| “ | Maybe we pushed things too hard? Maybe time for folks like us is passed. | „ |
| —Arthur Morgan to Dutch van der Linde |
Just a Social Call is a mission in Red Dead Redemption 2.
Mission Overview[]
Arthur meets Dutch and Micah in Annesburg where they are planning to confront Leviticus Cornwall.
Story[]
Arthur arrives in Annesburg to meet Micah and Dutch, for something to do with Cornwall. When Arthur arrives, Micah grabs him and aggressively asks him if he was followed, before Dutch arrives to tell them that they are going to confront Cornwall. Suspicious of their motives, Arthur asks if it's a revenge mission, although Dutch insists that it's "just a simple social call".
With the arrival of Cornwall's yacht imminent, the trio take cover in the harbor. When Cornwall arrives, they see Agent Milton and Agent Ross debarking the vessel, with Cornwall scolding them for their lack of progress and threatening to pull their funding. Micah is sent to follow Cornwall's secretary, Janson, who was ordered to send a telegram to New York, while Cornwall himself talks to Didsbury, to complain about striking miners. Soon thereafter, Dutch abruptly reveals himself, and laments how Cornwall is even worse than he is. He then offers Cornwall his life in exchange for $10,000, the ship, and safe passage out of the town. Cornwall merely laughs and refuses Dutch's offer. In response, Dutch shoots him in the chest, killing him. A massive gunfight then breaks out between Dutch and Arthur, Cornwall's private guards, and the Pinkertons.
While fighting their way out of the town, Dutch and Arthur go to find Micah. They see him knocking out Janson before continuing their escape. After eventually escaping the town and riding into the forest on some stolen horses, they finally lose their pursuers. Arthur sarcastically comments on how it wasn’t the "social call" that Dutch promised, while Micah shows Dutch and Arthur the papers that he stole. They reveal that the Cornwall Company struck a deal with the Army, and that they are transporting dynamite from Annesburg to Saint Denis. Dutch tells Micah and Arthur to look into the dynamite, along with Bill.
Gold Medal Objectives[]
- Headshot 3 mounted enemies.
- After killing Cornwall, reach the horses within 2 minutes and 45 seconds.
- Complete the mission without taking any health items.
Gold Medal Tips[]
- It's recommended for players to stay close to Dutch and Micah, as Micah is unnecessarily useless for this mission and likes to rush ahead of the player, causing him to get one shot by the Pinkertons if the player rushes without waiting for Dutch to catch up previously.
- Being constantly on the move while shooting the Pinkertons is recommended to catch up with the time limit objective.
- For the first Gold Medal Objective, stay on top of Dutch and Micah when escaping on horseback, as they can kill lawmen on horseback very fast. Immediately execute Dead Eye kills when you see them spawn to ensure that three headshots are achieved.
Deaths[]
- Leviticus Cornwall - Killed by Dutch van der Linde out of his vengeful desire and after negotiations for safe passage out of the town failed.
- Cornwall's private guards - Killed by Dutch, Micah, and Arthur during their escape from Annesburg.
- Several Pinkerton Agents - Killed in the ensuing shootout as Dutch, Micah, and Arthur try to escape.
- Janson (determined)- can be killed by Arthur after being knocked out by Micah.
Mission Failure[]
The mission will fail of the player:
- Assaults, kills, or abandons Dutch or Micah;
- Allows Dutch or Micah to be killed;
- Alerts the law prematurely;
- Kills or abandons their escape horse;
- Dies.
Missable Items in the Mission[]
- Newsboy Cap
Trivia[]
- Dutch nearly says the title of the mission, except he says "it's just a simple social call."
- Cornwall arrives on a steamboat called Malvina, which was a fashionable feminine name during the era. The name and its popularity stem from the bride of the hero Oscar in Scottish writer James MacPherson’s famous Ossian cycle of epic poems, which were first published in the 1760s. Throughout the poems' stories, a common pattern is for characters to kill loved ones through mistakes, suffer mental breakdowns, and eventually die of grief or suicide.
- Cornwall's steamboat also has a similar name and very similar look to Turbinia, built in 1894 by Charles Parsons as the first turbine powered steamboat. It was the fastest boat of its era by a large margin, steaming at over 34 knots, and demonstrated to both military and civil concerns the usefulness of the steam turbine. Parsons' turbines (and those of the type he designed) would go on to be fitted to famous vessels such as HMS Dreadnought and RMS Titanic. At the time of the mission, in 1899, this technology was still considered state of the art, and demonstrates Cornwall's wealth and how he embraces the new technology of the coming century.
- It is impossible to loot Cornwall, as his body is nowhere to be found after the cutscene.
- Originally, Javier Escuella was supposed to be a part of the mission, as concept art showed him fighting alongside Arthur in a shootout at the Annesburg Mine. However, Javier's part got scrapped during development.
- Once the player has exited the Jameson Mine and Coal Company, they will be prompted by Dutch to shoot a nearby oil wagon, which will cause a massive explosion, killing several enemies. This can be useful for completing the second gold medal objective as quick as possible.
- In the opening cutscene, when discussing the reason for the gang's misfortune, Arthur suggests that the gang's "time has passed." While initially dismissive, this sentiment would be echoed by Dutch years later.
- During the entirety of the mission both Dutch and Micah seemingly kill most of the enemies without (much of) the player's involvement, making Arthur (and the player) appear slow and constantly falling behind with not much to do. This might be intentional to show Arthur's sickness affecting his constitution both in the story and to the player, or to show that Dutch is growing more ruthless with Micah's influence.
- After completing this mission Micah will give Arthur the permanent nickname "Black Lung", a term for a disease mostly by coal miners whose lungs deteriorated due to inhaling an excessive amount of coal dust, which is fitting due the fact that this mission happens at Annesburg, a coal mining town.
Tips[]
- It may be difficult to attempt the Gold Rush trophy/achievement, though it is more manageable to achieve a silver medal.
- It is recommended that the player does not waste time stopping, and should try their best to one-shot enemies (and avoid using Dead Eye), so they can get to their horses within the time limit.
- When the player reaches the top of the tipple, it is recommended they blow up the oil wagon nearby to quickly kill enemies that will spawn near the exit by the horses.