Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is a direct sequel to a notoriously unforgiving medieval RPG. Our hero, Henry, is a bit more experienced after the events of his last adventure, and the evolved and streamlined combat system should ease you into things a little bit more. After all, he's not just a village lad waving a stick around anymore. But, like the first game, KCD2 isn't a power fantasy.
"Always remember that Henry isn't a superhero," said lead designer Prokop Jirsa. "The world especially at the beginning is dangerous. You don't have any real equipment, everything will be hard to achieve and that's intentional. We really like when the progression in the world feels very rewarding."
And so, for this month’s IGN First, we've worked with the developers at Warhorse to put together a small list of survival tips that can help you through your first several days in the bandit-infested countryside of 1403 Bohemia. En garde!
1. Keep an Ear Out
You're not going to find MMO-style quest-givers with big exclamation marks above their heads here. Those weren't even invented until the early 2000s. But if you're willing to do a little eavesdropping, you might come across some helpful rumors. If someone mentions a merchant caravan that got waylaid, you can probably go find it out there. It's especially helpful early on when you might be hard up for cash and down on your luck. Opportunity is everywhere, if you're attentive enough to pick up on it.
2. Take Every Advantage
It's also important to think about all the ways you can stack the deck in your favor before the clash of steel rings out. Especially early on, charging in without a plan is a great way to get killed. Stealth is a great way to get the drop on a group of enemies, especially if you can take out the strongest-looking one first. You can even poison your weapons – or their cooking pot – for a little extra sabotage.
You'll also want to be on the lookout for people who can expand on your bag of tricks. "There are people in the world that can teach you something about combat," Jirsa told us. "Especially master Tomcat at the Nomad Camp should be one of your first destinations, because he can teach you new combos, new moves, you can improve with them, you can practice with them. So it's a really good place to gain some free skills."
3. Understand Stamina
If you play a lot of action games these days, you're probably used to how a stamina meter works. But in KCD2, it's a little different, and you'll need to learn how to balance your stamina use between attack and defense. Attacks that hit any area where you're currently armored can be absorbed, but only if you have the stamina for it. When you run out of stamina, even attacks that hit your armor can damage your health, though. So it's important to keep at least enough of a stamina reserve to absorb a blow or two, just in case you mess up and fail to parry right away.
Attacks to your health can cause lasting injuries in KCD2 that won't heal without medical attention, and they can cause bleeding, so it's always better to not take health damage if you can!
4. Don't Be Afraid of Heavy Armor
KCD2 strives to deliver a historically authentic experience, and that extends to its combat. For example, if you're used to old-school RPGs, you might be surprised to find how different kinds of armor work in this world.
"There's a lot of misconceptions about historical armor that they were super heavy, and that the people in heavy armor couldn't move and it's not true," Jirsa explained. "If you layer your armor correctly, you're really able to move quite freely. It doesn't mean it doesn't affect your movement at all, or your stamina regeneration. But you can remedy that by improving some of your skills."
Boosting your agility and strength stats are a great way to fight in heavier armor with fewer penalties, and you'll find that some of the best pieces available don't just improve your protection, but also reduce the penalties for wearing armor. It's kind of the reverse of how other RPGs work, but it is historically accurate! You'll also find that helmets with visors limit your vision somewhat, but can protect you from deadly strikes to the face that some of the most dangerous opponents can target you with. So better to keep that thing down.
"If you really want to, you can do a really agile warrior, mostly bows and stealth and, in combat, really high stamina origination," Jirsa noted. "But I still think that if you have the stats for it, going for the proper layered armor is the best strategy you can employ."
5. Strike While the Iron is Hot
The first Kingdom Come: Deliverance began with helping your father make a sword. But that was only possible in that one cutscene. In KCD2, though, Henry can take up his dear old pop's profession for real. And a good blade fetches a high price. Blacksmithing is skill-based, and you'll have to rely on actually paying attention to the color of the steel to get good at it. But once you do, it won't only let you craft better armaments for yourself. It's also a very lucrative profession, and a great way to make money early on.
6. Enjoy A Nice Brew
And if you're not fond of pounding ingots into shape, you can also pick up Henry's old alchemy habit from the previous game, which has also been streamlined a bit to be faster and less fiddly. Healing items are an obvious boon, but you'll also be able to craft concoctions that can lower the skill requirement to use certain weapons effectively. That's huge early on, since you'll probably end up with some powerful items that you just aren't seasoned enough to wield yet. And, like blacksmithing, it can be a nice little side business to build up your savings.
7. Five Finger Discount
But what if you'd rather not bother with an honest day's work at all? After all, what's the fun in a big, open world with guards and laws if you can't go on a criminal rampage? KCD2 has you covered there, as well.
"If you are not afraid to do some shady work, stealing and selling horses is a really big source of income," Jirsa noted, letting us in on some not-so-savory job opportunities. "So you have to first search for people who will buy the horses. And once again, it is the nomad camp, so I suggest going there."
8. Saddle Up
If you're going to be a proper knight, though, you're going to need a steed of your own. Not only will it let you get around quicker, but it will greatly increase the amount you can carry. And it won't do to ride around on a stolen one, because someone might recognize it and report you to the law, after all. And if you head to Semine Fortress, you might be able to get one fairly early on…
The cheapest horses are more like pack animals, with a lot of inventory capacity but not much speed. From there, you might work your way up to a courier horse, which can cover the most ground quickly. But the prize possession of any medieval warrior is a proper warhorse, which are distinguished by their bravery.
"It feels like the speed and the inventory capacity is the most important, and it is very important," Jirsa told us. "But a horse that is not courageous at all will just drop you off in any combat."
That's obviously not ideal. So sooner or later, you'll need a steed that doesn't flip out at the first sight of steel.
Armed with these tips, you should be ready to make your way in the threatening world of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. For more, stay tuned all December long as our exclusive IGN First coverage of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 continues.
