Beginner’s Guide#
Welcome, new player! This chapter covers everything you need to know about Kingdom Come: Deliverance II’s opening stretch: how to play the prologue, how the four main attributes grow, how the save system works, and where the early trainers are. The first few hours are famously hardcore — nailing these basics saves you a lot of pain.
The Prologue (Last Rites): Play Godwin First#
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II’s prologue quest is called Last Rites. Here’s the fact new players get wrong most often: in the prologue you don’t play Henry — you play Godwin.
- Your job is to hold the siege of Suchdol.
- The tutorial teaches two things: crossbow handling and wall combat.
- Only after the prologue does the perspective switch to Henry, and the main story properly begins.
Treat the prologue as a tutorial — getting comfortable with the crossbow reload rhythm and the logic of fighting on walls matters far more than how pretty you make this battle look.
The Second Quest (Easy Riders): A Letter and an Ambush#
Once you take control of Henry, the main story moves into Easy Riders: Henry and Sir Hans Capon ride for Trosky Castle to deliver a letter. Three things you must know about this stretch:
- You pick a combat preference on the way. The journey prompts you to choose Henry’s combat preference, which tilts his starting skills. There’s no wrong answer — pick the playstyle you want. It only sets your starting point, not your endpoint; everything can be leveled back up through use.
- The ambush is scripted. This journey ends in an ambush, and Henry loses all his equipment.
- Don’t mourn the gear. Since you’re destined to start over with nothing, don’t agonize over whatever you picked up and wore — your real kit gets rebuilt from the next stage onward.
Fortuna: A Fresh Start at Bozhena’s Cabin#
After losing everything, Henry is rescued by the herbwoman Bozhena and recovers in her cabin. This stretch is the game’s real tutorial, and it teaches three things:
The Three Survival Basics#
| Element | What it governs | Beginner reminder |
|---|---|---|
| Health | Zero means death | Treat wounds promptly; don’t travel badly hurt |
| Stamina | Attacks, sprints and other exertions | When stamina bottoms out your actions go weak — back off and catch your breath |
| Nourishment | Long stretches without food degrade you | Keep food in your pouch; don’t wait for the starvation warning |
These three are the foundation of survival in this game. Check them before heading out and before sleeping, and you’ll skip a mountain of pointless deaths.
The Hygiene System#
The game seriously tracks how clean you are. Once your character is filthy, NPC reactions noticeably worsen — show up to business disheveled and you’ll likely be turned away. Wash up when you pass water, and if you can, change into clean clothes before dealing with people.
Alchemy Lesson One: Chamomile Decoction#
Bozhena walks you through your first alchemy recipe — Chamomile Decoction:
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Wine base | 1 |
| Chamomile | 2 |
| Sage | 1 |
Follow the tutorial through once and you’ll have mastered the basics of the alchemy bench plus your first batch of hand-brewed potions. Alchemy is the backbone of self-sufficiency in this game — take this lesson seriously.
The Four Main Attributes: No Point Spending, Only Practice#
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II has no class system and no free-form point allocation at character creation. All four main attributes grow through actual use:
| Attribute | What it affects |
|---|---|
| Strength | Melee damage, carry weight, drawing heavy bows, wearing heavy armor |
| Agility | Melee stamina cost, attack speed, bow draw speed, fall damage |
| Vitality | Health, stamina |
| Speech | Persuasion, haggling |
Two conclusions follow for beginners:
- Want to raise a stat? Do that thing. Want heavy armor and hard-hitting bows? Practice Strength activities. Want to talk people around and haggle prices down? Talk more.
- There is no “wrong build at character creation”. The Easy Riders combat preference only sets your initial tilt; you can develop however you like afterward. Pick freely.
Levels, Skills and Perk Points#
- Skills and attributes both cap at level 30.
- Perk points unlock one every 2 levels and feed a single shared pool.
- Each perk has its own skill-level threshold: if the matching skill isn’t leveled enough, no amount of hoarded perk points buys it.
The best early perks to prioritize are Train Hard, Fight Easy! I and II: they lower weapons’ Strength requirements, letting you use better weapons before your Strength catches up. If you want a good sword early, watch this line.
The Save System: Savior Schnapps#
- Manual saves run on Savior Schnapps: want to save? Drink a bottle.
- Important story beats have autosaves, but treat autosaves as a safety net, not a strategy.
- Some quests have hidden timers — miss them with zero warning and the quest simply fails. Handle quests promptly, and drink a sip of Savior Schnapps before setting out on long ones.
The classic early-game tragedy: dying halfway through a long quest, reloading, and discovering your last manual save was two hours ago. Build the “save at every big beat” habit and you’ll suffer far less.
Early Trainers#
Don’t try to brute-force combat on your own — these three trainers cover the opening stretch:
| Trainer | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Captain Gnarly | Semine | The combat trainer you reach earliest |
| Black Bartosch | Trosky training grounds | A fixed practice yard, available any time |
| Master Tomcat | The nomad’s camp | Teaches the Master Strike |
Priority target: find Master Tomcat at the nomad’s camp and learn the Master Strike as early as you can. It’s the decisive technique of this game’s melee — a counter straight off a perfect block. Knowing it and not knowing it are two different games.
Tags
Common Beginner Mistakes#
| Mistake | The right way to see it |
|---|---|
| Researching “where to spend points” at the start | There is no point spending and no class system; attributes grow through use — pick a combat preference and ride |
| Hoarding gear in the early hours | Easy Riders ends with you losing everything; hoarding early is pointless |
| Negotiating with a filthy face | Poor hygiene worsens NPC reactions — clean up before meeting people |
| Relying on autosave all game | Manual saves run on Savior Schnapps — drink a bottle before every important beat |
| Stashing quests for later | Some quests have hidden timers; procrastination can mean outright failure |
| Walking past the trainers | Captain Gnarly, Black Bartosch and Master Tomcat are core early resources — train whenever you pass |
Beginner Q&A#
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Do I play Henry in the prologue? | No. In Last Rites you play Godwin holding the siege of Suchdol; the tutorial covers crossbows and wall combat |
| How do I spend points at the start? | You don’t. The four main attributes grow through use, there are no classes, and the Easy Riders combat preference only tilts starting skills |
| What’s the level cap? | Skills and attributes both cap at 30; perk points unlock one per 2 levels into a shared pool, and each perk has its own skill-level threshold |
| How do I save manually? | Drink Savior Schnapps. Also note some quests have hidden timers — miss them and they fail, so save before important beats |
| Where do I learn combat early? | Captain Gnarly in Semine, Black Bartosch at the Trosky training grounds, Master Tomcat at the nomad’s camp (teaches the Master Strike) |
| I lost all my gear — now what? | Losing everything in the Easy Riders ambush is scripted; rebuild from Bozhena’s cabin onward |
| What’s the first alchemy recipe? | Chamomile Decoction: wine base x1, chamomile x2, sage x1 |
Opening Checklist#
This checklist follows the main story in order; complete each item and your opening won’t fall apart:
- Hold the siege of Suchdol as Godwin, getting comfortable with crossbows and wall combat
- Choose your combat preference during Easy Riders and accept the naked-and-stripped start after the ambush
- Learn the three survival basics — health, stamina, nourishment — at Bozhena’s cabin
- Understand hygiene: filth worsens NPC reactions
- Complete the Chamomile Decoction tutorial (wine base x1, chamomile x2, sage x1)
- Note the three trainers: Captain Gnarly in Semine, Black Bartosch at the Trosky training grounds, Master Tomcat at the nomad’s camp
- Keep Savior Schnapps stocked and manually save before every important beat
- Once your skills qualify, grab Train Hard, Fight Easy! I/II and the Master Strike first
Finish this checklist and you’ve crossed the opening stretch where Kingdom Come: Deliverance II sheds most of its new players. What’s left is carving out your own corner of Bohemia with a sword and a silver tongue.