Best Weapons That Are Easy To Miss In Red Dead Redemption 2

Summary

• Red Dead Redemption 2 offers unique, easily missed weapons that enhance gameplay.
• Exploration is key to finding rare weapons like Otis Miller’s Revolver and the Pirate Sword.
• Some weapons, like Midnight’s Pistol, can be obtained much earlier with careful exploration.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is filled with all sorts of fun and unique weapons for the player to unlock as the story progresses. The game’s world, however, is so massive and full of places to explore, that there are many weapons that players might miss completely. Many such weapons aren’t tied to the story and require extra effort to find. This includes unique rifles, pistols, and shotguns, as well as fancy (or perhaps downright ugly) melee weapons like knives, axes, and even old swords.

Many of these weapons make for either practical or simply stylish replacements for the more easily obtainable weaponry. Still, having access to them can make for a great deal of enjoyment, while also affording players bragging rights.

Updated January 13, 2025, by Stephanie Harris: One of the best parts of Red Dead Redemption 2 is how it rewards exploring every little nook and crevice on its absurdly large map. One of the ways it does this is by stashing rare (and, in many cases, hard-to-obtain) weapons all across its landscape. Some of these weapons are well hidden, players may completely miss them as a result. They often come with a unique appearance or improved stats not enjoyed by their more common counterparts, which makes them worth hunting for. These stats have been improved to create more detailed listings for each weapon.

10

Otis Miller’s Revolver

A Unique Schofield Revolver in Cholla Springs

As its name would imply, this is the revolver of the famed gunfighter, Otis Miller. It’s gold-plated and adorned with unique engravings, heraldry, and an ivory grip, none of which can be altered. Stats-wise, the revolver isn’t much better than the default Schofield, with only slightly higher damage. However, it’s much nicer looking, and there’s only one in the whole game. This surely makes it a worthwhile find.

Players can find Otis Miller’s revolver at the beginning of the epilogue, as part of a treasure hunt that leads to Rattlesnake Hollow, which is due west of Twin Rocks in Cholla Springs.

9

Antler Knife

Nature Finds a Way to Get Revenge

The Antler Knife is a simple hunting knife that features a hilt made from a deer’s antler, hence the name. The knife can be found at a rather grisly scene, where a bear has completely mauled a hunter to death before ultimately succumbing from being stabbed by this very knife. Some players have speculated that this scene might refer back to the 2015 film, The Revenant.

The site is located northwest of Hanging Dog Ranch, just above Little Creek River on the map. The knife can be found embedded in the bear’s corpse. The weapon does moderate damage and has the range one would expect from a knife, making it purely an aesthetic choice over the default hunting knife.

8

Broken Pirate Sword

A Weapon Fit for a True Swashbuckler

What’s the most natural fantasy to have when playing a sprawling open-world adventure game themed around the Wild West? It’s to roleplay as a pirate, of course. Now, this obviously isn’t possible without the Broken Pirate Sword, so it’s lucky players can find this weapon very easily. The sword is located on a small island just south of the bridge to Saint Denis. It’s under the big fish on the map and can be found sitting in a small boat.

Pirate fantasies aside, the sword actually comes with a few benefits. For one, it can be found much earlier in the game than the machete and serves as a great substitute for it. For another, acquiring it doesn’t involve any interaction with the Night Folk.

7

Viking Hatchet

Goes Great with the Viking Helmet

The Viking Hatchet is one of three Viking-themed items in the game, and all of them are very easy to miss if players aren’t on the lookout. Along with the Viking Helmet and Viking Comb, the hatchet can be found at the Old Tomb in the Roanoke Valley area of the New Hanover region.

The Viking Hatchet is a beautifully carved tool that can be used both as a melee weapon and as a ranged weapon, though one should be careful to always pick it up when thrown, as it will not return automatically and can easily get lost. This location is not tied to any treasure hunt and can be found as early as Chapter 2.

6

Ancient Tomahawk

An Aging Tool Kept in Perfect Working Order

Upon traveling to the Wapiti Indian Reservation, the player can easily miss this unique-looking tomahawk, even though it’s close by. On the eastern side of Calumet Ravine (the location east of the reservation), there is a target with this weapon embedded in it. It’s not known who it belongs to, but it seems to have been kept in excellent condition by whoever owned it.

The tomahawk itself is a throwable weapon, which means that if not picked back up after use, it will despawn and the player will lose it forever. Like other throwable axes and hatchets, the Ancient Tomahawk is great for stealthy players, as it can be used accurately in one-hit-kills from a hidden position.

5

Midnight’s Pistol

Break the Game in Style

While normally the player has to wait until Chapter 4 to obtain a Mauser pistol, a unique one can be found much earlier during the “Noblest of Men, and a Woman” mission in Chapter 2. This is a side mission that, while admittedly easy to notice, is possible to miss completely, thereby locking the player out of obtaining this gold-plated Mauser.

It is available to pick up after killing its owner, Billy Midnight, in a duel, at which point the player will have access to a semi-auto pistol with a ten-round capacity two chapters earlier than normal.

4

Civil War Knife

A Gritty Relic from a Bloody Era

While it’s not really special stat-wise, this little piece of history is very easily completely missed if one does not already know where to look for it. Left to rust and collect dust, the Civil War Knife can be found in the storage room at Fort Brennand on top of a crate.

It doesn’t do any more damage than a normal knife and cannot be customized. However, it is nonetheless an interesting weapon visually and has a sense of history to it. In fact, while the game refers to it as a Civil War-era blade, it much more closely resembles an American WW1 trench knife.

3

Rare Rolling Block Rifle

An Even Better Version of the Quintessential Sniper’s Rifle

The Rolling Block is already an amazing weapon for the player to include in their arsenal. But if they aren’t careful, they can completely miss out on obtaining this unique version during one of the main story missions.

During the Chapter 3 mission “Magicians for Sport,” several enemies will shoot at the player from a white barn, one of which is using this rifle. The weapon is more accurate than the regular version, and sports a unique engraving pattern on its stock and fore-end. The Rare Rolling block cannot be obtained after this mission is completed, so they should make sure to get it when they can, it certainly comes with benefits!

2

Algernon’s Revolver

A Fitting Reward for a Very Long Mission

Algernon’s Revolver is a heavily adorned Double Action Revolver covered in unique engravings, and can only be obtained by completing the side mission, “Duchesses and other Animals.” The gun is initially owned by Algernon Wasp, a collector of unique items living in Saint Denis until the player comes along and manages to complete his very long and drawn-out fetch quest in which there are six parts.

The pistol has unique golden engravings all over it and features a highly detailed hand-carved pearl grip, with Algernon claiming the pearl came from Tahiti. This might not be the best revolver in the game, but it is certainly one of the most exquisite.

1

Ornate Dagger

For the Vampire Hunters

This decorative little dagger is one of the most easily missed weapons in the entire game and for multiple reasons. In order to obtain this weapon, the player must first discover all five mysterious writings in Saint Denis, which will then result in an encounter with a vampire. Players mustn’t go looking for the Vampire while wanted, or he will fail to appear.

This vampire is one of the few NPCs in the game that can kill the player with one shot, and he does so using this dagger. Thankfully, the vampire is rather slow and lumbering, so dispatching him is rather easy, but the player must pick the dagger up immediately as it will disappear otherwise.