Going in blindly through Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s hardcore mode is one of the best ways to experience the game. However, going through a painful and rage-inducing experience is not for everyone. Many have turned back from hardcore mode and left the game aside.
For those looking to brave Kingdom Come: Deliverance’s hardcore mode, a great way to ease the challenge is by having the best start.
The game opens up after the prologue and so this will be the “starting point” of the game. This guide will provide tips up to the moment that Henry wakes up in Rattay.
Note that this guide will not have any exploits or cheesy mechanics. No grinding herbalism and Strength to level 20 or killing Skalitz guards!
1. Choose a Stat to Boost
After the opening scenes, the game will prompt players to choose dialogue options that will boost the four major stats. There are a total of two points that players can allocate to either Strength, Agility, Vitality, or Speech.
Generally, the stat boosts are trivial in the long run since the stats level naturally. However, players wanting the best start for their hardcore mode playthrough will want either Strength or Speech.
Strength is great for making the fights against the Skalitz looters easier. It also provides more inventory space so Henry can carry more loot during the prologue.
Speech is useful for getting through early Speech checks in the prologue as well as in the early game.
Players can feel free to choose either of the two as both will help during the early game.
2. Pick Herbs for a While
Henry’s first quest is buying charcoal for his father. Unfortunately, Henry will not have money to purchase the items. Even acquiring Kunesh’s nails, hammer, and axe will not be enough to cover the expense.
As such, players should set aside a minute or two for herb picking. The best herb to pick is Sage which is abundant around the combat arena where Henry learns the basics of combat.
The blacksmith in the village square will buy Sage for 0.3 Grochen while other merchants buy it for 0.2.
It is also worth picking 100 nettles at the start to acquire the Resistance Perk which provides a +2 to vitality. Nettles are abundant in walk paths and outside houses. It should not take more than 10 minutes to gather enough of them.
As mentioned earlier, this guide is not about cheesy strategies. So to be time-efficient, players should aim for 80-90 Sage and 100 nettles at the beginning. These should be more than enough to cover the charcoal cost plus change.
3. Get Lockpicks from Fritz
It is worth acquiring lockpicks from Fritz during the prologue since it will allow Henry to open easy locks and get some loot.
To acquire lockpicks, avoid fighting with Kunesh nor having the “Nails for Theresa” in your inventory. Simply talk to Fritz after the cutscene in the tavern and tell him about Henry’s problem with Kunesh. Fritz will then provide free lockpicks.
Players going on a lockpicking spree should note that only a few traders, such as the Lady Trader in the market, buys stolen goods. This means that it is best to steal expensive items and not leave Henry over-encumbered.
The best place to steal from is the tavern. The backroom and the room upstairs have a couple of chests that Henry can open and provide decent loot. Players should find two Saviour Schnapps in one of the chests which will be helpful in the early game, considering the price of one Schnapps.
4. Get a Better Horse To Avoid Dying During the Chase
During the “Run” quest in hardcore mode, there is a high chance that Henry will die during the horse chase. Henry can die from bleeding (especially with the Haemophilia perk) or multiple arrow hits.
This is because the Cumans can easily catch up to Henry and get a couple of free shots when using the horse near Theresa’s house. To avoid dying and replaying the chase, players can instead get a different and faster horse.
Instead of heading toward Theresa’s house, players can head in the opposite direction. The best way to do this is by going down towards Henry’s right side as the “Run” quest begins. Players should see a wooden bridge and a saddled horse.
Head across the bridge and ignore the saddled horse. There should be a black horse with no saddles just past the bridge. This horse has a speed of 38 which is faster than the saddled horses. Simply mount it and head towards Talmberg.
Also, it is possible to come across Cumans on the way to the bridge. Players can mount the saddled horse and ride towards the black horse to avoid enemies.
5. Avoid over-looting in Talmberg
Having lockpicks can create the temptation to loot every easy chest in Talmberg. However, players should avoid over-looting since walking while over-encumbered towards Skalitz is a boring experience.
Instead, players should just loot the easy chest in Lady Stephanie’s room and perhaps arrows from the guard towers. Since Henry will also be stealing guard armor to escape Talmberg, inventory space during this section will be low.
While it is possible to sell stolen items to the trader outside the Talmberg Tannery, the trader’s low gold stash makes it impossible to sell a lot of items.
For reference, the above image shows Henry after the prologue with 245 Groschen, 8 Saviour Schnapps, and other valuable items that players can sell. While 200+ Groschen may seem small, it is more than enough to feed a tapeworm-infested Henry for a few days.
Bonus Tip: Use Saviour Schnapps Efficiently
Since hardcore mode removes the autosave feature, players need to use Saviour Schnapps to save their progress in the prologue. Failing to do so (and dying) will lead to a mandatory new game.
To avoid restarting while also saving Saviour Schnapps during the prologue, players should save their game during the following points:
- Save before stealing from the Skalitz tavern. For players who want to steal from other houses, it is best to go on a stealing spree to utilize only one Saviour Schnapp.
- Drink a Saviour Schnapp at the start of the “Run” quest. This is a MUST since Henry can easily die during the chase quest.
- Once in Talmberg, players can save their progress by sleeping in the hut in front of the free room that Divish provides Henry. Note that the free bed does not allow the player to save.
- Drink another Schnapp before the first encounter with a Skalitz looter. While the fights are easy, a lucky shot can kill Henry.
Following this guide should give players a good start for hardcore mode and make the early game less punishing. Henry should have enough money to spend on food and an abundance of Saviour Schnapp to secure game progression.
