Red Dead Redemption "A Tempest Looms" Mission Guide and Walkthrough

Red Dead Redemption "A Tempest Looms" Mission Guide and Walkthrough
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“A Tempest Looms”

You’ll begin the Red Dead Redemption “A Tempest Looms” mission by walking into the yellow “X” in front of the barn on the MacFarlane ranch. A storm is brewing, and Bonnie is concerned for the safety of the herd still out on the pasture.

John volunteers to help bring them in. Walk over to your waiting horse and mount up to get started.

Merge the Herds

Ride alongside Bonnie and the ranch hands on the way out to the pasture. There are two herds out grazing, and you’ll need to merge them into one before driving them all back to the ranch.

Move into position at the yellow “X” behind the first herd to start moving them. You’ll need to drive them west to meet the other herd near the old oak tree. Use the herding skills you learned in the “Women and Cattle” mission to keep the herd together and headed in the right direction.

Occasionally, a cow or two will break from the herd and become a straggler. You can find them easily on your mini map. Whenever a dark blue dot veers off from the rest of the herd, it’s your job to follow and bring it back in.

Fortunately, you don’t have to herd the individual cows, just get close enough to them that their dot lights up and they head back toward the herd. Get a good feel for this process now, as you’ll need to put it to good use later on when there are far more stragglers to contend with.

Stop the Stampede

Red Dead Redemption Cattle Herding

Once you’ve gotten both herds together underneath the big oak tree, a nearby lightning strike will spook the cattle, sending them sprinting off toward a nearby cliff. Chase after the stampede, pushing your horse as fast as possible to get in front of them before they reach the cliff.

If you catch them in time, the cows will slow down and avoid falling to their deaths. You don’t have to save them all to complete the mission, but as many as possible should be saved.

After you’ve got them stopped, send any stragglers you see on your mini map back to the herd, then ride back to Bonnie at the blue dot on your map. Round up the rest of the stragglers, then start pushing the herd back toward the ranch, taking care of any stragglers that break off from the main group. Remember that you

Herd Cows in Red Dead Redemption

can press “UP” on the D-Pad to get the moving more quickly.

Once you make it to the ranch, push the herd through the gate and into the corral. Once they’re all in, the ranch hands will close the gate and Bonnie thanks you for your assistance.

Congratulations, you’ve saved the herd, gained some honor, and finished the “A Tempest Looms” mission. You’ve also finished the last of the available Bonnie MacFarlane missions. You’ll have to do some work for the Marshal in Armadillo before you come back to the ranch.

For more mission walkthroughs, cheat codes, weapons guides, and more, check out our Ultimate Guide to Red Dead Redemption.

This post is part of the series: Red Dead Redemption Mission Guides

A collection of some of the over 30 different mission guides for Red Dead Redemption here at Altered Gamer.

  1. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “A Frenchman, an Irishman, and a Welshman”
  2. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “Spare the Love, Spoil the Child”
  3. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “Wolves, Dogs, and Sons”
  4. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “The Outlaw’s Return”
  5. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “Bear One Another’s Burdens”
  6. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “For Purely Scientific Purposes”
  7. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “Cowards Die Many Times”
  8. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “Landon Ricketts Rides Again”
  9. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “Mexican Caesar”
  10. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “My Sister’s Keeper”
  11. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “The Gunslinger’s Tragedy”
  12. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “Let the Dead Bury Their Dead”
  13. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “The Burning”
  14. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “Can a Swindler Change His Spots?”
  15. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “Justice in Pike’s Basin”
  16. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “Political Realities in Armadillo”
  17. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “A Tempest Looms”
  18. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “New Friends, Old Problems”
  19. Red Dead Redemption Mission Guide: “Exodus in America”
  20. Guide to “The Gates of El Presidio”