Did you want to die? I mean, was that it? Is that why you went straight out to Fort Mercer and picked a fight with the worst bandit in the county?
To die?Bonnie MacFarlane to John Marston
New Friends, Old Problems is the second mission of Red Dead Redemption.
To view the mission tree, see:
Story
John Marston wakes up after being shot by Bill Williamson at Fort Mercer. He has been taken by Bonnie MacFarlane and her father Drew to their ranch, after paying the Doctor in Armadillo to remove the bullet.
The player wakes up in the shack on a bed with a bandaged wound on his stomach. Bonnie MacFarlane, the ranch owner's daughter, comes in. She asks what he was doing at Fort Mercer. John replies that he wanted to give an old friend a chance. Bonnie is surprised that he knows such a dangerous bandit. Bonnie also tells John that she paid a doctor to remove the bullet, and that the medical bill costed $15. She says that John could help pay off the doctor's bill by helping her patrol the ranch. After a while, Bonnie gives him a horse to ride and shows John around the ranch and the surrounding neighborhood. After showing him around, Bonnie takes John to her house, and he takes a rest in a chair.
Later on in the evening, he and Bonnie patrol the ranch looking for pests which are causing trouble. Bonnie spots some rabbits eating some vegetables and has John help her get rid of them, soon after they see some coyotes attacking the chickens, and John and Bonnie kill them as well.
John then hitches his horse outside his room, and the night patrol is finished.
Walkthrough
Mission Prerequisites
Before this mission becomes available, the player must complete:
Mission Details
In this mission, the player is introduced for the first time to shooting and the Dead Eye _targeting system.
Follow Bonnie through the group of buildings to the horses. Once mounted, follow her around the ranch.
After resting, following Bonnie around the exterior of the property. When instructed, shoot at the rabbits. After that is finished, continue to follow Bonnie. When you arrive at the chicken coops, shoot and kill the Coyotes. After all that, Bonnie instruct you to get some sleep, and see her the next day.
Mission Dialogues
Mission Failure
The mission will fail if the player:
- Assaults or abandons Bonnie.
- Attacks or kills his or Bonnie's horse.
- Strays too far from the mission location.
- Breaks the law.
- Kills a dog.
- Commits vandalism.
- Assaults or kills townsfolk.
- Dies.
Gold Medal Objectives
- Fastest Time: 7:00
- Shot Accuracy: 100%
New Game Elements Introduced
- Selecting a gun
- Dead Eye _targeting Level 1
- Hitching a horse
- Shooting a rifle
- Shooting a revolver
- Dueling with Charlie Mash
- Taming wild horses without lasso
Mission Complete Unlockables
For a view of the mission tree, see Missions in Redemption/Tree
- Repeater Carbine
- Dead-Eye _targeting Level 1
- MacFarlane's Ranch Safehouse
- MacFarlane's Ranch Nightwatch job
- "Flowers for a Lady" Stranger side-mission
- Hideouts:
- Tumbleweed
- Twin Rocks
- Solomon's Folly (PS3 and Game of the Year only)
Glitch
After completing the mission, choosing to do a Nightwatch job instead of saving will hinder the player from getting the Gentleman's Attire outfit. This could possibly be due to the fact that completing a Nightwatch job at MacFarlane's Ranch adds to the Bollard Twins Outfit journal entry. (Confirmed on Xbox.)
It appears that this glitch has been fixed, as it seems to happen very rarely now. Tested on Xbox 360, but not yet confirmed on PS3.
Trivia
- The title name is directly opposite of the mission "Old Friends, New Problems" later in the game.
- It is unnecessary to shoot the animals, as Bonnie will do it anyway.
- John's injury cost Bonnie $15.00 dollars to treat. Back in 1911, this was quite a large sum of money. In today's money (as of 2022), that bill would be roughly $400.00 USD.
- Interestingly enough, despite this being a relatively large sum of money, John does not actually pay her back, as the $15.00 owed is never taken from John's account at any point during the game. However, it is implied from Bonnie in later missions that John's work around the ranch and the subsequent saving of the livestock from the burning barn & the rescuing of her father was far more than what he originally owed to Bonnie, so the debt was considered absolved.
- During this mission, John will be wearing his cowboy outfit, with the exception of the sleeveless leather overcoat, exposing the bloody bandage around his waist from the bullet wound after he was shot at Fort Mercer. However, during the second part of the mission after he wakes up in Bonnie's house, he is wearing the sleeveless overcoat, therefore hiding the bandage.
- Occasionally the bandages on John will show blood trying to seep through, seconds later looking as if there never was blood. This happens back and forth, possibly between cutscenes.
- At the start of the mission, when walking, John will gasp and hold his wound with his hand, showing that his injury is still very painful.
- This is the only time in the whole game that John is barefoot.
- John seems to have a bandage on his right foot. It is unknown if this was from Fort Mercer, from working on Beecher's Hope, or from his time in the Van der Linde gang.
- While touring the ranch with Bonnie, she will state that the barn on the property was built by her father when she was little. This directly contrasts the rendition of the ranch in Red Dead Redemption 2. If the player visits the ranch in either the main storyline (1899) via cheats or in the epilogue (1907), the barn does not exist.
Gallery
Video Walkthroughs
Achievement
Completing this mission contributes toward the following Trophy/Achievement:
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100
 Gold
 Attain 100% List in the singleplayer game completion list.
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