Games

Red Dead Redemption: Best Reasons To Go For A High Honor Run

Published

3 weeks ago

October 31, 2024

Christoph Rediske

john marston with high honor in red dead redemption

Key Takeaways

Table of Contents

Maintaining high honor in Red Dead Redemption earns John Marston more money through unlocks and better pricing.
High honor leads to friendly NPC interactions, reducing hostilities and showcasing character development.
High honor offers gameplay advantages like exclusive items, reduced adversary accuracy, and fewer bounty hunters.

In Red Dead Redemption, John Marston is an ex-outlaw seeking redemption as he is forced by the government to capture members of his former gang. His actions throughout the game shape his honor level, affecting how others treat him and his own legacy. This system offers players a morally complex experience.

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Choosing to maintain high honor in Red Dead Redemption allows John to redeem himself in the eyes of others and himself, reflecting his desire to leave behind a dark past. There are various reasons for high honor in Red Dead Redemption, ranging from gameplay advantages to narrative benefits, enhancing immersion in the character’s story.

Warning: This content contains major spoilers — specifically regarding the endings of Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2.

8 Easier To Make Money

Being Honorable Brings Monetary Benefits To Players

John Marston aiming from cover in a desert outpost in Red Dead Redemption, with a ruined fort visible

Players desiring to make a fortune for John Marston during his journey through the Wild West in Red Dead Redemption 1 should consider maintaining high honor for the character. This is because certain perks are unlocked, increasing the money the protagonist receives when performing various actions across the map.

From selling items to merchants, such as pelts, to the rewards from side jobs, especially bounty hunting, the player is awarded more dollars upon completion when possessing a high honor value. Thus, players have more purchasing power to acquire other items when restocking equipment.

7 Friendly Interactions With NPCs

People Like John Marston More With High Honor

John Marston observing a blacksmith working on a blade inside a shaded structure in Red Dead Redemption

Although it doesn’t bring significant influences to the mechanics of Red Dead Redemption, having high honor in the game is a fundamental factor that greatly enhances possible roleplays of the Old West. With a high honor value, players will have friendlier interactions with many NPCs found along the roads or in towns.

This receptiveness eases John’s daily life in the Old West by reducing hostile situations and unwanted conflicts with inhabitants. Additionally, it demonstrates the character’s evolution in search of a better future, creating a journey more coherent with what is established about him.

6 Exclusive Items For High Honor

John Marston Can Obtain New Equipment

John Marston standing outside a rustic building with his rifle in Red Dead Redemption's arid landscape

Besides better prices in stores across the game’s map, having high honor in the first Red Dead Redemption also means that John Marston can access some exclusive items, one of the main ones being the Duster Coat. It is a new outfit option that players can use to customize the character’s appearance, linked to the game’s “Peacemaker” honor level.

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Although it doesn’t offer any perks that grant new abilities or benefits to the character, it’s a stylish garment that adds a certain flair to the cowboy. Moreover, for players who want to complete all the achievements that Red Dead Redemption 1 has to offer, possessing this item is one of the requirements, so players should keep an eye on John Marston’s honor.

5 Enemies Have Less Chance To Hit John Marston

High Honor Reduces Adversaries’ Accuracy

John Marston preparing for a fight at the entrance of an abandoned fort in Red Dead Redemption

For players struggling with the frenetic shootouts of Red Dead Redemption, it’s possible to make things a bit easier with high honor in the game. This is because, at the third and final level of this mechanic, a random event can be witnessed. A nun will appear and gift John with the Obscuridad del Santo Andres, one of the best items in the game.

Resembling a rosary, this item reduces the chance of the game’s protagonist being hit by enemies by 25%, increasing his chances of coming out of combat unscathed. However, it’s worth mentioning that this equipment, although powerful, is linked to the character’s honor, so if it decreases throughout the story, it will no longer be possible to access its benefits.

4 It’s Befitting Of Red Dead Redemption’s Story

According To The Lore, John Is Inclined Toward High Honor

Uncle and John Marston from Red Dead Redemption

Unlike Red Dead Redemption 2, where Arthur Morgan’s honor can completely change the context of the game’s ending, these values do not influence John Marston’s fate. However, given the narrative that follows, the honorable path is what best suits the character overall.

From the beginning, for example, it is established that he is someone seeking to leave behind a life of crime and become a better man, providing more support for his own family. Therefore, maintaining high honor is a reflection of the first game’s protagonist’s struggle, trying to redeem many crimes he committed in the past.

3 Fewer Bounty Hunters

A More Peaceful Experience When Exploring The Map

Although the game’s shootouts are well-crafted, sometimes players just want to explore the map and hunt animals peacefully, but all this tranquility can be disrupted by bounty hunters. Therefore, one of the benefits of having high honor in Red Dead Redemption is that the chance of them appearing is lower.

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Thus, players have more freedom to explore all the content the game has to offer in peace, as they won’t need to constantly stop what they’re doing just to deal with bounty hunters after John Marston’s head. These encounters, incidentally, become more frequent and dangerous when the character has low honor.

2 Preserving Arthur Morgan’s Wishes

The Protagonist Of Red Dead Redemption 2 Is Important

John Marston on horseback observing a moving train on a wooden bridge in Red Dead Redemption

Although not mentioned in the events of the first Red Dead Redemption, Arthur Morgan is one of the most important characters in the franchise and has a very close relationship with John Marston. Many events in his story aim to offer John opportunities to become a better man.

Maintaining high honor in Red Dead Redemption is fundamental for players who wish to honor Arthur Morgan’s legacy, valuing his efforts and sacrifices to ensure that John Marston evolves. In this way, players can also perform a roleplay more faithful to the narrative, reinforcing the friendship between the two characters and respecting the story’s development.

1 A Consistent Story Ending

And Also Very Sad

For those already familiar with the narrative of Red Dead Redemption, it’s known that regardless of the path taken by John Marston in the story, the character’s ending will be one of the most tragic in Rockstar’s games. Even though the character fights against the choices he made in the past, he ends up being betrayed and killed in a cowardly manner.

However, the emotional weight of these events in the game makes more sense when his honor is high, as it represents someone who, at the end of the story, was a better person and at peace with himself. If players opt for a path of crimes, the betrayal the protagonist experiences in the final moments is consistent with the life he led, not being as complex.