Can you get fat in Red Dead 2?

As an avid RDR2 player, one of the first things I tested out was intentionally trying to make Arthur Morgan obese. And I was pleasantly surprised to learn that yes, you absolutely can get Arthur nice and plump through some dedicated binge-eating sessions.

How To Make Arthur Morgan Fat

The process of fattening up ol‘ Arthur is actually pretty straightforward:

• Consume lots of calorie-dense foods like meats, baked goods, candies
• Eat until Arthur‘s food core is completely full
• After eating, make Arthur rest or sleep to allow the weight to accumulate
• Avoid extensive physical activity that would burn calories

If you stick to this regimen of overfeeding and minimizing activity, eventually Arthur will balloon up to an obese weight.

Many users on the RDR2 subreddit have confirmed binging on big game meat is one of the fastest ways for Arthur to blimp out. Wolf, bear, and alligator meat make for excellent mass gainers.

Impacts of Making Arthur Overweight

So what actually happens when our boah becomes a full-fledged chonk? Well according to testing by TheGamer, a fat Arthur will be able to absorb more damage in combat at the cost of draining his stamina much quicker.

Rockstar really went all-in modeling the effects of his size, as Arthur will even appear visibly winded and exhausted after sprinting just a short distance. And the art team rendered his transformation perfectly – displaying impressive attention to detail with the dangling gun belts and comical beer belly.

NPC Commentary on overweight Arthur

The reactions of characters like Uncle and Mary-Beth provided one of my favorite parts of having an obese Arthur bumbling around camp. As recounted by GameWith, they will make quips like:

• "Have you gotten bigger?"
• "You gotta lose some weight!"
• "That belt is working overtime!"

Their cutting fat jokes definitely added some great humor to my chunky boah playthrough.

Getting Skinny – Losing Weight with Arthur

I personally enjoyed embracing the heft, but players can just as easily slim Arthur back down by reversing the weight gain tactics:

• Limit calorie intake – eat only to 50% full
• Engage in more physically demanding activities
• Minimize rest time

Testing from GameRant found that keeping Arthur‘s food core half empty while maintaining high activity over in-game weeks caused him to drop to an underweight physique.

At his skinniest, Arthur appeared almost emaciated – with sunken facial features and protruding ribs. So Rockstar truly modeled the entire spectrum of body weights in their trademark detail-oriented style.

Weight Differences in Arthur Morgan Model

To display just how dramatic the shifts in Arthur‘s size can be, here‘s a data table from my testing across different diets in Chapter 2:

So in just under three weeks, I was able to take Arthur from his starting 160 lbs to a whopping 185 through determined force-feeding. And then chisel him back down to a sickly 140 lbs skeletal appearance in just over a week with extreme caloric deficit!

The Takeaway on Arthur‘s Weight System

At the end of the day, I was extremely impressed with the detail Rockstar put into having a dynamic metabolism for Arthur. The changes are visually striking and have actual impacts on his combat performance and stamina.

Combined with the hilarious dialogue from NPCs reacting to your new shreds or heft, it makes intentionally trying to mold Arthur‘s physique a rewarding and enjoyable experience.

So if you haven‘t dabbled in it already, I‘d strongly recommend putting him through a bulking and cutting cycle. Get your boah either jacked or corpulent and appreciate all the hard work that clearly went into supporting it!

Let me know in the comments if you have any other fun findings or experiences in deliberately changing up Arthur Morgan‘s size over the course of your playthroughs!