Best Trinkets & Talismans, Ranked

Those funky Trinkets and Talismans in Red Dead Redemption 2 are often more helpful than players give them credit for. Sure, some of them require materials that are almost impossible to find without help, but they can provide valuable perks.

The best part? All of these benefits are permanent. Unlike accessories in other games, these items don’t require an inventory slot for players to enjoy their unique advantages. So their effects will stack! This makes it worth crafting Trinkets and Talismans earlier in the game, though some are better than others.

Updated on November 29, 2024, by Jon Eakin: Red Dead Redemption 2 is becoming the standard bearer for games that stand the test of time. It’s as incredible an experience now as when it was first released. Whether you’re playing it for the first time or on your ninth full playthrough, we want to help you have the best experience possible. With that in mind, this list has been updated with fresh features and new entries to make sure you’re able to find the finest trinkets and talismans.

18 Shark Tooth Trinket

Effect: +10% Horse Bonding Experience

The Shark Tooth Trinket is worth acquiring early, especially since it can be found and doesn’t require any crafting. Head to the waters East of Annesburg and you should be able to find a wrecked ship, with a lockbox nearby containing this trinket.

Obtaining the Shark Tooth Trinket will give you a permanent boost to the rate at which you bond with your horses. This is great for your purposes but fully bonded horses also sell for more, making this trinket helpful if you want to make money that way.

17 Hawk Talon Trinket

Effect: -30% Stamina Drain Speed When Drawing A Bow

You can find the Hawk Talon Trinket in a lockbox near Deadboot Creek, and there’s no reason not to seek it out as soon as possible. It reduces the drain on your stamina while drawing a bow by a significant amount.

The bow is one of the first weapons you get in the game, as early as the prologue, and this trinket makes it a lot more viable to use both in and out of stealth. Grab it as soon as you can.

16 Boar Tusk Talisman

Effect: -10% Horse Health And Stamina Core Drain Speed

This talisman will take a while to put together. The first thing you’ll need is the Legendary Boar Tusk from hunting the Legendary Boar, then you’ll need to wait until you loot a Gold Earring from someone. There’s no rushing that, so do other things and wait for it to happen naturally.

Lastly, you’ll need Cobalt Petrified Wood, which can only be found in a specific chest, on a cart under an overhang near Lake Isabella. Then you’ll be able to assemble the Legendary Boar Talisman, and it’s worth it for every horse you ride permanently being healthier and hardier.

15 Alligator Tooth Talisman

Effect: -10% Dead Eye Core Drain Speed

One of the toughest tasks in the game is putting this trinket together. The first step is hunting down the legendary Bull Gator, which is no simple task. Next, players will have to get ahold of a gold-jointed bracelet, which is a somewhat rare drop in the game.

The final ingredient is the Vintage Civil War Handcuffs, which can only be attained by collecting an entire Cigarette Card set and mailing them to one of the game’s funniest NPCs. After that, it’s $40 at the fence and then a permanent Dead Eye core drain by 10% is ready to go!

14 Elk Antler Trinket

Effect: +10% Looted Money

Money isn’t a traditional “stat” so to speak, but make no mistake, Red Dead Redemption 2 is much harder without it. Guns without full upgrades are noticeably lacking in shootouts and while hunting. Also, having an outfit or two for various weather conditions is handy. So 10% more looted money goes a long way.

Thankfully, this one isn’t too tough to snag unless the legendary elk is proving tough to track down. Feel free to use a guide to hunt down all of the legendary animals. Take its horn to a fence with $22.75, and you’ll be a richer person for the experience.

13 Beaver Tooth Trinket

Effect: -10% Weapon Degradation

Players usually find out their guns need to be cleaned the hard way; they’ll start doing terrible damage against enemy gunslingers or ruin a pelt on a three-star animal. There is a way to increase a weapon’s clean condition by 10% to cut down on these unfortunate situations.

Beaver Hunting is a profitable experience, but it’s not just any Beaver that will do for this benefit. You’ll need to track down the legendary beaver, then bring its tooth to a fence and pony up $18.25. It’s a small price to pay for weapons staying intact and, if acquired early, the Beaver Tooth Trinket will pay for itself in the long run.

12 Pronghorn Horn Trinket

Effect: Stops Animals On Horseback From Rotting

Unfortunately, this solid trinket isn’t available until the epilogue. It’s incredibly useful, especially for players who love to hunt and gather their way to wealth in the West, as it will stop animals attached to the player’s horse from getting rotten.

As one might correctly surmise, this trinket requires the legendary pronghorn’s horn. It’s not exactly in one of the game’s hidden locations, but it is in an area that can’t be reached until later on in the story. Take it to the fence along with a payment of $24.50 and the reward is all yours.

11 Ram Horn Trinket

Effect: +2x Picked Thyme, Oregano, and Mint

Nobody likes to spend all of their time picking flowers, but everybody wants to have a full core at all times. Cooking food with herbs is how to best get that done, but it can be exhausting filling the character’s bags with thyme, oregano, and mint. If only the time gathering these plants could be cut in half!

Thankfully, there’s a rather easy way to make this dream come true. Find and skin the legendary ram. Don’t worry, you can lose and gain honor a number of ways in Red Dead Redemption 2, but killing off the legendary ram won’t change this score. After that, visit the fence, shell out $17.50, and suddenly each of these herbs picked will yield double the amount as they did before.

10 Eagle Talon Talisman / Fox Claw Trinket

Effect: +5 Seconds Eagle Eye Duration

These items are tied for “Rank 10” because they provide the same perk: increasing Eagle Eye duration by 5 seconds. An extended Eagle Eye is especially useful for players to track animals, find treasure stashes, and locate herbs. It’s not the most glamorous effect but no one can deny this gameplay advantage.

To obtain the Eagle Talon Talisman, all players have to do is shell out a little extra cash when they purchase the game. Rockstar includes this item with both the Special Edition and Ultimate Edition of Red Dead Redemption 2. The Fox Claw Trinket requires a bit more effort; just gather a Legendary Fox Claw by hunting and skinning the Legendary Fox.

9 Crow Beak Trinket

Effect: +10% Looted Ammo

Oddly, the Crow Beak Trinket can’t be crafted in Red Dead Redemption 2. It has to be found at the end of the Elemental Trail treasure map chain. Unfortunately, this series of maps begins at the far west end of New Austin, which is only accessible after players finish Chapter 6 of the main storyline.

But this Trinket could be worth the wait! The Crow Beak Trinket increases all looted ammo by 10%. As most Wild West bandits have experienced, bullets tend to disappear pretty quickly. And the cost of replacing them can add up. Though this item isn’t available to players for a while, it will save them some significant time and money.

8 Buck Antler Trinket

Effect: Higher Quality Skinned Pelts

Crafting the Buck Antler Trinket requires a buck antler. Shocking. But not just any buck antler; players will need to hunt and skin the Legendary Buck to obtain its legendary headgear. This animal can be found in Black Bone Forest northwest of Strawberry. Luckily, since it’s just a large herbivore with a fancy coat, the Legendary Buck is relatively easy to take down.

This Trinket is especially useful to players who focus on hunting in Red Dead Redemption 2. Specifically, it will help with crafting unique garments and equipment at the Trapper. That’s because the Buck Antler Trinket increases the chance of getting pristine pelts from skinned animals by 10%. This will also help players earn some extra cash for their high-quality materials.

7 Tatanka Bison Horn Trinket

Effect: -10% Melee Damage Received

The Tatanka Bison Horn Trinket is a huge advantage in many close encounters, such as when a player is unlucky enough to face a group of creepy Night Folk armed with machetes. This is because the Trinket’s effect is to reduce all melee damage taken by 10%. Frequent saloon brawlers will also love this perk. But it’s still a good idea to avoid too many punches…and machete-bearing murderers.

To craft the Tatanka Bison Horn Trinket, players will need a (you guessed it!) Legendary Tatanka Bison Horn. Note that this legendary animal only spawns near Hennigan’s Stead in New Austin; access to the western part of the game map is only unlocked in the main story’s Epilogue.

6 Raven Claw Talisman

Effect: -20% Weapon Degradation

The Raven Claw Talisman is another accessory that actually doesn’t require materials from a Legendary animal. To craft this Talisman at a Fence, players need to obtain the Old Brass Compass. But finding the unique compass isn’t easy. In fact, it will only appear after players finish the “Geology for Beginners” side questline and enter the former cabin of Francis Sinclair. The Brass Compass will be on the kitchen table.

Sounds like too much work? It’s actually pretty easy to find all of the rock carvings and complete this quest; just look up their locations online! No one will judge you. Then enjoy the Raven Claw Talisman’s valuable benefit of slowing all weapon degradation by 20%.

5 Cat Eye Trinket

Effect: +20% Fortifying Tonic Duration

Players love the Cat Eye Trinket. Why? Because it’s easy to get and provides a substantial advantage in any situation. This Trinket is one of the few items that doesn’t need to be crafted; it’s sitting unguarded in the open world, just waiting for a friendly bandit to take it home. Travel to the islands across from Braithwaite Manor in Lemoyne to pick it up.

The Cat Eye Trinket’s effect is very valuable: it increases the duration of all fortifying tonics by 20%. This means a bonus to one or more player cores from tobacco, medicine, alcohol, seasoned food, or camp stew will last much longer. Chug a miracle tonic right before raiding an enemy gang hideout and be invincible for 20% longer. It’s awesome.

4 Turtle Shell Trinket

Effect: +10% Health Recovery Speed

The Turtle Shell Trinket also falls under the ‘found, not crafted’ item category in Red Dead Redemption 2. Unfortunately, picking up this Trinket won’t be as easy as the Cat’s Eye. That’s because it is located underneath a staircase in Gaptooth Breach, which is only accessible during the Epilogue part of the storyline. So players will need to finish most story missions first.

However, this Trinket provides a major health advantage. Players with the Turtle Shell Trinket in their inventory will enjoy a Health refill speed that is increased by 10%. This will come in handy during an intense firefight. Or if you get mauled by a cougar or something.

3 Owl Feather Trinket

Effect: -15% Drain Speed For Health, Stamina, And Dead Eye

Earning the Owl Feather Trinket will require players to access their inner cowboy ninja. Is that a thing? Regardless, this Trinket is a reward given by Rains Fall during the “Archeology for Beginners” quest but only if a specific requirement is met. Arthur must recover all of the artifacts in the camp without killing a single soldier.

Given the fact that player movement in most Rockstar games isn’t stealth-friendly, this can be a tough task. But it’s still worth it; the Owl Feather Trinket lowers all Cores’ drain speed by 15%. That means players will need less food, less water, and less rest when out adventuring. Bandits that need to take a snack break aren’t nearly as cool.

2 Iguana Scale Trinket

Effect: -10% Damage On Horseback

The Iguana Scale Trinket is the second item that can be purchased for real-life cash; it’s included as part of the Red Dead Redemption 2 Special Edition and Ultimate Edition. The usefulness of this accessory is yet another reason that shelling out a few extra bucks could be worth it.

Players with the Iguana Scale Trinket will enjoy receiving 10% less damage while on horseback. Which is where they’ll spend the majority of their time in this game. After all, who doesn’t want to ride into a hail of gunfire without a second thought?

1 Panther’s Eye Trinket

Effect: -10% Dead Eye Drain For First 3 Seconds

Many Trinkets require materials that can only be obtained from Legendary animals. In this case, players will need a Legendary Panther Eye to craft the Panther’s Eye Trinket. The eye itself comes from hunting the Legendary Giaguaro Panther. Unfortunately, the panthers are the hardest animals to take down due to their crazy speed and stealth.

And that’s not all. Players will need to reach Master Hunter Rank 9 for the animal to even spawn, which will take some extra work. But it’s worth gaining one of the best trinkets in the game that decreases Dead Eye drain by 10% for the first three seconds when the skill is activated.