Best General Skills To Unlock First In KCD2

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 has already seen great success since its recent release. Players are flocking to Warhorse’s realism-focused medieval RPG. The in-depth RPG might catch some new players off-guard with just how much focus is placed on small details, to an extent that can be overwhelming. On top of that, there is a whole laundry list of skills that players can choose to improve as they play the game.

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Looking at Henry’s skill categories can be daunting at first. As well as Henry’s core stats all having their own perk trees, so do all his combat skills, and then there are the general skill categories. These cover everything the player can do outside of combat, from riding a horse to getting drunk. For players who are wondering which categories are worth investing time in improving, these are the best general skills to pick first.

1

Drinking

Hold Your Liquor

Best Skills To Get First:

• Nightcap
• Beerfoot
• Drunk’s Luck
• Tavern Brawler

Drinking can probably be considered the least worthwhile skill to pursue in the game. There’s little reason to focus on improving this skill category unless players really enjoy tavern life and bar brawls. With that said, there are a couple of perks in this skill tree that synergize well for players who like stealth and thievery.

The perk Drunk’s Luck increases Thievery by +4 while in the positive phase of drunkenness, and Beerfoot makes moving indoors quieter. These are valuable perks for stealth-focused players. The first perk players want is Nightcap. This perk guarantees a player won’t get a hangover when sleeping after drinking, negating the negative effects this can have.

2

Alchemy

Potion Seller

Best Skills To Get First:

• Potion Seller
• Secret of Matter
• Secret of Secrets
• Poison Specialist

Since Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is focused on historical realism, investing in Alchemy isn’t going to turn players into an enchanted warrior. There are some useful potions in the game that go beyond healing, though, and there are a few reasons that players might want to develop this skill category early on in their playthrough.

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The main reason is that the herbs to craft potions, and the alchemy crafting stations needed to do so, are freely available after the game’s introduction. This makes Alchemy an easy and cheap skill to level. If players pick Potion Seller as their first perk, they can even turn it into a skill that makes money, as this increases the amount potions sell for by 30%. This gets even stronger once players level this skill category and take the Secret of Matter perk, which gives an extra potion when crafting.

3

Survival

Hunter-Gatherer

Best Skills To Get First:

• On the Poacher’s Trail
• Flower Power
• Bounty of the Wild
• Leshy/Wild Man

Players might be excused for thinking that this skill category will affect their survivability in the game, but that’s not what Survival means here. This is the hunter-gatherer skill category, and Henry gets more bonuses out in the wilds of Bohemia when players invest in this perk tree. This includes things like getting more meat from butchered game or being able to travel around more easily.

Any player looking to invest in Survival will take the perk On the Poacher’s Trail first, as this doubles the selling price for any hides, meat, and herbs. As Survival experience can be earned from picking and drying herbs, Survival synergizes quite well with the Alchemy skill. If players want to explore this further, they can take the Flower Power perk, which increases Charisma by +2 whenever the player has more than 30 herbs in their inventory.

4

Craftsmanship

The Blacksmith’s Son

Best Skills To Get First:

• Razor-Sharp
• Locksmith
• Helping Hand
• Martin’s Secret

Henry’s past might be far behind him by this point, but he’s still a Blacksmith’s son. Players can make use of this in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 to craft and repair their gear more effectively by investing in this skill category. Mastering this craft will let players create better weapons and armor than they can buy from merchants in the game, so it’s a tempting category to level. It’s difficult to rush, though, and something players will have to put time into developing.

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One of the first perks in the Craftsmanship category can be a handy one for any player. Razor-Sharp gives weapons a 10% damage bonus when they’re repaired above 98% durability. It lasts until the weapon drops below 75%, so it’s a pretty reasonable bonus to maintain. Most of the rest of the perk tree is focused on making crafting and repairing easier and more effective, so players only need to invest further time if they want to make this a long-term skill focus.

5

Horsemanship

Expert Rider

Best Skills To Get First:

• Knight Training
• Head Start
• Ride Like the Wind
• Warhorse

The Horsemanship category might seem like a very ignorable set of skills, but players would be wise to put some focus on leveling this category. Horses are one of the best methods of travel in the game, and players will end up spending a lot of time on horseback. That’s not to mention that horse racing is virtually impossible to win without some Horsemanship training.

Players that want to make mounted combat an option will also want to spend some time leveling Horsemanship, as horses start easily frightened by battle and can throw the player at a crucial moment. The first perk players will want to pick for Horsemanship is Knight Training, which makes melee attacks from horseback do more damage, and makes it harder for enemies to knock the player out of the saddle.

6

Houndmaster

Man’s Best Friend

Best Skills To Get First:

• Hunt!
• Charming Companion
• Rip and Tear
• Sic ’em

After players have completed the side quest “Mutt,” they gain access to the Houndmaster skill category as well as their new canine friend. Mutt is borderline essential to find as a companion, as he offers several advantages to the player, especially if they spend time leveling this skill category. Dog lovers rejoice as this means that players will need to spend time hunting, foraging, and bonding with Mutt.

Players have a choice to make for their first perk. Hunt! is a command players can give to Mutt that will send him after small game, or let him help chase down larger injured prey. It’s useful to save the player time when hunting, but there’s an equally appealing option. Search! is another command players can give. This one lets Mutt roam freely to search an area, barking if he finds anything. Given the absence of glowing UI markers and other player aids, this can be a big help in finding easily missed items. Both of these skills will help players interact with Mutt and level Houndmaster further.

7

Scholarship

Basic Literacy Is OP

Best Skills To Get First:

• Cushion
• Liberal Arts
• Fundamentals of Medicine
• Wonders

Fortunately, after his exploits in Kingdom Come Deliverance, Henry doesn’t have to learn to read from scratch in the sequel. Spending time leveling Scholarship is something every player will want to do, however, as this skill category essentially makes it easier to raise all Henry’s other skills. Reading skill books is a great way to get experience with no risks in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, and this category helps with that and several other useful things.

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Players don’t have a choice over their first skill in this category. The only option is Cushion. It’s a pretty useful perk though, giving Henry more comfort from sitting and letting him study faster. The first real choice is between the three Wonders perks. These increase skill gains in two categories each. Players will need to pick Nature (Survival and Alchemy), Man (Craftsmanship and Thievery), or Beasts (Horsemanship and Houndmaster) based on their preferred skills. The 20% increased experience gain it brings will help level the two respective categories quickly.

Later in the perk tree, the Liberal Arts perk is one that every player will want to pick up as early as possible. This lets players see their chance of succeeding in a conversation skill check, which is invaluable due to the number of conversations and the different ways players can try to pursue solutions in KCD2.

8

Stealth

Sneaking Skills

Best Skills To Get First:

• One Way or Another
• Escape Artist
• Fleeting Shadow
• Surprise Attack

Stealth is not just for players who want to creep around at night and steal valuables. The skills in the stealth category can help any player get an edge in a lot of combat scenarios. Not only does leveling this skill make stealthy knock-outs and stealth kills easier, but taking One Way or Another as players’ first perk will give them an advantage in combat against an enemy that defends against an instant kill or knock-out attempt.

Investing heavily in leveling this skill category does suit more Stealth and Thievery-focused players than other playstyles. Later perks mostly involve improving the player’s ability to escape being detected or their ability to blend in and make less noise. Ranged players should consider rushing for the later perks Surprise Attack and Ambusher though, as these will make ranged weapons much more effective against unaware enemies.

9

Thievery

Learning Bad Habits

Best Skills To Get First:

• Silent Fiddler
• Toolmaster
• Nimble Fingers
• Inconspicuous

Why should players, even those who want to play a moral and virtuous Henry, invest in leveling their Thievery skills? Well, bandits have plenty of locked chests and pickable pockets, and from the standpoint of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, it’s morally acceptable to rob every single Groschen from them. It’s surprisingly valuable to invest in lockpicking and to a lesser extent pickpocketing, for this reason.

For those who want to level up this category, the first perks to pick are Silent Fiddler, which makes lockpicking quieter, and Toolmaster, which makes lockpicks last longer before breaking. A lot of the later perks are oriented more toward Thievery-focused players, but leveling this skill category will determine players’ success with harder locks, so no player will want to neglect it completely.

Game

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RPG

Action-Adventure

Open-World

Systems

Released

February 4, 2025

ESRB

Mature 17+ // Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity

Developer(s)

Warhorse Studios