RDR2 The Mercies of Knowledge: How to get Moonshine

Arthur Morgan is not short on odd encounters with Strangers all across the Wild West in Red Dead Redemption 2. Being the honourable man he is (in my game, anyway), he’ll often find himself helping others out of strange situations and so forth, this includes an excitable Professor in Saint Denis.

You’ll meet the Professor during The Mercies of Knowledge Stranger Mission where he’ll task you with acquiring a lot of Moonshine for one of his inventions. To give you a helping hand, here’s our guide to The Mercies of Knowledge in Red Dead Redemption 2, including how to get Moonshine.

Red Dead Redemption 2 The Mercies of Knowledge Stranger Mission guide

You’ll encounter The Mercies of Knowledge Stranger Mission during Chapter 3 of Red Dead Redemption 2, where you will eventually arrive in the bustling town of Saint Denis.

In the northeast corner of the town, there’ll be a Stranger Mission marked on your map. Here, you’ll meet with Professor Andrew Bell III, who will ask if Arthur can acquire several gallons of Moonshine for him. Quite a lot for one person, you might think, but the Professor explains that the Moonshine is for one of his inventions, and not for drinking.

At some point during Red Dead Redemption 2’s story, you will have received a tip from a clerk, Alden, at the Rhodes train station. This is where you’ll need to go next, as Alden can also give us a tip as to where to get our hands on plenty of Moonshine. Go to the map marker at his location in Rhodes train station.

If there isn’t a map marker at Rhodes train station yet, you will need to continue RDR2's story until it becomes available. Once it’s available, speak to Alden, and he’ll tell you where to find a wagon that is transporting plenty of Moonshine.

The wagon transporting the Moonshine will be travelling to Saint Denis via Bluewater Marsh, and the location of it will be marked on your map. Make your way out of town and towards the Marsh until you come to a wooden bridge. Once the wagon arrives, kill the men riding it and take the wagon for yourself.

Transport the wagon back to the Professor, who will thank you for your work, but won’t pay you just yet. He’ll reveal that the Moonshine is being used for his new invention and execution method, the electric chair, but he requires a permit from the police station to trial the invention first.

With that, make your way to the Saint Denis police station and enquire about a permit with the officer inside. You will need to pay $100 for the permit, or you bargain with the police officer, and he will offer you a lower price of $50. This is still a hefty price, so here’s how to get more money in RDR2 if you need it.

After acquiring the permit, return to the Professor. You’ll now need a participant to trial the electric chair, so the Professor will hand you a bounty poster and request that you bring the target, McDaniels, back alive.

McDaniels location will be marked on your map, and he can be found with his companions around Moonstone Pond. Approach their camp and they will begin shooting. You want to kill everyone here except from McDaniels, who will be marked by a red bounty icon on your minimap.

Once everyone is dead, he will begin to flee. Use your lasso to capture him once you’re close enough, then hogtie him and stow him on the back of your horse. Now, return McDaniels to the Professor.

After delivering McDaniels to the Professor, he will then finally put his invention to the test in front of a live audience, but you'll need to wait a little while before this final portion of the quest appears on your map. Things won’t exactly go as planned during the execution, but it’s safe to say that the machine works… just not exactly as the Professor had hoped.

For more on Red Dead Redemption 2, check out some of the other interesting Stranger Missions you can encounter while in the wild. There’s The Artist’s Way, which sees you befriending an outlandish artist, and American Dreams, which sees you have a run-in with a serial killer.

For more bizarre encounters, be sure to try tracking down the UFO mystery, as well as the vampire in Saint Denis.