10 Tips for Beginners in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II

It can be quite easy for new players to lose their way in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. With its focus on realism and the lack of hand-holding, it should come as no surprise that people are struggling with this behemoth of an RPG. If you’re just beginning your adventures with Henry through Bohemia, here are 10 tips and tricks to get you started!

1. Stab, Slash! It’s All in the Mind!

Combat can be very tricky in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II and many players can find it tough to get to grips with the surprisingly realistic mechanics. Whilst your sparring match with Hans in the prologue will give you a good understanding of the basics, it can all quickly be forgotten when up against several foes out for blood.

For starters, try not to take on too many enemies at once, as you’ll quickly be surrounded and poked full of holes. Instead, try to pick off aggressors one at a time by leading them away from the group whilst trying to keep the rest in your line of sight.

Watch your stamina, too; by standing still and not blocking, it will recover quicker than if you’re on the move, ensuring you’ll always be able to block at a moment's notice. Combine this with striking at an enemy’s exposed side instead of just swinging your weapon and hoping for the best, as well as ripostes, and you’ll soon be the fiercest warrior in all Bohemia!

2. Save Your Saviour Schnapps

Drinking Saviour Schnapps is one of four ways to save your game. The other three, autosaves, sleeping in your own bed, and saving when you quit the game, are handy but not ideal if you wish to save manually at a specific point. But don’t just chug all your saves, as they can be hard to come by!

If, like me, you tend to save your games before important speech checks and the like, then you’ll want a decent supply of this tasty beverage, which is where Alchemy comes in! Sure, you can buy them if necessary, but groschen doesn’t grow on trees, so by using the recipe Pavlena gives you in the opening hours of the game, you’ll be able to concoct your own Schnapps rather easily. Just gather up some nettles and belladonna, head to an alchemy bench, and after a few seconds of brewing, you’re good to go!

3. Crush Those Camping Bandits

You’ll often come across makeshift camps during your travels, and more often than not, these are occupied by bandits. Now, these places can be full of great loot, especially earlier in the game when you’re only equipped with the most basic of gear.

There are a few ways to deal with the miscreants that call these camps their homes; one such way is by simply sneaking around whilst everyone is asleep (be careful of anyone on night watch!) and taking everything that isn’t nailed down. Failing that, you can always make yourself known, run for your life to the nearest settlement or town, and have any guards there do your dirty work. Then, take a brisk walk back to the camp, and their loot is now your loot!

4. Return to Your Roots

Being raised by a blacksmith, Henry knows a thing or two about smithing. As such, it’s absolutely worthwhile to invest some time into the vocation. First, whilst it may be tempting to sell off crafting components earlier in the game, don’t! These items are crucial to crafting weaponry, which can either be used by Henry or sold for higher amounts than the raw materials themselves.

Unlocking blacksmithing is relatively simple; by speaking to Radovan at his forge in Tachov, he’ll give Henry a refresher course on the art of crafting weapons. After that, you’ll need to be on the lookout for sketches to be able to craft new items, either by purchasing them from traders or by finding them in the world. Bonus tip: Accepting a job as Radovan’s assistant will also grant Henry a place to sleep for free. Not bad, right?

5. Archery = Profit

Throughout various towns, you may come across archery arenas, where the aim is to hit the targets and score more points than your opponents. Sounds simple enough and is a good way to earn some coin should you partake in the competitions.

The earliest place to find one of these archery ranges is just south of Trosky Castle, in the quarry. Here, you can simply practice to your heart’s content (whilst levelling up your Marksmanship skill!) or go up against other NPCs in order to win some easy groschen.

6. An Outfit for Every Occasion

Armour and clothing in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II is not just for ensuring Henry survives a mace shot to the dome, different outfits can be helpful in several aspects of the game! In the equipment menu, you’re able to swap between three loadouts instantly, and the best use for all three is one for combat, one for dialogue, and one for sneaking.

Check what bonuses each piece of apparel gives you (such as a charisma bonus), and equip them to the correct loadout accordingly. Not only does this help boost defence, speech, and stealth, but it also lets true role-players look the part, no matter the situation!

7. Thievery is Okay (As Long As You Don’t Get Caught)

With your sneaking loadout equipped, it’s time to go pilfering! It’s best to wait until people are asleep before relieving them of their worldly possessions, or at the very least, wait until they’re out of the house. Rummaging around in chests, cupboards, and the like will often yield fairly basic rewards, but there’s always a chance that some peasant has a small fortune of groschen stashed away for emergencies! Henry’s need is greater than theirs, apparently.

Since any stolen items will be marked in your inventory as such, storing them in an owned chest (such as the one included in the room given to you by Radovan) and leaving them for a while will remove this mark. Thus leaving you free to sell everything you’ve previously pinched!

8. Spend Time Side Questing

Unless you’re one of those people who only like to focus on the main story (shame on you), then you’ll no doubt be aware of just how many side quests are available in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. Whilst not the case for all of them, many will disappear once certain story missions are complete, meaning it’s always worth taking a pause from the main plot in order to tackle these smaller tasks.

Some will even crop up during the main quest, which are definitely missable if you don’t get round to them before finishing up whichever quest you’re currently on. As I said, these are absolutely worth playing through, not only for the rewards and experience but also because a lot of them are really bloody good.

9. Pets > People

Henry is unfortunately separated from his faithful hound, Mutt, and his trusty steed, Pebbles, during the opening section of the game. Now, before doing anything else like saving a town or rescuing someone in danger, we need to find them! Okay, so we don’t necessarily need to, but we really should.

To find Mutt, you must wait until the aptly named side quest “Mutt” appears. First, go and speak to Herbwoman Bozhena and choose the appropriate dialogue options to further this quest. From there, you’ll have some new objectives to carry out, which will take you here, there, and everywhere. Whilst this is great for getting a lay of the land, you can skip this entirely if your sole focus is finding Mutt. Simply head south from the Nomad’s Camp, following the road, before turning right at the split. Continue following this path until you spot a dead deer, where you’ll eventually find another. And another. Keep going straight until a scene triggers, which finally reunites you with the good boy.

As for Pebbles, this one’s a lot simpler. Southwest of Troskowitz is a small settlement named Semine. Here you’ll meet a horse trader, where you’ll need to ask about the cheapest horse available, and wouldn’t you know it, it’s Pebbles! Then it’s just a case of purchasing her or passing a speech check to get her back for free. We love a happy ending!

10. The Birds and the Bees

Do you like free loot? Of course you do, but how about free loot that’s as easy as lobbing a couple of rocks? If you ever happen upon a bird's nest in a tree, throw stones at it! Whilst this is a rather cruel and unusual thing to do, the nests often contain useful items such as lockpicks or an extra few groschens.

Now that you’ve destroyed animal homes, why not take the honey of the hard-working bees? Simply interact with any beehives you find (several can be found in Troskowitz) and swipe that delicious golden nectar. Not only is this an incredibly easy way of stocking up your food supply, but it also replenishes your hunger with its whopping 31 nourishment! As if that wasn’t reason enough to screw over the bees, honey will never spoil, meaning you don’t need to worry about it going bad and giving Henry an upset stomach. Winner!

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Those were just 10 tips for new adventures starting out in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II. Hopefully there was something helpful here to keep your Henry alive and well. Got any other tips and tricks to share? Let us know in the comments below!