A Red Dead Online player can spend hours customizing their character. They can spend ages in the General Store deciding on an outfit and a color scheme. Rockstar also has a lot of options for weapon styles, engravings, and carvings. Rockstar doesn't just go the extra mile with physical customization, but also with classes, skillsets, and playstyles.
Red Dead Online has an ability customization system called Ability Cards. There are six different Dead Eye Abilities to choose from; and 27 different Passive Ability Cards. A player can mix-and-match these to build their own class in Red Dead Online. Here are 10 useful Ability Card combinations.
Updated by Payton Lott on July 13, 2021: Most players in the Red Dead 2 Community have migrated over to the online version of the game. In RDO, players have an additional Deadeye perk to select. Because most of the player base primarily logs in to play online, five more powerful combinations were added to this list. All of the new entries excel in RDO and PVP. Ultimately, the best set for the player will depend on preferred playstyle. Gamers can choose to play as a conservative tank, or an aggressive assassin using the cards below.
15 No Tonics Needed
Paint It Black + Iron Lung + Peak Condition + Cold Blooded
This build is for all of the players that hate having to use tonics. Iron Lung helps with stamina regeneration and reduces damage based on how full the stamina bar is. Peak Condition reduces stamina used while sprinting, while Cold Blooded replenishes health for a kill. All three of these passive abilities work together to reduce damage, increase stamina, and heal the character.
14 Sole Survivor
A Moment To Recuperate + Strange Medicine + Peak Condition + Cold Blooded
In addition to the benefits of Peak Condition and Cold Blooded, the Sole Survivor class will keep gamers that are on the brink of death alive. A Moment to Recuperate is the best Deadeye ability to have when low on health. It will heal the player while active, restoring health at a rapid rate.
However, if the user is shot, the Deadeye will cancel. Strange Medicine allows players to regain health while inflicting damage, but the standard health regen rate is reduced as a result.
13 Mid-Range Assassin
A Moment To Recuperate + Peak Condition + Landon's Patience + Gunsliger's Choice
The mid-range assassin build relies on the damage and accuracy of Gunslinger's Choice. From close to medium range, Gunslingers are tough to defeat. Gamers will also get a damage boost from Landon's Patience, which increases damage output the longer a user waits between shots. Those two abilities mesh well with the healing of A Moment To Recuperate and the stamina buff from Peak Condition.
12 Sure Shot
Focus Fire + Peak Condition + Landon's Patience + Sharpshooter
This class is for all of the long distance mercenaries in RDO. The Focus Fire card will give players and their teammates a damage buff while active. Those long range shots will cripple opponents while helping squad members deal even more DPS. The other notable perk is Sharpshooter. While using a scoped weapon, gamers will deal more damage while receiving less. Every rifle main should be using this particular build.
11 Nine Lives
Slippery Bastard + Iron Lung + Fool Me Once + Cold Blooded
Like a cat, people using this class can survive almost any situation. Slippery Bastard is a Deadeye card that makes it almost impossible to be hit by enemies. At the same time, opponents will be unable to mark a character that has Deadeye active. If Slippery Bastard isn't overpowered enough, Fool Me Once reduces damage each time the user is shot. These two abilities make it a nightmare to try and kill a player using the build.
10 Invincible Sprinter
Peak Condition + Iron Lung + Fool Me Once
The core parts of this build are 'Iron Lung', and 'Peak Condition'. With this build, the player can run circles around their enemies, and take damage like a tank; but also deal hard-hitting shots. 'Iron Lung' will regenerate Stamina faster, and increases resistance if Stamina is high. 'Peak Condition' on the other hand boosts the player's damage output when Stamina is high. These two cards alone make the player invincible so long as Stamina, the easiest thing to level up in the game, remains high. 'Iron Lung's added Stamina regeneration will also ensure that the player's Stamina remains at its peak, thus rendering the player unstoppable. 'Fool Me Once' adds to the defense of this build since it decreases the damage of each consecutive shot received.
9 Near and Far
Sharpshooter + Hunker Down + Gunslinger's Choice
This build makes the player lethal in both close quarters and long-range. 'Sharpshooter' and 'Hunker Down' are abilities that make a deadly sniper. With 'Hunker Down', a player has more damage resistance behind cover; and with 'Sharpshooter', deals more damage when scoped in. This turns them into a turtled sniper that peeks out to kill. If enemies manage to flank them, the 'Gunslinger's Choice' ability card is an equalizer. The card increases the accuracy and damage of dual-wielded weapons. The player can dual-wield pistols and revolvers and riddle holes into unsuspecting flankers.
8 Impenetrable Camper
Sharpshooter + Hunker Down + Never Without One
This build makes a Sniper really hard to peek and kill. 'Sharpshooter' and 'Hunker Down' already make Snipers fortified and deadly. But, with the 'Never Without One' ability card, it makes it even harder to counter-snipe one. The 'Never Without One' ability card blocks one successful headshot and sends the player's hat flying off.
So long as the player is wearing a hat, headshots do not kill them outright. This is very problematic for counter snipers since the only thing that peeks from cover is the head. So, they would have to "kill" the player twice before eliminating them. Unless they pick up another hat.
7 It's High Noon
Paint It Black + Kick In The Butt + Live For The Fight + The Unblinking Eye
Similar to McCree's High Noon Ultimate, this build allows the player to constantly have the Dead Eye ability ready. The 'Paint It Black' ability card allows the player to rapidly eliminate hordes of enemies at once. Though a very useful ability, Dead Eye must be kept filled to keep using it. 'Kick In The Butt' refills Dead Eye by taking damage from enemies, and 'Live For The Fight' slowly regenerates Dead Eye. On the other hand, 'The Unblinking Eye' maximizes Dead Eye use by making it drain slower.
6 Jack The Ripper
Slippery Bastard + Of Single Purpose + Fool Me Once + Cold Blooded
This loadout turns the player into a horror slasher. Should the player run out of ammo, or just want to melee enemies, this build is the way to go. 'Slippery Bastard' is the necessary Dead Eye ability for this. It makes enemies inaccurate with their weapons, turning them into Star Wars Storm Troopers. 'Of Single Purpose' buffs damage resistance when wielding a melee weapon, or when barehanded. 'Fool Me Once' decreases damage taken each consecutive time the player is shot. These two cards turn the player into an unstoppable brawler. 'Cold Blooded' adds on to this by providing health each time the player gets a kill. This sustains the player allowing the rampage to go on further.
5 Team Medic
Quite an Inspiration + Strength In Numbers + Take The Pain Away + Eye For An Eye
This loadout boosts the team's survivability. 'Quite an Inspiration' is a Dead Eye Ability that regenerates the health of the player and their team, and 'Take The Pain Away' is good for reviving teammates. With this card, both the player and the revived teammate get a momentary resistance buff. These two cards are essential to the Medic playstyle.
'Strength In Numbers' boosts the player's damage resistance for every nearby ally, and 'Eye For An Eye' helps refill the Dead Eye meter per headshot done. This is necessary for the player's survival, and for triggering the Dead Eye Ability that heals the team.
4 Damage Booster
Focus Fire + Strength In Numbers + Eye For An Eye + Kick In The Butt
This loadout buffs the team's damage output, and increases their lethality on the battlefield. 'Focus Fire' is a Dead Eye Ability that increases the damage of all team members. 'Eye For An Eye' together with 'Kick In The Butt' actively fills up the Dead Eye meter, while 'Strength In Numbers' boosts the player's survivability. The three passive cards keep the player alive, and also sustain the Dead Eye meter. This is needed for the constant damage boosts to supplement the team.
3 Undying
Necessity Breeds + Cold Blooded + Come Back Stronger
This loadout makes it near impossible to finish off the player. As they near low health, they can quickly get back up. 'Come Back Stronger' regenerates Player health immediately after taking damage, and 'Cold Blooded' provides health when killing Enemies. These two cards aid in the player's sustainability. If you still manage to get your health in the red, 'Necessity Breeds' boosts damage in near-death situations. When low on health, you would either heal yourself back up, or would already have killed everyone attempting to finish you off.
2 Dual-Wielding Pistolero
Gunslinger's Choice + Winning Streak + The Short Game
This loadout makes the most out of the rapid-firing playstyle. 'Gunslinger's Choice' increases accuracy and damage for dual-wielded weapons, while 'Winning Streak' boosts the damage of each consecutive shot on the same target. This is perfect for rapid-firing loadouts such as dual-wielding Mauser Pistols. This is because each shot is going to do a bit more damage than the last; stacking up damage for each hit on the same enemy.
The faster the Player fires, the faster the damage stacks up resulting in quick executions. The 'Short Game' is the cherry on top of this loadout. This ability amplifies damage done to nearby enemies at the cost of long-range damage. In the absence of fully automatic hand-held weapons in the Wild West, this loadout slices through enemies like a knife through butter.
1 Horseback Marauder
Horseman + Ride Like The Wind + Friends For Life
This loadout is the equivalent of a Wild West ruthless biker. 'Horseman' increases your damage while you're on horseback, 'Friends For Life' increases damage resistance for both you and the horse when mounted, and 'Ride Like The Wind' replenishes horse health and stamina as you deal and receive damage. All these abilities increase the lethality and survivability of both the horse and the rider. However, these are only in effect when mounted. Without a horse, you're left vulnerable with no passive abilities.