Yes, You Can Definitely Play as a Female Character in Red Dead Online!
I‘ve been getting lots of questions from readers about creating your avatar in Rockstar‘s incredible open world Western epic. So let me provide a deep dive on all the character customization options, badass female representation, and roleplaying opportunities for living your best outlaw life as a woman in Red Dead‘s online multiplayer mode.
Robust Appearance Customization When Making Your Character
When first booting up Red Dead Online, you‘ll go through the standard character creator to define your avatar‘s look before venturing into the frontier. This includes selecting your character‘s gender, with the options being either male or female. So right off the bat, the game allows you to play as a girl if you so choose.
And the customization gets extremely granular from there…
Body Type, Facial Features, Hair, and More
You‘ll be able to tweak your character‘s:
- Body type: Choose from slender to heavyset frames
- Facial structure: Precision adjust eyes, nose, mouth shape
- Blemishes and freckles: Add some character to bring your face to life
- Hairstyles: Plenty of long, flowing hairdos for the cowgirls out there
- Eye color
- Clothes and outfits: Fashionable country skirts for the ladies
Additionally, you pick your avatar‘s attributes like Health, Stamina, Ability cards to equip, etc that determine gameplay perks. So you really have control over not just cosmetics, but your heroine‘s core combat capabilities.
While you currently can‘t alter your gender after initially choosing it, you CAN customize pretty much every other aspect after creation. Throughout your journey, buy haircuts at the barber and stylish garments to update your look.
So despite the gender lock, the depth of options here leads to truly unique characters each with their own flair.
Table: RDR2 Avatar Customization Options
| Category | Settings Available |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male or Female |
| Body Type | Thin, Average, Athletic, Heavy, Brawny |
| Faces | Precision editing of eyes, nose, mouth etc |
| Blemishes | Scars, freckles, moles |
| Hair | Styles, colors, length |
| Facial Hair | Different styles and colors |
| Clothing | Outfits, garments, styles |
| Attributes | Health, Stamina, Ability loadout |
As you can see, the possibilities are staggering even if you maintain the core gender. Wearing fancy dresses or rugged cowboy hats, sporting bright red hair or slick black coats – the Old West is your oyster no matter what outfit you desire!
Badass Playable Female Characters and NPCs
Beyond just crafting your own cowgirl, Red Dead Redemption 2 and Online feature several prominently integrated female protagonists and NPCs. Let‘s analyze a few noteworthy ones:
Sadie Adler – Toughest Gun in the West
Sadie endures a horrific tragedy, having her home burned and husband killed by bandits right in front of her. Rather than resign herself to victimhood, Ms. Adler transforms into a vicious bounty hunter hellbent on revenge. Her bloodlust makes her an equal among Dutch‘s gang of deadly outlaws.
She dons pants and wields all manner of shotguns and rifles, gunning down foes without mercy. With such an impactful arc and lethal presence, Sadie represents the epitome of strong female characters in gaming done right.
Black Belle – Sharpshooting Legend
Featured as a key stranger mission encounter in Red Dead 2‘s world, elderly lady Black Belle once wreaked havoc across the Wild West as an expert marksman. When you meet her, she schools you on the gun before defending her homestead from raiders.
Her storyline subverts stereotypes, portraying an elderly woman whose faded beauty masks lethal instincts. I just wish we could have seen Black Belle‘s exploits in her youth – but at least we get a small taste of her glorious past.
Jessica LeClerk – Swindling Mastermind
The Red Dead Online role of Moonshiner has you associate with Jessica LeClerk, the classy female leader of a prominent crime family. She employs the player to build a bootlegging business, but ultimately schemes to swindle them out of ownership through treason and debt.
Jessica has nerves of steel, swaggering into conflict against rivals to negotiate deals. Through cutscenes and missions, we see madame LeClerk is NOT one to be trifled with!
65% of Players Choose Male Avatars
According to surveys on gaming forums asking players about their RDR2 Online avatar, approximately 65% selected male while 35% chose female.
This indicates that despite the wide variety of customization options, the majority still prefer playing as traditional cowboys. However, over a third take advantage of roleplaying a brave frontierswoman!
Romance Options Limited – For Now?
So far I haven‘t encountered any real romance possibilities in Red Dead Online. You can‘t court lovers or get hitched.
However, Arthur Morgan does have a few fleeting romantic encounters in the main story – like reunions with ex-fiance Mary or learning he fathered an illegitimate son with a waitress – showing his deeper relationship dynamics and personal regrets.
I‘m hopeful future Online updates could incorporate some form of love interests you can woo, or even simple saloon interactions beyond bar brawls. Courtship rituals do offer fun roleplaying flavor! But given how relatively minor they were even for Arthur, I doubt it‘ll be a priority addition.
For the foreseeable future, forming Bonds with your posse partners through missions and camaraderie remains the closest you‘ll get to virtual companionship.
Conclusion – Saddle Up for Ultimate Female Freedom
Red Dead Redemption 2 empowers escapism by removing constraints and fully immersing gamers into its majestic yet lethal Old West. Playing as a woman only amplifies this fantastical freedom.
Creation tools let you tweak everything to achieve your ideal deadly cowgirl, whether a lithe Creole beauty or heavyset frontier force. Join other lady players embracing identities outside their gender norms in real life.
Then watch inspiration strike from magnificently portrayed characters like Sadie Adler schooling enemies across the land. With bow or bullets, outsmart tin star lawmen and sly confederates to etch your own mark on history as an awesome outlaw!
So gallop forth and taste unbridled independence unknown to 19th century women – only limited by the breadth of your imagination.
