Weight Management is a gameplay mechanic in Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Online.
Red Dead Redemption 2[]
Both Arthur Morgan and John Marston can gain and lose weight depending on the player's actions, which has an effect on their physical appearance and affects certain stats. Their weight can be tracked in the Player section of the pause menu, and at maximum or minimum weight, the game will notify the player.
Arthur becomes permanently underweight during Chapter 6 due to his tuberculosis. Food will not restore his cores as effectively.
Red Dead Online[]
While the stat bonuses and penalties are present in Red Dead Online, the protagonist's body shape and weight is chosen at character creation and not affected by their weight stat.
Effects of Weight[]
| Weight | Effects |
|---|---|
| Overweight | 4.75% - 7.5% decrease in damage taken / increased stamina drain rate |
| Average | 0.25% - 4.5% decrease in damage taken / increased stamina drain rate |
| Perfect | 0%, no effects. All characters start at this weight. |
| Average | 0.25% - 4.5% increase in damage taken / decreased stamina drain rate |
| Underweight | 4..75% - 7.5% increase in damage taken / decreased stamina drain rate |
In addition, being at maximum or minimum weight will increase the drain rate of all cores by 25%.
Managing Weight[]
Weight will automatically lower as time passes, and eating only to restore cores may not be enough to prevent this from happening. Preventing weight loss can be done by eating provisions multiple times a day. Physical activity and other stamina-heavy activities may hasten weight loss.
Weight will increase if the player eats much more than required to keep cores full, and may be affected by limiting physical activity. Obtaining provisions and eating large amounts of them in a short time is the main way to gain weight, although it's unknown if the physical properties of the food (like core effects or real-world calories) affect weight gain speed. Candy in particular is a relatively quick food to increase weight, as they come in packs of 4 and the animation for consuming them is short.
As with hair growth, changes to weight do not happen in real time, and requires loading screens to take effect. This includes things like fast traveling and sleeping, among other things.