Red Dead Redemption 2 is much larger than its 100% checklist. The game has 178 animals, dozens of Stranger stories, a huge weapon catalog, and enough small encounters to lose weeks in, but the Total Completion tracker only asks for selected milestones. You can finish at 100% without seeing every scene or collecting every item.
Open the pause menu and go to Progress, then Total Completion. That screen is the final authority for your save. The checklist below matches those five groups and explains where players usually waste time by doing more than the percentage requires.
What the 100% Tracker Actually Counts
Missions and Events
- Complete all 107 story missions counted by the tracker.
- Finish 10 Stranger mission strands.
- Complete 5 bounty hunter missions.
- Resolve 25 chance encounters.
- Survive 1 gang ambush.
- Clear 6 gang hideouts.
Collectibles
- Discover 1 point of interest.
- Visit all 9 graves. This becomes possible after the main story.
- Complete and mail 1 full cigarette card set. You need one set of 12, not all 144 cards.
- Find all 30 dinosaur bones.
- Catch and mail all 13 legendary fish.
- Complete all 5 exotic request lists.
- Find all 10 rock carvings.
- Complete all 5 hunting requests.
- Finish 1 full treasure hunter chain.
- Find all 20 dreamcatchers.
Compendium
- Study 50 animal species.
- Discover 10 pieces of equipment.
- Catch 10 species of fish.
- Discover all 6 gangs counted by the tracker.
- Discover 10 horse breeds.
- Collect 20 plant species.
- Use or collect 48 weapons.
Player Progress
- Reach maximum Health, Stamina, and Dead Eye.
- Reach bonding level 4 with a horse.
- Complete all 9 challenge sets: Bandit, Explorer, Gambler, Herbalist, Horseman, Master Hunter, Sharpshooter, Survivalist, and Weapons Expert.
Miscellaneous
- Discover 5 shacks.
- Kill 5 legendary animals.
- Play all 4 table games: Blackjack, Dominoes, Five Finger Fillet, and Poker.
- Meet 5 Ranters, Ravers, and Campaigners, the recurring special characters found around the world.
- Take 1 bath, watch 1 show, and visit the theater.
- Craft the 6 recipe categories listed by the tracker.
- Complete 1 shop robbery, 1 home robbery, 1 coach robbery, and 1 train robbery.
You Do Not Need to Complete Everything
The percentage is forgiving in several places. Fifty studied animals is enough, not the full Compendium. You need 48 weapons, not every unique gun and melee weapon. Ten Stranger strands count even though the game contains more, and only five legendary animals are required. One cigarette card set finishes that line. Gold medals on story missions are not part of 100% either.
The long collectible chains are less flexible. Dinosaur bones, legendary fish, rock carvings, dreamcatchers, exotics, hunting requests, and graves must reach their listed totals. If your percentage is stuck near the end, compare those exact counters before searching for a random event the tracker may not need.
Is Anything Required for 100% Missable?
The in-game 100% checklist is designed to remain finishable after the story. Several requirements deliberately open late: all graves come after the main story, the last hunting request waits until the epilogue, and parts of the map become easier or fully available later. You do not need to panic and follow a rigid chapter-by-chapter route just to earn Best in the West.
RDR2 still contains missable material outside that percentage. Optional Honor missions, camp requests, companion activities, unique dialogue, and some weapons only appear during certain chapters or missions. They can affect other trophies and a true see-everything playthrough even when the Total Completion screen is safe.
For a broad completion run, check camp for white activity icons before advancing chapters, answer Stranger missions when they appear, and loot unique weapons immediately after duels or story encounters. Keep a manual save near the start of every chapter. Those habits protect content the percentage screen never warns you about.
The Best Order for a 100% Run
Do not leave every collection for the epilogue. The cleanest route is to make progress while the story already sends you across the map, then use the final chapters and epilogue for focused cleanup.
- Early game: start the Jack Hall Gang treasure chain, study and skin animals, pick plants, play each table game once, and begin challenges.
- During ordinary travel: stop for chance encounters, shacks, gang ambushes, points of interest, rock carvings, dreamcatchers, and dinosaur bones.
- Before leaving a region: check whether a legendary fish, hunting target, or treasure clue is nearby. Combining objectives saves long return trips.
- Midgame: begin exotics before you want to finish them. Heron, egret, and spoonbill plumes are easier to gather gradually than in one exhausted sweep.
- Late game and epilogue: finish graves, the last hunting request, remaining challenges, gang hideouts, and anything tied to newly accessible territory.
The Grinds That Usually Take Longest
Gambler challenges can stall a run because luck sits beside skill. Exotics ask for large stacks of orchids and bird plumes. Hunting requests demand perfect small carcasses, so the right animal must spawn and survive a clean shot. None of them becomes easier because you wait until 99%. Start them when the world is still full of other things to do.
Challenges also raise Arthur's stats and unlock reinforced equipment at the Trapper, so early progress helps the rest of the game. Explorer is a natural first set because treasure hunting also supplies cash. Master Hunter and Survivalist fit well with legendary animals, fish, and satchel work. Save Gambler for evenings when you actually feel like sitting at a table.
Before You Chase the Final Percentage
- Check Progress > Total Completion instead of relying on memory.
- Confirm every mailed collection has been sent at a post office; finding an item is not always the final step.
- Open the Compendium and identify the easiest missing animals, horses, plants, fish, equipment, and weapons.
- Review all nine challenge sets for one unfinished requirement.
- Make a separate save before the final push so you can revisit the completed world without losing an earlier story point.
The 100% route works best as a long tour through the game, not a punishment at the end. Let the tracker narrow the job, collect what is already on your path, and save the most repetitive tasks for short sessions. The frontier feels much smaller when one evening is about three useful stops instead of clearing an entire category.
