Overview
The Bank in the northwest district of Hernand is one of the quickest ways to earn silver in the early hours of Crimson Desert. The building houses a locked vault on the ground floor and a second-floor storage area, both filled with strongboxes and chests that can be looted for coins, paintings, and other valuables. Security inside is laughably light; if you know what to bring and how to time your exit, you can walk out with a sizable haul and no bounty on your head.
This is a one-time opportunity. The strongboxes inside the bank do not respawn after you loot them, so it is worth cleaning the place out in a single visit. The total take depends on how thorough you are, but a complete heist can net roughly 25 to 90 silver when you factor in the strongbox contents and the resale value of stolen paintings and vases.
What You Need
Two items are required before you can rob the bank: a criminal mask and a back-alley key. Both are sold by the same vendor.
Item | Cost | Where to Buy |
|---|---|---|
Mask | 10 copper | Back Alley Shop, southeast of the Church of Hernand near the mill |
Key | 30 copper | Same Back Alley Shop vendor (near the windmill outside Hernand) |
The Back Alley Shop is a small vendor stall run by a goblin merchant located southeast of the Church of Hernand, close to the mill on the eastern road next to Hernand. Look for the goblin near the windmill. The shop sells masks, keys, and other contraband items. You only need one key per bank door, and the key is consumed when you use it.
If you do not want to spend the copper, you can obtain a mask for free by completing the Bounty Notice: Jeffrey quest in Chapter 2 and surrendering Jeffrey to the city guards. Masks also drop from bandits in the open world. However, the key must be purchased; there is no free alternative.
Finding the Bank
The Hernand Bank is located in the northwest district of Hernand Town. From the central market area, head north toward the upper streets of the city. The bank appears on the map under the environment tab, marked with a "?" icon until you discover it. Once inside, you will see the ground floor with counters where Grover, the Bank Teller, handles legitimate transactions like gold bar investments and Personal Strongbox Permits.
Directly opposite Grover is a locked wooden door leading to the vault storage area. This is your target.
Step-by-Step Guide
Step 1: Enter the Bank
Walk into the bank through the front entrance. You do not need to wear your mask yet. The bank is a public building, so entering it does not raise suspicion. Take a moment to note Grover's position behind the counter and the locked door on the opposite wall.
Step 2: Unlock the Vault Door
Approach the locked door opposite Grover. If you have a key in your inventory, it unlocks automatically when you interact with the door. The key is consumed in the process. Step through the door and let it close behind you.
Step 3: Equip Your Mask
Once inside the vault room, open your inventory and equip the mask. You must be wearing the mask for the "Steal" prompt to appear on containers. Without it, the option is greyed out. Equipping the mask inside the vault rather than outside prevents bystanders from seeing you put it on and becoming suspicious.
Step 4: Loot the Ground Floor Vault
Crouch by pressing L3 (or the equivalent keyboard key). Use L1 to bring out your lantern and scan the room. 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 its contents. Work through every container in the room systematically.
Each stolen item triggers a "Crime: Theft" overlay on screen and costs 5 Contribution EXP with the Hernandian faction. This penalty applies whether or not anyone sees you.
Step 5: Loot the Upper Floor
Head upstairs to the second floor. In the corner of the room, behind a set of shelves, you will find approximately 10 additional strongboxes. This area is typically watched by only one clerk or guard, but if you stay behind the shelves, you can avoid detection. Steal all 10 strongboxes while crouching.
Warning: The upper floor carries more risk than the ground-floor vault. If a guard or civilian spots you in the act, they will report the crime and your bounty increases. Stay hidden behind the shelves and move quickly.
Step 6: Wait Out the Crime Timer
After stealing, a red circle appears on your minimap. This is the crime search zone. A progress bar in the top right of the screen shows how long you need to avoid detection. Stay crouched inside the vault or behind cover and wait for the timer to expire. Do not leave the building while the search is active.
Once the crime timer fully depletes and the red circle disappears, unequip your mask from the inventory. Walk out of the bank as if nothing happened. If no one spotted you during the heist, you will have no bounty and no guards chasing you.
Loot Breakdown
Strongboxes take up one inventory slot each. Do not try to sell them directly to merchants. Instead, open each strongbox from your inventory to extract the silver coins inside.
Loot Type | Source | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Strongboxes | Shelves (ground floor and upper floor) | 1 to 5 silver each | Open in inventory to claim raw silver |
Chests | Floor of the vault | Varies | May contain silver, crafting recipes, or other items |
Paintings | Walls and displays | Sell at black market | Cannot be sold to regular merchants |
Vases | Tables and shelves | Sell at black market | Cannot be sold to regular merchants |
You need at least 10 open inventory slots to carry all the strongboxes from the upper floor alone. Clear out your bags before attempting the heist. If your inventory is full, you will have to leave items behind.
Selling Stolen Goods
Stolen paintings, vases, and other valuables cannot be sold to normal merchants. You must take them to a black market vendor to fence them.
The closest black market vendor in the early game is Groks, located at the Goldleaf Tradepost in the Serkis Estate, south of Hernand. Groks buys stolen paintings, vases, and other contraband at solid prices. Ride south from Hernand to find the tradepost and look for Groks inside.
Strongbox silver does not count as stolen goods once you open the boxes in your inventory. The extracted silver coins go straight into your currency total and can be spent anywhere.
Consequences
Every item you steal costs 5 Contribution EXP with the Hernandian faction. This is not 5 Contribution Points (your standing level); it is 5 EXP toward the next level. Stealing a dozen items in one heist adds up, but the loss is recoverable.
Consequence | Details |
|---|---|
Contribution EXP loss | -5 EXP per stolen item, applied immediately regardless of detection |
Crime search zone | Red circle on minimap; lasts until timer bar depletes |
Bounty (if spotted) | Small copper bounty added; guards become suspicious if bounty accumulates |
Arrest (if caught) | Quick-time event; failure results in jail time and confiscated funds |
Contribution EXP is easy to earn back. Completing side quests, liberating occupied settlements, defeating enemies in the open world, and helping with NPC requests all award Contribution EXP. A few hours of normal gameplay in the Hernand region will restore whatever you lost during the heist.
Clearing Your Bounty
If you were spotted and received a bounty, you have several options to clear it:
Method | How It Works |
|---|---|
Church Confessional | Visit the Church of Hernand and purchase a Writ of Absolution. Pay the bounty amount in copper and your record is cleared instantly. |
Outrun the guards | Sprint out of the red threat zone. Guards eventually disengage if you leave the area. |
Serve jail time | If arrested, serve your sentence. The bounty is paid automatically upon release. |
Reload a save | The game autosaves frequently. Reload a save from before the crime to undo everything. |
The Church Confessional is the most practical option. The Church of Hernand is close to the bank, and the cost to clear a small theft bounty is only a few copper. Keep spare copper on hand whenever you plan to steal.
Tips and Tricks
Bring enough inventory space. You need at least 10 empty slots for the upper floor strongboxes, plus additional room for paintings, vases, and chest contents. Complete a few Requests in Hernand to unlock inventory expansion slots before the heist.
Equip the mask inside the vault, not outside. Walking around Hernand with a mask on draws attention from bystanders and can trigger suspicion before you even reach the bank.
Do not sell strongboxes directly. Open them in your inventory first. The raw silver inside is worth more than the strongbox as an item, and extracted silver is not flagged as stolen.
Do not rush upstairs. The upper floor is watched by at least one NPC. Wait for them to look away or position yourself behind the shelves before stealing.
This is a one-time heist. The strongboxes do not respawn after you loot them. Make it count by clearing every container in both the vault and the upper floor in a single visit.
Combine with other theft runs. While you have your mask on, rob nearby buildings as well. The Royal Trading Post's Product Storage building can yield around 90 silver on its own if you clean it out. Stack your criminal activity into one session to minimize the total time spent rebuilding Contribution.
Use the heist to fund early upgrades. The silver from this heist, combined with fencing the paintings and vases at the black market, provides enough capital to purchase early weapons and armor upgrades.
Related Articles
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
Contribution System - How faction standing works and how to rebuild reputation
Law System - Guard behavior, arrest mechanics, and jail consequences
Above the Law Challenges - Crime-related challenge objectives for bonus rewards
Stealth - Crouching, detection, and staying hidden