| “ | A raucous, rough-and-tumble town in the Heartlands, Valentine's livestock auctions attract traders, ranchers, cowboys, gamblers, outlaws, and prostitutes from far and wide, all looking to make some money, raise some hell, and have a good time. | „ |
| —Website description |
Valentine is a settlement in Red Dead Redemption 2 in the The Heartlands region of the New Hanover territory.
Description
Valentine is a small livestock town located in the Heartlands region of New Hanover. It is a short ride away from the Horseshoe Overlook camp; the first camp the gang makes after their exodus from the frigid mountains.
Several provisioners and businesses can be found within the town including two saloons, a butcher, a drug store, a general store, a weapons merchant, a newspaper stand, and a hotel.
The northern section of Valentine contains the main street with most of the buildings and businesses. The southern section is home to the livestock yards, including various pens, and the auction yard. The east side of town is home to a smaller saloon, a few homes, and the town church.
There are a number of real-life communities in the western United States named Valentine. However, the actual town – its size, surrounding geography, native wildlife, etc. – that most closely resembles the town in the game is Valentine, Nebraska, along with other northern Great Plains towns located in regions near the bases of the Black Hills or Rocky Mountains. The livestock auction site is something associated especially with Ogallala, Nebraska or Abilene, Dodge City, and Wichita, Kansas, all of which became primary sites along the great cattle drives northward from Texas in the 1870s and early 1880s. Cattle drives still occurred on a smaller scale thereafter. The game accurately reflects how, by the 1890s, the American West had passed the great boom era of the long drive, as railroad service had spread across the country to many small towns that were close to regional ranching areas.
Layout
Valentine is connected to the railway network by a train station situated south-east of the town. Within the station is a post office, where the player can pay off bounties, receive and send mail, or purchase train tickets. Right outside of the station is a stagecoach, where the player can fast travel to a location for a fee.
North-west of the train station are livestock yards, housing various pens and an auction yard. Across the street to the west is the theater; a tent with a small booth to the right of the entrance where the player can purchase tickets to view a movie inside. Just outside of the theater are numerous wagons, small tents, and campsites. Facing the theater are gallows, where criminals who have been sentenced to death are hanged. Sometimes, an execution can be witnessed here, with a gathered crowd to watch.
Just north of the gallows is a butcher's stall, where the player can sell game they have hunted, or buy meat to refill their cores. Across the street and to the north is the stable, an establishment where the player can buy and customize different breeds of horses, purchase customizations for their horses, such as saddles or blankets, and alter their horse's hair length and color.
Adjacent to the stable is a building under construction, where builders can be seen carrying and hammering down planks of wood. In 1907, this building is complete with red wooden panelling and a grey, tiled roof. Facing this construction site is the Saints Hotel, where the player can rent a room to bathe, change their clothing, and sleep to refill their cores or to simply pass time.
To the right of the hotel is the bank; a location the player can rob for large sums of money. This bank is robbed in the mission "Sodom? Back to Gomorrah".
Across the street from the bank is the General Store; a very useful location where the player can buy a large variety of items such as clothing, food, fishing and hunting bait, ammunition for their weapons, consumables for their horse and a range of tonics. The player can also sell some of their possessions here, most falling under the same categories as the purchasable goods.
To the east of the general store is Smithfield's Saloon, where the player can refill their cores by eating meals, or by purchasing and consuming alcoholic beverages. In front of the left window here is a poker table, where the player can gamble and try their luck to win sums of money. Towards the back of the saloon is a barber, where the player can trim or style their hair and beard.
Facing the saloon is the Law Office; a tall, yellow building owned by J.W Smith and A.J. Mackey. To the east of the Law Office is the gunsmith, owned by R.J. Dalton. Here, the player can purchase and customize weapons, restock on ammunition and buy tools to maintain their arms such as gun oil.
Across the street from the gunsmith is the Sheriff's Office; a building where the player can collect bounties for a sum of money, and where the player will stay if arrested by any of Valentine's lawmen.
Across the adjacent street to the Sheriff's office is Valentine's chapel; a tall, white, wooden building surrounded by graves. To the south of the church is the second tavern in Valentine; Keane's Saloon. Here, the player can consume alcoholic beverages, eat hot meals to refill their cores or try their luck in a game of Five Finger Fillet.
Interactions
Valentine is the first town the player normally interacts with following the gang's descent from the alpine mining town of Colter. Many of the missions in Chapter 2 are centered in and around Valentine.
Valentine serves as the central stage for the mission "Sodom? Back to Gomorrah", where members of the gang rob the town's bank and forced to fight their way out against lawmen.
Amenities
- Amos Levi Blacksmith & Farrier (stable)
- Auction Yard
- Barber Shop
- Butcher
- Gunsmith
- Keane's Saloon: Five Finger Filet can be played here
- Post Office
- Saints Hotel
- Savings Bank
- Sheriff's Office
- Smithfield's Saloon: on the windowsill facing the street is the Cigarette Card for the Cylinder Phonograph; Poker can be played here
- Stagecoach
- Town Doctor
- Traveling Magic Lantern Show: inside the show tent is the Cigarette Card for Nettie Palmer
- Valentine Station
- Worths General Store
Notes
- The Cigarette Card for Charles Châtenay can be found the front porch of a house to the northwest.
- The Cigarette Card for Frank Heck can be found on a gravestone to the northeast.
- In the cluster of structures to the southwest are two adjacent wagons. The Cigarette Card for Isadore Reid can be found in the back of one.
- Upstairs in the barn to the south is the Cigarette Card for Fay Delaro.
- On a table inside the train station is the Cigarette Card for Valentine.
- Due east of the Post Office is a dreamcatcher, about halfway to Cornwall Kerosene & Tar.
Gallery
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