Dueling



 is an activity in Red Dead Redemption and a major gameplay element in Red Dead Revolver. Marston may be challenged to duels by either outlaws or vigilantes, depending on the player's current honor. Marston will also be challenged to a duel if caught cheating while playing Poker. Occasionally, the player may also be challenged to a duel if they knock over an NPC while on horseback.

Steps
After accepting a dueling challenge, press the Left Trigger (Xbox 360) or the L2 button (PS3) to draw Marston's sidearm when the "draw" prompt appears on screen. A player may choose to draw anytime either before or after the "draw" prompt. If the player draws early, the camera will be zoomed out farther from the target, making it harder to aim correctly. If the player waits and draws after the "draw" prompt, the camera will be closer to your opponent, making it easier to mark them in vital zones.

Success in a duel means filling your "duel meter" faster than your opponent does his. Once Marston draws his weapon, the player must "paint" the target with a Dead-Eye type expanding crosshair reticle. The reticle will repeatedly grow and turn red, then shrink and turn white. Pressing the Right Trigger (Xbox 360) or R1 button (PS3) when the reticle is red will fill a miniscule portion of the meter, while marking a shot when the cross-hair is white will fill a larger portion of the meter. Shots to the chest and head will fill the meter quickly, while shots to the stomach or legs will fill less of the meter. Keep in mind that the player's meter doesn't need to be completely filled to win the duel, it only has to be larger than your opponents. A player can still have a larger meter than the opponent and still lose. *note* The instructions on how to actually fire your weapon once your meter is filled need clarification in this article.

You may also win a duel by disarming your opponent. To disarm an opponent, the player must mark the NPC's arm or gun, without marking any other spot on the body. After the mark is placed correctly placed, the player's meter will instantly fill, and Marston will take the shot, and win the duel.

Killing an opponent generates Fame, while disarming an opponent will generate both Honor and Fame. Opponents encountered throughout the course of the main storyline and Stranger side-missions often cannot be disarmed and must be killed. However, while it is possible to achieve this feat, usually enemies will often produce another weapon such as a backup sidearm and continue to try and kill the player. On some occasions, if a weapon is successfully shot out of an opponent's hand, they will hold their hand in pain. They can still be killed or hogtied with the lasso (the player will receive no bonus for doing this) after the duel, but if not dealt with on the spot, the loser will often flee the scene.

Refusal
Marston can choose to refuse a duel. If the player chooses to walk away, honor will be lost. However, if the player knocks out the challenger with their fists, the duel will be prevented and the player can walk away with no penalty to honor.

Cheating
The player may choose to kill the challenger in the interval after the challenge has been issued when en route to the dueling positions. Doing so will incur a loss of Honor and a Bounty placed on Marston's head.

Trivia

 * Marston will still fan the hammer of semi-automatic guns, such as the High Power Pistol or the Double-action Revolver, which is a technique unnecessary on semi-automatic and double action firearms because the pull of the trigger or the action of the slide re-cocks the hammer each time the weapon is fired. Fanning the hammer is only useful on single action weapons because the hammer must be cocked every time, so slapping the hand against the hammer quickly is much faster than using the thumb.
 * If the player has a wide enough camera view by drawing earlier, they can actually mark onlookers in the crowd and wound or kill them. After the duel, no bounty will be incurred for wounding or killing civilians in the crowd. However, when marking people in the crowd, it will not fill up Marston's meter, essentially making them wasted shots.
 * Even if you kill a NPC in a Duel, the NPC will continue to respawn for future duels and minigames. (Confirmed on PS3 and Xbox 360).

Trophies/Achievements
After downloading the DLC Legends and Killers, you can obtain this trophy:

Videos
Video:Red Dead Redemption Dueling Guide|A helpful video on how to duel.

Video:Red Dead Redemption Dueling Guide Addendum|The addendum to the other video

Video:Red Dead Redemption Dueling Guide Addendum

Duelos