If there’s one thing that is certain about Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, it’s that it’s not an easy game, and it doesn’t really hold players’ hands much either. Thankfully, the sequel is much more accessible than its predecessor, but it still doesn’t compromise its realism, and its willingness to lean into more old-fashioned RPG mechanics means some modern gamers may find its gameplay to be a bit of an adjustment. That being said, so long as players are aware of a few unwritten rules before they head into Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, they should find the experience to be much smoother.
There are several unwritten rules for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 that players, both new and returning, should be mindful of before starting the game. These include elements of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s exploration, combat, and its dialogue, all of which are, more or less, the three pillars of its gameplay.
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The Unwritten Rules of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s Exploration
Play Through the Main Story to Get a Free Horse
When Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 first begins, some players might find running around the entire Bohemian countryside to be a bit of a slog. This is where getting a horse in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 can come in handy. The only problem is that horses are very expensive early on in the game, and stealing one isn’t always the best route to take, as players will need to find a particular NPC in the world to get the stolen horse to obey them. Fortunately, if players simply prioritize the main story a bit in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, they’ll eventually be handed a free horse during one of the main quests — and it’s actually a decent one too.
The Explorer Passive From the Scholarship Skill Tree Is a Must-Have
There are plenty of passive and active skills to unlock in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, but when it comes to skills that will benefit players during exploration, the Explorer passive from the Scholarship tree is a must-have. This requires players to max out their Scholarship skill, but the long journey will be more than worth it in the end. The Explorer skill reveals everything on the map, including settlements, fast-travel spots, hunting grounds, caves, and more. In order to level up their Scholarship skill to unlock Explorer, however, players will need to read every book they find, use Scholarship skill checks when they’re available, and exhaust the dialogue of every NPC they encounter to learn more about the world around them.
Stealth Is a Highly Rewarding but Risky Way to Play
The first Kingdom Come: Deliverance certainly encouraged stealth gameplay, but Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 seems to want players to play that way. Not only does the presence of a stricter crime and punishment system in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 ironically encourage stealth gameplay, but utilizing stealth is the fastest way to get ahead economically in the game. Many of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s later quests are very rewarding, so those who prefer to play the game honestly might rather go that route. However, there is nothing quite like sneaking around at night in a town and robbing a store, taking their Groschen and their most valuable items.
To optimize stealth gameplay, players should account for Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s realism and wear dark, soft clothes that allow them to remain unseen and unheard.
The Unwritten Rules of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s Combat
One Should Always Let Their Opponent Attack First
In the first Kingdom Come: Deliverance, combat was fairly difficult, as it not only had a five-directional system for players to remain mindful of, but it also felt sluggish and punishing for those who wanted to play more aggressively. Fortunately, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 improves the first game’s combat by reducing that five-directional system to four, and also rewarding aggressive playstyles.
One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the fact that players should always let their opponent attack first. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s parry mechanics are very forgiving, so long as players aren’t simply mashing buttons, and they can be used to get the advantage in battle. When an enemy performs an attack that can be parried, players simply need to block as soon as the green shield icon appears in the combat star. Henry will then parry the attack, after which players can perform a counterattack. Sometimes, attacking first allows the enemy to get the upper hand in the same way, so letting them make the first strike is often the best route to take.
Fighting Isn’t Always Necessary
Just as he was in the first game, Henry of Skalitz can be quite diplomatic in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 if players let him. More specifically, prioritizing leveling up Henry’s Speech skill will make him more charismatic and therefore make passive Speech skill checks much easier to do. That being said, simply optimizing Henry’s dialogue stats in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 will allow players to interact with NPCs in just about any way they want.
- Persuasion
- Coercion
- Impression
- Domination
- Presence
- Intimidation
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s six dialogue stats are all affected by different elements in the game. Persuasion and Coercion, for instance, work almost how they do in most choice-driven RPGs, and are primarily tied to Henry’s Speech stat. Presence and Intimidation, on the other hand, are primarily connected to what armor Henry is wearing, what weapons he is wielding, and his physical fitness. Impression and Domination, while they do derive some of their impact from Henry’s Speech skill, ultimately rely on his Charisma stat. Ensuring these are at optimal levels at all times will generally allow players to get out of hairy situations without ever needing to unsheathe their weapon.
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The Unwritten Rules of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2’s Dialogue
Skipping Dialogue Is a Big Mistake
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 takes pride in its dialogue; so much so that it is among the RPGs with the most lines of recorded dialogue. While this might lead to some players wanting to skip said dialogue simply because there is so much of it, that is a rather big mistake in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Most RPGs either mark objectives on the map or at least store valuable information in a quest log for players to reference later. Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, on the other hand, often gives out some of the most helpful information in its dialogue — information that never makes it to the in-game journal. As such, players should avoid skipping dialogue, lest they find themselves without any idea of what to do next during a quest.
Most Choices Have Consequences
Like its predecessor, player choice is everything in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. These choices factor into almost anything in the game, from its Elder Scrolls 4: Oblivion-like progression system to its branching dialogue, so players should always consider their next move very carefully. While many other choice-driven RPGs tend to focus on major decisions, however, even the smallest choices in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2‘s can have major consequences. Ultimately, this makes it even more important that players choose wisely when engaging in dialogue with an NPC.