RDR2: How To Beat Every Herbalist Challenge

Botany may not be a skill you expect to be important in Red Dead Redemption 2, but several Herbalist challenges can be beaten for rare rewards if you grow your knowledge of plants. These ten tasks ask you to gather and use plants from all the areas on the world's expansive map. Special items, XP, money, and more are available to those who travel enough to gain a green thumb.

Each Herbalist Challenge has a task to complete around the map, even in elusive areas like Guarma and New Austin. Completing challenges may give you additional Health, while others could grant you reinforced equipment, XP, or cash. Like other single-player content in Red Dead Redemption 2, you need to finish one Rank before you can unlock the challenge tied to the next level.

Many of these challenges involve finding specific types of plants, but only the ones tied to the current Herbalist task. For example, if you encounter a plant used to complete the second Herbalist Challenge during the first, it won't count as collected until you gather it a second time.

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Completing Every Herbalist Challenge (1 - 3)

Start Getting Used To Collecting Plants

The first few Herbalist Challenges introduce you to the diverse plant types all over Red Dead Redemption 2, from simple yarrow plants to mushrooms in certain climates. Keep in mind that you have to tackle the first Rank of each challenge before the next one. You cannot choose the order in which you complete Challenges, even if one is easier to complete than the one that came before.

Herbalist Challenge #1 - Gather 6 Yarrow Plants

The first Challenge asks you to collect 6 Yarrow plants from the grassy plains of Lemoyne and New Hanover. Doing this will unlock the Herbalist Off-Hand Holster item for whichever character you are playing in the game.

Herbalist Challenge #2 - Eat 4 Types of Berries

The second Rank of the Herbalist Challenges involves eating all four types of berries found in Red Dead Redemption 2 from around the general wilderness. This task may take longer than the previous one, but it is still a straightforward goal compared to others. Doing this will earn you 25 Health XP and $5 in cash you can spend however you like.

Herbalist Challenge #3 - Craft 7 items Using Sage

This Challenge demands that you craft seven items using Sage plants as a main ingredient. While you may think this refers to the three types of Sage in the game, you only need Hummingbird Sage to accomplish this objective. You can find this grassy item near groups of trees or other significant vegetation sources in Lemoyne, West Elizabeth, New Hanover, or any area with enough green to go around.

Once you have enough Hummingbird Sage, you need to craft seven instances of Potent Bitters, Special Bitters, Potent Miracle Tonic, Potent Horse Stimulant, or Horse Ointment. It doesn't matter what combination of items you make, so craft whatever is easiest for you to put together. Doing this will get you the third Herbalist Rank, as well as the Herbalist Gun Belt as your reward.

Completing Every Herbalist Challenge (4 - 6)

Collect In Larger Numbers

The following Ranks of the Herbalist Challenge take much longer to finish than the first few in Red Dead Redemption 2. Feel free to take smaller steps to finish the goals for the rank you're on while you address some side quests or the main story in the game to prevent the process from getting too tedious. Some plants may show up for any of these Challenges as you are already exploring a region for a different reason.

Herbalist Challenge #4 - Pick 5 Mushrooms and Feed Them To a Horse

The fourth Herbalist Challenge asks you to gather five mushrooms and feed them to your horse. Small fungi can be hard to spot unless you use Arthur's Eagle Eye to highlight harvestable plants nearby as you travel. Bay Bolete mushrooms can be found in West Elizabeth near Caliban's Seat, while Chanterelles are scattered in the grasslands of Lemoyne and New Hanover.

Other mushrooms, such as Ram's Head, can be spotted growing in the forests of Ambarino and West Elizabeth for you to collect. On the other hand, Parasol mushrooms are found in the Heartlands of Lemoyne or wooded areas like Cumberland Forest. Feeding your horse any combination of these rare plants will earn you 50 Health XP and $10 for you to spend on stronger items.

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Herbalist Challenge #5 - Craft 9 items Using Indian Tobacco

The fifth rank of Challenges requires you to craft nine items using Indian Tobacco, a similar objective to the Herbalist Challenge at the third rank. Indian Tobacco in Red Dead Redemption 2 is pretty easy to find everywhere, so grab some quickly to make Potent Miracle Tonic, Potent Snake Oil, and Special Snake Oil. Doing this will give you another 50 Health XP and $10.

Indian Tobacco can only be crafted into new items from a campfire, so make sure you have one set up in the wild or return to your camp to craft the items you need.

Herbalist Challenge #6 - Pick 15 Different Species of Herbs

This Challenge will take far longer than many of the others you've completed until now. You have to pick 15 different Herbs from around your map, which can include ones you've harvested before on your travels. Berries, mushrooms, orchids, and more will count toward the total, so ride around for as long as you need to earn 100 Health XP and $15 from finishing this tedious task.

Completing Every Herbalist Challenge (7 - 8)

Craft Rare Items To Meet Goals

As you reach the later Herbalist Challenges in Red Dead Redemption 2, you'll realize that some recipes you need are ones you may not have discovered yet. Keep progressing through different sections of the story to unlock new areas that may contain the content you need. This way, you won't have obstacles as you find harder objectives to complete with new Challenges.

Herbalist Challenge #7 - Craft & Consume 5 Miracle Tonics

The sixth Challenge demands you craft and consume 5 Special Miracle Tonics, which aren't to be confused with elixirs you've seen in previous Challenges. The recipe for a Miracle Tonic can be found in a chest you loot from a camp a little above the first "E" in West Elizabeth on the map. Using any of the Tonics made from this blueprint at some point will reward you with the Herbalist Holster item.

You can also get the recipe for the Miracle Tonics by purchasing a pamphlet from the character Fences after the "A Short Walk in a Pretty Town" quest has been completed.

Herbalist Challenge #8 - Use Oleander Sage To Craft 6 Poison Weapons

The Rank 8 task asks you to craft six Poison Weapons in Red Dead Redemption 2 using Oleander Sage. This plant can be found in Bayou Nwa near Saint-Denis and along the banks of the Kamassa River in Lemoyne. Crafting Poison Arrows or Poison Knives from Oleander Sage is enough to complete the Challenge, rewarding you with 100 Health XP and $15.

Completing Every Herbalist Challenge (9)

Find One Of Everything

Herbalist Challenge #9 - Pick One of Each Species of Herb

The ninth Herbalist Challenge is arguably the most difficult since it requires you to pick one of each 43 types of Herb in the game. Any plants harvested before this Challenge don't count, meaning you have to re-harvest many plants you have already encountered. There are no systems in place to help you keep track of which organisms you've picked or how many, so you need to stay aware of the ones you've found.

The plants you'll want to be looking for are:

For those having trouble locating all the plants, herbs, berries, mushrooms, and orchids needed to complete this Challenge, check out the above video by YouTube creator GTA Series Videos, which includes a visual guide!

Plants & Herbs Where To Find Alaskan Ginseng Ambarino, West Elizabeth American Ginseng New Hanover, West Elizabeth Blackcurrant New Austin Burdock Root Alongside rivers and other bodies of water Common Bulrush Alongside rivers and other bodies of water Creeping Thyme New Austin, New Hanover Desert Sage New Austin English Mace Ambarino, New Austin Golden Currant New Hanover, West Elizabeth Hummingbird Sage Lemoyne, West Elizabeth

Plants & Herbs Where To Find Indian Tobacco Ambarino, Lemoyne, West Elizabeth Milkweed Lemoyne Oleander Sage Lemoyne Oregano All Regions, usually within grasslands Prairie Poppy New Austin, West Elizabeth Red Sage New Austin Vanilla Flower Lemoyne Violet Snowdrop Ambarino Wild Carrot Lemoyne, New Austin, New Hanover Wild Feverfew New Austin Wild Mint All Regions, usually near Wetlands Yarrow Lemoyne, New Hanover

Berries Where To Find Blackberry Ambarinio, West Elizabeth Evergreen Huckleberry Along the Kamassa River Red Raspberry Lemoyne, New Hanover Wintergreen Berry Ambarino, New Hanover

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Mushrooms Where To Find Bay Bolete New Hanover, West Elizabeth Chanterelle Lemoyne, New Hanover Parasol Mushroom New Hanover Ram's Head Ambarino, West Elizabeth

Orchids Where To Find Acuna's Star Orchid Bayou Nwa Cigar Orchid Bluewater Marsh (Lemoyne) Clamshell Orchid Bayou Nwa, Scarlett Meadows (Lemoyne) Dragon's Mouth Orchid O'Creagh's Run (Lemoyne) Ghost Orchid Bayou Nwa Lady of the Night Orchid Bayou Nwa

Orchids Where To Find Lady Slipper Orchid West Elizabeth Moccasin Orchid Roanoke Ridge Night Scented Orchid Bayou Nwa Queen's Orchid Bayou Nwa Rat Tail Orchid Bayou Nwa Sparrow Egg Orchid Roanoke Ridge Spider Orchid Bayou Nwa

Many of the plants, mushrooms, berries, and orchids on these lists do not appear until much later in the game. Some, like the Desert Sage and Wild Feverfew, only appear in the epilogue of Red Dead Redemption 2 rather than in the main story based on specific regions. However, those who beat this Herbalist Challenge will be greatly rewarded with 150 Health XP and $20.

Completing Every Herbalist Challenge (10)

Cook Up Various Meat To Finish Every Challenge

Herbalist Challenge #10 - Season & Cook all 11 Types of Meat

The final Herbalist Challenge demands that you cook and season all 11 types of Meat from animals hunted in Red Dead Redemption 2. Thankfully, there are many ways to finish this task, unlike the very direct approach you had to take to find every herb and plant. The meats you have to season near a campfire to fulfill the requirements of this final objective are:

Big Game

Crustacean

Exotic Bird

Flaky Fish

Game

Mutton

Plump Bird

Pork

Prime Beef

Succulent Fish

Venison

Not every meat in the game can be seasoned, but these particular food items can be enhanced using Creeping Thyme, Oregano, or Wild Mint before you cook them. Accidentally grilling any meats before seasoning them will make them uncountable for the challenge, so be careful. After cooking each meat, you will unlock the Herbalist, finishing the last of these Challenges in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Source: GTA Series Videos/YouTube