Outlaws from the West

Before you start

• Nothing beyond finishing the opening cutscenes. The third cutscene has the gang arrive in Colter, and Dutch asks Arthur to come with him to look for supplies and for Micah and John.
• Dead Eye is not unlocked yet, so plan to rely on cover and a basic aim. Any hit you take costs the no-damage medal.
• For the Gold Medal, plan to meet all three requirements in one playthrough: no damage in the shootout, at least 6 items looted at Adler Ranch, and at least 80 percent accuracy. A replay resets earlier progress, so every requirement must be redone together.
• The next mission, 'Enter, Pursued by a Memory', begins automatically after this mission's final cutscene, so finish any looting before you trigger the last scene.

1. Ride with Dutch from Colter

Once control passes to you, stay behind Dutch and follow him up the road from Colter toward Adler Ranch in Grizzlies West. The ride is linear, so do not stop or wander off the route. You may ask Dutch optional questions on the way, such as about the Blackwater job or whether it was a setup. These are conversation only and do not change the mission.

Checkpoint: You are riding behind Dutch on the road and the next scene, meeting Micah, begins as you approach the ranch.

2. Meet Micah and keep up with him

A cutscene introduces Micah, and the game then teaches you to ride in formation. Sources describe the pace control differently. One says to hold the pace button and double-tap to go faster, and another says Micah and Dutch speed up so you should press the button repeatedly to keep pace. Do whichever your on-screen prompt shows. Talking to Micah is optional.

Checkpoint: You are keeping up with Micah and Dutch without falling behind, and the group reaches the hitching posts near the cabin.

3. Hitch your horse

Ride to the hitching posts and tie your horse when prompted. Once you do, Dutch tells Arthur to hide in the shed and tells Micah to hide behind the wagon.

Checkpoint: Your horse is hitched, and Dutch gives the orders to take positions.

4. Take cover at the shed

Go to the shed, which is on the left side as you face the cabin. You can crouch inside it or just outside it, but you must be in cover. Dutch calls out to the people in the cabin, and Micah tells Arthur there is a body in the wagon. Stay in cover while the standoff builds.

Checkpoint: Arthur is in cover at the shed, Dutch has hailed the occupants and the weapon prompt appears.

5. Protect Dutch in the shootout

When prompted, open the weapon wheel and equip the Cattleman Revolver. Aim and fire. When you shoot, Dutch and Micah join in. One source suggests taking an easy headshot while the outlaws are still talking and then ducking behind the barricade. After that, shoot, return to cover, and peek out only once you know where the fire is coming from. Do not linger on a shot, and watch for the red reticle that shows the shot will land. Prioritize enemies who lean out of cover or change position. Scan every spot the sources mention, since they disagree on the total count: several in front of the house, one coming out of the door, one at an upstairs or second-floor window, and one approaching from the right or left side. Treat the count as unverified. If you have missed a lot of shots, aiming at the body of the last few enemies can raise your accuracy. If Arthur does not shoot first, Micah will. That is fine for story progress but takes away your control over accuracy and damage, so it can cost the medal.

Checkpoint: The enemies in front of the house are down or running, and you have taken no damage if you are going for the medal.

6. Optional chase of the survivor

The wiki lists a prompt to hold the sprint button and run after the last outlaw as he flees. He tries to escape, and Dutch lets him go. Chasing is optional and does not appear to be required.

Checkpoint: The shooting stops and Dutch signals that the cabin can be searched.

7. Search the cabin and loot for the medal

Follow Dutch into the cabin and search for supplies by holding the prompt near each item. For the medal you need at least 6 items from Adler Ranch. One guide gives this breakdown, and I could only find it in a single source: 3 Opened Health Cure in the medicine cabinet, in the kitchen 3 Canned Vegetable, 2 Canned Fruit and 1 Assorted Biscuits, 1 Classic Oatcakes near the lantern by the entrance, 1 Coin Purse in the bedroom chest, and in the loft 1 Classic Oatcakes and 1 Revolver Cartridges (Regular). Another source says all items are out in the open and reminds you not to forget the ladder. A GameFAQs answer also mentions jewelry and a cigarette card in the drawer by the bed, but I found no second source for that. One older guide says 8 items, while the wiki, GameFAQs, gtabase and PowerPyx all say 6, so loot as much as you can anyway. A tutorial may also prompt you to eat a provision if your health core has drained. I found no source saying this affects the medals.

Checkpoint: You have picked up at least 6 items. Loot count is not shown in the mission list as far as the sources say, so be thorough rather than relying on a counter.

8. Meet Dutch outside

Leave the cabin and join Dutch outside. He tells you to search the barn. Finish any remaining looting before you go.

Checkpoint: Dutch has told you to check the barn and the objective moves there.

9. Barn ambush and interrogation

Walk to the barn, which sits southeast of the house. An O'Driscoll jumps Arthur inside. Fight him by hitting until he goes down, then move into the interrogation prompt. This is a melee scene, so your accuracy and the shootout damage condition are not at stake here.

Checkpoint: The attacker is on the ground and you are given the choice of what to do with him.

10. Choose his fate

Most sources say you can kill him or spare him. Supercheats adds choking, sparing, or continuing to beat him, and the Steam guide says you can also knock him unconscious. Hold To Reset says the decision does not affect the mission outcome. Pick whichever option you prefer.

Checkpoint: The interrogation ends and the prompt to retrieve your belongings appears.

11. Retrieve your gun and hat, then calm the horse

Pick up your gun and hat. Approach the horse in the barn, calm it, pat it, and lead it out to the hitching post. It becomes your horse. Hitching it triggers a noise from inside the house.

Checkpoint: The horse is hitched at the post and you hear the noise from the cabin.

12. Final cutscene

Head inside the cabin to trigger the last cutscene. Per the wiki, a lantern is knocked over, the house catches fire and the group returns to Colter as it burns. The mission completes after the scene.

Checkpoint: The mission-complete screen appears, and the next mission, 'Enter, Pursued by a Memory', begins automatically.

Choices and things you can miss

• Barn interrogation: kill or spare, with some sources adding choking, continued beating or knocking him unconscious. Hold To Reset says the mission outcome does not change.
• Later effects of the interrogation are unverified. One Steam community guide claims a spared man appears in a later mission only to be killed, but I found no corroboration, and no source on honor effects. Do not treat either as confirmed.
• Shoot first or wait: if Arthur does not fire first, Micah will, which keeps the story moving but weakens control of accuracy and damage for the medal.
• Optional chase of the fleeing outlaw, and optional dialogue with Dutch and Micah, change nothing about the mission outcome.
• Medal run now or later: because a replay resets progress and the three requirements must be met together, you can either aim for all three on the first run or repeat the mission later.

Rewards

• Horse: a Mahogany Bay Tennessee Walker, the horse from the barn.
• Weapons and gear: gtabase lists the Cattleman Revolver and Hunting Knife, and Prime Wikis also lists a lantern. These are unlocks introduced during the mission, not drops.
• Cash: no fixed cash reward was found. Cash comes only from loot such as the coin purse.
• Gold Medal for the three optional objectives, which counts toward the Gold Rush trophy (70 Gold Medals in story missions) and Best in the West (100 percent completion).

Troubleshooting

• Mission fail conditions: the Fandom wiki lists aggravating, assaulting, killing or abandoning Dutch or Micah, or letting either be killed. A newer fan site adds abandoning the homestead, harming your own horse or the barn horse, or dying. The extras come from a single fan site, so treat them with less confidence.
• Medal did not register: a reader comment on PowerPyx's medal guide reports no missed shots, no damage and at least six items looted, yet no accuracy checkmark. This is anecdotal and the cause is unconfirmed. Redo all three requirements together on replay.
• Accuracy is low: shoot, duck and peek rather than holding a shot, use the red reticle as your confirmation, and aim at body mass for the last enemies.
• Taking damage: any hit fails the no-damage medal because Dead Eye is locked. Stay in cover and focus on exposed targets.
• Loot count unclear: aim for more than 6 items, since one older guide says 8. Remember the ladder to the loft.
• Enemies not found: check the front of the house, the door, the upstairs window and the sides, because the sources disagree on the count.

Release and platform notes

The Fandom wiki prompts list PS4 and Xbox One buttons. A GameFAQs answer for the Stadia version gives the same three medal requirements, so I found no objective differences there. Rockstar's PC release added extra content, such as bounty hunter missions, gang hideouts, treasure maps and a mission called 'To The Ends of The Earth', but none of it touches this mission. I found no source describing a platform-specific change to Outlaws from the West. That is absence of evidence, not proof, and the extra fail conditions and the spared-O'Driscoll claim need confirmation in-game.