Yes, but only during story missions: Red Dead Redemption 2 has no bank robbery you can start on your own in free roam. The story has you rob the banks in Valentine and Saint Denis, plus Rhodes if you own the Special or Ultimate Edition, and outside those jobs the vault doors stay locked and the tellers will not open up however hard you lean on them.
Below we cover each bank job and when it comes up, why free roam banks stay shut, what changes for John in the epilogue, the bounty and honor side of crime, how PC players add free-roam heists, and the one bank job in Red Dead Online.
We recorded our video on robbing banks on PS4, and it’s at the end of this guide. The screenshots in this guide come from the same recording.
Which Version This Covers
This guide covers Story Mode in Red Dead Redemption 2 on PS4, Xbox One and PC. PS5 and Xbox Series X|S players run those versions through backward compatibility, and Rockstar has not announced a native current-generation version as of this writing. The bank rules below are the same on every platform.
Every Bank You Can Rob
| Town | Mission | When | Who gets it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valentine | “Sodom? Back to Gomorrah” | Chapter 3 | Everyone |
| Rhodes | “High and Low Finance” | Chapter 4 | Special and Ultimate Edition owners |
| Saint Denis | “Banking, The Old American Art” | End of Chapter 4 | Everyone |
None of them is a solo job. Each is a gang robbery with a crew around Arthur, a plan made at camp and a scripted escape from the law.
The Valentine Bank Job (Chapter 3)
The first bank Arthur hits is in Valentine. By Chapter 3 the gang has moved south to Clemens Point, and once the heat from the gang’s troubles in Valentine has died down, Bill Williamson starts the mission from camp. Karen Jones has been eyeing the bank for a while.
Karen causes a distraction outside while Arthur pulls up his bandana, holds the customers at gunpoint and makes the teller open the vault. Inside, Arthur loots the safes, and looting every one of them is part of the mission’s gold medal. Lawmen are waiting when the crew comes out, so the job ends with a running gunfight on horseback. If you have never covered your face before, our guide on how to pull up your bandana shows the controls.
The Rhodes Bank Job (Special and Ultimate Edition)
The bank in Rhodes is the edition catch. It is robbed in “High and Low Finance”, a Chapter 4 job you start by talking to Charles Smith at camp, and it only exists if you own the Special Edition or Ultimate Edition content. The edition’s store description calls it a “Bank Robbery Mission” in which Arthur and a couple of gang members break in and rob the bank in Rhodes.
Charles has bought plans showing a weak spot in one of the bank’s walls, so Arthur, Charles and Uncle blow it open with dynamite and empty the safes. The take is a few hundred dollars. On a standard copy, Charles never offers it; on Xbox, the Ultimate Edition content is sold separately as an add-on for owners of the base game.
The Saint Denis Bank Job (End of Chapter 4)
The big one. Dutch van der Linde plans the robbery of the bank in Saint Denis as the gang’s last job before leaving the country, and almost the whole gang takes part. Arthur cracks the safe (doing it without a mistake is a gold medal requirement) while the others hold the bank.
It is the climax of Chapter 4, and what happens during and after it changes the story for good, so we will not spoil it here. Our guide to how many chapters there are shows where it falls in the game.
Can You Rob Banks in Free Roam?
No. Outside the three missions above, the back doors to the vaults stay locked and the tellers will not open the vault when you point a gun at them. That is different from shops, which you can hold up in free roam.
Finishing a bank’s mission does not open that bank up for repeat robberies in free roam either. The banks in Blackwater and Armadillo never get a robbery mission at all.
If you want the thrill of a heist outside the story, the next best things are stagecoaches, trains, homesteads and shops, all of which can be robbed in free roam. Our guide to making money fast covers which of those pay best and which fences buy what you take.
On PC, mods change this. A mod can let you force tellers to open the vault in Valentine, Rhodes, Saint Denis and Blackwater, and we list the best one in our 100 best RDR2 mods. Console players have no equivalent.
What About John in the Epilogue?
John Marston cannot rob a bank either. The epilogue has no bank robbery mission, and the free roam rules do not change, so the vault doors stay locked for him just as they did for Arthur. John’s dealings with a bank in the epilogue are strictly on the right side of the counter.
Bounty and Honor: What Crime Costs You
The bank jobs are scripted, so their chases play out as part of each mission. Free roam crime works differently, and it is worth knowing before you go looking for a substitute heist:
-
Bounty. When a witness reports a crime or a lawman sees it, you become wanted, and a bounty goes on your head in that state. It stays until you pay it off. Our guide to getting rid of your bounty covers the post office fix.
- Honor. Robberies cost honor, and a bandana does not stop that: it only keeps witnesses from recognizing you. Our guide on how to check honor shows where your standing is and what it changes.
Bank Jobs in Red Dead Online
Red Dead Online has no free roam bank robbery either. Its one bank job is a story mission: “Banks Don’t Rob Themselves”, part of the A Land of Opportunities storyline on the dishonorable path. Your posse of two to four players helps Samson Finch hit the bank in Saint Denis and get into the vault for a stack of bonds. Your character’s honor decides which path’s missions you get, so it only appears for dishonorable characters. Our guide to playing Red Dead Online with friends covers forming the posse you need, and Rockstar’s Red Dead Online page has the latest on the mode.
For the rest of our coverage, browse the Red Dead guides hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you rob a bank in RDR2 Story Mode? Yes, but only in missions: Valentine in Chapter 3, Saint Denis at the end of Chapter 4, and Rhodes in Chapter 4 if you own the Special or Ultimate Edition.
Can you rob banks in free roam? No. The vault doors stay locked and tellers will not open them at gunpoint. PC mods are the only way to add free roam bank robberies.
Can you rob a bank by yourself? No. Every bank job is a gang mission, and there is no solo bank robbery in Story Mode.
Can you rob the bank in Rhodes? Only with the Special or Ultimate Edition content. Charles Smith offers the job in Chapter 4.
Can you rob banks in the epilogue as John? No. The epilogue has no bank robbery mission, and free roam banks stay locked.
Can you rob a bank in Red Dead Online? Only in the story mission “Banks Don’t Rob Themselves”, which dishonorable characters play with a posse of two to four.