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”.

I thought we were talking about who was the better brawler. Well if we're talking gunfighters then that would be John.

People say Arthur rarely goes "One-Man army" but he does several times in the game. American Fathers II, A Kind and Benevolent Despot, Fleeting Joy, The Course of True Love V, Archeology For Beginners, and the final mission of the game, Red Dead Redemption. In the first game, John often has someone fighting by his side. However, due to the run-and-gun nature of the first game instead of the shoot-and-hide nature of the second game, it gives the impression that he's fighting all these goons by himself. That and the NPCs that are allied with the player in the first game are brain dead.

If I had to say who's consistently the best gunslinger on this list, it's Arthur, as he has all five levels of Dead Eye. John does become equal to Arthur in 1907. However, by 1911, John's Dead Levels have went down to just being three. He can't even shoot in Dead Eye anymore without marking targets.

I don't know about Red Harlow. It's heavily implied that the events of Revolver are an embellished version of what actually happened, so we don't know his true gunslinging abilities. I'll just talk about Arthur, John, and Jack. If had to rate them:

1899: Arthur. I don't really need to explain.

1907: John and Arthur are approximately equal. He has all five levels of Dead Eye, due to the fact that he still has the fighting spirit from his gang days and doesn't really settle down until after he's killed Micah.

1911: Arthur, if he were still alive and in his prime. Due to John's retirement, he's gotten slower and has to re-learn his Dead Eye ability. Even when he eventually does, it's a watered down version of the ability he used to have.

1914: Arthur, if he was alive and still in his prime. Jack has likely surpassed his father's ability by his 1911 standards, since he learned all three levels of Dead Eye by himself. However, his ability is still inferior to both Arthur and John in their prime.

I think the better question is, who's a better gunslinger: 1899 Arthur or 1907 John?

If I had to say who's the best gunfighter outside this list, it's Micah. There's obviously that scene in Rhodes, but there also something else. Micah is the only character in the series to counter the Dead Eye move, which says a lot about his abilities with a gun.