I personally think it’s John by a country mile. Although Arthur has had some amazing feats, he’s always had large group of allies behind him. Meanwhile, John is pretty much a one man army. He has single-handedly taken down one of the most dangerous gangs in the series, and spearheaded a vastly outnumbered revolution. RDR2’s gunfights are usually like all-out wars, with Arthur fighting his way through the opposition with Dutch and the gang at his side all the way. RDR1’s gunfights are much more chaotic; even when John’s backed up by other factions or allies, he’s usually doing his own thing, taking on leagues of enemies easily all on his own, something Arthur has never really done before. Same can be said for Red, to a lesser extent.

I don’t know about Red as I haven’t played the game, and I would say that it wouldn’t be Jack either, who’s not so experienced.

So, that leaves John and Arthur. I would also say that John is the better gunslinger, although not by much. Generally speaking, John has done more by himself as an individual, which suggests that he’s got the greater experience. He’s also been in more difficult situations and gunned down more worthy foes, such as Micah, for instance, who’s more feared than Dutch by 1907 and demonstrably an extremely formidable opponent. Another impressive feat, in my opinion, is the Mexican Revolution (I cant say enough about how much I love that part of the story) - John survives working for both sides, and surpasses both the best men of Reyes’ rebels and Allende’s soldiers. He also mows down dozens of US soldiers soon before his death, with only Uncle and Jack helping, who wouldn’t be much use by then. That’s not to say that Arthur is bad in comparison as I think the difference is small, but his feats were typically performed in the company of another, usually competent, gang member.

So yeah, I’d say John is the best gunslinger. Arthur would be the best brawler, though.

I'd say Arthur because what kind of dumbass walks up to a fort in broad daylight and faces down multiple riflemen with a sixgun?!

@Aragorn Skywalker Of House Stark Probably a guy who’s done it before (American Venom). He was probably a bit out of practice after four years. Also, the fact that he survived getting shot in the chest with minimal injury is quite telling of his durability.

You make good points Phoenix :)

Thanks

I don't remember too many times in the first game when John goes full one man army. I think it's that the allied NPCs in the first game were so useless that it made you feel like a one man army. I also think that differences in gunplay need to be taken into account. 1's is more "arcadey" while 2's is more realistic.

We have to define what "skilled fighter" is first.

@Petkoholic Something along the lines of “who’s the better gunfighter”.