With Frontier Pursuits, it's finally time to return to Red Dead Online

I fell victim to senseless griefers less than five times during my nearly two-week-long stint playing through Red Dead Online’s Frontier Pursuits update. If you caught my impressions back in May as Red Dead Online sauntered out of beta with all the grace of a reversing dump truck, you’ll know how promising this fact is. I chalk it down to everyone being far too busy with their new jobs. Idle hands are the devil’s playthings.

Over the course of a week in early September, Rockstar quickly promoted and pushed a gigantic update to Red Dead Online which, as promised earlier in the year, introduced three new roles to the game: Collector, Bounty Hunter and Trader. The chaser upon your arrival back into the Old West was a 70-level battle pass full of tier-unlockable resource packs, eccentric clothing items and even a Death Ram mask for your previously wholesome horse companion.

The buy-in for all of this content (including the premium version of the Outlaw Pass) is 80 Gold Bars (roughly £27), a significant commitment, especially for those of you new to Red Dead Online. Fear not though, as upon login I expect you will be buffeted by a series of apologetic handouts, from 24 tax-free gold bars to a $250 RDO rebate I received for spending too much on horse mane and tail customisation, which says a lot more about my reputation as a rough and tumble outlaw than I want it to, honestly.

In a stroke of further fortune, it turns out I’m the kind of millennial mark with an Amazon Prime subscription, a PlayStation 4 copy of Red Dead Redemption 2 and the mental stamina to find 54 playing cards in GTA Online last month. I, therefore, did not pay a penny for any of my role licenses thanks to capitalism, luck and a penchant for tedium. Thanks, Rockstar!

Red Dead Online Frontier Pursuits Watch on YouTube

Given that I’m already a practising part of the gig economy myself, It only felt right to make my avatar take on all three roles at once to pay the bills. Yet, not before a makeover. With Frontier Pursuits, Rockstar has allowed players to alter their appearance for free for the first time since launch, with any later changes costing a fee. This sounds fair on paper, and given I quickly created my Red Dead Online character via a 540p Remote Play stream in another continent, I was keen to sand down the rough edges of my hideous outlaw.