Quick Links
Set in a tumultuous 15th century Bohemia, Kingdom Come: Deliverance is an open-world, medieval RPG. Where the lowborn son of a smithy is yanked into a volatile civil war, searching for the people responsible for the murder of his parents and village in this story of chivalry corruption and vengeance.
This is a title known for its historical narrative, detailed realism, and challenging difficulty, particularly in the early hours of the game. From bandit marauders to Cuman invaders, wild boars to… spoiled milk? There’s plenty to explore, fight, and collect. So we’ll be covering the key beginner tips to help you hold your own in the late middle ages.
Remember Who You Are
You play as Henry, the indolent son of a blacksmith, who has no armour, no weapons, and as much chance of survival as a fish in a sushi restaurant. Not only that, but you’re at the bottom of the social ladder. A peasant. with no privileges, social standing, or titles different from any other peasant.
Getting into a fight at the start of the game is extremely risky while persuading the nobility to help you is harder than a mouse convincing a cat to go vegan. You have boundless potential to become the knight in shining armour, a fleet-of-foot rogue, a charismatic carouser, or something different entirely, but you’ve got to live long enough to get there. Level up your build and be vigilant for anything that could threaten those ambitions whilst you’re still a squishy chew toy.
Don’t Bite Off More Than You Can Chew
If combat with one enemy is dangerous, then conflict against two or more adversaries is practically a death sentence. Even getting into a duel with light armour against a heavily armoured knight is a perilous endeavour, especially if you lack a heavy weapon such as a mace or an axe.
Fighting one combatant means you avoid being flanked and overwhelmed from all sides, as well as being able to concentrate your fighting action on one target. If you do find yourself outnumbered, keep moving and try to one opponent between you and his allies. Ultimately, finding an escape route will be the best option.
This advice works outside of combat as well, the game only allows you to track three side quests and activities alongside the main story, as several of the side quests are timed. Focus your attention on one set of objectives at a time to avoid failing missions and losing out on gameplay and loot.
Practice, Practice, Practice
Much like real life, if you want to get good at something, you need to keep doing it. Henry might learn how to properly swing a sword or fire a bow, but that doesn't mean he’s a warrior or an archer.
After the Train Hard, Fight Easy main quest, you’ll be able to hone your combat skills with Captain Bernard. Take his lessons. You’ll get a much better understanding of how the combat system works and he’ll teach you the perfect block and master strike techniques, two of the most powerful moves in the game.
There are some books to improve your skills, but they’re difficult to come by and are only useful if you can read them. So the best way to level up your skills is to train with a mentor or make use of the practice in the wider world.
Learn To Read
Speaking of books, learning to read is one of the most powerful skills in the game. After Henry wakes up in Rattay, you’ll gain access to the side quest Mightier than the Sword. You’ll need to travel to Uzhitz and pay the scribe 50 Groschen, but after completing his tasks, you’re rewarded with your first reading level.
After this, you’ll be able to read books to improve your skills, mission-critical notes, and lore books on the game world. Also, the reading skill perks can increase your charisma, and speech skills when talking with guards, and even reveal the whole map. There are plenty of books to find in Kingdom Come: Deliverance, but that doesn’t mean they're easy to find. So you’ll need to explore the land far and wide for rare novels.
Make sure to find somewhere to sit such as a bed or chair to improve the speed at which you read.
Dress To Impress
Cleanliness is next to godliness, and contrary to popular belief, people in the medieval period went to great lengths to stay clean, so Henry should too. Dirty or tattered clothes will negatively affect any conversation he has, be that with merchants or villagers.
Water-filled troughs can be found in any population centre on the map and will do in a pinch, but a trip to the bathhouse is necessary every so often to launder your clothes and thoroughly wash. Bathhouses also sell a variety of potions and… promiscuous services that grant temporary boons to Henry’s character stats.
Pack a clean pair of high charisma clothes on your horse to quickly change between muddy or battered armour in need of repair; it’ll help with haggling a better price from merchants.
What you wear also determines how people see you, fancy shirts, hats, and hoses will boost your charisma and speech scores significantly, yet a full set of plate and a bloodied sword will make intimidation checks much easier. Just be sure to repair your armour and weapons too.
Save The Day
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=740&dpr=1.5)
Kingdom Come: Deliverance only saves during quests, sleeping in a bed, or drinking Saviour Schnapps. That last option isn’t cheap but will make your life much easier when a snoozing spot isn’t close or convenient.
You’ll be given three Saviour Schnapps at the beginning of the game but after that, you’ll either need to buy them for about 100 Groschen a bottle or make them at an alchemist bench. Assuming you have the ingredients of course.
To make Saviour Schnapps at an alchemist’s bench, follow the instructions below:
- Prepare wine, two handfuls of belladonna, and one of nettle.
- Boil the nettles for two turns of the sand timer.
- Grind the belladonna.
- Drop in the belladonna and boil for one more turn.
If you want to save before quitting the game, making a risky play, or just trying something silly to see what happens, you’ll want to stock up on this magnificent elixir beforehand.
Your Body Is A Temple
Whilst Henry is a strapping young lad in need of hearty food, unlike the Dragonborn of Skyrim, he can’t eat 20 wheels of cheese and immediately run a marathon. Kingdom Come: Deliverance has a unique hunger system: Eat too much and you’ll lower your maximum stamina, eat too little and you’ll become hungry, start losing max stamina and you can even die of starvation.
Also, any food item with a condition less than 50 can also cause food poisoning, gradually lowering your health until you ride it out or consume a digestive potion.
On the other hand, getting slightly tipsy on alcohol will boost your strength, speech, vitality, and charisma. Keep going and you’ll get a penalty to those stats instead, and eventually black out. A nasty hangover might follow, but keep regularly drinking like that, and you’ll get even worse debuffs.
The length and severity of the hangover in-game are made better or worse by how much Henry drank and how good his drinking skill is.
Looking after Henry might seem like a challenge, but properly managing his health — both in and out of combat — will go a long way to making your playthrough easier and more immersive, and it'll grant you some nice buffs, too.
If you find yourself struggling with managing your hunger, consider taking the Ascetic perk, which lets you last longer without food, but when you get hungry or overeat, the effects are worsened.
Think Outside The Box
As the saying goes: there’s more than one way to skin a cat, and while this game doesn’t make its tasks easy, it does give you the freedom to complete them however you can.
If you need to deal with an enemy encampment, wait until night and kill them as they sleep, or spike their cooking pot with poison for an easier fight. Fire a few arrows to incapacitate their rangers, or if you’re feeling brave, disguise yourself and walk straight up to the camp leader with a dagger in hand.
This game is challenging and will happily stack the deck against you. So take whatever advantages you can to level the playing field where possible.
Discretion Is The Better Part Of Valour
Sometimes things don’t go your way. A group of well-armed bandits pull you from your horse, a failed lockpicking attempt stirs a nearby guard, or maybe you’re just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Who are we to judge?
When the odds aren't in your favour, going down fighting is often a surefire way to never get back up again. Instead, consider more healthy choices. Even if they’re less appealing options. If you get caught pickpocketing by a local catchpole, for example, fighting your way out will get you barred from the settlement, but if you surrender, you’ll get a chance to explain yourself or pay a fine. The worst case is you spend a night in prison and emerge absolved of your crimes, albeit slightly less popular.
Similarly, if a duel with a travelling knight is going poorly, surrendering and admitting defeat might damage Henry’s pride, but save his skin.
You can’t surrender to some enemies, such as bandits or Cumans. In those cases, a fighting withdrawal or simply running for the hills might be your only out.