A Bright Bouncing Boy - Red Dead Redemption 2 Guide - IGN (2024)

This page takes you through the Stranger mission A Bright Bouncing Boy in Red Dead Redemption 2. This mission becomes available in Chapter 4 when the Van der Linde gang is camped outside Shady Belle.

Part I

To start this sidequest head to the lake in the lower left corner of Saint Denis, near the small pond.

Here you'll meet Marko Dragic, an entrepreneurial inventor who's created some kind of remote-controlled boat.

Investors will show up but they doubt the legitimacy of his invention, so you have to step in and steer the boat to prove it's not a scam.

Accelerate using A or X and steer with the thumbsticks. Mines are magnetic so they'll drift towards - be careful not to touch them but you can shoot them if you're worried with R2. Take out all the warships marked as the larger red dot with an X in them on your minimap.

Once you're done, you'll need to steer the boat back so it can be resupplied.

Next you'll have to do the same to moving targets, but it's not much different. Fire a little bit early to hit them as they come into the line of your torpedos.

You'll be invited to see more amazing inventions in his laboratory in Doverhill once you're done, helping secure his new investors.

Part II

Part II becomes available a few in-game nights later, the mission at Doverhill is only available during nighttime.

Enter around the back to trigger a cutscene where once again, Dragic frenetically enlists your help in his experiments. He gives you an electrostatic detector, and tasks you with planting three conductors in precise areas (according to the detector's response) up the hill from the lab.

The detector can be "aimed" like other handheld items in the game, and will flash depending on how closely you are facing the electrostatic location. The detector won't indicate distance, only direction--so always walk in the direction of the most frequent ticking. As well, lightning strikes the ground near where the spots of interest are.

The first area is fairly close, as the broad search area is visible in yellow right outside the lab. Turn to face the direction of the most frequent flashing, and continue forward until the detector is solid orange, prompting you to plant a conductor.

The second conductor placement is up the hill some ways. Walk in the direction of the most frequent flashing to plant the second conductor.

The third conductor is at the top of the hill. Avoid the lightning strike and burning tree to plant the third conductor.

The locations for all three conductors are roughly indicated on the map below.

After planting the last conductor, return to Dragic to continue the quest.

Dragic flips the switches in the lab, but realizes he forgot some switches on the top of the tower out back. He tasks you with climbing the tower and setting the switches accordingly.

Climb the tower and interact with the panel puzzle at the top. You will have to set all three switches so that the panels are lit. The pattern is Tap to Reveal. One quick solution from the initial state is Tap to Reveal.

Climb back down to rejoin Dragic in the lab. With everything set, he can finally start up his creation. From the immediate result, it's evident Dragic has more work to do.

Part III

Although not marked on the map, you'll notice the journal entry remains active and still says "visit Marko Dragic" so be sure to return to Doverhill at some point, where you can view the result of Dragic's work since you last left him. Tap to Reveal

As well, you can collect the Electric Lantern item to fill out the compendium, and use for exploration.

Although it doesn't show on the map or in the name of the save file, after revisiting Doverhill here, the journal shows this as a Part 3 completed with the following message: Tap to Reveal

Aftermath

If you ever find yourself in Colter, take a moment to explore the peaks just to the west, to find the fate of Dragic's robot. Additional info is hidden as a spoiler, below the map image.