Best Mods to Fix John Marston

Playing as John Marston is a nostalgic treat for those who enter into the epilogue of Red Dead Redemption 2. While many can grieve over the loss of Arthur Morgan, it’s somewhat nice to see the returning protagonist of the first game ride again with his spurs in tact so players can experience the entire game’s end content as this iconic scared outlaw in a denim jacket.

However, there’s something a bit off about John Marston’s appearance, but luckily, there are a multitude of mods to fix John Marston in Red Dead Redemption 2, bringing along further immersion to make him look and feel like John Marston did back in the first Red Dead Redemption. With tweaks to the animations, graphics, and textures, John Marston rides again.

1

John Marston Restoration Project

Provides John Marston With His Beta Model and NPC Clothes

Perhaps the most important mod of all for being John Marston is the John Marston Restoration Project, which has the entire goal of improving the experience of playing as John Marston in the Epilogue. This mod brings back the Beta model of John Marston from the pre-release of the game, along with new clothing that was cut for John’s player model so that players can wear his NPC clothes.

This mod separates John from Arthur completely and really helps John stand on his own without looking like a retextured John by fixing his face and neck, along with his hairline and body type so that this becomes the true way to play as John Marston.

2

John Marston Animation Overhaul V2.7

Brings Back Classic John Marston Walk Animations

Another important mod for making John Marston feel like John Marston is the John Marston Animations Overhaul, currently on V2.7. This mod adds new animations to John Marston specifically, from the Beta of Red Dead Redemption 2 and from the original Red Dead Redemption.

The animations aim to fix the John Marston experience by giving John back his original walk style so he doesn’t seem so stiff. The beta animations look great for John, and really make his movement feel more fluid and fitting of the game.

3

1.00 Fitment

Provides John With His 1.0 Release Body

When Red Dead Redemption 2 was first released, the vanilla 1.0 experience for John Marston was pretty solid, his body was bulkier and his clothes fit him. Yet, later patches took this away, so players have decided to bring this back as a mod, thanks to d00ge.

This mod brings the fitment and body of John Marston back into the current patch, as it was in 1.0. This means that clothes fit John better, and he isn’t so skinny with less broad shoulders, or a body that basically makes him Arthur Morgan with John’s texture files slapped on top.

4

RDR1 John Marston’s Body ‘N’ Arms

New Textures For More Tanned Arms

John Marston’s arms in Red Dead Redemption 2 are a little too pale and hairy, and even a tad too thin. Luckily, the RDR1 John Marston’s Body ‘N’ Arms mod (also known as John Mars-tan) provides John with deeper tones to the skin on his forearms to make him appear more accurate than how he did in the original Red Dead Redemption.

It’s great for those who enjoy playing in third-person and first-person, as seeing John’s arms with his sleeveless denim jacket makes for a more fulfilling experience that isn’t made awkward by his oddly pale skin just on the arms.

5

The Classic Cowboy – RDR1 Accurate Cowboy Outfit for John Marston

Provides John With His Classic Worn-n-Dirty Cowboy Costume

John Marston’s cowboy outfit in the original Red Dead Redemption was a tad dirty and more worn, filled with stitches and a dirty off-white shirt, along with pants and gloves that actually fit him. When it comes to Red Dead Redemption 2, the textures are a tad low in quality, and his pants seem to be rather large and give off a somewhat goofy appearance.

With The Classic Cowboy mod, John Marston’s outfit has a more accurate look to the original game by overhauling the models and textures and does so in a way that preserves the quality and realism of the beauty of Red Dead Redemption 2.

6

John Marston – HD Classic Stubble

John Marston can grow quite a bit of facial hair when players take the reigns and play as him, and they can even grow full-sized beards that make him look grizzled and like a caveman. However, the HD Classic Stubble mod will bring back the classic by allowing both the NPC John and the Epilogue John to have a stubble more fitting of his original appearance.

The stubble in question has more textures, allowing the dark colors of his mustache and beard to really stand out on his scowling and scared face. John’s scars and his stubble is part of his character’s look, so to bring that back with all the HD 2K textures is going to make him look even better.

7

Extended Player Animations

New Animations for John, Arthur, and NPCs

Some of the animations given to John Marston might seem a bit stiffer than what they were in the original Red Dead Redemption, and as such, a brilliant mod from iAbokai brings about a ton of fixes and improvements to the in-game animations of not only John, but various other NPCs, and even Arthur Morgan.

While this mod started out as just a fix to John Marston’s animations, to make them more separate from Arthur’s and NPCs, it evolved to involve an arsenal of expansive changes that would truly evolve the visual experience and identity of the characters.

8

Enable Swimming (John Can Swim)

One of the most infamous aspects of John Marston’s character is the fact that he cannot swim. What was just a way to prevent players from reaching areas they shouldn’t in the original Red Dead Redemption by killing John Marston the moment he enters the water, became a canon event for Red Dead Redemption 2, as John cannot swim.

This might annoy some players in the Epilogue, as Arthur had no trouble swimming, whereas John becomes paralyzed and flails in the water until he drowns. With this mod, not only can John Marston swim, but he can swim for as long as he wants to make things more realistic.

9

John Marston – 1911

New Textures For John’s Face For Greater Quality

With John Marston – 1911, players will have access to new textures from the original Red Dead Redemption that bring back John’s iconic scowl and re-texture his scars and skin tones to be of higher quality. The mod itself looks great in Red Dead Redemption 2, matching the original face textures with the game’s high fidelity.

The scars are more prominent on John’s face, and the material textures help to make John look more like himself with his scowling brows and scars, rather than the younger and thin face seen in the 1907 vanilla Epilogue.

10

JMFAO – John Marston Facial Animation Overhaul

This mod overhauls John Marston’s facial expressions entirely so that the game isn’t just reusing the same emotions for every encounter where John looks quite sad and tired. There are new aiming, combat, and normal moods for John Marston, along with expressions that match the situation that they should be in.

The facial expressions of John have been vastly improved, including allowing John to blink and seem normal as opposed to his tired and unblinking vanilla model. John’s appearance here looks great, and those who see him in cutscenes and during third-person encounters will really notice the difference.