How do I avoid mission failures by keeping my cores full before starting?

In Red Dead Redemption 2, keeping your cores full before starting missions is crucial to avoid mission failures and ensure optimal performance. Cores represent your health, stamina, and Dead Eye, and they directly impact your ability to survive, run, and aim during missions. If your cores are depleted, you risk failing missions due to exhaustion, poor aim, or being overwhelmed by enemies. To avoid this, you need to actively manage your cores by eating, resting, and using tonics.\n\nFirst, understand the three core types: Health, Stamina, and Dead Eye. Health determines how much damage you can take before dying, Stamina affects your ability to sprint or swim, and Dead Eye improves your accuracy and slows time during combat. Each core has an outer ring (the bar) and an inner ring (the core). The outer ring depletes quickly but regenerates over time, while the core depletes slowly and requires food, rest, or tonics to refill. Keeping your cores full ensures you’re always at peak performance.\n\nTo refill your cores, focus on eating the right foods. Cooked meats, such as venison, beef, or pork, are excellent for restoring all three cores. You can hunt animals in the wild, like deer or boars, and cook their meat at campfires. For example, seasoned big game meat provides a significant boost to all cores. Additionally, canned foods like baked beans or salted offal can help in a pinch, but they are less effective than cooked meats. Always carry a variety of food items in your satchel to replenish cores during missions.\n\nResting is another key mechanic for maintaining cores. Sleeping at your camp or in a rented bed at a hotel will fully restore your cores. If you’re in the wilderness, set up a campfire and rest there. However, resting takes time, so plan ahead before starting a mission. For example, if you’re about to embark on a long mission with intense combat, rest at your camp in Horseshoe Overlook or Valentine to ensure your cores are full.\n\nTonics are essential for quick core restoration during missions. Health tonics, like Bitters or Potent Health Cure, refill your Health core, while stamina tonics, such as Bitters or Potent Snake Oil, restore Stamina. Dead Eye tonics, like Valerian Root or Potent Miracle Tonic, boost your Dead Eye core. These items can be purchased from general stores or crafted using herbs and ingredients found in the wild. Always carry a few tonics in your inventory for emergencies.\n\nPractical examples include preparing for missions like ‘Pouring Forth Oil’ or ‘American Distillation,’ which involve intense combat and long horseback rides. Before starting these missions, hunt for big game near your camp, cook the meat, and stock up on tonics. This ensures you’re ready for any challenges. Additionally, avoid starting missions when your cores are low, as this can lead to failure if you’re unable to keep up with the demands of the mission.\n\nFinally, consider using the ‘Golden Core’ mechanic. Eating certain foods or using specific tonics can give you a golden core, which provides a temporary boost to your core’s maximum capacity. For example, eating a Minty Big Game Meat gives you a golden Health core, making you more resistant to damage. This is especially useful for missions with heavy combat, like ‘Blood Feuds, Ancient and Modern.’\n\nIn summary, to avoid mission failures, always check your cores before starting a mission. Eat cooked meats, rest at camp, and carry tonics to keep your cores full. Plan ahead by hunting and crafting, and use golden cores for extra protection. By following these steps, you’ll be well-prepared for any challenge in Red Dead Redemption 2.