How to Increase Fame in Red Dead Redemption

Red Dead Redemption comes with a unique Fame mechanic that measures how well-known John Marston and Jack Marston are across the Wild West. Their actions, both good and bad, influence their Fame level. One of the achievements in Red Dead Redemption, titled Man of Honor/Chivalry’s Dead is unlocked when you have attained the highest Fame rank. Since it’s not entirely clear what raises Fame, we’ve outlined the best ways to increase Fame in Red Dead Redemption in this detailed guide.

John Marston riding his horse through a valley overlooking a river in Red Dead Redemption

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How To Increase Fame in Red Dead Redemption

To increase your character’s Fame rating in Red Dead Redemption, you can complete missions, side quests, and challenges, help strangers, and win duels and games. If that isn’t enough, you can try doing the following activities:

Wearing the Elegant Suit and then trying to cheat at poker triggers a duel. If you manage to disarm an opponent in the duel, you’ll quickly increase your Fame.
Sparing an enemy's life instead of killing them, when given the option, rewards Marston with double the amount of Fame.
Disarming a duel opponent grants 100 Fame, while killing them awards only 50. As such, choose to disarm to increase Fame. You can repeat this as many times as you like.
Robbing civilians and prostitutes is another way to get 50 Fame points. However, keep in mind you’ll lose Honor every time you do this.
Ditch the Bandana in Red Dead Redemption. While it looks cool, wearing the Bandana prevents you from gaining Fame.
For players with the Golden Guns pack, using guns to kill enemies will increase Fame at a higher rate than normal.

Unlike Honor, Fame can only increase and cannot decrease. There is no way to lose Fame besides using cheats. Remember, high Honor and high Fame will make you a renowned hero, while low Honor and high Fame will make you a notorious outlaw.

All Fame Titles in Red Dead Redemption

The table below lists all the Fame ranks in Red Dead Redemption, along with the results that happen when players earn the respective title.

Title	Result
Nobody	No Fame, nobody knows who Marston is.
Greenhorn	More opportunities to help people in need pop up.
Buckaroo	The cost of bribing lawmen is dropped by 25%.
Mercenary	Lawmen and bounty hunters pursue Marston less frequently, once every 48 hours instead of 24.
Gunslinger	Marston doesn’t become “Wanted” for stealing or hijacking horses and gets free drinks at saloons.
Legend	Bounty values for all of Marston's crimes are reduced by 50%.