There are countless threats arrayed against Henry of Skalitz in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. You’re not just watching out for hostile armies and roving bandits, but also for issues you’d face when trying to survive, such as food and shelter. Likewise, you must try to stay in the good graces of the common folk, lest you earn their ire whenever you commit misdeeds.
Thankfully, our Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 beginner’s guide has several tips to help you get started on your journey as you trek across the Bohemian countryside.
Master the directional combat system and ranged weaponry
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s melee combat system remains as challenging as ever. This is governed by a direction-based system, which is denoted by a star-shaped icon whenever you battle hostiles:
- Moving the mouse or right thumbstick toward a certain direction and pressing the attack button causes Henry to swing his weapon from that direction–i.e. an overhead chop (upward), a sideways slash (left or right), or a straight thrust (downward).
- If you time your block perfectly, you can do a riposte as a counter. Try to swing your weapon toward your opponent’s unprotected side–i.e. the one that’s farthest away from where they’re holding their weapon at that given moment.
- Later, you can learn powerful Master Strikes, skills that can effectively counter your foe’s moves by attacking from the opposite direction just as they swing their weapon toward you.
- Note that most of your actions in combat gradually deplete your stamina, so you have to back away from your opponent for a few seconds to catch your breath.
Conversely, if you want to take out opponents from further away, you can make wield various ranged weapons instead. These include bows, crossbows, and even a hand cannon that uses gunpowder. Just remember that range weapons tend to be very inaccurate and hard to use.
Be more aggressive in fights where you have allies
In situations where you have to fight multiple hostiles, it’s better to stay on the defensive until you find an opening. However, when you have several allies with you, whether the fight takes place in a tavern or a besieged castle, it’s best to go on an all-out offensive. That’s because enemy troops remain distracted while they’re battling your comrades, allowing you to hit them from behind. If you take too long, the opposing force might whittle down your merry band and they end up with the numbers advantage.
Look for taverns so you can rest and save
One important tip in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is to look for taverns in the villages that you visit. Some allow you to stay for the night, though it’s better to pay a higher fee for permanent lodgings (usually in a spare room or a haystack in a barn). There are several reasons for this:
- Sleeping is the best way to restore lost health and stamina.
- Sleeping keeps you well-rested, so you don’t pass out while you’re exploring.
- If you sleep in a bed that you own, you create a manual save. This is fairly handy if you need to reload due to any mishaps.
- Alternatively, you can buy or brew Savior Schnapps, consumable potions that also allow you to create manual saves.
Hunt wild animals and dry your food
Whether you’re sleeping in town or heading out on an adventure, the passage of time impacts Henry’s nourishment (i.e. hunger). That’s why it’s important to have enough food with you wherever you go. You could either buy food from grocers, butchers, and bakers, or by hunting animals in the wild.
Note that you can either cook, smoke, or dry food. All of these options help provide more nourishment when you eat these meals. However, we recommend drying your food and even herbs if possible. This prevents items from spoiling too quickly, as eating rotten stuff could cause poisoning.
Bring a torch with you at all times
You’re in 15th-century Bohemia, well before Benjamin Franklin connected two power cables in front of a town hall so he could discover electricity and help his nephew return to his own time period. It’s obvious that the nights are dark and full of terrors, and you’d hardly be able to see anything. As such, you should have a torch equipped at all times.
You can bring out a torch that you’ve equipped by holding the “R” key on your keyboard or the down button on your controller’s d-pad. Lastly, holding a torch alight in settlements also prevents guards from becoming suspicious when they see you out on the streets at night.
Familiarize yourself with each merchant’s function and specialty
In every settlement in the game, you can meet all sorts of merchants that provide specific types of wares and services:
- Taverns/inns – As mentioned earlier, you can rent a room for the night or pay for permanent lodging. You can also buy general goods.
- Traders – Buy most types of items, but these NPCs tend to have a lower amount of Groschen (i.e. gold).
- Grocers, butchers, and bakers – These NPCs buy and sell vegetables/fruits, meat, and bread, respectively.
- Weaponsmiths and armorsmiths – These NPCs buy and sell weapons and armors, respectively.
- Smithy – Tends to have both weapons and armor pieces.
- Tailors and cobblers – Tailors have clothing (i.e. gambesons and robes), while cobblers mostly focus on shoes and boots.
- Apothecaries – These NPCs sell all sorts of potions, poisons, and herbs.
- Scribes – These NPCs have books that either provide background lore or experience points for your skills.
- Grooms and saddlers – These NPCs sell horses at the stables and horse-related equipment, respectively.
Be an expert at haggling
You don’t have to pay the full price whenever you see an item that you like. You could always ask a merchant to lower their prices by haggling. This is done by pressing and holding the “X” button or key, which then leads to the haggling interface. Increasing or decreasing the value applies to both buying and selling–i.e. lowering the amount you pay or earn.
However, you also need to be careful since merchants won’t readily accept your offer if it’s too low. They’d likely want to meet you halfway, asking you to make a counteroffer. If you keep haggling for lower prices, or if you decline completely, it might make them irate. This causes them to refuse to haggle with you for a time.
Also, if you need more Groschen to spare when dealing with merchants, you can learn more from our early-game moneymaking guide.
Take note of your equipment and outfit sets
Another Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 tip to consider is that Henry has several outfit sets and equipment slots. Here’s a quick summary:
- You can save up to three different outfit presets. We recommend the following:
- Outfit preset #1: Combat and general exploration.
- Outfit preset #2: Civilian clothing with high Charisma.
- Outfit preset #3: Stealth-focused setup where you’re not wearing heavy armor; you’re only wearing clothes that have lower “noise” values.
Craft your own gear and brew your own potions
If you don’t want to spend a lot of money in shops, you could always rely on yourself via crafting mechanics:
- You can craft weapons by learning blueprints that you acquire. You can then use the anvil at the Smithy to create your own gear.
- If certain items are damaged, you can use the appropriate toolkits to repair them. In the case of weapons, Smithy shops tend to have Sharpening Stones. Place your weapon here to continue sharpening its edge until its durability has increased.
- For potions, there’s the alchemy bench, which requires you to use herbs and bases to create concoctions. Be mindful of the steps written on the recipe booklet, since you need to follow them correctly to brew items successfully.
Increase your reputation through dialogue skill checks
One of the most important facets in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 concerns your reputation throughout the region. This is greatly impacted by your choices whenever you see dialogue skill checks. These include Persuasion, Coercion, Impression, Domination, Presence, and Intimidation. Note that these options aren’t solely based on their respective levels or numerical values. Rather, there are other factors that come into play, such as how Intimidation-type responses become more effective if (a) you have high-quality weapons and armor, (b) you have high Strength, Agility, and/or Vitality, and (c) if you look menacing due to the blood or dirt on your clothes.
Moreover, these skill checks also help you accomplish tasks in different ways. If a guard catches you stealing an item, they might impose a fine or send you to the pillory. But you could also convince them that you’re just fooling around or you could threaten them. You could learn more about this feature in our reputation system guide.
Sneak around at night when everyone’s asleep
Speaking of stealing items, we recommend doing any sort of thieving and conniving when it’s late at night once villagers are asleep. You can do this by clicking on the “Wait” button and fast-forwarding the in-game clock. In all likelihood, the main door of villagers’ houses are locked, which means you could either lockpick these doors or find another opening. Once you see a potential target, crouch and sneak toward them, then hold the button prompt for the “Rob” action. The number you see represents how many seconds you’ll have for the next minigame.
That minigame involves pickpocketing a target’s inventory, shown as circular panels with hidden items that you need to reveal. The goal is to select the items you want to steal and then clicking on the “exit door” to finish the minigame. If you’re fast enough, you’d get to keep what you selected, you little scoundrel. If you take too long, the target will be alerted and they’ll call on the guards.
In any case, we do recommend grabbing any keys that you reveal, as these allow you to instantly open nearby chests. Likewise, you could take a look at our stolen/damaged items guide for more tips.
Stay on horseback to tag fast travel points
There are times when Henry has to roam around the Bohemian countryside while following certain individuals, such as his pal Hans Capon. In these situations, you might be asked if you want to speed things up to arrive at your destination quickly. This isn’t recommended if you’ve yet to fully explore the region.
By continuing to follow an NPC, you could sometimes stumble upon other settlements that act as fast travel points. If you arrive at your destination automatically, you’d have to explore on your own later on just to find settlements that you may have missed earlier.
Beware of potential ambushes when fast traveling
While we’re on the subject of fast traveling, it’s imperative to remember a Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 tip that concerns random encounters. Some of these shouldn’t cause you to worry at all–i.e. a camp by the roadside might just have minstrels who, like you, are going from town to town. However, it’s also possible that these camps are populated by bandits; you’d get waylaid. You can try to fight your foes even at a disadvantage or you can flee to safety, though your enemies are likely to chase you, too.
Be sure to find your loyal dog companion Mutt
Early in the campaign, Henry and Hans’ squad get ambushed by brigands. Henry has to look on across the riverbank as he’s separated from his loyal companion Mutt. Eventually, though, you’ll get a side quest to find Mutt and a marker even appears on the world map. Be forewarned that this is a very time-consuming quest that takes you all across the region, but it’s certainly worth it in the end.
Mutt, your faithful doggo, has several tricks up his sleeve, as he can bark to distract NPCs and bite enemies to give you an opening. You could also feed Mutt different kinds of meat, as well as pet him, to increase his loyalty stat.
Choose the right perks for your character
All of the above activities are, in some way, shape, or form, governed by Henry’s attributes, which can be seen in the Player tab. These are:
- Stats: Main Level, Strength, Agility, Vitality, and Speech.
- Skills: Alchemy, Craftsmanship, Drinking, Horsemanship, Houndmaster, Scholarship, Stealth, Survival, and Thievery.
- Combat: Warfare, Swords, Heavy Weapons, Polearms, Unarmed, and Marksmanship.
By doing certain actions often, Henry’s expertise in these facets will continue to increase. For example: Walking around while over-encumbered increases your Strength stat, while sneaking around and stealing stuff increase your Stealth and Thievery skills, respectively. Fighting with specific kinds of weapons also improve your proficiency with those armaments. At certain levels, you may even unlock perks that further grant permanent buffs that complement your playstyle.
Fall in love or have some brief trysts
Last but not least, Henry can sometimes charm his way into the skirts and breeches of certain NPCs. The most common dalliances are with the so-called bathhouse wenches who provide additional “services” on top of cleaning your body and clothing. In other cases, you might meet these individuals at a party or as part of quests. Look for the heart icon to start a brief tryst with these fine femmes and fellahs to trigger romantic scenes. Doing so also nets you the “Time Well Spent” buff, which temporarily grants +1 to your Strength, Agility, and Vitality.