Blackwater hides a doorway into its wreckage-but the gate is barred, and the reasons are written in the dust of a world that won’t forgive trespassers.
Blackwater and New Austin are located in the south-western part of the world map. These areas are marked in red and indicate that the main character (and all the rest of Dutch’s gang) is wanted there – dead or alive.
The game doesn’t use invisible walls (or other obstacles) to block you from entering Blackwater or New Austin.Theoretically, you can go there after completing the prologue of the main story, i.e. after reaching Horseshoe Overlook at the beginning of the second chapter. However, it is not worth taking such a step, because Arthur will be attacked as soon as he is noticed by some opponents. They patrol the whole state and there are plenty of them in Blackwater itself. What’s more, enemies have rifles that allow them to attack effectively from a long distance, and they also chase the hero longer after he’s been spotted.
You shouldn’t strive at all costs to explore New Austin and Blackwater at an early stage of the game. Free access to Blackwater and New Austin is possible during the (long) epilogue.. So it’s best to leave the area for later and explore it when your character won’t have to worry about constant attacks anymore.
How to enter Blackwater early without getting a bounty
You can enter Blackwater early without getting a wanted bounty, but it always relies on exploits or mission tricks and can be a bit finicky. Below is a condensed version of the main methods players use.
Swanson/bounty passenger method (Chapter 2+)
This is one of the simplest “no bounty, no lawmen” approaches described by players and recent video guides.
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Start the mission “Who Is Not Without Sin” (the Reverend Swanson mission) in Chapter 2.
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Complete the mission up to the point where you rescue Swanson and put him on your horse, but do not return him to camp yet. Keep him as a passenger instead.
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Ride west into Blackwater / Great Plains / Tall Trees while he is still on your horse.
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As long as the mission is active and Swanson is on your horse, the usual Blackwater super-wanted system is heavily suppressed:
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You can move through the Blackwater area and nearby countryside without getting a bounty and with little to no law response, provided you do not go deep into town or cross into New Austin.
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When finished exploring, ride back and complete the mission normally.
A very similar trick works with bounty missions: start a bounty, stow the bounty target on your horse, and ride toward Blackwater; as long as the bounty is alive and technically on the mission, the invisible sniper and instant-kill law behavior are disabled or toned down, though you still need to avoid lawmen directly.
“Angelo Bronte, a Man of Honor” replay glitch (Chapter 4+)
This method is older but still widely shared and specifically designed to let Arthur explore West Elizabeth/New Austin with no bounty.
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Requirement: you have completed Chapter 4: “Angelo Bronte, a Man of Honor” at least once.
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Go to the Upper Montana River between Blackwater and Fort Riggs and stand roughly in the middle of the river (or nearby; exact spot is flexible according to players).
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Open the pause menu → Progress → Story → Chapter 4 and choose “Angelo Bronte, a Man of Honor” to replay.
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During the cemetery section of the replay, let the law see you so Arthur becomes wanted in that mission, then finish the mission normally.
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After the replay ends, the game respawns Arthur back at the Upper Montana River, but now the Blackwater / New Austin area behaves as if the “super wanted” system is disabled, letting you ride into Blackwater and beyond without a bounty and without being shot on sight.
Notes from players:
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You may temporarily “lose” items/horse during the replay, but everything returns after the mission ends.
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Some report the glitch being less reliable after patches; if it fails repeatedly, there may not be a guaranteed fix other than trying a different method or playing into the epilogue.
Lawman-follow “border” exploit (no story replay)
Another widely used trick lets you roam town once, but is stricter about positioning inside Blackwater.
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From outside Great Plains, get a lawman to chase you (have a wanted level first).
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While that lawman is actively following, cross the border into Blackwater, keeping him behind you.
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Run loops through town, keeping the lawmen “bunched up” and eventually losing your wanted level inside the town limits without leaving them.
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If done correctly and you never cross the town border again, you end up in a state where you can walk around Blackwater with no active bounty and no new law spawns, though shops usually remain closed.
Important cautions
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All of these are unintended exploits, so they can be inconsistent between patches and platforms and may require several tries. Players have reported
What chapter and mission conditions let Arthur access Blackwater early
Arthur can technically reach and even explore Blackwater early in several chapters, but only under specific mission-related or glitch conditions that temporarily disable or soften the “super wanted” system. The key is what chapter you are in and which missions you can start or replay.
Chapter 2: Passenger / lawman-follow tricks
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From Chapter 2 onward, Arthur can reach the Blackwater area using mission passengers or lawman-follow exploits, but this is not officially supported and still risky.
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Example pattern:
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Use a mission where you have someone on your horse (like Reverend Swanson from “Who Is Not Without Sin” or a bounty target) and do not complete the drop-off.
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While that passenger mission is technically active, ride into Tall Trees / Great Plains / near Blackwater; the game often suppresses the instant-kill snipers and heavy law spawns, letting Arthur get close or into the outskirts with far less punishment.
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Another method from Chapter 2 is to get a lawman to follow you from outside Great Plains into Blackwater, then run loops inside town until your wanted level disappears, at which point you can walk around Blackwater as long as you never cross the town border again; shops remain closed.
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Chapter 3-4: Story mission outskirts
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In normal play (no exploits), Arthur only “visits” the outskirts of Blackwater during the story mission “The First Shall Be Last” in Chapter 3, sneaking around patrols to rescue Sean.
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This does not grant free roam; once the mission ends, standard early-game rules apply again: entering West Elizabeth south of the river triggers instant Wanted: Dead or Alive and lethal patrols.
Chapter 4+: “Angelo Bronte, a Man of Honor” replay glitch
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A widely used condition-based glitch requires that you have already completed Chapter 4 mission “Angelo Bronte, a Man of Honor.”
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Once that mission is unlocked in your Progress menu, the steps are:
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Go to the Upper Montana River between Blackwater and Fort Riggs and stand in the river.
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Open Progress → Story → Chapter 4 and replay “Angelo Bronte, a Man of Honor.”
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During the cemetery escape, let the law see you so Arthur becomes wanted in the replay, then complete the mission normally.
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When the replay ends, Arthur respawns at the Upper Montana River, but now the “super wanted” system in Blackwater / New Austin is temporarily broken, letting you ride through and explore those regions as Arthur with no immediate bounty and without constant lethal patrols.
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Epilogue note (John vs. Arthur)
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Free, intended access to Blackwater without any special conditions only happens in the epilogue as John Marston, not as Arthur.
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Any time Arthur roams Blackwater fr
