Red Dead Redemption 2: Health, stamina and Dead Eye Cores Red Dead Redemption 2 Guide and Walkthrough

If you're looking for information about cores and Dead Eye, you'll find them on this page of the RDR2 guide. We are describing cores of health, stamina and differences between them.

Last update: Wednesday, October 5, 2022

The main character in Red Dead Redemption 2 has three attributes - health, stamina and the Dead Eye. Besides the regular bars, each of the attributes also has a Core. Read this page to learn about the cores and what is their usage as well as how to regenerate Cores in RDR2.

• The difference between the bars and the Cores
• Core depletion and their usage
• Regenerating bars and Cores
• Fortifying energy bars and Cores
• Bars and Cores of your horse

The difference between the bars and the Cores

The most important thing is to distinguish the regular bar from a Core. Bars have a shape of a circle and are white. They go around the heart, lighting and eye icons. It should be noted that their length isn't always the same. Arthur can extend them by making progress in the game. This topic has been discussed more broadly in Character development chapter.

Cores are marked with the heart, lighting and eye icons. They are "full" by default, and they deplete over time. A depleted part of a Core becomes darker.

Core depletion and their usage

Energy bars are the first thing that gets depleted during an action:

1. The health bar depletes when Arthur receives damage.
2. The stamina bar depletes when Arthur is performing various actions (i.e. running, swimming or climbing).
3. The Dead Eye bar depletes when you use this mode (it slows the time down).

The only purpose of a Core is that they can serve you as a spare bar. For example, Arthur doesn't have to die when the health bar gets depleted. When that happens, the game will start treating the Health Core as a new source of health points. Arthur dies when his Health Core is empty. The same goes for stamina and the Dead Eye Cores.

Another important feature of the Cores is the rate of regenerating bars. For example, a full Stamina Core has the fastest rate of regenerating the stamina bar. A depleted Core won't regenerate the corresponding bar at all.

Remember that the Cores deplete over time, even when they aren't in use. Also, Cores can get depleted when:

1. The hero's weight isn't optimal - when he is obese or too skinny.
2. The hero isn't wearing an outfit suitable for the current weather (use winter and summer clothes accordingly to a region).
3. The hero has received a negative status effect, i.e. has been poisoned by a snake.

Additional note - Cores don't deplete when you are in the gang hideout. Also, they deplete slower when you are riding on your horse.

Regenerating bars and Cores

Bars and Cores can be regenerated. Some methods work for a few attributes while others work only on one of the three. Here is the list of the most important ways of regenerating bars and Cores:

1. Sleep. You can do that by using your bed in the gang hideout, setting a camp or visiting a hotel.
2. Bath. A room with a bath can be found at any hotel.
3. Food, alcohol and tonics. Every curative has different usage - you can check this by reading an item's description. Also, depending on an item, you can regenerate your energy bar or a Core. Some items can affect more than one attribute. Pay close attention to items that can regenerate one attribute but have negative effect on another. Cigarettes, presented in the picture above, can restore a bit of the Dead Eye core, but they have negative effect on the Stamina Core. Decide yourself whether you want to use these items or not.
4. Successful kills. This method works only for the Dead Eye bar.

Try to always search enemies and locations - you can find food, alcohol and tonics. Thanks to this method you will always have enough items for those attributes that interest you the most. Basic food products can be bought at stores for a cheap price, but tonics and more advanced medicaments can cost even a few dollars per unit.

Fortifying energy bars and Cores

Regenerating an attribute isn't the only option in the game. You can also fortify them. Thanks to that you will protect yourself temporarily from depleting attributes. This isn't invisibility or an unlimited source of stamina, but you can use this method to make the game easier for you. Energy bars and Cores can be fortified by certain items found in the game or bought at the stores (the picture above shows one of the tonics). Save them for more challenging fights and missions.

Bars and Cores of your horse

Every horse in the game has their own energy bars and Cores. Here, there are only Health and Stamina attributes. They deplete and regenerate in a similar way to how Arthur does that. Health bar depletes when the animal receives damage while Stamina depletes when, i.e. the horse is galloping for a longer period of time.

You can regenerate the horse's parameters by cleaning the animal (use your brush) and feeding. The game has a lot of various types of food that will regenerate bars and Cores. Some of them (i.e. apples) can also be consumed by Arthur, but there are items reserved only for your horse (i.e. hay). You can find them in the world or buy at a store (stables are the best source of these types of products).