The bounty hunter is without a doubt the most commonly chosen role and the one given the most love by rockstar (dear god when will you buff the naturalist)

Bounty hunters sacrifice consistent earnings in exchange for high payouts every hour. What I mean by this is bounties pay seemingly random amounts each time and can range anywhere between $3 and $150, every hour you can perform a legendary bounty, which are the only bounties worth doing. And their payouts are extremely bipolar.

Bounty Hunter role is definitely for people who arent patient and just want a quick buck. It's also the most fun role to play, as others can get repetitive and boring.

Finally bounty hunters get the coolest and best rewards by a longshot, from being able to highlight enemies using eagle eye to the badass edgy black and gold color scheme of all the cosmetics, bounty hunters offerings are 100% worth the grind.

The collector can be one of the greatest ways to make money in RDR2, because if you know what you're doing you can get insane payouts ($300+ per hour), its also the easiest role in the game. Because theres no missions, no activities, no timer, no PVP, no PVE. You just ride around on your horse and collect various items to sell.

You can use the unofficial rdr2 online live map to find out where these collectibles are (locations will rotate but the map updates live to show you where they end up). As you progress through collector role you will unlock new items to find collectibles easier and locate more valuable collectibles.

Honestly this is a really peaceful role and I would just pop on a podcast and go and collect things for a few hours and get around $500ish. It's definitely a role more suitable for players who like to grind.

The cosmetics and perk unlocks aren't really amazing, but there are some useful ones like more storage space and a lantern strapped to your horse for nighttime exploration.

The naturalist is widely considered to be the worst role in RDR2, but that shouldn't stop you from choosing it if you really like hunting. The naturalist role works in 2 ways. You can either hunt 'Legendary Animals' and sell their pelts for massive profit, or you can collect samples of regular animals and be sold to make a profit.

The reason people don't like naturalist is mainly the payouts aren't as good as some other roles. Legendary pelts only sell for around $50+ and samples on their own only sell for a few dollars.

Where this role really shines are when you complete a 'collection' of samples, which when sold all together can payout hundreds of dollars.

Overall the cosmetics and perks are actually really cool, all perks are based around hunting animals and the cosmetics look badass. If you REALLY like hunting and enjoying the beauty of the landscapes rockstar has created, then I recommend this for you.

The trader role is very similar to GTA Online businesses. It's a relatively passive business, that doesn't need very much input. Like a GTA Online business, it needs supplies and can be raided by enemies.

You will also have to sell your product in order to make a profit, which can be griefed by other players. So this ends up being extremely risky to do especially with the whole hacker thing going on right now.

There really isn't much to say about this role, its just a passive way to make money, the cosmetics and perks are mid at best and this role is usually chosen after bounty hunter or collector so you can grind money and make passive money in the background.

I recommend this role to players who want to focus most of their playtime into actually playing the game and having fun, instead of hopping on to grind all the time.

Moonshining is like trader role on crack, its way more fleshed out and in depth than trading (Which can be both good and bad, bad for lazy players, good for entertainment?)

You have your own moonshine business that you can setup on the map, which you can upgrade and sell better product and make it look better cosmetically.

But just like the trader role, its a passive business that makes money in the background for you to then get whenever.

Moonshiner also offers unique little missions you can do to help your business, there are tons of different types of these missions that i cant all explain here.

This role is honestly the most fun I've had on this game and it's the only role i would recommend if you want to have a lot of fun and make money. In terms of money its not fantastic but not horrible either. There's definitely better ways to make money but this isn't a bad option as a first role.