Fame is a rating system in the single-player campaign of Red Dead Redemption. It reflects the level of public recognition that either Marston achieves through their different deeds, good or bad.

Description

The player can actively raise their Fame rating in several ways:

• Killing enemies or innocents
• Completing jobs
• Completing challenges
• Finishing tasks
• Helping strangers
• Winning duels
• Winning games

Unlike honor, fame cannot go down; it can only go up. There is no effective way to lose fame other than using cheats.

Fame affects how NPCs interact with the player, and brings other rewards, as detailed in the "Perks" section below.

The effect of fame is relative to Marston's honor rating. As such, the player can either be a famous hero or an infamous outlaw.

If the player has the Golden Guns pack, using the guns will make fame rise at a higher rate for each kill.

Results

These are the lists of results and their names if the player earns a specific fame title.

• Nobody: No result, as nobody knows Marston.
• Greenhorn: More people plead for assistance (more ambient challenges become available).
• Buckaroo: The cost to bribe U.S. Lawmen is lowered by 25%.
• Mercenary: The pursuits by lawmen or bounty hunters are now less frequent, every 48 hours instead of 24.
• Gunslinger: Get free drinks at saloons, and never become wanted for stealing or hijacking horses.
• Legend: Bounty values for all of Marston's crimes are halved.

Tips

• An easy way to attain fame is by having the Elegant Suit, getting caught cheating at poker, then disarming the opponent in a duel.
• Generally, anything that gives the player the option to kill an enemy or spare their life will give him double the amount of fame if they spare them.
  • Activities such as Bounty Hunting are a prime example.
  • Disarming a duel opponent awards +100 Fame, while killing them only nets +50, so go for the disarm for more fame. The player should start at Armadillo, take out the two to four poker players, then move on to MacFarlane's Ranch, repeat, then move on to Thieves' Landing, and repeat. By the time the player has defeated the players at Thieves' Landing, the players at Armadillo will have respawned. If they have not, save your game and go back; they should be there. Players can continue this circle until they have the desired amount of fame. It is best not to do this in Blackwater if the player doesn't have money to spare, as it costs $100 dollars per game, whereas elsewhere it costs $10–25. On a PC version it's best to only use MacFarlane's Ranch poker table to cheat and duel as it costs only 5$ to buy in. If you duel all the players you just need to get away from a poker marker so it disappears from a radar and come back, there will be new guys sitting by the table so you can do it again as long as you like.
  • NOTE: Players don't get their money back even if they win the duel, as this method is basically paying for a duel.
• A fast way to gain fame is to rob people (namely prostitutes and civilians) without guns. Stand in front of them and lock onto them with your gun (or knife) and then press (PS3) or (360) to rob, and the player will get +50 Fame. Players can keep doing this, but be warned: your bounty may increase, and you will lose honor every time you do it (though honor loss can be avoided by wearing the bandana, this results in no fame either).
• An easy way to make money and fame without raising your bounty is to go to Casa Madrugada and rob the men in suits around the train station and the prostitutes. There are no lawmen, and all players have to do is run around and let them respawn. They respawn fairly quickly, and they can quickly make a couple hundred bucks and fame. However, be warned, as any locals with guns will draw them on the player immediately, but as long as players stop aiming their gun and holster it (Marston does this automatically after a few seconds of not aiming), they will leave the player alone. This will decrease Marston's honor.
• Head to Armadillo Saloon. Rob a prostitute on the ground floor in the bar, don't bother if others pull their gun at the player. Now, head upstairs, through your bedroom, and out onto the balcony, and then run right along the balcony to the double doors with the saloon logo above. Another prostitute should be standing there, so rob her, then go through the double doors, downstairs, and rob a girl on the ground floor, then run back upstairs and then go through the bedroom and around the balcony to the double doors and rob the prostitute near the saloon double doors, then head through the double doors and back downstairs and rob another prostitute. Keep doing this, over and over. Players can roughly get around 24 robberies within six to seven minutes. (24x50=1200 fame) If they get busted and the lawmen come, just head outside, get on your horse and run into the hills, when your wanted level expires, head back into the saloon and repeat the process.

Trivia

• Depending on Marston's honor, the way that he greets - and is greeted by - NPCs is altered.
• Fame, and systems similar to it, is a recurring theme in Rockstar games. There is a factions Honor system in GTA 2, and the Respect system in San Andreas.
• Pardon Letters and the bandana are helpful in certain situations, but be careful, as the bandana stops the addition of fame, as well as the change in honor.
• In Normal Mode, completing the storyline will grant lots of fame, to the point of near-completion. In Hardcore Mode, Marston will not reach the highest fame when only playing through the storyline, since fame rewards are greatly reduced.
• Even with Legend fame, people will not call Jack Marston by his proper name. Rare examples are Lomax Brewton, Arnett Buchanan and Alejandro Duarte, who will refer to Jack as 'Marston' or 'Mr. Marston' when challenging him to a duel or while gambling with him.
• If you're fast enough, you can rob two civilians at the same time; position yourself middle of them both, and then rob the one looking at you and then turn to rob the other one, and you will get +100 fame. You can even get three robberies in the same moment if you're fast enough for +150 fame.
• Regardless of fame level, Herbert Moon makes false gossip about John even from the start of the game, such as, "That John Marston used to be a hired killer for the Jews". Amos can also be found talking about John early in the game, but that is understandable given that he saved his life in the prologue.
• After Marston becomes significantly famous, NPCs will often introduce themselves to him and ask him if his rumored exploits are true. As Marston's fame increases, the tales of what Marston has done become more outrageous. Well known examples of this include "I heard you killed [amount] men once", usually said by Felix Middleton, or "I heard that John Marston depopulated an entire town".
• While fame as a mechanic doesn't return in Red Dead Redemption 2, spending time on a settlement will eventually result in NPCs learning who Arthur Morgan/John Marston is. As such, a bandana may not be enough to cover their identity if they've been using the same clothes, horse, or weapons for a while.

Achievement

Fame is associated with this gameplay Trophies/Achievements|trophy and achievement:

	MAN OF HONOR/CHIVALRY’S DEAD 25 gamerscore Bronze bronze Attain highest Fame rank and either highest or lowest Honor rank.

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