Red Dead Redemption 2 How to Duel

Dueling in RDR2 is one of the many gameplay mechanics in the game. Duels in Red Dead Redemption 2 looks and sounds pretty simple on paper, but in practice, it can be pretty finicky. Knowing how to duel in RDR2 is going to be of vital importance in some missions, especially gunslinger missions. The problem is that you have to act slowly and deliberately under a time constraint. So, here’s our Red Dead Redemption 2 How to Duel guide to hopefully help you out in these tense gunfights.

How to Duel in RDR2?

Once you end up in a duel in Red Dead Redemption 2, you have to act quick, but keep a cool head. Basically, the first step is to slowly press R2. If you just press it quickly, you’ll get a very short window of time to aim with Deadeye. The more you fill up the meter in the bottom right corner, the more precise your aim will be and the longer you’ll have to shoot. When you fill up the meter as far as you can, Hit R2 again to enter the deadeye phase. Carefully take aim. Then, hit R2 again to fire.

The trick here is to not let your nerves get the best of you. All of the above-described actions have to be executed gently and slowly, but on a time limit. It can be really tense to execute things slowly under a time constraint, if you get what I’m saying. Now, it’s important to note that dueling in RDR2 isn’t really too common. Usually, it’s going to be a part of some mission, as a result of rising tensions. Basically, you can’t approach any old NPC and challenge them. You really have to piss someone off to enter duel mode proper, and that’s most likely to happen in missions, most commonly gunslinger missions.

Two such gunslinger targets, for example, are Emmet Granger (featured above) and Flaco Hernandez, both of which give you unique weapons. You can find out more about those in our Red Dead Redemption 2 Legendary & Unique Weapons guide. Or, you can mosey along to some of our RDR2 guides, including Naval Compass Location for Pearson, How to Get Lock Breaker, and a bunch more.

If you end up getting stuck at another point, you might want to check out some of the other guides we have. We've written about mysteries like the missing person Gavin, the Rhodes Gunsmith prisoner, the locked door at Valentine doctor. We also have instructional guides that show how to rob stores without getting bounty or where to sell jewelry and gold bars. If it's collectibles or key items you're after, we've found all the Penny Dreadful comic books, Chick's treasure map location, or that famous pipe for Dutch. Finally, if you don't care to explore the map yourself, you could take a look at our Watson's Cabin and Catfish Jackson's Homestead locations guides. In the latest Red Dead Online Moonshiners Update you'll have a chance to find Navy Revolver and Best Shack Locations.