What’s the fastest way to earn gold from completing story missions?

Earning gold in Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2) is essential for purchasing premium items, weapons, and upgrades. Story missions are one of the most reliable ways to accumulate gold, especially for new players. The key to maximizing gold earnings lies in understanding the game mechanics tied to mission completion, such as time spent, accuracy, and objectives achieved. By optimizing these factors, you can significantly increase your gold payout per mission.\n\nFirst, it’s important to know how gold is calculated in story missions. Gold rewards are influenced by three main factors: mission completion time, accuracy, and the number of objectives completed. The faster you complete a mission, the higher your gold payout. Additionally, maintaining high accuracy (fewer missed shots) and completing all optional objectives will further boost your earnings. For example, in the mission ''Old Friends,'' you can earn up to 0.32 gold bars if you complete it quickly and efficiently.\n\nTo maximize gold earnings, focus on replaying story missions that are shorter and easier to complete. Missions like ''The First Shall Be Last'' and ''Pouring Forth Oil'' are excellent choices because they have straightforward objectives and can be completed in under 10 minutes. When replaying missions, aim to finish them as quickly as possible while maintaining high accuracy. Use Dead Eye to ensure precise shots and avoid unnecessary combat to save time.\n\nAnother tip is to prioritize missions that involve minimal travel or setup time. For instance, missions that start near your current location or require less preparation will allow you to complete them faster. Always check your map for mission markers and plan your route to minimize downtime. If a mission involves escorting NPCs or waiting for events to trigger, use this time to prepare your weapons and Dead Eye meter for the next encounter.\n\nFor new players, it’s crucial to progress through the main story to unlock more lucrative missions. Early missions like ''Polite Society, Valentine Style'' offer smaller gold rewards, but later missions such as ''Blood Feuds, Ancient and Modern'' provide significantly higher payouts. As you progress, you’ll also gain access to better weapons and abilities, making it easier to complete missions quickly and efficiently.\n\nExperienced players can take advantage of replay mechanics to farm gold. After completing the main story, you can replay any mission from the progress menu. Focus on missions with high gold potential and aim to improve your performance each time. For example, replaying ''The Joys of Civilization'' with a focus on speed and accuracy can yield consistent gold rewards.\n\nFinally, always be prepared for unexpected challenges during missions. Carry plenty of ammunition, health tonics, and Dead Eye tonics to ensure you can handle any situation. If a mission becomes too difficult, consider lowering the difficulty setting temporarily to maintain your gold-earning momentum. By following these strategies, you can efficiently farm gold from story missions and build your wealth in RDR2.