Arthur Morgan’s story can take far longer than most players expect – but how much time does it really take to ride through Red Dead Redemption 2’s vast plains, side quests, and hidden encounters? Here’s how long it lasts, depending on how you play.
Red Dead Redemption 2 has a huge open world. Completing the game fast is almost impossible – the game is quite long. The main storyline of Red Dead Redemption 2 takes about 40-50 hours. RDR2 also offers a number of side quests that can extend the play time to about 70-80 hours.
In addition to the main storyline and side quests, we also have is a vast world that contains many interesting places we can visit. The world itself encourages exploration making it difficult to determine how long it takes to end the game. It all depends on what the player wants to do in Red Dead Redemption 2 – the game has various activities like hunting legendary animals or finding dinosaur bones.
Average time to finish just the epilogue chapters
Red Dead Redemption 2’s epilogue consists of two parts that shift focus to John Marston’s story after the main chapters. Average completion time for just these epilogue chapters ranges from 5-8 hours, depending on pace and exploration.
Part 1 Duration
Epilogue Part 1 introduces John’s ranch life and initial missions, typically taking 2-4 hours for players focused on story beats. Side activities like farm work add minor time but stay optional.
Part 2 Duration
Part 2 ramps up with confrontations and closure missions, often 3-5 hours as it unlocks more map freedom and ties up gang loose ends. Speedrunners finish it in under 2 hours, while immersive play extends it.
Factors Affecting Time
Rushed playthroughs hit the low end around 5-6 hours total, but travel, dialogue, and minor encounters push averages higher. Open-world detours aren’t required for epilogue progress.
Tips to speedrun RDR2 epilogue chapters
Red Dead Redemption 2’s epilogue chapters can be speedrun efficiently by skipping dialogues, optimizing travel, and using glitches or precise inputs. World record times show Part 1 in under 40 minutes and Part 2 around 1.5 hours, totaling about 2 hours for both.
Skip Cutscenes
Spam the skip button immediately after missions load and during long dialogues to shave minutes-essential for fights like searching saloons or ranch setups. Avoid lingering in cutscenes with John or Uncle, as they trigger unskippable extensions if mistimed.
Optimize Horse Travel
Tame partners quickly by depleting stamina or knocking out during races, then hug paths tightly while spamming sprint to climb inclines without falling. Use fast travel camp setups early in Part 2 and sprint ahead of NPCs to trigger dialogue skips.
Combat Shortcuts
In shootouts, memorize enemy spawn orders, prioritize explosives or fire bottles for groups, and leave final foes alive briefly to sync with allies like Micah. Clear threats ahead of companions to avoid blocks, and tackle or dead-eye last targets for instant kills.
