The Undead are enemies found in the Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare DLC pack, acting as the main antagonistic group in the DLC's story, and also appear as character models in Multiplayer.
Quick Answers
What are the Undead in Red Dead Redemption's Undead Nightmare DLC?
What are the different ways the Undead can be reanimated in Red Dead Redemption?
How do the Undead function as the main antagonistic group in the Undead Nightmare DLC?
What is the role of the Undead in the multiplayer mode of Red Dead Redemption?
Are the Undead in Red Dead Redemption referred to as zombies in the game?
Characteristics
The undead, or zombies as they are more commonly called in popular culture, but only rarely referred to as such in Undead Nightmare are, by definition, a type of living being that has either died and been reanimated by the means of a curse, magic, science, or an infectious virus, or remains living but has lost higher mental functions due to any of the aforementioned reasons. This incarnation of zombie spawned when Abraham Reyes discovered an ancient Aztec Mask under the bull fighting ring in Escalera. He took it, thinking that it would grant him invincibility and immortality, but instead it turned him into one of the Undead as well as resurrected the dead as far as New Austin and West Elizabeth. The Undead will generally swarm and attack the closest living thing they can get their hands on. They seem to be attracted to sound and fast movement as they are quickly able to determine the location of a discharging firearm.
The Undead will rarely attack one another, but there are exceptions. When playing as Zombie Marston during the single player campaign, the Undead will often ignore the player completely, or slowly approach the player in a non-threatening manner, almost as if it was curious. Upon getting in arms reach, they will attack, but wont sprint and give chase if the player attempts to escape. Sprinting around them will quickly draw more attention to the player, so it is recommended to walk when in their direct presence. Any violent action done in their presence will send them into a frenzy and make them attack the player as they did when Marston was alive as a normal human. Interestingly, undead animals such as wolves will often prioritize a living mount over Zombie Marston and will chase it for quite some time, but they will still attack the player if on foot.
Powers
The Undead are extremely difficult to kill due to the fact that they are in the limbo between the world of the living and the world of the dead. They can only be killed by destroying or severing the head, burning them with the Torch or War mount, cleansing them with holy water, drowning them, destroying the body itself with an explosive or with the Blunderbuss, or ramming them with the Death mount (causing their heads to explode). They act in a primal, savage manner, feasting on the flesh and blood of the living to try and satisfy their seemingly insatiable hunger. The Undead look rotten and decayed, some having exposed bone sticking out of their sickly green to pale gray skin, others missing eyes, ears, teeth, and even whole pieces of flesh. When an Undead bites a living creature, it becomes "infected" with whatever it is causing the dead to come back to life, having only a few seconds before dying and joining the ranks of the Undead hordes. Some Undead seem to have some recollection of who they once were, saying things they had when were alive, as seen in the case of some Boss Undead while cleansing cemeteries. The things they say, however, are in an eerie, distorted, almost unrecognizable voice. In one case, an undead prostitute can be seen offering her services to an undead male.
However, it seems that if a person is resurrected from the dead while in possession of a bottle of Holy Water (or presumably anything blessed or holy), they will be resurrected with the rotted body of an Undead, but with the soul and mind of who they were, thus meaning that they mentally are that person, as with the case of John Marston. It is unknown if there are any others of Zombie Marston's kind, but it is presumed that there are no others as none have been found, not even in a pastor's grave.
It is implied through conversation with Ayauhteotl that the undead are actually acting on their own accord and do not want to go back to being dead. Thus why the the mask must be returned to prevent them from rising from the grave once more.
Types of Undead
There are four different categories of undead found in the DLC, not counting undead animals.
Fresh Undead
Fresh undead are typical zombies, but are actually quite fast corpses, and they usually make up the bulk of the undead hordes. Along with Bolters, these zombies are the only kind that can grapple John, possibly because they hold no other special characteristics, unlike the other types of undead. They are mostly found in massive hordes, and if they grab the player off guard, the player can be seriously injured or even killed.
These are some notable characters that were turned into undead.
- Abigail Marston **
- Jack Marston **
- John Marston
- Nastas *
- Harold MacDougal *
- Uncle
- Lucille Billingsgate *
- Herbert Moon *
- Jonah
- Eli
- Vincente de Santa
- Jimmy Saint
- D.S. MacKenna *
- Peter Turner
- Alma Horlick
- Moses Forth *
* - possibly cured if hogtied
** - cured
Bolters
Bolters move much more quickly than other undead by scampering on all fours, making them hard to target. Like Fresh Undead, Bolters can grapple Marston and potentially kill him, although this is much rarer. Their main attack is biting and clawing at the player in a rapid succession, making them extremely dangerous when in hordes. Bolters appear to be small and frail looking, and they walk like they have a limp until they see the player, ironically making them the slowest Zombie as well if they are on just their legs. They are usually easy to spot from a distance.
Bruisers
Bruisers are big, fat, and slow, with stamina above other zombie types making them tough to kill. They will also charge at the player from a distance to knock him down. They can easily be seen when within a group of zombies. It is recommended to try and take them out first since they can knock down Marston, quickly making him a meal for any nearby Bolters.
These are some notable characters that were turned into Bruisers:
Retchers
- Retchers glow green, smell worse than other undead, spit toxic bile at the player, and explode when killed, causing damage to the player (it will stun the player if playing as undead John Marston) as well as any other Undead or NPCs caught in the blast. They can be found in and around Gaptooth Ridge and most of Nuevo Paraiso.
Tactics
- With the exception of Retchers, all undead enemies are short-ranged, melee attackers, therefore the player will not have to take cover against them.
- The best way of avoiding Undead is to constantly outrun them and use Dead-Eye Targeting to get easy headshots on multiple zombies.
- The Bolters are the hardest to hit due to their fast speed, so try to save the majority of Dead-Eye for them. Also, zombies cannot climb over obstacles, and they will get stuck on fences, so try to put something between the player and them. Elevation also works to the player's advantage, as Undead cannot climb, so stay on the roofs of buildings.
- When suddenly attacked by a small number of undead, with no way to escape, it is unwise to waste time reaching for a melee weapon like the torch, as it is slow and will take a long time to kill the undead. Instead, pull the trigger while they are attacking the player and he will automatically hit them with the butt of his gun or perform an Execution, both of which are instant kills.
- This is also a valuable tactic when conserving ammo or on relatively small targets, like Bolters.
- Going inside buildings is one of the most dangerous things a player can do, especially if the player has more than one Undead to deal with. If the player does get stuck in a building, try to find an area that will funnel the zombies into a semi-straight line. Use Holy Water to destroy them group by group. If players don't have any Holy Water, get out the gun with the highest ammo capacity that the player has and use Dead-Eye to target and take them out.
- Players should choose their targets wisely. Using their valuable ammo to take out the more powerful Zombies first. The suggested order for a normal situation is BRUISERS - BOLTERS - RETCHERS - NORMAL. Retchers and Bolters can be interchanged depending on the situation. Also, Bruisers are more dangerous in cramped quarters, though Bolters should be priority.
- Reloading isn't something the player wants to do while being chased by a certain number of undead. Therefore, the player should (if the option is available) use Dead Eye quickly, and then turn it off. This way, players will approximately reload almost instantaneously.
- Rifle-butting a Bolter will always kill them, and they may even block the Undead behind them, buying the player some time.
- A good tactic when dealing with the undead is to outrun them, then press in the right stick to make John look behind him. Then, while holding down the right stick, press the aim button. This makes John do a quick 180 degree turn and then the player can go into dead eye and take care of the undead. This move also sets up easy executions for the undead that are chasing the player.
- When surrounded, find something to vault over. The Undead cannot climb, so vaulting over something - such as a railing, wall, etc. - will separate them from the player. They will have to find an opening to get to the player, and while they are doing that, the player can run away and heal.
- It is recommended to use Casual targeting mode, as using this makes the player to immediately point their gun at the head of the nearest Undead in their line of sight when aiming, making it an easy kill with a push of a button.
- However, using Normal targeting mode will still cause the player to always aim at the head of a Bolter, but just at the body of any other Undead variant. Due to this game mechanic, Bolters are perhaps the most easy type of Undead to kill
- Choosing the right weapon for fighting Undead requires a different approach than in the main game. Because Undead can only be killed with headshots, high-power weapons with small magazines and slow firing rates (particularly rifles, however the speed loader on the bolt action rifle makes it effective for medium distances and executions) are much less effective than in Red Dead Redemption. Since a single headshot will kill an Undead, regardless of the power of the weapon used, the importance of damage in weapon selection is minimal. Instead, the most desirable traits in a weapon are magazine size, rate of fire, and reload speed. This makes Repeaters and Pistols two of the most useful weapons to use when fighting the Undead. However, while on foot, Shotguns can be invaluable, since their spread makes it extremely easy to get a headshot on an Undead, and in tight groups can kill or knock down multiple Undead.
Multiplayer
In Multiplayer, there are eight zombie player models, six of them being recycled Bolter models. They have exactly the same abilities as the normal characters. They also appear as enemy NPCs in the Undead Overrun gamemode.
The player cannot play a zombie character when joining an Undead Overrun gamemode, and it will automatically give the player a random character from the outfitter depending on what the other players' characters are.
Trivia
- While majority of the Bolters, Bruisers, and Retchers are all new and unique models specifically made for Undead Nightmare, the Fresh Undead seem to share the exact same models as their living counterparts as seen in Red Dead Redemption. However, their animations and general behaviors are modified to appear as undead.
- Undead will drown in water like any NPC (or Marston) would.
- There is a rare texture bug where a zombie will appear as a regular, uninfected NPC.
- A possible glitch may occur where undead females can be heard making chicken noises.
- In some trailers and promotional screenshots, Retchers were shown to appear in West Elizabeth, which they do not in the game.
- If being attacked by a group of undead, they may grapple John. If the player isn't careful, they can kill John instantly if caught off guard.
- Undead may retain some human qualities, such as lust, as hinted in the opening cutscene for the survivor mission "Biographies and Lies".
- Walking around with a hogtied Retcher for too long will cause it to rupture, killing the player. This can be negated by setting them on a horse.
- Bruisers, Bolters, and Retchers resemble the various Special Infected of the Left 4 Dead video game series (Charger, Hunter, and Spitter, respectively).
- The Fresh Undead are only explicitly referred to as such in Rank 1 of the Undead Hunter Challenges; otherwise, they are not mentioned by name at all during Undead Nightmare, unlike the other three types of undead who are mentioned semi-frequently - or at least alluded to - throughout the game. The only other direct references made to the Fresh Undead are in the mission "Mother Superior Blues", where one of the objectives requires the player to hogtie a Fresh Undead and return it to Mother Superior for experimentation. Mother Superior herself refers to the Fresh Undead as "new one[s]", "recently human", and "recently turned".
- In the mission "A Civilized Man", Ayauhtéotl reveals that the undead who have been deceased for the longest time are far more venomous compared to the recently turned.
- While not confirmed, it can be feasibly assumed with Ayauhtéotl's information that the Retchers in particular are among the oldest corpses that make up the undead, as well as possibly the Bolters and Bruisers.
- Although all undead can die from a single headshot from the weakest of weapons, some undead can be seen with cleavers or tomahawks lodged in their heads.
- When an NPC kills a Retcher, it may not explode. However, the player is still unable to loot the corpse. Killing a Retcher with Holy Water will also not cause it to explode.
- Undead may glitch and do civilian actions such as stealing a horse. However, they always get back off it after. They may also do other things that are human by accident.
- There is a Retcher character model within the game that bears a resemblance to Irish. It has similar grey pants, an olive green shirt, messy hair, and a full beard, similar to Irish.
- The player can walk safely when they are at a distance away from a Retcher, however if it spots the player and ruptures near or at them, John will immediately switch to a jogging pace.
- During the "You Only Die Twice" random encounter, the undead may appear without blood on their clothes or skin. They look very similar to their human counterparts, minus their pale skin.
- While headshots are the quickest and safest way to kill undead, it is possible to kill them with body shots, however this takes a significant amount of ammo. However, in Undead Overrun, body shots kill them much faster.
- When mounted on a horse and standing still (or moving slowly) around a group of undead, they will approach the horse and pull the player off. They will proceed to attack the player, and occasionally attack and kill the player's mount.
- Humorously, the player can taunt the undead. For example, if one was hogtied and the player presses the action button, John may taunt the Undead with many insults, including asking if the zombie is Bill Williamson; although, Marston cannot taunt Bolters and Bruisers.
- Usually, after saving a town, the player will encounter a woman approaching an undead, thinking they are a previously deceased loved one that is still alive. The undead will try to bite the woman, and the player can save the woman by shooting the undead before it infects the woman, or hogtying it.
- Some of the undead models that can appear in Undead Nightmare are undead nuns. These undead are unique as they only spawn in Las Hermanas while it is under attack by the undead hordes, and, as such, cannot be found anywhere else. They appear as Fresh Undead and sound just like regular female undead.
- Sometimes the doctor from the "Doctor" random encounter can be heard saying: "I wish they didn't explode when they die. They'd make excellent test subjects!", implying that he wants to study Retchers. This is backed up by encounters in Gaptooth Ridge and Nuevo Paraíso, where he may request a Retcher specifically.
- Bruisers and Bolters only appear in West Elizabeth during the mission "Curious Tales from Blackwater". Bolters, however, are sometimes the undead chasing a survivor during "The Zombie Prey" random encounter, and they can also be found attacking the survivors during the "Last Stand" random encounter. Mordecai Robbard, a Bruiser, also appears whenever the player cleanses the Blackwater graveyard.
- The largest horde of undead that the player could possibly find is in Jorge's Gap, as the entire area is full of the undead. Other locations with large hordes include Tumbleweed, Warthington Ranch, and Critchley's Ranch. There are also large hordes outside the walls of Fort Mercer and El Presidio. Finally, large hordes can also sometimes be found in Pike's Basin and Bearclaw Camp, however the undead may not always spawn in these two locations.
- As of June 2014, an update occurred that has made Undead Nightmare unplayable for many players. The undead's heads will become invisible after about 10 or 15 minutes and, if the player tries to save their game, it will not save and they will have to restart the game. Also, any mythical creatures that players find will have no saddle and will kick the player off. This can occur with both the digital copy of Undead Nightmare, and the Game Of The Year copy.
- Note that there are two Zombie Ricketts undead that can be encountered throughout the game, The first one is a Bolter which can be found anywhere outside of West Elizabeth, while his Retcher version can be found in Gaptooth Ridge and all over Nuevo Paraíso. Notable differences are the colors of their coats: The Bolter version has the same cobalt blue duster coat with little bloodstains on it while the Retcher version of him has a green duster coat instead of his usual blue one, note that this one is also full with bloodstains.
- A strange glitch can happen when applying the Invincibility cheat in Undead Nightmare. If the player stands within a group of undead for long enough, one may attempt to grab and bite them, prompting a quick time event to escape. If the player lets the zombie succeed, they will not die after the bite animation is complete. The glitch is that the undead will no longer act hostile towards the player. This glitch lasts for a seemingly random amount of time, or until the player reloads a save. After this, the undead will act hostile towards the player again.
- The player can "greet" Fresh Undead. Simply ride on horseback near a Fresh Undead and tap the greet button (B on Xbox 360, O on PlayStation 3) without a weapon drawn. Marston will then tip his hat to the Fresh Undead next to him. This appears to be an unintentional action left in the game, as there would be no reason for Marston to greet the undead.
- Players may come across wandering civilians claiming to be sick and requiring a doctor. These troubled folk have been infected and, after a few seconds, they will fall and scream in pain (if it's a lawman) or vomit (if it's a French prostitute). After which, they'll attempt to attack the player. They can be recognized by their obvious pale skin. If the player momentarily lassos them before they turn, they will seem to be cured, though they'll run off scared if not hogtied.
- If the aforementioned civilian is a lawman or is otherwise equipped with a firearm, he may open fire when lassoed or intimidated by the player with a firearm of their own. Be very careful around these victims of the undead plague, as they can catch the player off guard and kill them within seconds.
- Fresh undead use the same models as many NPCs. However, they have been modified to appear undead, with the addition of pale skin and blood-soaked clothes.
- If the player spots a fresh undead from a relative distance away, the fresh undead may look just like their living NPC counterpart. However, once the player gets closer, the fresh undead will look like a zombie. This may be related to the texture bug explained below.
- Similarly, if the player equips a sniper rifle (Rolling Block Rifle or Carcano Rifle) and immediately spots an undead far away enough through the scope, the undead may look like a living person. After a split second, their undead model textures will suddenly replace their alive model textures.
- In an unrelated, yet similar texture bug like the ones explained above, the undead may appear to look "shiny" when seen further away from the player's position. This is more likely to be observed at dusk, or when there is heavy precipitation.
- These texture bugs are likely caused by the lack of proper LOD textures made for the Fresh Undead specifically. As the Fresh Undead use the exact same character models as their living counterparts in Red Dead Redemption, they also share the same LOD textures. It is unclear why LOD textures were not made for the Fresh Undead, though it does explain why the unchanged one appear when the player sees a Fresh Undead from further away, and are only replaced by their proper undead textures once the player is close enough to them.
Gallery
See also
Related Content
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||