by Dom's Roundtable
Welcome back, adventurers, to another guide from Dom’s Roundtable!
Today, we’re diving deep into the heart of the Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 combat systems. Whether you’re up against a single knight or an entire bandit camp, these 12 quick and easy tips will help you crush every fight, no matter how outnumbered or outgunned you are.
So, sharpen your sword and ready your armour, let’s jump straight into the action!
Stop Whistling While Standing – Use Crouch Whistling Instead
I know what you’re thinking, how else am I supposed to call my horse?
Well, whistling while standing is a missed opportunity. If you crouch while whistling, you’ll actually emit a more inconspicuous noise that draws NPC attention. Pair this with throwing pebbles or stones, and you’ve got a powerful tool to manipulate NPCs.
You can use this to:
Lure guards away from their post
Distract enemies so you can sneak past or ambush them
Create stealthy assassinations or perfect robbery setups
Crouch whistling = total control over NPC movement. Use it wisely!
Stop Robbing People from Behind – Front Pouch is "Key"
You might think sneaking behind someone is the best way to rob them, but you’d be wrong.
There are three ways to rob NPCs:
From behind
From the front (the best method!)
While they’re sleeping (not as effective as you’d think!)
The front pouch contains keys and money, which are usually what you actually want. Stealing from behind mostly gives junk, bread, cheese, and other useless items.
💡 Bonus Tip: Find out an NPC’s routine as they’ll stop at specific locations at predictable times. Position yourself slightly behind them but slightly to the side to access their front pouch whilst remaining unseen. Later on, unlock thievery perks that let you rob from the front without them noticing!
Don’t Stick Around After Committing a Crime – Flee Immediately
Guards search longer for more serious crimes, here's a couple of examples:
Attempted Theft: Search for about 30 seconds
Murder: Guards will search for 5+ minutes and expand their search radius
Run instead of trying to hide, especially for more serious crimes, they're very likely to find you. Once things have quieted down you can remove the bounty now on your head by finding a priest to seek penance, or pay the Indulgence to clear your name.
Stop Overselling to Vendors – Don’t Lose Your Money
Did you know merchants have limited money? When you sell too much, the merchant runs out of Groschen, and you don’t get paid for everything. Watch their Groschen balance!
Haggling helps maximize sales, but vendors still have limits. It's not ALWAYS bad to give a bit of extra money to vendors, as it will improve your relationship with them, giving you better deals in the future, but don't go accidentally giving them thousands of Groschen by overselling. In the late-game, armour and weapons are worth thousands, so finding multiple merchants is key.
Don’t Stay Sober – Embrace the Power of Positive Drunkenness
Yes, you read that right. Being slightly drunk in KC:D2 is actually a huge advantage. There are two states of drunkenness:
Positive Drunk: Depending on the perks you have taken, you will receive many benefits such as improved speech, charisma, luck in dice, and stealth
Negative Drunk: Debuffs stamina, movement, and coordination
I find the sweet spot in one mead + one beer at a drinking level of 16 as it keeps you at the top of the positive drunken state and boosts your skills.
Stop Sleeping by the Roadside – It’s Dangerous!
It might be tempting to go to sleep by the roadside if you are experiencing extreme drowsiness when you’re out adventuring, but this is a bad idea.
Two reasons to avoid roadside sleeping:
Terrible sleep quality: Without perks, it’s 20-30% efficiency, making it take forever to achieve 100% rest. (12+ hours sometimes)
Risk of being robbed: Bandits and wandering Cumans can attack you while you sleep.
Always find a tavern, buy a long-term room, and rest safely! However, if you DO need to sleep on the road, find a camp off the beaten track, ideally in a forest.
Stop Sharpening Weapons During the Day – Do It at Night!
Sharpening is much easier at night because sunlight makes it harder to see sparks.
White sparks = perfect sharpening (around 10x faster weapon repair)
Small Yellow sparks = very inefficient sharpening (it'll work, but slowly)
Sharpen at night for clear visibility of the sparks and best results!
Don’t Ignore Kuttenberg – The Ultimate Trading Hub
Kuttenberg is the best place to sell your loot, there are DOZENS of vendors, and it's just an awesome city to find. As soon as you unlock the second Region in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, get on your Horse, and travel all the way to the Southeast until you find Kuttenberg, as the main story won't take you here for a while.
Stop Wasting Arrows on Bird’s Nests – Use Pebbles Instead
Bird’s nests contain eggs and valuable loot, but shooting them down wastes arrows. Instead, throw pebbles at them, it works just as well! Only use arrows for nests too high to reach
Don’t Throw Away Spoiled Herbs – They’re Still Useful!
Did you know that even fully spoiled herbs with 0% durability still serve MORE of a purpose than drying them? Instead of using drying racks, you can still create maximum quality potions with spoiled herbs, as long as at least ONE of the ingredients is still fresh.
Once you have chosen the potion you would like to make, instead of allowing the game to auto-select your ingredients, move over to the alchemy table and open your inventory manually. Select mostly 0% quality herbs, and then choose at least ONE freshly picked herb, this way the whole potion will be considered fresh, and with the correct perks unlocked you are even able to create EXCELLENT quality potions this way.
Don’t Ignore Beehives – Free, Infinite Honey
Honey is amazing in KC:D2 because it:
Never spoils
Nutritious, free food
Found by interacting with Beehives every few days
Remember their locations and farm regularly for a free infinite supply of food!
Don’t Be Too Greedy When Stealing – Watch for Stolen Status
The more valuable an item, the longer it stays “stolen.” Expensive armour stays stolen for a long time. Guards and merchants recognize stolen gear, therefore if you wear it too soon you’ll get arrested or if you try to sell it, you'll be heavily penalised
Later on in the game when you have 10-20k Groschen, just buy yourself a nice new fancy expensive armour set instead of stealing it, and use your other stolen goods which have now lost their stolen status to pay for it! Stick to stealing lower-value items to sell in bulk within a day or two.