Banks are a central institution in virtually all communities of the American west at the time of the Red Dead series. Banks were used to safe-keep the wealth of the settlement they were located in. Because of this, large amounts of gold and cash were stored in the banks of the west - making them a prized goal of many outlaw groups.
Red Dead Redemption[]
The player may be offered randomly-generated side missions involving banks. If they choose the honorable side, Marston will be asked to retrieve a stolen bank safe, which then has to be returned to the bank. If the player chooses the dishonorable side, Marston will be able to rob banks. Either way, the reward for completing the job will be cash. The banks of Armadillo and MacFarlane's Ranch are the only banks that can be robbed without fail. Armadillo has two crackable safes and a pair of chests. The other two banks, one in Chuparosa, Nuevo Paraiso and the First National Bank of Blackwater in Blackwater, West Elizabeth, cannot be robbed because the doors to the vault are impassible. However, the Blackwater bank has just one safe that can be cracked.
The easiest way of robbing the Bank of Armadillo is to wait until around 1 AM. Head round to the side window on the right of the building and equip the bandana. Take out any weapon and smash the window out by pressing RT (Xbox) or R2 (PS3). Climb on through, head into the safe and crack it. When the safe is close to cracking one of the digits the controller will vibrate. At this point, stop turning the dial. The money will vary inside of the safe, and can be anything from $1 to $500 or possibly more. Lassoing any witnesses and putting them on the back of the player's horse guarantees they cannot alert the authorities.
Red Dead Redemption 2[]
Unlike Redemption, the player cannot freely rob a bank as the back doors are locked and tellers will not respond by opening the vault. Banks are only robbed during missions.
As the Van der Linde gang makes camp in the Heartlands, members of the gang begin to scope out for leads. Karen Jones finds out about a large sum of cash stored in the Valentine Savings Bank. However, planning was cut short following a massive shootout that forced the gang to flee from the area. A few weeks later, after the heat died down from the gunfight, the gang decided it was time to hit the bank. Arthur Morgan, Bill Williamson, Lenny Summers, and Karen rode back to Valentine and successfully robbed the bank, netting the gang several thousand dollars.
In Chapter 4, the Bank of Rhodes can be robbed in a DLC exclusive companion activity with Charles Smith and Uncle. Using dynamite to blow open the doors, the trio collects a few hundred dollars before riding back to Shady Belle, a successful heist.
Meanwhile, Dutch van der Linde and Hosea Matthews are also planning a bank heist in Saint Denis. Dutch planned the heist to be the gang's last before they flee overseas and escape "to paradise." After weeks of planning, they finally set the robbery into motion, with most of the gang participating. Hosea and Abigail Roberts ride ahead to set up a distraction- a dynamite explosion, to distract the law while the rest of the gang robs the bank. Arthur cracks the safes, but is interrupted by the rest of the gang by Pinkerton agents, who are standing outside the bank. A mass shootout erupts, in which Hosea and Lenny are both killed, splitting the gang apart. The half that did not participate in the bank heist are forced to hastily flee Shady Belle, while the secondary half flee the country a in hopes of avoiding the law, although they ended up getting stranded on Guarma.
In the Epilogue, John Marston begins looking for a permanent place to live, and he settles on Beecher's Hope. Despite this, the loan was expensive and him getting it was not guaranteed. So, he goes to ask David Geddes about putting in a good word for him at the West Elizabeth Co-Operative Bank. He manages to get the loan, buying Beecher's Hope and settling down with Uncle and Charles, and later the rest of the Marston family.
By 1907, the First National Bank of Blackwater is under construction. At some point between the events of Redemption 2 and Redemption, the West Elizabeth Co-Operative Bank was decommissioned and replaced by a jewelry store while the newly constructed bank opened.
Red Dead Online[]
Similar to Story Mode, in Red Dead Online banks can not be robbed outside of missions.
In "Banks Don't Rob Themselves", after stealing an armored wagon and bank official uniforms, Samson Finch instructs the protagonist and their posse to enter the Lemoyne National Bank and trick the bank manager into opening the vault in in order to steal a targeted stack of bonds.
Locations[]
Red Dead Redemption
Settlement | Name |
---|---|
Armadillo | Bank of Armadillo |
Blackwater | First National Bank of Blackwater |
Chuparosa | Chuparosa Banco |
Red Dead Redemption 2
Settlement | Name | Notes |
---|---|---|
Armadillo | Bank of Armadillo | Inaccessible |
Blackwater | West Elizabeth Co-Operative Bank | Featured in the Epilogue |
Rhodes | Bank of Rhodes | Robbed in “High and Low Finance” |
Saint Denis | Lemoyne National Bank | Robbed in “Banking, the Old American Art” |
Valentine | Valentine Savings Bank | Robbed in “Sodom? Back to Gomorrah” |
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Sometimes, after the player cracks a safe. The safe's door closes.
- There is a glitch that allows players to rob the back of the Blackwater bank.
- Armadillo's bank is one of the few buildings in Red Dead Redemption 2 with a fully modeled interior despite being inaccessible in regular gameplay.