With the entirety of the player base now able to access Red Dead Online, some may find, after a few hours of play, that they want a fresh start. Whether a series of unfortunate events has caused a player's Honor level to be badly damaged, or a mishap at character creation has left them with a mangled and unsightly outlaw, there are many reasons a player may look to delete their Red Dead Online character, and it is an easy thing to accomplish.
Luckily, the task is fairly straight forward in this game. All players need to do is follow these steps to start over from scratch...
- Pause and access the "Player" menu
- Hold down the button indicated in the lower-right corner
While potentially obvious, it is important to note that deleting a character will eliminate all progress a player has made. As such, it may be preferable to try other methods to fix a character before fully deleting it.
For example, players that may have found themselves on the wrong side of the game's Honor system, and are unable to complete their preferred portions of the "Land of Honor" co-op missions, have a point of recourse. By visiting Old Man Jones, a roaming NPC that can be located on the map, dishonorable desperadoes can instantly be turned good (and vice versa) at the cost of three Gold Bars.
Furthermore, players who simply wish that their character had a different look can stop by a barber for a shave, haircut, and some dental work. Tailors also provide a vast array of hats, coats, boots, and more, and a spruced up wardrobe can go a long way in making a beauty out of a beast.
There is one notable exception to the idea that all progress is lost at character deletion: any money that has been earned will be transferred from the deleted character to any new character that is created. While tedious, some players are using this mechanic to build up a sizable nest egg quickly before they begin Red Dead Online in earnest. By creating a new character, completing the first six story missions, deleting the character, and repeating, players can expect to earn approximately $450 every two and a half hours.
It is important to remember that Red Dead Online is still in the earliest days of its beta. In the future, Rockstar may implement more features that will allow players to right a character that has wandered off course. Until then, full deletion is a fail-safe option for any catastrophe.
Red Dead Online is accessible through Red Dead Redemption 2 on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.