader Rank 10 with 875$ and 2 Role Tokens.


You can purchase the Hunting Wagon with the catalogue or at Stable.
It can be really useful because it is actually the only way to store/save carcasses or pelts while you are playing online. (If you stow anything on your horseback, it will disappear if you change lobby).


To use the Hunting Wagon, you have to dismiss your Horse calling the Hunting Wagon:
Free Roam > Stable > Vehicle > Owned Vehicle > Hunting Wagon.
(If you want to use your horse, dismiss the Hunting Wagon in the same menu.)


Approach the Hunting Wagon back to stow your pelts and carcasses.
Store capacity: 5 large pelts, 10 medium carcasses/pelts or 20 small carcasses.


Other Unlockables:
Other unlockable are Stew Pots and Weapon Locker.


Camp upgrades can be purchased talking with Cripps in Wilderness Outfitters > Equipment.


Making a Special Stew can profit you 300 XP.
You can check recipes and change the lobby waiting for the recipe you can make. This way is great to Rank Up because you can make as many as Special Stews you want just changing lobby.


The Weapon Locker lets you store your unused weapons.
It can be useful if you need to change your weapons when you are fighting or hunting.

Materials With Legendary Animal Missions:
The fastest way to get materials is hunting Legendary Animals with Harriet's mission.
(Check above the section Naturalist Role: Legendary )

1. Start Harriet's Mission and Skin the Legendary Animal.


2. Stow the pelt on horseback, or in your Hunting Wagon*, and travel to your Camp**.


3. Approach the Butcher's Table keeping close to you the horse or the Hunting Wagon: so you can access to the stowed pelts on the horseback and in your Hunting Wagon.


*You can store in your Hunting Wagon many pelts to use them later, when you want.
**If your camp is far, just move it to your actual region to save time. For example: after Payta Bison, you will be in Big Valley. Move your camp close to you saving time.

Materials Comparison:
Comparing a Florida Pather Perfect Carcass (highest regular material) with the Payta Bison Pelt.

Of course, there are a lot of elements you need to compare: time, luck, condition, size and rarity.
Payta Bison is a big animal but its mission is more simple than getting a Perfect Florida Panther.
You have also to think there are more profitable Legendary Animals (like Golden Spirit Bear: its pelt value is 62,5 Materials).

That's the reason why I suggest to purchase the Trader Role after Naturalist Role.
Donating Legendary Animals pelts and parts, you will save a lot of time. You can use saved time looking for collectibles earning Money and XP while you are waiting for Goods production.

Easiest Legendary Animal Missions are:

• Icagi Boar
  
• Banded Gator
  
• Rutile Horn Ram
  
• Payta Bison
  
• Moonstone Wolf

Check section: "Legendary Animals: Missions" and "Legendary Animal: Free Roam" to know everything about Materials and Legendary Animals.