Story Mode
Activities
Between missions, the world has plenty to do. This page is a map of it: what each activity is, where it lives, and whether it counts toward 100% completion. Scripted story robberies are not covered.
Checked Sep 30, 2026 · Sources: CommunityCGN
At a glance
Everything you can do, and what counts
The last column shows what the 100% checklist asks for. Nothing here is required to finish the story. Community
| Activity | What it is | For 100% |
|---|---|---|
| Train robbery | Board a train and take from the passengers or the baggage car at the back. Trains carry guards who warn you first. | One, outside a mission. Stealing a can of food from the back counts. |
| Coach robbery | Stop a stagecoach and rob it. Post office clerks in Rhodes and Strawberry will tip you off about coaches worth hitting. | One. |
| Home and shop robberies | Hold up a homestead or the cash register of a shop. Witnesses can report you. | One home robbery and one shop robbery. |
| Gang hideouts | Outlaw camps full of gunmen, with loot to take afterward. | Clear six. |
| Strangers | People who need help, marked by a white circle with a question mark on the minimap. They can be started and finished at any time. | Any ten strands, plus five named ones. |
| Bounty hunter missions | Wanted posters from sheriff's offices. | Any five. |
| Random encounters | Unscripted events on the road: someone in trouble, an ambush, a trap. | Twenty-five, plus survive a gang ambush. |
| Table games | Poker, blackjack, dominoes and Five Finger Fillet, in towns and in camp. | Play each once. |
| Shows and baths | Theaters, a traveling show, and hotel baths. | Watch a show, watch a live theater show, and take a bath. |
| Treasure hunts | Maps that lead to buried treasure. | Finish one chain. |
| Points of interest and shacks | Odd places with a story you piece together: investigate and sketch. | One point of interest and five shacks. |
Robberies without the story
Robberies are open to you most of the time, but the law notices. A bandana hides your face from witnesses. Clothing can still give you away. How the law works
- Trains. Walking into a restricted car such as a boxcar, baggage car or caboose gets a warning from the guards, and then gunfire. If you stop the driver, the guards attack at once.
- Coaches. The two post office clerks mentioned above give you leads. Stolen coaches can be returned to a fence.
- Rival gangs rob trains too. The Del Lobo Gang, the Lemoyne Raiders and the O'Driscoll Boys are sometimes seen doing it.
Table games in town
| Game | Where |
|---|---|
| Poker | Valentine (Smithfield's Saloon), Saint Denis (Bastille Saloon), Tumbleweed, and Flatneck Station |
| Blackjack | Rhodes and Van Horn Trading Post |
| Five Finger Fillet | Valentine (Keane's Saloon), Strawberry and Van Horn |
| Dominoes | Saint Denis (across the street from the Théâtre Râleur) and Emerald Station |
Strangers and encounters
Strangers are people out in the wilderness or in town, marked on the minimap by a white circle with a question mark. Their tasks can be as simple as finding a friend, picking flowers, hunting animals or delivering something. Violence often solves the problem, but think before you shoot first. Some of their missions involve a choice that affects your honor. Rewards are usually cash and other bonuses.
Random encounters are different: they just happen as you ride. Helping people in trouble raises honor, and a handful of them lead to items you cannot get any other way.
Event areas
Three places change as the story moves on: Castor's Ridge, Appleseed Timber Company and the Central Union Railroad camp. Each has several stages, and you can step in at set points. Waiting too long can skip a stage.
Hideouts
Outlaw hideouts are usually away from towns. Clearing one leaves loot to take. Hideouts of the six cataloged gangs are the quickest way to fill that part of the compendium. The gangs
Sources: Community checked Sep 30, 2026, with Rockstar's PC post for the hideouts and bounty missions added in 2019.