Got my honor tanked last time I played after an entire save file being damn near a saint because of a tiny little massive 40 minute farm shootout against waves of cops because I tried to stop a lynching in the woods, and the subsequent patrolling bounty hunter death squads that also tank your honor for fighting them. So whenever I play again this is unironically good advice, because I don't want to advance any missions on low honor and get the asshole Arthur versions of the cutscenes and journals.
@@yasininn76 I understand it may feel that way, but it's a matter of perspective. Life is constant struggle, but if you keep reminding yourself of the good things you take for granted, you will start seeing your life completely differently
If it’s a bad story, I’ll do an evil play through for laughs. If it’s a decent story, I’ll do a good play through and then an evil one. But if it’s a great story, I can’t bring myself to play it evil.
😂 I've played it through twice properly (taking my time, completing all the sides and random missions etc) with the intentions of the second one being low honour.. second play through had even higher honour than the first
Same man. i wanted te restart RDR2 and do it in low honor. BUT I CAN’T. The story that I did.. In full full full honor I just can’t do it again and be extra mean to people💀 makes me sad lol
That's understandable I'm on my 21 play through of Red Dead Redemption 2 and I never played with low honor once because I never really could I like to think that High Honor Arthur is the cannon ending to Arthur Story where he's not a good man but still tries to help people even when he got sick Dutch and Micah going crazy to the point where Arthur is willing to sacrifice himself to allow John to live with his family and knowing by letting John live his life after the Gang Arthur knows he won despite Micah thinking otherwise
You should definitely try it. Idk why people are so terrified of low honor when hardly anything changes, low honor DOES NOT mean “evil”, low honor Arthur is just a more cold and self interested person. They only act like Arthur low honor is a psychopath bc people are lazy and go on mass killing sprees just to get rid of all their honor fast, but if you start the game utilizing the rob mechanic and knocking people out and looting them you’ll gain low honor much more naturally and more in character for Arthur
The conversation with the sister is probably better in my opinion. She is an outside influence, someone who isn't an outlaw or criminal, and she still praises Arthur in spite of him openly confessing his criminal past to her. Instead of running to the nearest authorities and turning Arthur in, she saw him as a struggling child of God who needed help and guidance. It goes to show that anyone can change course in their lives and progress and move forward and become better no matter what they've done in their past.
I found it interesting how in high honour the conductor yells all aboard before Reverend leaves, maybe showing that Reverend would have talked longer if he had a few more minutes. But in low honour Reverend leaves before the conductor yells this, showing that Reverend had no more to say.
Noticed the same but what I noticed was the cutscene ended earlier as compared to good honor cutscene,Just shows he don't want to talk that much to a low honor arthur
Notice reverend's behavior, as well as the way he's not holding the book, which held his morphine injections. In High Honor it's not in his hands, which makes him look a bit more hurried, which can hint to him quitting, as for Low Honor he's still holding it and also acts more ""naturally""
its not unrealistic to think that he most likely bought a new bible but I see why you drew that conclusion. I dont think they intended to make Swanson's fate tied to whether or not Arthur had low or high honor. Doesnt make a lot of sense to me
The voice acting and cinematography are great but the writing in this game is awful, it's like the game and story were made seperately, go do a bank heist and kill 75 enemies then hear Arthur after "I feel like I'm a bad man, am I bad man?" like yeah no shit buddy. Not to mention no matter what you do the outcome is the same, all the changes is you get a stupid ass deer gif in the background over your body if you're good or wolf if you're bad. I felt like I wasted my time playing in a particular way.
Fun Fact : this cutscene only unlocks if you don't meet the sister at any point of time. In my first playthrough I didn't met her I got this, in second I met her I didn't got this.
@senseiMcAllister for some reason I can't play Arthur as a low honor bad guy. Even my first playthrough I made enough good choices so Arthur died at the top of the mountain rather than at the bottom at the hands of ratboy
Same. I can’t justify Arthur dying a bad man. My head canon is that he’s either good the whole game or bad then good. It just makes it more impactful as a story that Arthur chooses to save John and die a good man.
@@arthurmorgan8529the proper way to play is to be pretty low honor through the first few chapters and see if you can do enough good to get high honor once he gets his tb diagnosis. It's how all my playthrough's play out and it fits his story perfectly. arthur is by no means a good guy until like right before he dies, and even then it's debatable. it's not canon to be a complete high honor, undoubtedly tryna avoid thomas downes cuz of how nice you tryna play out to everyone. then a couple missions later shooting up all of valentine.... then robbing the bank the next chapter. I'd say once sean dies is the earliest I get close to being a high honor arthur. through cinematics early on in the prologue, it's pretty clearly shown that although arthur pulls a lot of the weight(and probably why he is smack dab in the middle of the honor meter in the beginning of the game)he's also the most callous and rough member of the group not named micah. I think in other dialogue, some member, I forget who, is confused why arthur and micah don't get along. I personally think something happened at blackwater between them that kinda changed arthur's morale compass. like other gang members witnessing dutch, and EXACTLY why arthur didn't witness dutch's actions. as players. we'll witness it as the callander twins, or jenny kirk. the writing is on the wall for them to be the next characters.
Man the subtle changes! In high honour, Arthur taps his arm in a polite way to get him to sit with him. In the low honour Arthur just sits, thinking only about himself.
@@StarwayBunny "Save those you can". Being altruitic and being an idiot are two different things. If you throw your life away trying to save those you can't, then you're an idiot.
@@StarwayBunny Not really, simply means you can't save everybody. Not everybody is open to changing. That's their choice, not your guilt to carry. Some people need to go through hell to change, do you want to go through it with them?
@@take7upyours822 If they're 100% not open to changing for the better or making any attempt to improve, then yes I would say sayonara. But I'd make it clear that if they ever want to change I would be there for them.
You can tell how goddamn terrified Swanson is in this scene. You can really tell how fear inducing Arthur was even up to and after he started really getting sick.
@@sirlothric6357Last fight pissed me off so much the first time I played it. I knocked Micah all over that mountain top the only hits he got in were scripted ones. You can manoever Micah around to a position where you can knock him off the cliff and you get a "Mission Failed - Micah Died" lol wut? Its a fight to the death. I get its a scripted part of the story but with the detail Rockstar puts in they should have had a secret ending where you can throw him off the Cliff. They could have still had the epilogue as John, and had rumors Micah survived, hell have him turn up in a wheel chair at the end of American Venom or something.
@@stevepalpatine2828Micah rolling up in a wheelchair like "hey Scarface, Blacklung got me pretty good, huh?" is the single funniest thing i've ever imagined
@@stevepalpatine2828Yeah that's the problem with the last few Rockstar games - the open world is so non-linear whereas the missions are so linear, and often give you nonsense BS reasons for failing when the real reason is simply "you went off script". That one bothered me, but it got really annoying when you get a bronze medal for a mission because it only shows you what you were being judged on *after*. I guess the idea was so you weren't distracted and enjoyed the experience first time without feeling like you were being graded. NakeyJakey's video "Rockstar's Game Design Is Outdated" sums this up perfectly.
@@jtzoogodwap *puking noises* did you really have to capitalize all the first letters instead of using proper grammar? it should be: It's not funny, it's true though but again, the only problem was Strauss and Micah. dude forgot commas, and doesn't understand masterofbass1351's humor, which is like an average person's humor.
Idk that “I’m afraid” moment when he’s talking to the sister is in my opinion the most sad and humanizing moment for Arthur as he finally lets his guard down and admits that he knows he’s done bad things and is afraid god will not welcome him to heaven as he’s not afraid of dying but he is afraid of what might be waiting for him after but the sister comforts him saying he is a good man and will be just fine
@@eightleggedanarchist I think it's more that he doesn't want to believe, because that's easier for his lifestyle. Admitting that he does believe in God means admitting that he'll face judgement and Arthur believes he's committed too many sins to be forgiven. It's less an expression of Arthur's religious views - or lack thereof - and more a confession that he thinks he is too lost to be saved so it's simpler to believe "in nothing" than to believe in the divine knowing you could face divine justice.
@@Longshanks1690 I think what you're saying is valid, but to me he never came across as someone seeking redemption from god so much as from his fellow men. Just a different point of view, I guess.
@@eightleggedanarchist True, but I would raise two points in response. 1. Sister Calderon’s point that God is people and people are God. Yes, Arthur does seek absolution from those he has wronged but his fear of judgment in the afterlife is more a fear that all his sins combined are too much for the little good he does in the game. In other words, Arthur imagines facing all the people he’s wronged in the same way as Christians imagine they will face God. So believing “in nothing” is a semi-comforting belief that he will never have to face them or the possibility that most of them will never forgive him. 2. God is the arbiter of justice, the source of all goodness and morality, whereas all human beings are flawed and imperfect in a a variety of ways, which Arthur has seen a thousand times over in his life. So even if Arthur believes other people would forgive him, does that really mean anything if the one with perfect morality condemns you still? Whatever the case, I think at the heart of Arthur’s professed belief “in nothing” is really a belief that he’s unworthy of salvation and can’t fathom ever being forgiven for what he’s done wrong.
I think the best part is the difference in timing. The high honor feels like Arthur's life is slipping away and it's beyond his control. The best specific example in this scene is that the conductor only yells "All aboard" in the high honor scenario. Even their conversation doesn't have time to finish. It's awesome details like that which make this the best game ever.
"You're...well you're, you're not a good man, Arthur..." (90 seconds later) "You lived your life like a man, Arthur and you turned into a good man." Kind of threw me out of the scene. I wish Swanson and Arthur did a handshake in the High Honor too.
I mean, he's not a good man, even on High Honor, he's still an outlaw. But high honor implies his redemption into being a better man, that's what he meant.
Well if you think of a man just as someone who defends his own and does what he has to for his families survival, then he is a man, just not a good one that also cares about doing what's right.
He’s saying that because he knows of almost all of Arthur’s past sins, even the ones we don’t see before the story. He recognizes nobody running in an outlaw gang is entirely “good” but he sees in Arthur that he has a heart, and he also sees that Arthur is slowly changing but Swanson knows for Arthur to be completely redeemed he has to save those he can and let the others rot. It’s better than the nun just telling him “You’re a good man bc the last 2 times we saw each other you helped me” and also Swansons “Save whoever you can and let the rest rot” sounds less corny than “Take a gamble love exists and do a loving act” as if a high honor player wasn’t already a goody two shoes
@@blulikefriendlyhit1213 the criticism was more that he said Arthur was not a good man and then a minute later he said so. It is jarring; would have been better if they chosen a different phrase.
Watching Arthur cough like that breaks my heart everytime 😢 still think they could've added a secret outcome where through our precise actions Arthur somehow survived & left with Mary. ❤❤
<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="210">3:30</a> i like the small detail that his tb is acting up and revered is moving a few inches away from him hoping arthur doesnt make him sick as well
Well said. Since, I never played the game with low honor, I must admit that the subtle dialog changes in the cut scene was very insightful and true to everyday life in the real world.
"Leave the lies and the hypocrisy to fools like me" - the deepest, truest and most meaningful thing said by either of them in this entire vid. Low honor ftw!
I think high honor fits better… Arthur’s story makes sense when it makes him change. When it makes him open his feelings and start amending before life catching on him. I understand low honor playthroughs but I feel high honor is canon for this.
Low- medium low honor up til end of chapter 4. Medium- medium high til he finds out officially that he got TB. After he finds out hes got TB high honor
How do you get Swanson as a high honor player? I only ever got Sister Calderon, and thought you could only speak to Swanson in that scene if you had low honor...
Arthur interacts with Sister Calderón or Orville Swanson at the end of this mission, based on whether or not "Of Men and Angels" has been finished. Swanson will automatically appear at the end of this mission if it is replayed, regardless of whether the Strangers mission was finished.
Crazy ive played the story 5 times and i NEVER passed up the Sister at any point. Its awesome to see that even 6 years later, theres still cutscenes and things that people still havent seem before! I only wish they included this conversation on top of the conversation with Sister. I feel like having more than one person tell Arthur hes doing right by others would hit so much deeeper
I love the little details... In the high honor version, Arthur stands by the reverend and only sits when he sits, but in the low honor version he just gives a damn and goes for the seat without waiting. I never noticed things like this even after many playthroughs because usually you never see these scenes back-to-back. Amazing.
Not any time soon. The people who now run Rockstar didnt build this game, Benzie's and all the OG's did. The ones now running Rockstar are merely standing on their shoulders, and from how they treated RDR2 Online, Im not so sure we will get another game like this from RS.
I played low honor outlaw first play through, mostly because I had binged watched West World before. It wasn't until the last few chapters I started to have a change of heart. It was one of the debt collection quests where you were sent to take money from the single mother, with I think a sick daughter, but they couldn't pay. I felt really bad and was a bit of an eye opener to how messed up the gang and Dutch really were, and it started to put things in perspective for Arther's life. From then on I played trying to redeem Arther, and my actions fit the story perfectly. I've never had such strong emotions in a game from the story that made me want to rethink my playstyle so dramatically. I ended the game shy of being back at the middle of the system. I got the low honor ending, but I can't complain. I still felt redeemed. Honestly I like the low honor ending more, because I hate it when the villain walks away from his ONE GOLDEN CHANCE to put down the good guy in such manner. Plus it felt like a fitting end for my playthrough. RDR2 is the perfect example of you only play the first time once.
I love this game so much man ❤❤❤ The fact that they even went out of their way to change so many cutscenes depending on your choices; and even when the words spoken are still the same, they are even altered ever so slightly in the WAY THEY ARE FREAKING SPOKEN to give a different meaning to those words. Just incredible writing, character development, world building, NPC interactions, everything was done amazingly. Favorite game of all time
This game has so much heart, especially the effort to make Arthur a real, flawed, and complex person. Its going to forever be one of the greatest pieces of storytelling in a video game.
I prefer the low honor Dialogue,mainly because it’s what I got in my first playtrough. Also at that point I agree with Arthur “ I ain’t changed,I’m still a bad man” I love the tough love given by Reverend. From that point onward I started being somewhat good and got enough honor by kicking off Strauss. The conversation with the Sister is amazing, an outside perspective is always good.
if u want to go blackwater as arthur get any bounty poster, then get the bounty. when u have the bounty on your horse u can go to blackwater without bieng caught. hop this helps
I remember my first play through I had low honor because I didn’t care about it, but I always loved reverend, when he showed up I would always help him and try to not be a horrible person to him, and when I got this scene I was crying, but also happy that he got out before everything went to hell
Munny still chooses to change though and abandon that life for the sake of his children. Low honor Arthur doesn't change for anyone. Inherently they are still very different. Low honor Arthur is clearly just included to give the players a sense of choice, but it really negates the meaning of the story.
@@Dagger_323Low honor Arthur does change. The fact that he can still help John in the end is proof of that. He just doesn't go around and act like he can make for all his killing while near the end of his life and he kills and steals like he always done. I see low honor Arthur as one who knows what he was and doesn't change that just because he is dying. He instead continues being against the world and continues being angry and dodgeful of emotions while still helping people and being loyal to them. Yet, everyone tries to paint him as bad, but he isn't. He knows what he is, and still helps the people he cares about. And remeber, low honor or high honor, Arthur still thinks about going back for the money. As much as people love to say that high honor Arthur is so honorable, he still is thinking about the money when his friend's life is on the line while the friend is running from the law to get to his family. High honor or low honor Arthur get this decision. Arthur redeems himself by helping John up to a certain point and encouraging him to get out of the gang, he redeems himself by kicking out Strauss, he redeems himself by saving Jack's mom even though it would have been easy not to. Everyone tries to paint low honor Arthur as worse than he is and say that he goes against the redemption theme, that isn't true, he just redeems himself while still retaining his brutality that he had before we ever assumed control.
@@channel45853 True low honor Arthur abandons John in the end and goes back for the money. That completely negates his redemption and neutralizes his character arc. Like it or not, none of those things you mentioned redeem Arthur. The thing that redeemed Arthur was sacrificing himself for John to ensure his safety. The same way that John's sacrifice at the end of RDR1 was necessary to solidify his redemption. You can't become redeemed for a life of crime and killing if all you do is kick out a usurer from the gang's camp (but not actually help any of the people he swindled), help a child's mom who is in your own gang by gunning down a Pinkerton Agent who was out to kill you for the whole story anyway, and helping your brother in arms "to a certain point" and then abandoning him in the end of the story to go back for a loot of cash. The only way such a man could find redemption is through an act of selfless self-sacrifice, a "loving act" as Sister Calderon called it. And sorry, but just because High Honor Arthur _thought about_ the money in the end does not negate the fact that he still chooses to not go back for it, and ultimately sacrifices himself to make sure John gets to safety. Abandoning John in that moment is the turning point where Low Honor Arthur forgoes his redemption in the pursuit of greed. There is absolutely no redemption for true Low Honor Arthur.
@@channel45853 You realize that none of the things you brought up actually demonstrate Arthur changing, right? Low honor Arthur is just doing what he's always done: living by his code, defending and assisting those he's associated with, and ultimately looking out for his best interests. High honor Arthur actually portrays him going out of his way and doing things that he never would have done throughout his depraved past, becoming a better and changed man to make his life mean something. Redemption comes from change. Not from doing the same exact things you've always done.
@@channel45853 "Low honor Arthur does change." lol it's funny how you say that and then immediately go on to explain exactly how he DOESN'T change and thus does not achieve his redemption.
I played my PS5 playthrough with low honor the whole chapter except for chapter 6 where I gain the maximum honor. It is the best way as it shows that Arthur ables to redeem himself into becoming a better person
Ah yes the legendary conversations at the heartlands. Swanson is the reason I wear his belt buckle in RDO as a symbolism of reformity, everchanging, and evolution.
The game makes so much more sense playing with low honor it gives a sense of you get what you get there's no happy ending to a murderer and a theif high honor is too ride off in the sunset for his character he is a broken man that realizes what he is doing wrong but in the hope of redeeming himself even though he knows he doesn't deserve anything better
He dies in both endings how is high honor "ride into the sunset"? It just shows a man using his final moments of life helping people he holds close. Acknowledging you are a bad person while continuing to be a bad person doesn't lead to redemption, knowing you are a bad person and making the effort to fix yourself or right past mistakes is something that leads to redemption, the entire point of the game.l
My first play through was with high honor. And after i completed the story i wanted it to play it again with low honor just to see how the story would change, and ultimately i eneded up completing the story with high honor again for the second time. After many years i came back to this game and again I'm playing it with high honor. There's something about this game that just doesn't let me bring myself to play it evil. I guess that makes Arthur actually a good man.
I never paid too much attention to my honor and was always teetering between high and low. I saw the black wolf all the way up till the end when on the last mission the deer showed up. Im so glad i got low honor for this conversation, the dialogue is amazing compared to high "i know you will face your destiny like a man, like a warrior, cause thats what you are"
Nope. There's no sentimental response in any low honor interaction. For example when Tilly says goodbye and that she'll miss Arthur. High honor Arthur calls her sweetheart and says he'll miss her too. Low honor Arthur tells her not to start getting sentimental.
@@chandlerbraaten847 It feels more realistic though,him not getting emotional and rather keep an act of rogue.I always enjoyed Low Honor in the end,considering how things are sometimes so hopeful and cheery in High,Its grim but considering world we live in i prefer the way it was in low.
@@kolyasmirno9116 It doesn't feel realistic for a man who knows he's about to die to not try and make something meaningful of his life at all. Low honor Arthur is a throwaway character with no depth and no arc; it just appeals to nihilists who don't appreciate the deeper and impactful meaning of the high honor story.
Greatest story in video game history and I don't think there's another game out there that's going to change that opinion. First and only game i've ever played where I felt true emotion at the end and almost shed a tear. Especially because I really feel like Arthur DID NOT have to die for this story to be so great or have a great ending, but in the end that's what made it even more emotional.
I see comments often where people wish they could experience the game for the first time again. My first play through I didn't really understand the honor system in how it would effect cut scene dialogues ..... and I didn't know that it changed how Authurs story would end. I was absolutely devistated with how he died in the low honor ending. So much so, that a week after finishing I did it all over again just to see the (somewhat) happy sunrise ending. RIP Authur. No game has ever come close in evoking enormous emotions for the player. I hope something as good is released one day.
I would argue that red dead redemption 2 makes more sense from a low honor perspective - Arthur Morgan knows one way to live, and that is brutally, without compromise. He is an outlaw; one that will fight tooth and nail for those he loves, and one that will develop hatred for those who betray and discard him. As he descends into the madness that is chapter 6, and his death seems all the more imminent while the camp - his family - falls apart, he clings to the last thing he can - John. His fellow soldier and brother in arms. One that shares his suspicions of Dutch and his emotions. However, Arthur is not sentimental, nor is he doing what he is doing for himself. John is the last real part his family left, he fights like a rabid dog to protect him and his family, and in the end, dies to protect them. Later on, John and the remainder of the gang ride to avenge Arthur - an event that only makes sense if Micah is the reason Arthur dies, which in low honor is a gunshot to the head. Another interesting thing of note is that Arthur predicts he’d go out that way in chapter 2 - with a bullet through him. I believe a lot of people forget that RDR2 is a game meant to expand upon the past of John Marston. Sure, Arthur is our protagonist, and he is his own individual, but he, in the end, only serves to be a piece of what John is in RDR1. Red Dead is his story. John is the one who redeems his past or selfish behavior. Arthur was simply a stepping stone in making it to the light. Never once does John make any mention of “good men” in his gang during the events of RDR1, which high honor Arthur very much is. He says that they were all bad. Every one of them. So, imo believe Arthur was just as bad as the rest of them. Low honor Arthur makes more sense with red dead 1 in perspective, and fits more in line with the tone of the games.
I mean, these cutscenes are ultimately pointless if you just decide to go around doing good deeds to replenish your honor (which there are plenty of by the end of the game because god forbid rockstar had the gall to lock your honor permanently at some point in the late-game).
Yeah, because locking karma would fly in the face of what the game is trying to say 'it's never too late to find redemption.' locking you into low honor past a certain point is literally antithetical to the games core message.
in my game session I helped to sister Calderon, and in this scene I meet her... after seeing this, I imagine how many details still in rdr2, AMAZING!!!
Me neither, i guess its because I Made the Sidequests in Saint Denis with sister calderon and Brother dorkins. Sister Calderon was there instead of the Reverend
Arthur interacts with Sister Calderón or Orville Swanson at the end of this mission, based on whether or not "Of Men and Angels" has been finished. Swanson will automatically appear at the end of this mission if it is replayed, regardless of whether the Strangers mission was finished.
You know my very first play thru I had the lowest honor the entire time and I truly thought that’s how I wanted my canon Arthur to be, and then Micah shot him in the head, cold and rainy, Arthur was wheezing on his deathbed and Dutch just watched and walked away, it really made me rethink my entire playthrough and I was disappointed in myself for making him go out like that, truly amazing game
I played this game where I jumped my honor high n low constantly because of liking ir not liking the way certain dialogue changes were but man it made my playthrough take longer then all of the other 4 playthroughs I did when it first came out
I saw this video pop up, didn't watch it, I opened the game and literally just got this cutscene, word for word, atleast my honor isn't in the red, but now I know I need to increase it
The beauty in the actor’s performances. Reverend is genuinely concerned and compassionate for high honor Arthur and concludes by expressing his admiration for him while Arthur himself is disappointed and understanding of Swanson’s decision. He doesn’t leave until the conductor calls to him. Reverend is wholeheartedly terrified of low honor Arthur and is incredibly careful with his words. Even going so far as to make space between Arthur and himself to try to secure some path to escape. He leaves at the first opportunity he believes he’s calmed Arthur enough to walk away peacefully and strokes his ego in order to keep him calm well before the conductor calls. Meanwhile low honor Arthur just doesn’t care what Swanson does and justifies staying by declaring he’s always been a bastard and a fighter. And he smirks while saying his path is coming to an end suggesting he plans some form of comeuppance or revenge against the members of the gang that manipulated him into being this way, which is just Dutch, and has some mental satisfaction that before he dies he’ll get back at them. This game deserved every award in the book.
a game that already 5 years old, and people would still find something new. No matter how many playthrough you did, there would be some details you might missed. Glad that i waited to build my first PC just to play this game in max graphic settings. A masterpiece that someone would trade their soul just to play this game as a first timer.
i first started the worst honor type character but slowly i grew less and less bad and once arthur got sick it changed my tune i made him the best person he could be with the time he had left
This frickin game...I swear, no movie, book, or other ANY form of media has had me so emotionally involved as this masterpiece of a "video game." You can just tell how much love and passion went into this project. We owe them all so much, besides our $60..
I had high honour every time. That being said, my first gameplay I was so focused on the main story. I simply forgot to do side quests, so i got this ending, which is so confusing when you have high honour.....
