Kingdom Come: Deliverance – 9 Tips You Should Know Before Starting

TL;DR

  • Manage food spoilage by prioritizing dried goods and checking freshness indicators
  • Save strategically using both Savior Schnapps and free bed saves while avoiding overuse
  • Counter plate armor with blunt weapons and target unprotected body areas
  • Employ ranged and mounted combat tactics for early-game survival advantage
  • Master the game’s complex mechanics through systematic experimentation and observation


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Kingdom Come: Deliverance presents players with an intricate web of interconnected game mechanics that demand careful study and practice. Unlike many modern RPGs that streamline systems for accessibility, Warhorse Studios has crafted a simulation-rich experience where understanding subtle interactions becomes crucial for success.

The medieval Kingdom of Bohemia hides numerous complex systems beneath its realistic surface, from detailed combat physics to sophisticated social dynamics. We’ve distilled these systems into 9 essential strategies to help you navigate the challenges of 15th-century Europe. For those who prefer visual demonstrations, our comprehensive video guide offers additional insights.

Originally funded through a successful 2014 Kickstarter campaign, this debut title from Warhorse Studios represents a remarkable achievement in historical gaming. Available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, the game has evolved significantly since its initial conception.

Our detailed Kingdom Come: Deliverance review explores the game’s strengths and weaknesses, while our discussion video examines how first impressions shape the overall experience in complex RPGs.

Drawing comparisons to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion in its open-world design, Kingdom Come distinguishes itself through its commitment to historical authenticity and mechanical depth.

Don't Let Food Go Stale!

Nutrition management in Kingdom Come requires strategic thinking similar to real-world survival scenarios. While dried meats and fruits maintain their edibility indefinitely, fresh produce follows realistic decay patterns that can catch unprepared players off guard.

Every piece of bread, fruit, or cooked meal you acquire carries a freshness indicator that gradually declines. Consuming spoiled food not only provides diminished nutritional value but can also lead to food poisoning, significantly impairing your combat effectiveness and social interactions.

Pro tip: Rotate your food stocks regularly, consuming older items first and reserving preserved goods for extended journeys. Inventory management becomes particularly crucial during long-distance travel or multi-stage quests where resupply opportunities may be limited.

Prioritize Saving

The save system in Kingdom Come represents one of its most distinctive—and potentially frustrating—mechanics for newcomers. During initial gameplay sessions, many players underestimate how critical regular saving becomes, especially given the game’s susceptibility to quest-disrupting bugs at launch.

Savior Schnapps provides the most flexible saving option but comes at a significant cost early in the game. A more economical approach involves mentally mapping safe sleeping locations throughout the game world, allowing free saves without consuming valuable resources.

Critical mistake to avoid: Overusing the sleep-saving method. Henry’s daily sleep allowance serves dual purposes—saving progress and health regeneration. Exhausting your sleep hours solely for saving purposes can leave you vulnerable in subsequent encounters.

Advanced strategy: Combine both methods by using Savior Schnapps after major accomplishments and bed saves during natural rest periods. This balanced approach conserves resources while maintaining progress security. For more advanced resource management techniques, check out our Weapons Unlock guide that covers similar strategic resource allocation.

Use Blunt Weapons Against Plate Armor

Medieval combat in Kingdom Come demands tactical awareness and appropriate weapon selection. When confronting opponents wearing plate armor, you’ll discover that edged weapons struggle to penetrate their protective covering unless you precisely target gaps at joints, armpits, or vision slits.

Against fully armored knights, blunt weapons like maces and war hammers prove dramatically more effective. The concussive force transmitted through armor plates causes internal trauma and stunning effects that swords cannot replicate.

Common player error: Persisting with familiar sword combat against heavily armored foes. This approach wastes valuable combat time and exposes you to unnecessary counterattacks. Instead, carry both weapon types and switch based on enemy protection levels.

Pro tip: Study enemy armor composition before engaging. Chainmail opponents remain vulnerable to slashing attacks, while plate armor requires blunt force trauma. Understanding these distinctions early will save countless frustrating combat encounters.

You Don't Always Have To Fight With Honor

Survival in Kingdom Come’s dangerous world sometimes requires abandoning chivalric ideals in favor of practical combat solutions. Initiating engagements with arrow volleys before enemies detect your presence can dramatically shift battle odds in your favor.

Precision archery targeting unprotected facial areas, particularly against helmetless opponents, can eliminate threats before melee combat begins. This approach proves especially valuable when facing numerically superior forces or when your character lacks advanced combat training.

Mounted combat offers another tactical advantage, especially against foot soldiers. Maintaining distance while employing hit-and-run tactics with bows or long-reach weapons allows you to whittle down enemy numbers safely.

Advanced technique: Master the timing of mounted attacks to maximize damage while minimizing exposure. The hitbox system recognizes directional attacks from horseback, enabling devastating passing strikes. For comprehensive combat strategies across different game systems, our Complete Guide offers additional insights into tactical approaches.

These unconventional methods may lack traditional honor but provide crucial survival advantages during the early game when resources and skills remain limited. As your proficiency grows, you can transition to more direct combat styles. Understanding character progression is key—learn more in our Class Guide for parallel advancement strategies.

Action Checklist

  • Inventory food inspection and rotation system setup
  • Create mental map of safe sleeping locations for strategic saving
  • Practice weapon switching between blunt and edged types against training dummies
  • Master mounted archery techniques in open areas
  • Develop enemy armor assessment protocol before engagement

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