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Red Dead Redemption 2 honor: How does the honor system work?

Everything you need to know about the honor system in Red Dead Redemption 2

A 4k screenshot of Arthur Morgan in Red Dead Redemption 2
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Guide by Ed Thorn Reviews Editor
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Want to learn more about the Red Dead Redemption 2 honor system? If you start shooting at random civilians in Red Dead Redemption 2, you'll lose honor. However, helping out the folks you meet while exploring will increase your honor score and make you an upstanding citizen. Your honor score determines your honor rank, which comes with lots of benefits and rewards for those who focus on doing good. However, it isn't always clear what rewards and benefits you earn from each honor rank.

In this guide, we'll explain how to gain and lose honor in Red Dead Redemption 2, along with a full breakdown of every honor rank and their respective rewards.

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How to gain or lose honor

This is pretty simple and works as you’d expect. You’ll earn honor for actions that are perceived to be, well, nice. Rescue strangers from danger, stop a coach from being robbed or turn a criminal into the law and you’ll earn honor points.

On the flipside, you’ll lose honor ranking for committing criminal acts or actions that are considered dishonorable. Harassing and killing innocents, or looting innocent bodies will all lose you honor points. If you want to commit heinous crimes without losing honor, check out our Red Dead Redemption 2 mask locations guide.

As you spend time with the game, you’ll naturally earn or lose honor based on your actions. Either you’ll encounter something while out in the open world, or you’ll be forced to make a decision in a story mission. Sometimes, missions don’t even give you a choice and you’ll lose honor when events transpire and things go south, so to speak.

What will earn you honor

  • Donate to gang via tithing box
  • Disarm a duelling opponent
  • Complete camp chores
  • Peacefully surrender to a lawman and serve time in jail
  • Pay off your debts for crimes
  • Help strangers
  • Honorable actions in story or optional missions

What will lose you honor

  • Steal a horse
  • Loot an innocent’s corpse
  • Rob a shop
  • Shoot near an innocent
  • Watch a wild animal bleed to death
  • Beat someone up while intimidating them
  • Dishonorable actions in story or optional missions
  • Kill domesticated animals or town animals
  • Shooting or using explosives on specific corpses
  • Watch your horse while it is writhing in pain
  • Trample an innocent with your horse

If you want to learn more about the various types of robbery, check out our Red Dead Redemption 2 robbery guide.

Red Dead Redemption 2 image showing Arthur Morgan and an ally firing a revolver and rifle respectively. They both wear bandanas. An explosion is going off behind them.
Image credit: Rockstar Games

How do honor ranks and rewards work

Imagine your honor is on a sliding scale. Every time you accrue honor points, you’ll move up the scale (+). Conversely, if you lose honor, you’ll slide down the scale (-). Play it neutral and you’ll be at 0.

There are certain honor milestones in the game which you’ll achieve at a specific rank. You’ll receive certain benefits if you earn honor, but if you start sliding down the scale you’ll lose them.

The sliding scale begins at the lowest honor ranking of -8, and extends all the way to the highest honor ranking of +8.

At -8 honor rank, you’ll be sitting at -320 points. A rank is gained by earning +40 points. So, those at honor rank -7, will have -280 points. Those at honor rank -6, will have -240 points and so on. Someone with the highest honor rank at +8, will be sitting pretty at +320 points.

Red Dead Redemption 2 image showing Arthur Morgan wearing a bandana walking through some smoke on a street. He is dual-wielding revolvers.

Here’s an overview of what benefits you can earn with your honor ranking:

  • +8 Honor Rank ( +320 points) - N/A
  • +7 Honor Rank ( +280 points) - 50% discount in all shops.
  • +6 Honor Rank ( +240 points) - New outfits available in certain general stores: the Scrapper, the Farrier, the Gambler, the Deauville, the Faulkton, the Drifter, the Dewberry Creek, and the Drover.
  • +5 Honor Rank ( +200 points) - 25% discount in all shops.
  • +4 Honor Rank ( +160 points) - N/A
  • +3 Honor Rank ( +120 points) - New outfits available in certain general stores: the Bulldogger, the McLaughlin, the Chevalier, the Corson, the Cumberland, the Cowpuncher, the Valentine, and the Roscoe.
  • +2 Honor Rank ( +80 points) - 10% discount in all shops.
  • +1 Honor Rank ( +40 points) - Drop rate of potent tonics, restorative items, jewelry and food items is increased when looting bodies.
  • 0 Honor Rank ( 0 points) - Loot bodies and you’ll often obtain standard tonics, cheap jewelry, basic horse consumables and used alcohol and tobacco.
  • -1 Honor Rank ( -40 points) - Drop rate of Dead Eye tonics, thrown weapons, alcohol and tobacco is increased when looting bodies. You will also receive more money and jewelry from lawmen.
  • -2 Honor Rank ( -80 points) - N/A
  • -3 Honor Rank ( -120 points) - N/A
  • -4 Honor Rank ( -160 points) - N/A
  • -5 Honor Rank ( -200 points) - N/A
  • -6 Honor Rank ( -240 points) - N/A
  • -7 Honor Rank ( -280 points) - N/A
  • -8 Honor Rank ( -320 points) - N/A

That wraps up our Red Dead Redemption 2 honor system guide. If you want to look fashionable while helping or harrassing people in Red Dead Redemption 2, check out our hat locations guide. If you just want to focus on 100% completing the game, take a look at our Red Dead Redemption 2 grave locations and Red Dead Redemption 2 squirrel statue locations guides. If you want to get weird, learn where to find the Vampire and where to find the Night Folk in Red Dead Redemption 2 to unravel some occult mysteries.

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