Guide

12 tips to help you get started in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

5-2-2025

Translation: Patrik Stainbrook

The Middle Ages were a tough time. To stop your life in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 from getting any harder, here’s a few beginner’s tips for you.

As Heinrich von Skalitz, you’re in for a great adventure in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. And admittedly, I made a lot of rookie mistakes, as you can see from my review. You can avoid all this by following my tips below.

A dog – man’s best friend

Heinrich can get a dog to help him hunt, fight and even carry conversations. But first you have to find him again. At the beginning of the game, your paths separate, and I didn’t really make any progress in the quest to find him for a very long time. And since I was doing other things in the mean time, I didn’t even know where the quest continued later on.

Mutt is a loyal companion, but you’ll have to find him first.
Source: Philipp Rüegg

So please, keep an eye out. When you finally find the gamekeeper who’s supposed to put you on the trail of your Mutt – yes, that’s his real name – pay close attention. I almost despaired when I realised I had to find his stolen horse. During the cutscene, the camera shows a tree trunk with a knife stuck in it, suggesting I should look for clues there. Ignore that! The horse’s footprints lead somewhere else, and they’re easy to find in the gamekeeper’s small camp. The rest of the quest is easy, and you’ll soon be able to go for a walk with your dog.

Get naked

Your equipment has an effect on how much noise you make. Plate armour is a good choice in combat, less so when sneaking. But instead of slapping on soft shoes and the black thief outfit every time, you can always get naked. This is the quietest option possible, and as you don’t want to be seen anyway, you don’t have to worry about what people think of you.

Half-naked is the best way to sneak.
Source: Philipp Rüegg

Use equipment sets

Speaking of changing outfits: in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, it’s all done with a single click. You can carry a maximum of three different outfits. I recommend a combat outfit, the classic naked thief and a third one for speech checks. Which also brings me to my next point.

The three shields below Heinrich represent his three outfit slots.
Source: Philipp Rüegg

Clothes make the warrior

The Speech and Charisma stats are decisively influenced by your clothing. You won’t be able to wrap the fair lady of the castle around your finger in ragged clothes and holey pants, after all. Also, wash your clothes regularly as they’ll quickly become covered in blood during fights. You’ll need soap and a washing station, which you can find at every pond. A regular bath in a bathhouse does Heinrich no harm either. For a quick scrub, however, one trough is enough.

Who could refuse such a distinguished gentleman?
Source: Philipp Rüegg

Being clean and smelling nice makes swaying people even easier. Across plenty of quests, this’ll make it easier for you to reach your goal and can lead to more interesting options.

Use the free save options

In Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, you can save in three ways. At automatic checkpoints, when you drink a Saviour Schnapps or when you close the game. But if you’re running low on schnapps again and don’t feel like brewing more, use the last option. Although it’ll take longer to end the game and start it again, the loading times in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 are fine enough.

The game saves automatically when you exit.
Source: Philipp Rüegg

By «savescumming» this way, I more than once cracked an almost impossible chest or snuck unnoticed through a heavily guarded lock. If I’d used Saviour Schnapps instead, I’d have had to build up a huge supply first and Heinrich would’ve been drunk as a skunk on top. Schnapps is booze, after all.

Practice makes perfect

You improve your skills by actually using them. Especially when it comes to stealing and lock picking, I wouldn’t miss an opportunity to train them. Stealing works particularly well on sleeping victims. If necessary, you can make a quick getaway when they realise those fingers rummaging through their trousers aren’t part of a wet dream.

Pick as many locks as you can. It’s the only way to get better.
Source: Philipp Rüegg

As boxes and chests often contain valuable items, picking locks is essential. So make sure you always have enough lockpicks with you. As a blacksmith, you can even make them yourself. Initially, you’ll only be able to pick locks that are very easy or easy to pick – unless you quaff a Quickfinger Potion. Don’t miss out on those chests, it’s the only way to become a master thief.

DIY to the bone

Even with the sweetest of tongues, you won’t be able to avoid battles in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. The resulting dents and dings in your armour can be repaired by blacksmiths or tailors. But since they’ll charge you an arm and a leg, you’d better do it yourself. Depending on whether you want to repair a bow, sword, armour or trousers, you’ll need a different tool set. They cost a fraction of what you’ll have to pay a tradesman.

Repairing equipment yourself works everywhere and is cheaper.
Source: Philipp Rüegg

Just like other skills, you’ll need to practise repairing too. You may not be able to get the condition of a particularly fine weapon to 100 per cent to start. But most of the equipment you’ll find is usually suitable for your level and can be repaired by yourself.

Equipping your horse

As soon as you get your horse, equip it with a bridle, horseshoes and saddle. The latter increases the carrying limit of your steed, and since you’ll usually be overloaded, the extra capacity is nice to have. But be careful: most saddles reduce your horse’s stamina and speed. So if you ever find yourself in a race, discard anything that’ll have a negative impact. Heinrich, the old warhorse, has a well-padded behind and can also be ridden bareback.

Your steed can double as a packhorse. However, a heavy saddle is a disadvantage in races.
Source: Philipp Rüegg

Stay healthy

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is also a bit of a survival game. You have to make sure Heinrich always eats and sleeps enough, otherwise you’ll incur a penalty to health and stamina. If you wait too long, he’ll eventually keel over or even die. The latter can happen if you eat spoiled food, so always make sure the shelf life of your meal isn’t in the red zone or even zero. Food poisoning killed me more than once when I didn’t have a healing potion to save me.

Just like in the supermarket, the same applies here: always check the expiration date.
Source: Philipp Rüegg

Cash rules everything around you

Thanks to a solid economic system, you won’t necessarily be swimming in money even after 70 hours of play. Practising with trainers in particular costs loads of money. And since Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 doesn’t exactly throw loot and rewards around, it’s worth lugging expensive armour pieces and weapons with you and hawking them at the merchant’s. Starting out, those bandits who ambush unsuspecting passersby along paths are a great source of free equipment. On horseback, you can take them out with ranged weapons and ride away quickly if they get too close.

You’ll never have enough money, so it pays to haggle.
Source: Philipp Rüegg

Keep an eye on your stamina

Sooner or later, you’ll have to engage in hand-to-hand combat. But as soon as you fight more than one enemy at once, things will get hectic. In such situations, try to position yourself so that your nearest enemy blocks the path of the others. This way you won’t have to fight on several fronts. After that, it’s primarily about stamina management. Wildly swinging your sword won’t help. It’s better to make a few targeted blows then withdraw and regenerate. This way you can parry or block attacks practically indefinitely – this also applies to fistfights.

As long as you have your stamina under control, you can survive any fight.
Source: Philipp Rüegg

Enjoy the journey

My last tip concerns playstyle. Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 takes a more leisurely pace than other open-world games. It’s just something you’ll have to be fine with. Enjoy the ride from one location to the next. The landscape is beautiful, and you’ll almost always discover something interesting. And often, the journey is more important than the destination.

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Philipp Rüegg

Senior Editor

Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.ch

As a child, I wasn't allowed to have any consoles. It was only with the arrival of the family's 486 PC that the magical world of gaming opened up to me. Today, I'm overcompensating accordingly. Only a lack of time and money prevents me from trying out every game there is and decorating my shelf with rare retro consoles.

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