Is there more to the thunderstorms in Red Dead Redemption 2 than it initially appears? The player »MC_Ulfric« (also called »InsertRandomNameHere« on the way) is on the track of this question. Similar to the real Tornadochasers, best known for an American series of the same name, he follows the storms in Rockstar's open-world hit and researches their behavior.
He shares his results on Reddit. And yes: you can be struck by lightning in the game. This is exactly what has happened to the user several times.
How does thunderstorm hunting work?
MC_Ulfric explains his approach in more detail at Reddit and in an interview with Eurogamer: At first it was just a curious impulse that led him to chase an in-game thunderstorm: A lightning bolt happened to hit nearby and left burned trees that – out of the viewed at the right angle – the word WHY resulted.
The spot is south of Annesburg. However, you should be careful if you ride there during a thunderstorm. If you wear a Viking helmet, solve that a fatal lightning strike in Arthur's head. This video clip from »Slasherspike« shows how it looks:
MC_Ulfric has also been a victim of this before. Lightning caught him a second time as he followed a storm. Now that he had figured out what the lightning pattern would be, he rode to where he suspected the next strike would be. He wrote the following: I guess I was right where the next one was going to go because there was a white flash, boom – dead.
For players who want to join the storm hunt, he has two tips:
- It works best if you have the Starts after the epilogue, so that you are not interrupted by quests or other events.
- Besides, you always have to towards the darkest clouds riding, otherwise the thunderstorm quickly subsides.
Do the thunderstorms lead to a well-hidden secret?
MC_Ulfric has the theory that the thunderstorms could lead to an unknown Easter egg. He is not alone in this: under his thread, a few dozen players are puzzling whether Rockstar may have included a search for clues similar to that of Bigfoot. It wouldn't be the first, after all Mystery of Red Dead Redemption 2. We even dedicate a whole series of unresolved secrets to a real-life alien cult, a mysterious time traveler or even the devil himself:
more on the subject
In RDR 2 you may have met the devil.
His assumption is also supported by the fact that the thunderstorms follow a certain pattern: if a player follows them, they stay active much longer than if you ignore them and let them drag you over you. Further lightning strikes, according to MC_Ulfric's observations, do not appear to be triggered until it reaches the point at which the previous one struck. He therefore believes that the player should be guided by it.
All three storms that he has followed so far had the same starting point (over the lakes in the south of the map) and migrated to the northwest. They lasted about 30 real minutes. You can find a card with all the strikes in the aforementioned Reddit post.
Of course, it can also be that the thunderstorms are simply a cool weather simulation, behind which there is no deeper meaning. If you still feel like becoming a storm hunter yourself, remember: You'd better leave the Viking helmet at home.
A fast horse is also worthwhile for storm hunting: Our guide to the best mount from RDR2 explains how you can best capture the white Arab.
