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Red Dead Online Make It Count guide - How to win RDR2's Battle Royale mode

It's one-hit-kill in this fast-paced Battle Royale mode

Was there ever any doubt that Red Dead Online would include a Battle Royale mode for players to duke it out until only one is left standing, bloody and victorious? Make It Count takes several of the hallmarks of the battle royale genre, but pares down the standard formula into a very fast-paced and concise mode for up to 16 players. It's far from easy to win with any consistency in this mode, but our Red Dead Online Make It Count guide will give you our top tips on how to maximise your chances.

Red Dead Online Make It Count guide

Red Dead Online Make It Count mode

So, in a nutshell, how does Red Dead Online's Make It Count mode actually work?

  • Make It Count is a free-for-all last-man-standing mode which pits and up to 15 other players against each other in a limited playing area.
  • Just like Battle Royale modes in other games, players are forced together over time by a shrinking border. If you're caught outside the playing area, you'll die.
  • Unlike many Battle Royale modes, however, in Make It Count you're all armed with the same gear (either Throwing Knives, Tomahawks, or a Bow and Arrows), and there's no scavenging for more weapons and equipment.
  • Every player will die to a single hit from any of these weapons. You can see the players left remaining in the match at the top of the screen under the timer.

Make It Count matches don't last very long, usually 10 minutes or so at the most. Now let's take a look at some tips and tricks for helping you to stay alive in this cutthroat environment.

Red Dead Online Make It Count tips

Make It Count tips - Always stay on the move

Due to the nature of battle royales, it's always important to stay on the move thanks to elements such as the ever-shrinking border, which may catch you off-guard if your game plan is to hole up somewhere until nobody else is left. But in Make It Count, there's another, even more important reason not to stay in one place for too long: if the game thinks you're camping (i.e. staying still and waiting for another player to draw near), it'll mark you on the minimap for other players, so that they'll know where to find you.

So staying still is a great way to attract a lot of unwanted attention, and you're far better off staying on the move at all times. And even if this weren't the case, if you keep moving about you're more likely to run into players and actually have fights, which all leads to more practice and greater skill over time.

Red Dead Online Make It Count tips

Make It Count tips - Keep your head on a swivel

In Red Dead Online PvP modes in general, it can be very difficult to hear other players around you even when they're sprinting. It's all too easy for someone to sneak up behind you and kill you in one hit while your back is turned. So the important thing to remember here is to keep your head on a swivel at all times. Every so often, just do a full 360 pan of the camera to make sure no one is in your sights.

It's important to do this even if you're in the middle of stalking another player. If you've played as many Battle Royales as I have you'll know full well that third-partying is a huge and unfortunate part of the mode, and the same is true here. So keep a lookout for players as often as you can.

Red Dead Online Make It Count tips

Make It Count tips - Use stealth when necessary

I think a majority would agree that Red Dead's controls are fairly clunky and unintuitive, particularly when it comes to combat. That's not to say you can't learn to be an absolute crack shot with a Tomahawk or a Bow, of course, but more often than not fights in Make It Count involve stealth rather than face-to-face battles, because it's just much easier to sneak up behind someone, tackle them, and kill them in one hit than it is to actually duck and weave and aim and shoot and everything else that comes with fighting your opponent head-on. As with many Battle Royales in many games, the advantage is always given to whoever spots the other person first, and stealth will help you greatly in this regard.

Hopefully that's enough to at least get you started along the right path with Red Dead Online's Make It Count PvP mode. But Make It Count is far from the only competitive mode on offer in RDR2! Check out our Red Dead Online modes guide for full details on all 16+ modes across the five different playlists on offer, from the Halloween-esque Fear of the Dark to the team-based Hostile Territory and much more.

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Red Dead Online

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Red Dead Redemption 2

PS4, Xbox One, PC

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About the Author
Ollie Toms avatar

Ollie Toms

Guides Editor

Ollie is sheriff of Guidestown at RPS, and since joining the team in 2018, he's written over 1,000 guides for the site. He loves playing dangerously competitive games and factory sims, injuring himself playing badminton, and burying his face in the warm fur of his two cats.

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