Red Dead Redemption 2 Perks, Talismans and Trinkets

Despite its steadfast attention to detail and near-obsession with realism, Red Dead Redemption 2 is still just a video game with some weird and wonderful perks.

What video game would be complete without magical talismans and trinkets that give your characters special perks? Here’s how to craft the talismans and trinkets in Red Dead Redemption 2, and what Perks they give Arthur.

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• How to get perks in Red Dead Redemption 2
• Red Dead Redemption 2 Trinkets
• Lion's Paw Trinket
• Red Dead Redemption 2 Talismans

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How to get perks in Red Dead Redemption 2

In your player status menu, you'll see a bank of Undiscovered Perks. These Perks improve your attributes and give Arthur passive bonuses that will make shoot-outs and the like that little bit easier in Red Dead Redemption 2 - and a lot more fun.

The perks that you can unlock in RDR2 are as follows:

• Reduce incoming melee damage
• Reduce incoming damage when riding your horse
• Decrease core drain rate for both Arthur and your horse
• Slow down weapon degradation
• Receive higher quality animal parts from skinning
• Increase Health, Stamina, and Dead XP yield
• Increase money yield from looting
• Increase yield from picking herbs
• Increase overall Dead Eye duration
• Increase length of Eagle Eye meter
• Increase alcohol resistance
• Makes it so animal carcasses on the back of your horse don't rot

The above Perks are unlocked by crafting Trinkets and Talismans, which we go into more detail about below.

Red Dead Redemption 2 Trinkets

Trinkets are crafted at a fence and grant Arthur powerful passive bonuses in Red Dead Redemption 2. They're made using special animal parts that are looted from Legendary versions of the wild animals that you find throughout the wilderness.

If you're struggling to find a fence, we've got a full guide on fence locations in Red Dead Redemption 2, so take a look there.

All of the craftable Trinkets are as follows:

• Beaver Tooth Trinket - Effect: Slows down weapon degradation by 10%
• Buck Antler Trinket - Effect: Get higher quality animal parts from skinning
• Cougar Fang Trinket - Effect: Increase Stamina XP yield by 10%
• Coyote Fang Trinket - Effect: Increase Dead Eye XP yield by 10%
• Elk Antler Trinket - Effect: Increase money yield from looting
• Fox Claw Trinket - Effect: Increase length of Eagle Eye meter
• Moose Antler Trinket - Effect: Increase Health XP yield by 10%
• Panther's Eye Trinket - Effect: Increase overall Dead Eye duration
• Pronghorn Horn Trinket - Effect: Stops animal carcasses from rotting on the back of your horse
• Ram Horn Trinket - Effect: Increase herb yield of oregano, thyme, and mint
• Tatanka Bison Horn Trinket - Effect: Decreases incoming melee damage by 10%
• Wolf Heart Trinket - Effect: Increase alcohol resistance

There's also five other Trinkets which cannot be crafted:

• Hawk Talon – permanently decreases Stamina bar drain speed by 30% when drawing a bow. Found in a lockbox near Deadboot Creek
• Cat Eye – permanently increases the length of Fortifying tonic effects by 20%. Found in a lockbox on an island south of Braithwaite Manor
• Shark Tooth – permanently increases horse bonding experience bonus by 10%. Found in a lockbox near a shipwreck that's east of Annesburg
• Turtle Shell – permanently increases health bar refill speed by 10%. Found in a lockbox at Gaptooth Breach. Head to the building near the mine, it's underneath the stairs
• Crow Beak – permanently increases looted ammo by 10%. Obtained through The Elemental Trail Map

Lion's Paw Trinket

To get the Lion's Paw for this special Trinket, you need to loot it off of the lion during the “He's British, of Course” stranger quest in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Red Dead Redemption 2 Talismans

Talismans also provide Arthur with passive buffs throughout RDR2 but are more difficult to make than Trinkets. Talismans require not just a legendary animal part, but a piece of jewellery and a unique crafting item. The latter are gathered from the game's open-world, or given as a reward for side quests in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Here's what you need to craft all of the Talismans, and what they do:

• Alligator Tooth Talisman - Effect: Reduces Dead Eye Core drain by 10% - Materials needed: Vintage Civil War Handcuffs, Gold Joined Bracelet, Legendary Alligator Tooth
• Bear Claw Talisman - Effect: Reduces Health Core drain by 10% - Materials needed: Quartz Chunk, Silver Chain Bracelet, Legendary Bear Claw
• Bison Horn Talisman - Effect: Reduces Stamina Core drain by 10% - Materials needed: Abalone Shell Fragment, Silver Earring, Legendary Bison Horn
• Boar Tusk Talisman - Effect: Reduces Horse Core drain by 10% - Materials needed: Cobalt Petrified Wood, Gold Earring, Legendary Boar Tusk
• Raven Claw Talisman - Effect: Reduces weapon degradation by 20% - Materials needed: Old Brass Compass

If you're looking to craft any of these Talismans, then here's where you can find the required materials.

Where to find the Vintage Civil War Handcuffs

You get the Civil War Handcuffs, for the Alligator Tooth Talisman, by sending off one full set of Cigarette Cards to the Stranger from the “Smoking and other Hobbies” quest. You can find cards throughout the world, or by opening packs of Premium Cigarettes.

Where to find the Quartz Chunk

You get the Quartz Chunk need for the Bear Claw Talisman by relaying the location of one dinosaur bone to the archaeologist from the “Test of Faith” Stranger quest.

Where to find the Abalone Shell Fragment

The Abalone Shell Fragment, which you'll need to craft the Bison Horn Talisman, is found in a ruined old house to the north of the centre of Rhodes.

Where to find the Cobalt Petrified Wood

You can find the Cobalt Petrified Wood inside of a chest that’s hidden to the northwest of Lake Isabella. The Cobalt Petrified Wood is one of the materials you'll need for the Boar Tusk Talisman.

Where to find the Old Brass Compass

You get the Old Brass Compass for completing the “Geology for Beginners” Stranger quest and finding all ten rock carvings. This material is needed to craft the Raven Claw Talisman.

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Now you've got your accessories in order, how about setting off after the best outfit in Red Dead Redemption 2. You can also search for the best horse and best RDR2 weapons. If you need more help with Red Dead Redemption 2, make sure you check out our gang hideouts map and our page on the gunslingers locations too.