Red Dead Redemption 2: How to Clean Guns

Multiple outlets dubbed Red Dead Redemption 2 “the most realistic video game ever made” in their reviews and early impressions last month.

Depending on your taste in games, that may sound like a really good thing or a really bad thing. Red Dead Redemption 2 protagonist Arthur Morgan gets dirty and needs to take baths to get clean. Arthur’s hair and beard grow dynamically and he needs to trim them regularly to maintain a particular look. If he doesn’t eat enough, he’ll get underweight and tire easily; too much and he’ll get paunchy and slow.

This realism extends into the games approach to weaponry, as well. Use a gun too often and it will begin to suffer wear and tear. Wade through a river and your firearms will gather rust. It makes sense as an extension of Rockstar’s design philosophy, sure. But, that doesn’t mean it won’t get frustrating for certain players, especially if you’re unclear on how to fix your weapons up in the first place.

To that end, here’s our quick guide to keeping your weapons at the height of their O’Driscoll-killin’ powers.

Red Dead Redemption 2: How to Clean Weapons

Cleaning weapons is easy if you have the right supplies. So, if you notice that your handgun has a hitch in its giddy up, stop by a general store or gun store in any town. In these locations, you can buy Gun Oil, the crucial material for weapon cleaning. If you already have some, it will be stored in the “Kit” section of your satchel.

In Red Dead Redemption 2, Gun Oil is stored in the satchel's "Kit" section.

With Gun Oil acquired, hold L1/LB to bring up the weapon wheel. From there, select the weapon that you want to clean with the right stick. In the bottom right corner of the screen, you’ll see a prompt to “Maintain Weapon.” Press the right stick to select this option.

Red Dead Redemption 2: With a weapon selected, press the right stick in to clean it.

Arthur will pick the weapon up, and a pop-up box shows the weapon’s current stats in areas like Damage, Accuracy and Condition. For each stat, a meter shows the weapon’s state, with the meter filled in in red to show how far below max stats the weapon has fallen.

Red Dead Redemption 2: Meters highlight how far your weapon's stats have fallen.

This screen will also give you the option to press the Square/X button to clean your weapon. As with most tasks in Red Dead Redemption 2, you can mash the button to speed the process up. Once the process is complete, your weapon is good to go. It’s up to you, of course, how to use it.