Jonas vs. Braxton

[fr0]

Not talking about from a meta-gaming perspective (i.e. best loot), but who would actually run the Pit in the best way, with the interests of the residents coming first?

[Shizmoo]

Braxton would bring order and squash rebellions. Jonas would let a wild west thing going on where you would never be safe and a rival group with someone like riggs would form to take power.

Braxton is a POS though, he hired the 2 patsies to kill Abe to blame Jonas and if you dont kill them, he does. So I wouldnt trust him

[grraf]

Do you value full freedom(and the associated chaos that comes with it: unless a Jonas lackey(thus off limits) you are fair game for anyone to inflict theft,blackmail,death on you) or security at the cost of limiting your freedom(Braxton will crucify anyone choosing to disobey the laws and will obliterate any shady enterprises but in exchange you are expected to contribute&support hes laws&orders so rough luck if you fall in the category of outlaw or 'useless bum'(think free loaders/artists) that have no concrete way of contributing then you are in trouble)

So to each its own I for one would be a Braxton supporter but that is because i'm coming from a country where crime&corruption are sky high and those with cash&connections can skirt the laws with impunity while most folks struggle to eke a decent living.

[Cutlass Jack]

Braxton tried to get you killed by Jonas, so you could be a martyr after his plan to frame Jonas with the thugs didn't work out. He'll kill Mercy too after getting her on his side. So he doesn't really put the interests of anyone other than himself first.

Mercy is probably the best choice for 'residents first' if you can deal with the religion part of it. Personally I stuck with Jonas since he hadn't really done anything to make me want to get rid of him.

[grraf]

Originally posted by Cutlass Jack:

Braxton tried to get you killed by Jonas, so you could be a martyr after his plan to frame Jonas with the thugs didn't work out. He'll kill Mercy too after getting her on his side. So he doesn't really put the interests of anyone other than himself first.

Mercy is probably the best choice for 'residents first' if you can deal with the religion part of it. Personally I stuck with Jonas since he hadn't really done anything to make me want to get rid of him.

Well the way i see it : Braxton saw the pit slowly descending into anarchy and chaos and needed a way to legitimize a leadership change so he took the dishonorable approach of hiring(or forcing) a few thugs to pose as tax collectors for Jonas and cause a stink with witnesses around and you were the perfect tool of opportunity to prop up as a banner for the pit to rally behind and depose Jonas... pretty much a 'the means justify the ends' sort of deal; much like a morally straight cop/politician may need to pose as playing ball&crooked in order to raise himself trough the ranks of a corrupt system and hopefully find himself years later down the road in a position to ruin the entire system.

None the less Braxton is no charity worker and will not have bothered doing this if it wasn't both highly likely to succeed and stand to greatly benefit from it himself... in round about way i believe the guy is honest in hes desire&intent to establish a lawfull&prosperous pit, even hes church background would lend itself to this: a well intended man fighting for a seemingly righteous cause only to find out hes at best in the service of empty words peddlers or at worst some unscrupulous snakes whose only objective is to stoke the fire of open warfare between the brotherhood&protectors(at the risk of these burning down the entire ship in the process) , so he simply gathers up those around him that actually do wish to make a positive impact and sets off on a journey that eventually leads him to the pit.

[flushfire]

Except the pit isn't really THAT chaotic (yet), the simple fact that he had to stir up trouble himself is proof. TBF this is a design flaw IMO, what indicator is there of the descending into anarchy besides the two thugs near the eatery? NPCs could've at least weighed in on the matter like in the Shuttle or talked about lawlessness. Or maybe you'd get accosted by more thugs in the Outskirts while simply walking around (not by purposely looking for like in Hank's case). All we get are Braxton's word and that tidbit from the intro, cmiiw.

And anyway if Braxton really just wanted to make the Pit a bit more lawful he could've likely done it without taking over, there's no indication that Jonas forbade him from dealing with armed troublemakers. In any case he could've just waited until the pit became chaotic enough that the residents themselves would actively want change, not just think about it.

Originally posted by Cutlass Jack:

Braxton tried to get you killed by Jonas, so you could be a martyr after his plan to frame Jonas with the thugs didn't work out.

Yeah, that's the deal breaker for me. And it's not like Braxton's Pit is any better afterwards anyway, at least in the short term. The courthouse is still there, Riggs still has to be dealt with, and security is still lacking (Hired Gun).

I think what the crux should've been is not between chaos and order, it should've been that Jonas is poor as a leader, something which is better shown throughout the game.

[LDiCesare]

Braxton also probably killed Jonas's tax collectors. If you report to Jonas, he tells you that the guys he sent didn't match the age of the guys you met.
Jonas is a poor leader, Braxton a dictator, Mercy a religious fanatic.

[TotallyNotEvilBean]

jonas is literally Al Swearengen from the hbo tv series deadwood

[TotallyNotEvilBean]

the pit is literally Deadwood