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Bank Robbery Guide
April 4, 2026 at 09:32 AM
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The Hernand Bank heist is one of the fastest and most reliable ways to earn silver in the opening hours of Crimson Desert. Tucked inside the northwest district of Hernand, the bank houses a locked vault on the ground floor and a second-floor storage area, both packed with strongboxes, chests, paintings, and other valuables. With the right preparation and a little patience, you can walk out with 25 to 90 silver in a single visit and fund your early weapon and armor upgrades without grinding a single quest.
This guide covers everything you need to pull off the heist cleanly: what to buy beforehand, how to get inside the vault, what to steal, how to avoid a bounty, and what to do with your loot afterward. Even if things go sideways and a guard spots you, the consequences are manageable and easy to reverse.
Before heading to the bank you need two items: a mask and a key. Both are sold by the same vendor, and together they cost just 40 copper. Without the mask the game will not display the "Steal" prompt on containers, and without the key the vault door stays locked.
Item | Cost | Where to Buy | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
10 copper | Back Alley Shop, southeast of the Church of Hernand near the windmill | Reusable. Equip to enable theft actions. Only one needed. | |
30 copper each | Same Back Alley Shop vendor | Consumed on use. Vendor restocks up to 3 per day. |
The Back Alley Shop is a small stall run by a goblin merchant. It sits southeast of the Church of Hernand, next to the windmill on the eastern road leading out of town. The vendor sells masks, keys, and other contraband items. You only need one mask since it is a reusable piece of equipment, but you should buy at least one key for the vault door. Keys cost 30 copper each and are consumed the moment you unlock a door, so pick up extras if you plan to rob other locations later.
If you want to save 10 copper, you can obtain a mask without buying one. Completing the Bounty Notice: Jeffrey quest and handing Jeffrey over to the city guards rewards you with a mask. Masks also drop from bandits you defeat in the open world, including the Bleed Bandits in the hills south of Hernand. However, the key has no free alternative and must be purchased.
The Hernand Bank sits in the northwest district of Hernand, just below the castle entrance on the north side of town. From the central market, head north up the main road and look for a two-story stone building on your left. The bank shows up on the map under the environment tab with a "?" icon until you discover it. You will know you are in the right place when you see guards posted at the entrance, one of whom is a troll.
Inside, the ground floor has a counter where Grover, the bank teller, handles legitimate transactions like gold bar exchanges and Personal Strongbox Permits. Directly opposite Grover is a locked wooden door. That door is your target.
Follow these steps to rob the bank, loot the vault, and leave without a bounty. The entire process takes roughly five to ten minutes.
Before entering the bank, create a manual save. If anything goes wrong during the heist (a guard spots you, your inventory fills up, or you accidentally walk out while the crime timer is still active), you can reload and try again without losing progress.
Walk through the front entrance. The bank is a public building, so entering it raises no suspicion. Do not put your mask on yet. Wearing a mask in public draws attention from bystanders and can trigger the crime detection system before you even reach the vault.
Turn left immediately upon entering. You will see a locked wooden door across from Grover's counter. Walk up to it and the game will automatically use a key from your inventory to unlock it. The key is consumed in the process. Step through the door and wait for it to close behind you.
Once inside the vault room with the door shut, open your inventory and equip the mask. This activates the "Steal" prompt on all lootable containers in the room. Equipping the mask behind a closed door is important because no NPCs can see you put it on, keeping your crime detection meter at zero.
Crouch (L3 on controller) and hold L1 to bring out your lantern. Scanning the room with the lantern highlights lootable objects with a faint glow. The vault contains strongboxes lined up on shelves and chests on the floor. Interact with each container and press X (PlayStation) or A (Xbox) to steal the contents.
Work through every container systematically. Each stolen item triggers a "Crime: Theft" overlay in the top right of the screen and costs 5 Contribution EXP with the Hernandian faction. The penalty applies automatically regardless of whether anyone saw you, but since you are behind a locked door, no NPCs can detect the crime.
After clearing the ground-floor vault, head upstairs to the second floor. You will find roughly 10 additional strongboxes tucked behind shelving units in the corner. This area is watched by a clerk or guard, so the risk is higher than the locked vault. Stay crouched and position yourself behind the shelves to avoid their line of sight. Steal each strongbox quickly and move on.
Warning: The upper floor is the riskiest part of the heist. If the guard spots you stealing, your bounty increases immediately and the red crime search zone expands. Many players skip this floor entirely on their first attempt and return only once they are comfortable with the detection mechanics. The ground-floor vault alone provides enough silver to fund early purchases.
After your last theft, a red circle appears on the minimap and a progress bar shows up in the top right corner of the screen. This is the crime search zone. Stay crouched inside the vault or behind cover upstairs. Do not leave the building while the red search is active. The timer typically takes two to three minutes to deplete. Since you are locked inside the vault room, no NPCs can enter to spot you, making this a safe waiting period.
Once the crime timer fully depletes and the red circle disappears from your minimap, open your inventory and unequip the mask. Walk out of the vault, through the bank lobby, and out the front door. If no one spotted you during the heist, you leave with zero bounty and guards will not react.
The bank vault contains several types of lootable containers. Strongboxes are your primary targets because they yield raw silver when opened from your inventory. Other items like paintings and vases must be fenced at the black market for their full value.
Loot Type | Location | Approximate Value | How to Use |
|---|---|---|---|
Strongboxes | Shelves on ground floor and upper floor | 1 to 5 silver each | Open in your inventory to extract raw silver coins |
Chests | Floor of the vault | Varies (silver pouches, items) | Open directly; may contain silver, crafting recipes, or bonus pouches |
Paintings | Walls and displays throughout the bank | Sell at black market | Flagged as stolen; cannot be sold to regular merchants |
Vases and Pots | Tables and shelves | Sell at black market | Flagged as stolen; cannot be sold to regular merchants |
A thorough run of the ground-floor vault alone typically yields 30 to 55 silver. If you also clear the upper floor and fence all the paintings and vases at the black market, the total can reach 75 to 90 silver. Each strongbox occupies one inventory slot, so bring at least 10 to 15 empty slots before entering the bank.
Do not sell strongboxes directly to merchants. Their sell price as objects is far lower than the silver coins stored inside. Instead, open each strongbox from your inventory by selecting it and choosing "Open." The silver coins are deposited directly into your currency total and are not flagged as stolen, so you can spend them freely at any shop.
Paintings, vases, and other stolen items are marked as contraband in your inventory. Regular merchants will refuse to buy them. You need to visit a black market vendor to fence these items.
The nearest black market dealer in the early game is Groks at the Goldleaf Tradepost in the Serkis Estate, south of Hernand. Ride south from Hernand until you reach the tradepost and look for Groks inside. He buys all stolen goods at reasonable prices. Between the silver from opened strongboxes and the fencing profits from paintings and vases, a single Hernand Bank heist can fund your first set of weapon and armor upgrades.
Robbing the bank is not without penalties, though the costs are modest compared to the profit. Every stolen item reduces your standing with the local faction, and getting caught escalates the situation further.
Consequence | Details | Severity |
|---|---|---|
Contribution EXP loss | Each stolen item costs 5 Contribution EXP with the Hernandian faction. This is EXP toward the next level, not full Contribution Points. | Low |
Crime search zone | A red circle appears on the minimap after each theft. NPCs inside the circle can detect you. Timer lasts roughly 2 to 3 minutes. | Low (avoidable inside vault) |
Bounty (if spotted) | A small copper bounty is placed on your head. Accumulating bounties makes guards hostile. | Medium |
Arrest (if caught by guards) | Guards tackle you, triggering a quick-time event. Failure means jail time, confiscated silver, and a large Contribution penalty. | High |
Fine (if caught stealing) | Getting spotted mid-theft can result in an immediate fine that offsets your stolen earnings. | Medium |
The Contribution EXP loss is the only guaranteed penalty. It applies whether or not anyone sees you steal. However, 5 EXP per item is a small amount and can be earned back quickly through side quests, defeating enemies, liberating settlements, and helping NPCs. A few hours of normal gameplay in the Hernand region will restore whatever standing you lost.
If a guard or civilian spotted you during the heist and you ended up with a bounty, there are several ways to clear it:
Method | How It Works | Cost |
|---|---|---|
Church Confessional | Visit the Church of Hernand and purchase a Writ of Absolution. Your bounty is cleared instantly. | Equal to your bounty amount (copper) |
Outrun the guards | Sprint out of the red threat zone on the minimap. Guards eventually disengage once you leave the area. | Free, but risky |
Serve jail time | If arrested after a failed quick-time event, you serve a short sentence. The bounty is paid automatically from your silver upon release. | Bounty amount deducted from silver |
Reload a save | Load the manual save you created before the heist. Undoes the robbery entirely. | Free (loses heist progress) |
The Church Confessional is the most convenient option. The Church of Hernand is a short walk from the bank, and clearing a small theft bounty costs only a handful of copper. Always keep spare copper on hand when planning criminal activities.
The strongboxes inside the bank vault do not respawn once looted. They are one-time pickups, so it pays to clear them all in a single run. Floor chests, on the other hand, restock after roughly seven in-game days. This means you can return to the bank for smaller follow-up hauls from the chests, though the silver-per-run drops significantly compared to the first visit when strongboxes are available.
The same robbery mechanics work at every bank across the continent of Pywel. Once you have a mask and a fresh key, you can rob any bank in the game using the identical process.
There are four banks in Crimson Desert, each located in a major settlement. All four share the same account system for deposits and gold bar exchanges, and all four can be robbed using the same mask-and-key method.
Settlement | Location Within Town | |
|---|---|---|
Hernand | Northwest district, below the castle entrance | |
Central area of Thalwynd town | ||
Tommaso | North side of Tommaso city | |
Delesyia | Central town center, near the large statue |
The Hernand Bank is the most accessible target because you can reach it shortly after the prologue. The other three banks become available as you progress through the story and unlock travel to new regions. Each bank vault contains its own set of strongboxes and chests, so robbing multiple banks across the map significantly multiplies your total earnings.
Clear your inventory before the heist. You need at least 10 to 15 empty slots for the strongboxes, plus additional room for paintings, vases, and chest contents. Sell or store unneeded items beforehand.
Always equip the mask inside the vault. Walking through Hernand with a mask on draws attention from bystanders. Put it on only after the vault door is closed behind you.
Never leave while the crime timer is active. The red search circle on the minimap means NPCs outside can detect you. Wait inside the vault until the timer depletes completely, then unequip the mask before stepping out.
Open strongboxes, do not sell them. The raw silver inside each strongbox is worth far more than the strongbox's sell price as an item. Open them in your inventory and the extracted coins go straight into your wallet.
Skip the upper floor on your first attempt. The second floor has a guard who can spot you, raising the risk of a bounty. Get comfortable with the ground-floor vault first. Return for the upper floor once you understand the detection mechanics.
Stock up on keys. The Back Alley Shop sells up to three keys per day at 30 copper each. Buy extras if you plan to rob banks in other settlements or want to re-enter locked rooms elsewhere.
Combine the heist with other theft runs. While you already have your mask equipped, consider robbing nearby buildings before returning home. The Royal Trading Post Product Storage building can yield around 90 silver on its own if cleaned out.
Use the silver to open a bank account. Ironically, the best use for stolen bank silver is investing it back into the banking system. A bank account requires 100 silver and a gold bar to open, but it generates passive income through interest over time.
Rebuild Contribution through quests and bounties. The Contribution EXP you lose from stealing is easy to earn back. Complete requests, hunt monsters, and clear bounty notices around Hernand to restore your faction standing within a few hours of normal gameplay.
Bank - Investment system, gold bar purchases, and passive income
How to Steal Items - Full guide to theft mechanics, pickpocketing, and container looting
Crime System - Complete overview of criminal behavior, penalties, and bounties
How to Make Money Fast and Early - All early, mid, and late-game money-making methods
Selling Stolen Goods - How to fence contraband and find black market vendors
Contribution System - How faction standing works and how to rebuild reputation
Law System - Guard behavior, arrest mechanics, and jail consequences
Stealth - Crouching, detection, and staying hidden