Red Dead Online Legendary Bounties

For a short time, all previous Legendary Bounties will be up for grabs in Red Dead Online. We figured this was a great opportunity to collect everything you need to know about the three most recent ones, helping you to bring each one in alive.

Ben Clempson

The newest legendary bounty in Red Dead Online is all about catching the well-dressed and well-protected train robber, Red Ben Clempson. We'll show you how to catch him, and what it'll take to bring him in for a bonus reward.

When Does a Legendary Bounty Start and How Long Does it Last?

Legendary Bounties usually last for one week, and to our experience they can be accessed every Tuesday morning from about 3:00AM PT, or 11:00 GMT. However, there is some unreliability here - many have found that legendary bounties don't always show up instantly or can vanish without warning, likely due to some system or game error. We ourselves have found that completing a bounty causes it to mysteriously disappear for an hour or so about half the time, so don't expect any hard-and-fast rules.

Where Do I Start This Legendary Bounty?

Like all the legendary bounties before, Red Ben is less of a standard bounty target and really a self-contained mission, one you can start by going to any bounty board in the game (marked with a pink symbol of a bounty poster). Clempson’s bounty should be up there, though you’ll need to be registered as a bounty hunter first (see more about how to become a bounty hunter and the other roles available here).

What Should I Bring With Me?

Expect fast shootouts against lots of enemies, as well as more than a little dashing through enemy fire. A good repeater rifle can be helpful for taking enemies off horses, something you'll need to do quite a lot, and lots of health tonics can make the difference between living or dying. This mission also takes place in hot terrain, so light clothes might make a small difference.

Otherwise we found that the true hero of this bounty was the LeMat revolver, which can switch nearly instantly between being a decent pistol and a powerful shotgun, affording both medium and short-range superiority. It's a perfect sidearm for a mission like this, and can be gotten early in the game too.

The only other things you might want are the obvious, though none of them are mandatory and you likely carry them around anyway. A fast horse, bounty hunter's gear like the reinforced lasso and a few friends to watch your back are all pretty good in circumstances like these.

How Do I Catch Red Ben Clempson?

With haste. Clempson is wanted for being a notorious train thief and when the mission starts, him and his gang are already on a train headed for Armadillo, having killed the occupants and now making off with several hundred tons of stolen lucre. Like many bounties, Clempson can be taken alive for an additional reward, and considering that there's no real difference in how to go about the mission either way, it's probably best to try and keep him breathing, at least until you hand him over to be hung.

Meeting the Contact and Paying the Bribe

When the mission begins you'll start off in the sun-blasted deserts of New Austin, going to meet a contact who knows Clempson's location. He'll tell you about the train, but not in any detail, simply saying that the train is moving north up the track and you'll have to search to find it.

However, he does have more info - he's just holding out on you for some money. Choose to pay him and you won't lose the money there and then, the game will just deduct a small amount from the final reward when you bring Clempson in.

If you pay the bribe, finding the train is a lot easier, with a moving icon on the map appearing and moving in real time along with the train's location. With this marker in play, don't bother following the track, simply cut across the desert straight towards it, taking the quickest path and shoving an oatcake down your horse's neck whenever it starts flagging. That being said, we tried this mission several times, and whether you pay the bribe or not, the train was usually in the same place, marked on the map below. You can use this as a frame of reference if you want to save your money.

Getting Onto the Train

Once you see the train in the distance, draw a weapon with decent range in case of a sudden firefight and prepare to get on board. The enemies won't actually attack you until you provoke them, either by getting too close or just opening fire, so use this window of piece to draw up alongside the train. We recommend getting on at the very back, for reasons we'll get into momentarily.

Pull up alongside the last carriage, riding in the same direction alongside it, while getting as close as you can get. If you do all three, you should see a prompt to press Square, allowing you to jump from your horse onto the train. Once you do, draw a versatile weapon (this is the LeMat's time to shine) and prepare to move forward. This is where things get violent.

Fighting Your Way to Clempson

The train Clempson's taken over is full of bad guys, all dressed fairly similarly to him. For that reason, taking him alive requires a certain amount of care, as the game won't highlight which bandit is him until you get fairly close. There's also nothing particularly special about his placement on the train either - we found he was about two thirds along in a sheltered carriage every time we saw him.

Instead, simply move your way up the train, killing any bandits in your path and taking care not to get killed. It's important to remember that more will start to show up on horseback, riding alongside the train, and that these are the real threats, able to flank you at a moment's notice. Keep a close eye on your health and mini-map, and make use of the covered carriages - being out in the open is far too dangerous. You should get a feel for it before long - take cover in the doorways, shoot everybody on the open platform in front of you, then dash forward to the next carriage, ideally with a shotgun ready just in case anybody's waiting for you there. If there's a group of you working together, use it to have eyes in all directions.

Bringing Down Clempson

Once you're close to Red Ben, you should hear him shouting, and he'll be marked by the usual bounty icon on his map. If there are other bandits in with him, kill them, as well as any others who might threaten you, then run in when he stops shooting and tackle him to the floor. DON'T do this if there are still enemies who can kill you, as the game will lock you into a long animation during which you might get shot to pieces. Pick your moment, and if all goes well, you now have one rather stylish train robber ready for delivery. Now you just have to bring him back to Tumbleweed jail.

Getting off the Train

Getting off the train isn't quite as easy as getting on it, mainly because you now have a large man to bring with you. If he's dead, this is no problem - just sling his corpse off the edge and jump down after it.

However, if you want to keep him alive, you have a difficult choice to make. You can either drop him off the edge - something we found he has about a 50/50 chance of surviving - or you can play for his guaranteed safety. Leave Clempson where he is (you don't want him getting shot by accident) and keep working your way up the train as you were before, keeping an eye out for horseback bandits all the while. Once you make it to the driver's cab at the front, drag out the man driving and slam on the break. Now the train's stopped, you should be able to run back to where you left Red Ben, whistling for your horse all the while. Throw him on the old nag, and now it's time to bring him, literally, to justice.

Bringing Clempson In and Getting Your Rewards

At this point you should've made your way through the whole train, starting at the back and fighting your way to the very front, and consequently every gang member on board should be little more than a blood splatter and a hat. However, the riders are still going to be an issue, spawning in and following you even when you've put some distance between you and the train, making the flight to Tumbleweed jail another chase. Use a repeater or bolt rifle to bring them down from a distance; if they get too close they'll open fire and run the risk of accidentally killing their old boss.

Before too long you should've made it back, then simply stop off in front of the sheriff's office to receive your reward and finish the mission. You can always pick the bounty again to try it at a higher level, with a higher reward too.

Etta Doyle

This Red Dead Online legendary bounty is going very Hitman on us, as train robber Etta Doyle, aka Madame La Perle, attempts to lose themselves in a crowd of their own making. We’ll show you how to bring them to justice once and for all, and how to net a good reward for your efforts.

Where Do I Start This Legendary Bounty?

Like all the legendary bounties before, Etta Doyle is less of a standard bounty target and really a self-contained mission, one you can start by going to any bounty board in the game (marked with a pink symbol of a bounty poster). Doyle’s bounty should be up there, though you’ll need to be registered as a bounty hunter first (see more about how to become a bounty hunter and the other roles available here).

What Should I Bring With Me?

Though the game won’t tell you this, there are certain bits of equipment that’ll absolutely make your life easier if you have it prepared. A scoped weapon or binoculars will definitely help, and elixirs for your horse could be useful, considering that you’ll almost certainly have to bring Doyle in amidst a hail of gunfire. If you’ve unlocked any bonus equipment through playing the bounty hunter role, such as a bolas or reinforced lasso, we highly recommend bringing those as a matter of course - they’re not necessarily essential, but they always help in this sort of mission.

Finally, if at all possible, bring some friends. Doyle’s mission can be completed solo, but the game itself suggests bringing your posse along for the ride, as the ability to follow multiple targets at once can prove very useful here.

How Do I Capture Etta Doyle?

Like many of the legendary bounties before her, Doyle has a trick up her sleeve. Namely that she has eight sleeves, bringing three lookalikes with her to throw any bounty hunters off the scent. It’ll be your job to identify which one is the real villain via the large scar going across their face, something none of her doubles were quite willing to mimic. Unlike other bounties, you’re also not allowed to kill her - the client wants Doyle alive, and if she dies at any point, the mission is failed and you’ll be forced to start over.

How Do I Know Which One is the Real Etta Doyle?

When the mission starts, you’ll be deposited in a trainyard and told to hide before Doyle’s gang arrives in a few minutes, lured there by a planted rumour of hidden money. There’s a lot of places to hide, but we suggest hunkering down behind one of the crates some distance opposite the main gates, as that’s where the Doyle gang will come in and you’ll want line of sight for the next bit. If you’re uncertain about which is the main gate, the two friendly NPCs who brought you there will be standing next to it.

Once you’ve found a good hiding spot, break out your scoped weapon and wait for the Doyles to show up. Keep your distance - they’re a perceptive lot and getting close is liable to get you spotted, so you don’t want to close the gap unless you absolutely have to. Instead, try to get a good look at their faces, looking for that tell-tale scar. It won’t be easy, especially with the warped, distorted effect of the Red Dead’s scopes, but it can make what happens next a lot simpler.

If you do manage to spot the real deal, you have two choices - wait to see if they wander off on their own to more easily capture them from stealth, or try to drop the others in a barrage of bullets and grab Doyle in the confusion. We recommend the first one - it’s harder to pull off, but easier in the long run, giving you more of an opportunity to plan your escape and close the distance between you and her.

How to Tell Which is the Real Etta Doyle Without a Scope

If you couldn’t be certain which Doyle is Doylest, that’s fine. After the initial entry, the group will split up to search the trainyard for loot. This is both a help and a hindrance - it’s harder to hide as they space out and search, but it also means that a stealthy hunter can start picking them off one-by-one when they leave each other’s sightlines. Getting into any kind of physical contact with one of the doubles will tell you if it’s the real deal, so start sneaking up on whichever one is farthest from the others and try to grab her with your lasso equipped, ideally without alerting the others. If done right, you’ll hogtie her silently, and the game will tell you if it’s the target or not. Try to do this on as many of them as possible, and remember to listen to their dialogue! Sometimes one of them will refer to their boss by name, giving you the direction you need to spot the real villain.

What to Do If the Doyle Gang Sees You

It’s more than likely that you’ll get spotted at some point during your sneaking, either before or after wrangling Doyle. If you’ve managed to hogtie her, your path is pretty clear - hunker down in cover, whistle for your horse, and try to hold off the enemy gang until Silver arrives and you can make a break for the Saint Denis jail with your precious cargo.

However, if you haven’t caught Doyle yet, things are about to get very tricky, as any remaining doppelgangers sprint for their own horses and begin to ride in different directions, hoping you’ll follow one of the fakes and give their true leader a chance to escape. We’re not sure if it’s consistent yet or randomised each time, but we found that the real Doyle was using a pistol rather than a rifle, and fled West across the nearby bridge into the Lemoyne swamps. If you have nothing else to go on yet, this is probably your best bet.

Chasing and Recovering Etta Doyle

Once you start giving chase, we actually suggest letting your chosen target get away from the trainyard for a little while, as there’s likely still a lot of bandits there and you’re almost certain to get shot to death in that warzone, at least without a posse to back you up.

Once you’re in pursuit and the enemies have thinned a little, shoot all the bandits riding with Doyle and use either your lasso or bolas to get her off her horse. Alternatively, shoot the horse itself so she can’t run away. It’s a bit cruel, but in a pinch it will stop her escaping at such a pace. Once you have her close by, hogtie her and pray like hell that it’s the real Doyle. If not, immediately grab your horse and start chasing one of the others, as any of them who get too far away will be lost and cause you to fail the mission.

If you do get Doyle, throw her on the back of your horse and bring her back to the nearest jail. We found that nobody tried to pursue us at this point, but maybe we just got lucky, so have your gun ready in case a band of outlaws pops up unexpectedly.

Etta Doyle Bounty Rewards

If all went well, then congratulations! You should have received a small amount of gold, cash and bounty hunter experience for your efforts. You’ll also unlock a higher difficulty ranking for the bounty, which you can go back and replay for higher rewards.

Tobin Winfield

The seventh legendary bounty available in Red Dead Online, corrupt mayor Tobin Winfield the Third is wanted for nothing more exciting than embezzlement and stealing government money. Hardly a steely-eyed bandit, sure, but things get a lot more complicated in the process of hunting Tobin down, ensuring a healthy dose of action that’s liable to get you killed if you don’t know the right moves. We’re here to help with that.

Where Do I Start This Legendary Bounty?

Like all the legendary bounties before, Tobin Winfield is less of a standard bounty target and really a self-contained mission, one you can start by going to any bounty board in the game (marked with a pink symbol of a bounty poster). Winfield’s bounty should be up there, though you’ll need to be registered as a bounty hunter first (see more about how to become a bounty hunter and the other roles available here).

What Should I Bring With Me?

This mission can be completed with any equipment and weapons, but we recommend coming with a loadout suited to horse riding and long-range precision combat, such as a good repeater rifle, as well as being well-stocked on health and stamina-recovery items for both you and your horse. Beyond that, pick whatever weapons you’re most comfortable with.

How Do I Capture Tobin Winfield?

The short answer is you don’t, or at least you don’t yet. Tobin isn’t the only target in this mission, you’re also trying to recover a bunch of deeds that he made off with during his flight from the law. After a short cutscene giving you your mission, you’ll be dropped off in the ramshackle town of Thieves Landing to try and find Tobin… Which should take you all of thirty seconds. Head straight ahead to the separated area with a large campfire visible, and Tobin will introduce himself in another cutscene. Apparently the former mayor has made a lot of enemies in the short time he’s been on the run, and he’s happy to cooperate provided you keep him safe. Yes, it’s an escort quest. Tobin mounts up to take you to wherever the deeds are hidden, so get on your own horse and follow him. Spoiler warning: keep your gun ready.

The First Bandit Attack

The deeds are hidden some way off in a nondescript canyon, and only Tobin knows where they are. However, it won’t be long before bandits start to appear, first attacking from a raised bridge, then pursuing on horses into the open plains. Tobin will jump off his horse and run for cover behind a tree, though he’s not smart enough to actually move around it when enemies start flanking him. At this point, Tobin dying will force you to restart the mission, so do whatever you can to keep him safe. There isn’t much cover and enemies come from all directions, so mobility is key here, watching your minimap and staying close to Mayor Winfield so you can splatter any bad guys who get up behind him. This fight is probably the longest, and failure will mean starting the ride from Thieves Landing all over again, so stay on your toes and try to grow eyes in the back of your head.

Finding the Deeds

After the first fight, Tobin will get back on his horse and take you on the second half of your journey to the buried deeds. However, there are bandits waiting to ambush you here as well. This fight is probably the easiest, as there’s ample cover and the bandits don’t come much more than two at a time. Again, protecting Tobin is a priority, so we recommend hunkering down close to him and firing at enemies as they come up over the hill. Focus on those who come from behind you first - you don’t want to get attacked from all sides.

Tobin Winfield Choice: Which Should You Pick?

After this is done, recover the deeds from under a nearby rock, marked on your minimap. At this point you have a choice: Tobin says he’ll follow you back to jail, but he’d rather not be bound on the back of a horse, if that’s alright with you, preferring to keep his dignity. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t rope him and put him on your horse, just that he’ll whine a bit in the process. If you don’t, he’ll keep close to you… at least until the next attack, whereupon he’ll make a break for the horizon and you’ll have to lasso him anyway. Probably best to do it before you leave, though there are downsides to either option which we’ll discuss in a moment. From this point on, if Tobin dies, he stays that way. Now you have the deeds it doesn’t count as a mission failure and you’ll be committed to bringing in a dead body.

Returning Winfield to Jail and the Final Attack

This is the final leg of the mission, bringing Tobin back to Armadillo jailhouse amidst a blaze of gunfire as the last of the bandits attack on horseback, chasing you across the plains. The downside to having Tobin right behind you is that there’s a chance he’ll get shot and killed by a bullet meant for you, meaning a reduced reward at the end of the mission when you turn in a corpse, not a criminal. However, if you let him ride free, he’ll panic and try to make an escape, at which point you’ll have to catch him - all the while being shot at by bandits. It’s probably easier to have him on your horse overall, weaving as much as possible and using long-range weapons to pick off pursuers before they get into firing range. There’s a good chance your horse will be tiring by now, so maybe think about giving it some stamina recovery items so as not to fall behind.

The bandits should be mostly exhausted by the time you make the final descent into the desert with Armadillo on the horizon. Pick off any stragglers, and it should be a clean run to the jailhouse (assuming Tobin wasn’t killed along the way).

Now that you’ve hunted the Legendary Bounties in RDR Online, why not take a look at our guide on the best weapons to see what you can spend that hard-earned money on? Or try taking a look at our guide on dual-wielding to see how you can make your gunfighting twice as powerful. Alternatively, head to our Red Dead Online Guides Hub for all the info you need to saddle up and become a legendary cowboy yourself.