The Naturalist is the newest job added to Red Dead Online, and it’s all about animal conservation. Instead of hunting animals for sport, you’ll be collecting samples, searching for rare breeds, and turning your finds in to the local lady conservationalist. It’s a very different kind of job, and one Red Dead players have been waiting to see get added to the main game.
But like any of these jobs, it takes awhile to level up. Leveling up in a job unlocks extra rewards, and at Level 7 you’ll get new events and Poacher encounters. Some players might want to enjoy the leisurely life of a naturalist — while others want to rush to Level 20 without trying to hard. If you’re the latter, then this extremely simple method will make life very easy for you. It’s all about harvesting sheep.
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To earn tons of XP, you’ll first need to unlock the Naturalist Role. Like other roles, you’ll have to pay 25 Gold Bars. Before beginning this method, you’ll also need a Varmint Rifle and Sedative Ammo. Sedative Ammo is important for knocking out animals without killing them. You’ll be able to earn extra cash for this method — but it’s really better for earning Naturalist XP.
- NOTE: Before beginning, open up your Online Menu and select Online -> choose to disable Online Matchmaking. Less players spawning will hopefully avoid issues with animals spawning.
The trick is all about travelling to Emerald Ranch. With Sedative Ammo, knockout all the animals at Emerald Ranch — you’ll find multiple cows, sheep, oxen and goats. Make sure to climb into the pens without using the gates or they’ll be able to escape.
Shoot all the animals in the pens. Use the Varmint Rifle and Sedative Ammo, then collect all the samples you can. There will always be at least 10 Sheep in the area — and those sheep alone can earn you 600~ XP per run.
After clearing out Emerald Ranch, just fast-travel to McFarlane Ranch and sell everything you’ve found. You can easily fast-travel back-and-forth between McFarlane Ranch and Emerald Ranch. The animals will recover by the time you get back, so you can simply take another sample to repeat infinitely.
- NOTE: It costs about $17~ for a round-trip to go from McFarlane Ranch to Emerald Ranch and back.
- You can earn extra cast completing Moonshiner runs, or searching for Legendary Bison near Emerald Ranch — you may get a message about its appearance, but this only happen rarely.
If you’re looking for extra cows to sedate in the area, there’s a small ranch northeast from the Heartlands Oil Field. Just look for a small cluster of buildings on your map. There are a lot of cows here, but there’s no gate so they can easily escape if you don’t block their exit.
This is a fast and easily repeatable method for earning max level in the Naturalist role — or you can just quickly get to Level 7 and earn the rest naturally by completing events with your friends!
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