Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a unique RPG that emphasizes hyperrealism and immersion. Instead of fighting dragons and casting spells, players must endure the dangerous ordinary life of a peasant in medieval Bohemia.
You must struggle for coins to feed yourself and avoid combat against well-equipped bandits.
While Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s normal mode is already a challenging experience, the game also offers hardcore mode. In this setting; fast travel is disabled, the compass does not show directions, there is no “combat star” when engaging in fights, the health and stamina bar is invisible, and more.
These changes make the game more difficult. However, some may find hardcore mode more immersive and the best way to experience Kingdom Come: Deliverance.
For those planning to venture into Hardcore Mode, we have prepared some tips to make your playthrough less exhausting and stressful.
Choose Easy-to-Handle Negative Perks
Players will need to choose at least two negative perks before starting hardcore mode. There are nine perks to choose from and each alters the game experience differently.
If you are not aiming for the “‘Tis But a Scratch” achievement which requires selecting all negative perks, then it is best to choose easy-to-handle perks for your first hardcore mode playthrough.
Some of the easy-to-handle negative perks are Nightmares, Claustrophobia, Tapeworm, and Somnambulant.
The Nightmares negative perk results in a -2 to all Stats (Strength, Agility, Vitality, and Speech) for two hours after sleeping. However, players can simply use the waiting feature (“T” on PC) to pass two in-game hours.
The only challenge that this perk can bring is when players are timing quests and waiting two in-game hours may not be viable.
The Claustrophobia negative perk penalizes players for wearing closed-face helmets by reducing damage against enemies. This makes players vulnerable against archers and face stabs when they choose to avoid using closed-face helmets.
Still, headshots and face stabs rarely occur during combat, making the perk negligible.
The Tapeworm negative perk increases the rate of Henry’s hunger. It will only provide a slight challenge during the early game when players have limited Groschen.
Once players have about 100 or more Groschen, buying enough food will not be an issue. Furthermore, players can find or steal food in various places.
Somnambulant is an interesting negative perk as it places the player in a random location after waking up. Henry will basically be sleepwalking and may find himself in a barn or deep in the woods. However, Somnambulant does not trigger every time the player sleeps.
From experience, there is about a 10-15% chance that the player will wake up at a random location. Additionally, Henry will always wake up near the vicinity where he slept. So do not worry about waking up in Rovna after a nap in Pirkstein.
Use Shrines, Crosses, Landmarks, and the Sun to Navigate
Navigation is one of the greatest challenges in Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s hardcore mode. There is no player icon on the map and the compass does not show directions. Fortunately, the roads of Bohemia have a lot of way shrines, crosses, and landmarks.
Players can use these landmarks to identify their exact location since the objects appear on the map. Since the world map accurately represents the game world, these objects and the roads can help players know where to go.
There is also the option of using the sun as a reference point. Like in real life, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west.
Players can use this information to have a sense of direction. This can help you find your way back from traveling deep into the woods or when multiple paths seem confusing.
Additional Tip: If you have the “A Woman’s Lot” DLC, you can command Mutt to stay at a certain point. Since Mutt appears in the compass, you can easily find your way back. This is useful when you plan on traveling deep into the forest with no dirt paths.
Brew Perfect Saviour Schnapps
Hardcore mode disables the game’s autosave feature. Players can only save their progress by sleeping, using bathhouses, exiting the game, and drinking Henry’s beloved Saviour Schnapps.
Since sleeping and bathhouses require players to stay at a certain location, it may not be ideal to depend on them. Players can lose a few minutes to a couple of hours from crashes or accidental deaths if they only save by sleeping.
To avoid these, make sure that Henry always has a decent supply of Saviour Schnapps.
While players can buy Savior Schnapps from merchants or find them as loot, the most efficient way is to brew them.
Perfectly brewing any potion through the alchemy mini-game will produce three bottles.
Players will need the following herbs: 2x Belladonna and 1x Nettle.
Nettles abundantly grow on roads and the side of village houses. Alternatively, Belladonnas are hard-to-find herbs. But a good picking spot is on the road between Rattay and Neuhof.
To brew perfect Saviour Schnapps (even with a low-level alchemy skill), follow these steps:
- Pour wine into the cauldron
- Put the nettle in the cauldron and pull the bellow (“Q” on PC) five times.
- While the nettle is cooking, put 2x Belladonna in the mortar and grind them.
- After the grinding animation, put the grounded Belladonna in the cauldron.
- Pull the bellow two times.
- Once the bubbles in the cauldron disappear, use the phial to finish the potion. You should have produced 3 Saviour Schnapps!
Once you level up your alchemy skill and get the Routine II perk, you can easily make hundreds of Saviour Schnapps within a minute or two!
Learn How to Master Strike (Riposte)
The riposte is the most important combat skill that Henry should learn before trying to fight groups of Cumans or win tournaments.
The riposte allows Henry to deflect an attack while also damaging the opponent. This is useful in any scenario, especially when enemies outnumber the player.
Learning riposte requires Henry to have any weapon skill (Sword, Mace, or Axe) at level 3. This will unlock the option to ask Captain Bernard to teach Henry how to master strike.
The game states that the player can riposte when performing a perfect block while Henry’s stance is similar to the opponent’s.
For instance, if an enemy is raising his sword above the head, players can riposte by raising their sword and performing a perfect block once the enemy attacks.
Once players can perform perfect blocks and ripostes seamlessly, one-on-one combat will become easier.
Let Bandits Fight Each Other and Loot the Remains
Players will encounter various events as they explore medieval Bohemia. At the time when Kingdom Come: Deliverance is set, the country is filled with banditry and other dangers. As such, Henry may encounter village guards fighting against bandits; Cumans against bandits; and guards against Cumans.
While players may be tempted to join the fight, it may be best to let the skirmish play out. This is especially true during the early game when Henry has limited armor and poor combat skills.
Players can see these skirmishes ahead of them and will have more than enough room to hide. Simply crouch to the side of the road and watch the fight unfold. Once the fight is done, players can either wait until the winning side leaves or try to finish off the survivors.
The fight will leave the survivors with low health, considering that they took damage during the encounter. This can make it easy to finish them off, especially with a bow.
However, always consider the number of survivors and their armor. Heavily-equipped bandits are likely to have taken minimal damage while Cumans wearing light armor may only take one arrow to the torso to eliminate.
Once the survivors are gone, you can then loot the bodies. You will likely find food, some gear you can use or sell, healing items, and some Groschen. Looting bodies from skirmishes, whether during the early or late game, will always provide players with decent loot. Make sure to take advantage!
Buy a Good Horse as Soon as You Can
A big part of Kingdom Come: Deliverance is visiting multiple locations to progress the main story and side quests. With fast travel disabled, the quickest way to explore the map is by horse.
For those who have played the game once, you know that walking from Talmberg to Rattay is not a pleasant experience.
If players follow the main story up to “The Hunt Begins” quest, they will receive a free horse named Pebbles. While Pebbles is a good starting horse for traveling, his Courage Stat is too low. This causes him to throw the player into the ground during ambushes and combat. Since ambushes are common, players may find this annoying, especially when it leads to deaths.
As such, it is preferable to get a different horse with a decent Courage Stat. Players can either grind to get some money early on to purchase a good horse or wait until they can trade Pebble for a different one.
The choice will be up to the players and both methods will require some Groschen.
Here are some of the horses with decent Courage Stats for players to consider during the early game:
- Rocinante. Courage 16. Base Cost 600. Found in Uzhitz.
- Scheming. Courage 19. Base Cost 1330. Found in Neuhof
- Hatatitla. Courage 11. Base Cost 1200. Found in Uzhitz
- Binky. Courage 15. Base Cost 1570. Found in Merhojed.
Keep in mind that leveling Henry’s Horsemanship Skill will raise the base Courage Stat of the horses. So during mid to late game, players can ignore the Courage Stat and focus on Speed (for faster travel time) and Capacity (for looting).
Travel During the Day and Stay Close to Villages at Night
The roads of Bohemia are dangerous and players risk getting ambushed every time they go out to travel. Bandits often block the roads with broken carts to catch the player off guard and scare horses. Skirmishes occur on roads that players can run into if they are not paying attention.
The best way to avoid ambushes (or at least have the fight in the player’s terms) is by seeing ahead. To do this, players should opt to travel during day time and pay attention to the road. Nighttime in the game is very dark and a torch’s light is not enough to see ahead. When there is a roadblock ahead, there is a high chance that enemies are waiting to ambush Henry.
Players can choose to go around the area and avoid the encounter. This is preferable when the player’s horse has a low Courage Stat and Henry has poor combat skills.
Alternatively, they can unmount from their horse and attack the enemies preemptively. For this option, it is best to sneak around first and see if the enemies are well-equipped. Players can then assess if the fight is winnable or if it is best to avoid combat.
If players need to travel at night, there is still the option of using a Nighthawk Potion to gain night vision. This potion is very effective and makes night look like a dimly lit morning. It will help players see ahead and travel as if it was morning.
However, the potion and its recipe are expensive. Brewing the potion also requires Cave Mushrooms, which are rare ingredients available only inside caves and specific areas.
Enjoy the Mode!
Hardcore Mode in Kingdom Come: Deliverance is a unique experience to maximize immersion. Take time to learn the basics of hardcore survival and enjoy beautiful virtual Bohemia!
