Yes, that's right: BioticNova defeated the ancient evil that is Shadow of the Erdtree's final boss Radahn twice simultaneously, with their attention torn between a PC monitor and a PS5 monitor, and their hands fluttering around two different controllers. I hardly made it out of my scrap with Miquella's consort, and I kept both of my – admittedly infirm and cowardly – hands tight around just one single controller. BioticNova's clearly capable of some next-level multitasking.

"I wasn't sure how we were gonna do Radahn," the streamer says modestly on Twitter, "but we did it!" In the accompanying clip, we see as BioticNova shifts their attention from one game to the other, seeming to only press a controller when their eyes are on the game it corresponds to. Using the Sword Lance and Blood Tax Ash of War, which helps trigger boss-melting bleed buildup, BioticNova ultimately slices through the two Radahns within 30 seconds of each other.

"Totally first try, guys," BioticNova says sarcastically during the three-hour stream. "That was rough. [...] I wish it was a little bit more smooth." Sorry, I didn't notice any issues – I was too distracted by the fact that you beat two copies of Shadow of the Erdtree at nearly the exact same time.

Now we know that BioticNova's ability to destroy Dark Souls 3 boss Pontiff Sulyvahn on, again, two different games simultaneously wasn't just luck like we thought in 2023, but also is an otherworldly skill that will no doubt make Nightreign matchmaking impossible.

Elden Ring Nightreign beta codes are finally being sent out, but many PS5 and Xbox Series X players are reporting the same issue – they've seemingly got access to the wrong platform

Speaking to GamesRadar+ about how much the devs watch or play the beta, Monster Hunter Wilds director Yuya Tokuda says, "A lot," actually. Tokuda shares that the Wilds team spends a lot of time reviewing people's beta streams and videos to "see feedback that we can't really get internally" – something the chief designer of the Lance found useful especially.

Mind you, not all feedback gathering is done from afar. Tokuda says the devs play the beta for a closer look at how everyone gets on with the game.

"So on my own personal console, I took part in the beta," he shares. "You can't tell it's me from the username, but there are players out there who'd have no idea to this day that they were actually playing with the director of the game.

"I would go online and put an SOS flare up, and that would mean that a couple of players would join my party, and that gives me a chance to see – whenever staff play the game at the company together, there's a certain amount of 'we all know the game inside out' – getting a chance to see real players on how they react to the content is really important to me, to understand if it's working or not. That was a great opportunity for me as well."

It's not just Tokuda, either. Monster Hunter series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto says he'll return to the beta "straight away" after finishing some travel to promote the game. You'd better keep those monster-hunting skills sharp, pals, as Capcom is watching.

In good news for Tokuda and us, then, Capcom is extending the next Monster Hunter Wilds open beta for an extra day as the "test period was cut short."

Elden Ring Nightreign – FromSoftware's shiny new co-op spin-off to the brutal action RPG behemoth we all know and love – is set to launch later this year, but it's getting a network test later this week that'll give players the chance to check it out early. PS5 and Xbox Series X|S fans had to register before January 20 for a chance to be picked, and invites have been so in demand that some scalpers have tried reselling them for hundreds of dollars. Yikes.

Despite the fact that players could only pick between playing on PS5 or Xbox Series consoles – no PCs allowed, apparently, despite the fact that the game is set to launch on there too – reports on Twitter suggest that a lot of players are running into trouble trying to redeem their codes. Some PS5 users claim they've been sent Xbox codes, and vice versa – it's immediately easy to tell if something is up since the former are supposed to be 12 characters long, whereas the latter should be 25 characters.

"I received an Xbox code but it's too short. Xbox codes are meant to be 25 characters long and the one I received was 12," one Twitter user writes. "Same problem for me too… I registered for Xbox and the mail says platform: XBSX but the code is too short for Xbox," says another. "Same here. I received a 25-digit code but need a 12-digit code for my PS5," another chimes in.

At the time of writing, neither FromSoftware or publisher Bandai Namco has posted publicly to acknowledge the problem – hopefully those without suitable codes could be given an alternative, but at the time of writing, it's not clear if that's an option when access was limited in the first place. With the first three-hour network test session set to kick off on Friday 14 February, here's hoping something can be sorted out before then.

Elden Ring Nightreign's map will sometimes see "large-scale changes" to terrain including procedurally appearing volcanos, forests, and yes, swamps.

Dr. Doot has provided the internet with some of the most entertaining Elden Ring content around, including a hitless run of the game using only an electric saxophone and a boss speedrun that even saw Malenia fall to the power of jazz in less than a minute. As for how it works, a pitch bend knob on the back of the instrument doubles as his left analog stick, while the notes he plays are mapped to a regular controller's buttons, meaning he has to doot and toot in a variety of ways to pull off even the most basic inputs.

Enter Monster Hunter Wilds, and Capcom has been cooking up a weapon that practically has Dr. Doot's name written all over it. Specifically, you can get your hands on a Hunting Horn weapon in the action RPG's open beta – the Hope Horn, to be exact – that's literally just a massive saxophone. The streamer first found out about its existence way back in August last year, when he responded: "OH MY GOD THERE'S AN ACTUAL SAXOPHONE WEAPON IN MONSTER HUNTER WILDS?"

Now though, his time has come. Last week, he expressed his excitement over the fact that "MONSTER HUNTER WILDS LETS ME HUNT MONSTERS WITH A GIANT SAXOPHONE," and thanked the devs for "CREATING DOOT-BASED GAMEPLAY," and now he's finally shared what we've all been waiting for – his controller in action.

"Everyone asked 'Will you use the giant saxophone weapon in Monster Hunter Wilds with [the] saxophone controller?'" he writes on Twitter. "The answer is yes (obviously) but no one told me it would be this much FUN." Attached is a short but sweet clip of his skills in action – taking out the beta's frog-like Chatacabra monster with a series of well-timed doots. I can't even begin to fathom how much practice goes into these sorts of challenges.

Hopefully, this won't be the last of the streamer's antics in Monster Hunter Wilds if his tweet is anything to go by. The action RPG's next beta session kicks off on February 14, and will run for an extra 24 hours to make up for last weekend's PlayStation Network outage. After that, we don't have too long to wait for its full launch on February 28.

20 years on, Monster Hunter Wilds' devs reflect on the series' co-op journey: "The world caught up with our vision."

Having gone hands-on with Monster Hunter Wilds previously, we noticed more of a traditional kind of RPG experience compared to previous games regarding the kind of front-facing story and structured chapters you get. Given the chance to speak to Tokuda lately, we ask if there was a push for this type of content to appeal to or help guide players unfamiliar with Monster Hunter to get into the game.

"The concept that I had from the start of the game was humanity as part of the ecosystem, and realizing that humans weren't something on the outside of it looking in, they were part of it, and they had an effect on it," Tokuda answers. "And that naturally led to an increased focus on story. Because, you know, the storytellers, the humans, are actually right in there amongst it.

"It just made sense to me to have the story more upfront than in past titles. So it was a natural evolution of that concept, and it spoke to all the other elements of the game, such as the learning curve of which monsters you face in which order as you get started in the game, and how they teach you the necessary skills to play the game, how that interacted with a chapter-based story structure of which one you were going to meet next.

"It all sort of flowed naturally from that original concept, rather than being the idea of, as you said, let's just make it more like an RPG on that basis."

As for the chapter structure, Tokuda says it makes a lot of sense as "it's easy to follow" and gives players a clear sense of how far along they are.

"The result was, it looked like, as you said, 'Oh, are you trying to go for RPG players by imitating that structure?' But really it was just a natural outcome of our other decisions that hopefully makes sense to players."

Monster Hunter Wilds is due to release later this month, on February 28. The good news, though, is that you don't have to wait that long to try it, as we're in the middle of the second Monster Hunter Wilds open beta test. While the first leg has come and gone, the second kicks off on February 13 at 7pm PT, with an extra 24 hours courtesy of the recent PSN outage, too.

Monster Hunter Wilds will give you one free character edit, which is great for Fashion Hunters, but frustrating for everyone who's sick of paywalled customization.

Ever since the very first Monster Hunter on PS2, joining forces has always been one of the series' most defining features. "It was a very early online game," says director Yuya Tokuda. But, PS2 internet requiring jumping through a lot of hoops to utilize, it was the series' handheld games that really made Monster Hunter the phenomena it is today. For many, it's these portable titles, getting together with friends, that got them into the series in the first place. "The subsequent PSP games kind of introduced in person local LAN, as it were – WLAN play – as a new feature, that was maybe more suitable for portable play. So whenever we kind of went online after that, we were kind of getting back to the series roots if anything," Tokuda continues.

Got no strings

Monster Hunter Wilds is the culmination of a long, storied legacy. Whether it's some of the earliest online gaming the PS2 offered or wireless handheld multiplayer, Monster Hunter's earlier titles were always ahead of the curve. "At the time Monster Hunter was released – we just had our 20th anniversary recently, so it's over 20 years ago now," reflects producer Ryozo Tsujumoto. "There weren't really that many online games like this, in the console space at least, so it was a relatively unique proposition, and I think the infrastructure wasn't really where it needed to be at the time."

To play online on PS2 on a base model, you needed to scoop up a PS2 Network Adapter to slot into the expansion bay, and a good enough internet connection for the era. In addition, publishers themselves would then have to run their own servers, support for which varied between regions (many years later, PlayStation Network and Xbox Live would provide their own glue to bring this together – greatly simplifying the proposition).

"So even if you wanted to play the game, having a sufficient broadband connection and equipment to connect your console to the internet was not necessarily a given back then for most consumers," says Tsujimoto. "In the meantime, while the infrastructure and the world caught up with our vision of playing the game online together on consoles, [we moved] to a portable approach" – a tactic he calls "bring your own network".

"It kind of helped us deal with that lack of infrastructure, and in the meantime infrastructure caught up," Tsujimoto continues. "The work we did on making the game work on portables with local networks really benefited the design of subsequent online games. So it definitely wasn't a diversion. It was more like just a realistic approach to catering to the needs of players given the limits of infrastructure at any given time."

Making sure Capcom is in tune with what players want, and how they expect to be able to connect, has been core to ensuring Monster Hunter remains enduring, and has helped inform Monster Hunter Wilds' goal of releasing globally across all platforms, while supporting crossplay between all of them. Essentially, removing barriers. "We worked very hard to achieve that this time around," says Tsujimoto, acknowledging that PC is a growing platform worldwide, including in Japan. "That means the choice is yours on which platform you want to play with, and then [you can just] go online and hunt with your friends."

Monster Hunter can be a complicated series with plenty of depth, but its values are as clear as day. I ask what, across the years, best defines a Monster Hunter. "It's an obvious answer given the series name," says Tokuda, "but I think hunting monsters, particularly large monsters, cooperatively with other players in an action context, is something that, if we ever compromise on any of those aspects, it's not really what we think of as a the core DNA of Monster Hunter anymore." Now, with Monster Hunter Wilds making it easier than ever for players to connect and slay those monsters together, no matter how they choose to game, that DNA is stronger than ever.

Want to jump in and can't wait? With so many games in the series, where should you begin? Perhaps our best Monster Hunter games list could be of assistance.

"One 'Hunter's Grooming Ticket' and one '[Palico]'s Grooming Ticket' will be available free of charge from each store from the date of release for editing the series' familiar gestures and characters that have already been created," developer Capcom shares on Twitter, according to a DeepL translation.

Monster Hunter World notoriously offers players the same limited ability to alter their protagonist's and kitty companion Palico's appearances. After initially finalizing these characters' sweet looks, players have only one free Character Edit Voucher to meaningfully modify them – after using the Voucher up, players need to purchase additional $2.99 Vouchers if they want to continue overhauling their character customizations.

It's not a very popular system, as fans' responses to Capcom's Monster Hunter Wilds news proves.

"Still wish it was just free to edit in general," popular Monster Hunter fan account Kogath says on Twitter.

"I think it's always kind of dumb to monetize the ability to change your character in a video game," agrees another popular Twitter reply. "I much prefer the route of having certain bonus choices be monetized, but free to swap."

Other fashion-conscious Hunters are already worrying about paywalled haircuts, or wondering why Wilds doesn't just copy Wild Hearts' totally liberating, and literally free character customization. Slaying monsters shouldn't preclude you from slaying, you know?

I spent 5 hours with a new build of Monster Hunter Wilds and it solved basically every problem I had after playing the beta – now this really feels like Monster Hunter World 2.

Speaking to PC Gamer in magazine issue 405, director Junya Ishizaki shares that the map sometimes sees "large-scale changes to terrain in the form of procedurally appearing volcanos or swamps or forests."

"We wanted the map itself to be a giant dungeon, so players have the chance to traverse and explore a different way every time they play," he says. "You have to choose the boss you want to face at the end of the third day.

"Once you've made that choice, maybe you have an idea of how you want to strategize against that boss, and this might change how you approach the map. We wanted to offer players that agency, to decide 'I need to go after a poison weapon this time to face this boss.'"

So there you have it, while Elden Ring Nightreign does throw in some roguelike and co-op elements to freshen things up, it doesn't dare go without offering a horrible ol' swamp that'll likely leave you greatly poison debuffed. You don't really see a FromSoftware game without a poison swamp, so why start now, I suppose?

Elsewhere in his chat with PC Gamer, Ishizaki says that tossing some roguelike elements into the pot was a way of "condensing" the RPG experience down rather than "chasing a trend" – not that there's anything wrong with that.

Elden Ring Nightreign is due to release this year.

Elden Ring Nightreign beta invites are apparently so in demand, scalpers are already trying to resell them for hundreds of dollars.

It's not easy to get away with crime in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and protagonist Henry can be faced with a number of consequences depending on just how troublesome his actions were, from being put in the stocks and damaging his reputation, to being branded as a criminal. However, the very worst-case scenario is being hanged, which results in a genuinely heartbreaking cutscene where Henry looks just as upset as you'd imagine.

Highlighted by Twitter account @NikTekOfficial, you can watch the scene below. It opens with Henry looking forlorn in a cell, before being led through the audience, who are all cheering for his punishment. He looks positively terrified as the hangman prepares him for the execution, and takes one last look at the sky above as birds fly by before the stool he's stood on is kicked from beneath him. Poor guy, he didn't choose to commit those crimes the player made him do. As the screen goes black, you're given a game over screen, which reads: "You have been executed for your crimes."

Most players will probably seek to avoid this scene – GamesRadar+'s Andrew Brown found Henry's life tough enough after being hit with a massive fine for stealing a lute, and comparatively, he got let off easily. You've got to hand it to the devs for the attention to detail of including it at all though, even if you're not about leading Henry through a life of crime.

If you're just getting started on Warhorse Studios' new RPG, be sure to check out our top Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 tips and Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 best weapons guide.

Due to kick off at 7pm PT on February 13 (3am GMT on February 14 if you're in the UK), you've now got more Monster Hunter goodness for an extra day across PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam.

Original story: Capcom is thinking about extending the second Monster Hunter Wilds open beta because of the recent PSN outages.

The publisher acknowledged that the outages caused "inconvenience as you were unable to participate in the test" in a recent social media post. "Considering that a significant portion of the test period was cut short, we are currently examining the possibility of conducting an additional approximately 24-hour session next weekend or later."

The PlayStation Network was down for basically the entirety of yesterday, February 8, meaning it was impossible for most people to play online games, digitally-owned games, and connect to services like the PlayStation Store. The PSN outage also came at a particularly bad time for fans of slaying big beasts, though.

Monster Hunter Wilds' second open beta was set to take place across two weekends with the first running from February 6 to February 9. Of course, the outages meant that PS5 players couldn't access the beta or its online features for a essentially third of its runtime, but it seems like Capcom might be making up for it in the future.

Sony itself hasn't fully detailed what caused the issues, although it did state that "network services have fully recovered from an operational issue." To make up for blunder, it's automatically giving "all PlayStation Plus members" an "additional 5 days of service."

Elsewhere in the game, Monster Hunter Wilds fans were delighted to see the return of the nightmarish bug that turns everyone into a PS1-style blob. It didn't come as too much of a surprise since Capcom warned folks ahead of time that improvements made since the first beta wouldn't surface until the game's full release on February 28. However, even the developers were happy to see fans embracing the cursed bug.

Check out the best Monster Hunter Wilds weapons and tier list for the beta.

Talking to VideoGamer, Brevik railed against the blistering pace of much newer ARPGs. Naturally, he didn't name any specific examples, but I mean, it's pretty obvious that he's referencing Diablo 4 and, perhaps, Path of Exile 2.

"I think that ARPGs in general have started to lean into this: kill swaths of enemies all over the place extremely quickly,” Brevik said. "Your build is killing all sorts of stuff so you could get more drops, you can level up, and the screen is littered with stuff you don’t care about."

Of course, Diablo has always been about clicking things to death and not a whole lot more, and I say that with extreme fondness for the series as someone whose first online obsession was the original Diablo. That said, Brevik seemed to be arguing that it's the pace of the death clicks that was slower and more deliberate back when he was at Blizzard.

"I don’t find that as kind of personal and realistic as like Diablo 2. The pacing on Diablo 2, I think is great," he said. "That's one of the reasons it's endured. I just don't find killing screen-fulls of things instantly and mowing stuff down and walking around the level and killing everything, very enticing. I just don't feel like that is a cool experience. I find it kind of silly."

As someone who plays and mostly enjoys Diablo 4, I get where Brevik is coming from. There's definitely something to be said for the older Diablos' restraint in terms of enemy density and player builds that helps foster a thicker, more mellow, more immersive atmosphere.

Brevik left Blizzard in 2003 and would eventually take on a role as advisor for the Chinese version of Path of Exile, Diablo's most direct competitor. He later started up Graybeard games and released a new action-RPG called It Lurks Below to positive reviews.

DRM-free store GOG launches a new way for fans to influence which games get preserved "forever," and players are going to bat for Diablo 2, OG Final Fantasy 7, and a pile of cult classics.

In the first beta, PC players found that, seemingly due to GPU bottlenecks or loading issues (depending on your rig), monsters and characters in Monster Hunter Wilds would occasionally end up lacking, well, dimensions. In most cases, there'd be missing textures or large details, but severe examples can cough up flailing oblong chimeras that make the Fighting Polygon Team from Super Smash Bros. look certifiably high-def.

These monstrosities were quickly nicknamed origami monsters and even spawned their own fanart, not to mention mods for other Monster Hunter games deliberately recreating the blocky look. This kind of issue wouldn't be nearly as funny in the full game, but some players have expressed hopes to see event quests in Wilds commemorating the beta's iconic origami mons.

Now seemed like a good time to share a fun anecdote from a previous exchange I had with Monster Hunter producer Ryozo Tsujimoto, Wilds art and executive director Kaname Fujioka, and Wilds director Yuya Tokuda. In a group interview, I asked if they'd seen all the players having fun with origami monster memes and mods, and how it feels to see the beta's brokenness celebrated in this way. I compared the low-poly beasts to the original PS2 Monster Hunter – if anything, they're much more retro – and as the question was relayed in Japanese by our interpreter, the group fell into laughter cut with just the tiniest bit of the resignation that's born from technical issues.

"They were aware of how people were experiencing some of the low polygons and having their fun with it," our interpreter explained, focusing on Fujioka's response to begin with. "It was a nice thing to see that people were enjoying it in a way that they were having fun with it."

Relaying Tsujimoto's response, the interpreter continued: "But obviously we would recommend people do play and get the full experience on the PC with the recommended PC specs that we have stated out there. Obviously, when you play on the PC, the specs vary widely depending on what kind of environment you have, so our suggestion is for people to please play on the recommended specs to get the full experience. But it's nice to know that some people are enjoying or having fun with Monster Hunter Wilds."

As it happens, those PC specs have been reduced slightly after some optimization on Capcom's end. Monster Hunter Wilds isn't a lightweight game by any means, and in early performance tests using the new benchmark tool, it seems to be CPU-limited just like Monster Hunter World was, but running it is now a slightly less daunting task. The PC performance of the full game remains to be seen, however. Again, don't let the outdated beta build throw you off, but don't put too much stock in the benchmark tool's limited scenarios either.

Monster Hunter Wilds saved some big surprises for the second beta: "online single player," Gore Magala, a new monster, and photo mode.

"Enemies do not scale with your level," Patel puts it plainly in a new rapid-fire interview with MinnMax. This might surprise you – level scaling is becoming more common, evidenced by RPGs like Cyberpunk 2077 and Diablo 4 – but I'm looking forward to exploring Avowed's dangerous cliffsides with the knowledge that power is power. One of the most liberating feelings I've experienced involves returning to a game like Dark Souls' starting area, as overleveled as a grass-fed cow, and chewing up everything in my path.

Less surprising than the game's lack of level scaling, however, is the fact that Avowed might have some bugs at launch. Big, buggy launches, such as Civilization 7's recent stumble into the spotlight, have seemingly become synonymous with AAA gaming.

That said, bugs have always been part of gaming, and some people have always been huffy about it. In their defense, I don't think anyone has ever outright enjoyed paying for a game and finding out it's easier to break than glass. In 2009, a younger GamesRadar+ even reported on the fact that the EU was proposing a law that would secure refunds for broken video game releases.

But, if we ignore gamers' rights for just a second, we can recognize that most unique, new products aren't flawless at first. To that point, Patel thinks jank is unavoidable while taking risks.

"You gotta accept a little jank to do something fun and creative," Patel tells MinnMax. We'll find out how "fun and creative" Avowed is when it releases on February 18.

Avowed director confirms the game follows The Outer Worlds' lead to skip New Game Plus, but DLC is still a "maybe."

How to complete the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Materia Prima quest without getting caught

Before getting started on this Kingdom Come 2 Materia Prima stealth operation, I recommend getting acquainted with lockpicking by heading into the barn where you grabbed the flour sacks from. To the left of where the sacks were, there are three lockpicks and a dagger that you can collect as well as a "very easy"-rated locked crate. Crack it open and you'll find seven more lockpicks – if things go well, you won't actually need these, but it's well worth picking them up while you're here.

Next, head over to hired hand Hensel and tell him you want to try both pickpocketing and stealth takedowns. Again, if all goes smoothly, you won't need to rely on these techniques, but knowing about them will help if things go wrong.

Finally, make sure you bring a Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 torch with you in case you get caught skulking about at night and do not wear armor and other clothing that substantially increases your Noise stat – honestly, going in naked isn't a terrible idea if you're desperate.

With your preparations complete, here's how you steal the document in Troskowitz for Kreyzl:

1. Fast travel to Troskowitz and speak to hired hand Zinek who is locked in the stocks in the middle of town. He asks for a password but there is no right answer here, so just pick any of the options. He explains that the document is in a chest of stolen items in the Troskowitz Rathaus jail, which is at the back of the Rathaus under the guardhouse.
2. Sleep or pass the time by doing other activities until it has passed midnight. Everyone should be asleep by this time aside from patrolling guards. You could brew some Saviour Schnapps potions using Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 belladonna so that you can set up plenty of save points along the way to fall back on.
3. Don your stealth outfit, crouch, and do not draw your torch when it's dark. This is also a great time to drink a Nighthawk potion if you have one, which will help you see better in the dark.
4. Head over to the small, white guardhouse building at the back of the Rathaus. There might be a guard leaning against the wall right next to a set of descending stairs.

6. If there is a guard, knock him out with a stealth takedown and move the body out of sight. You can also try luring him away with a thrown rock or similar distraction.
7. Go down the steps and immediately on your right, you'll spot a cellar you can go into. Grab the book at the back of the cellar called "The Strength of the Knight II".
8. Leave the cellar, go down the hallway, and into the jail. You'll reach a junction where you'll see the looked chest of stolen goods, a set of ascending steps straight ahead, and jail cells to your left and right. Avoid the steps ahead as this leads into the guard bunks. You can obviously try pickpocketing them while they sleep for any loot, but it's risky.

9. Go into the cell on your left and grab Zinek's forged key. It's under the right side of the bed, partially buried by some hay.

10. Unlock the chest and take the Offer of Hermes Trismegistus. There are some potions, a lockpick, and a wolf fang you can grab. Now is also a good time to chug a Saviour Schnapps and save!
11. Head back the way you came up the stairs, being cautious of any patrolling guards. Wait for them to pass, then sneak out towards the tree and bushes by the guardhouse.
12. Head towards the fields to the north of Troskowitz to get clear.
13. Fast travel back to the Lower Semine Mill, wait until morning if it's still nighttime, and speak to Kreyzl. Tell him you have the document to hand it and the forged key over in exchange for 45 groschen, a book called "With the silence of a cat I", and improvements to Stealth and Thievery.

With the letter handed over to Kreyzl, that's the end of the Materia Prima quest in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. Assuming you followed the steps in this guide, you should have 10 lockpicks, 45 groschen, two books, and a few potions and other bits to show for your efforts. You can study The Strength of the Knight II and With the silence of a cat I to increase your Strength and Stealth respectively and then sell both.

Completing Materia Prima also means you've started the miller's path for the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Wedding Crashers quest, so if you keep asking Kreyzl for work, he'll eventually get you into the wedding. However, if you’re past that point and have completed the Kingdom Come Delivernace 2 For Whom the Bell Tolls quest, you can still follow Kreyzl's weird questline for some rewards.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

During the first open beta for Capcom's big beast-slaying, fast fashion-crafting blockbuster, players struggled with all types of technical issues, from performance dips and stuttering to a graphics bug that would turn the game's usually handsome characters into nightmarish, polygonal blobs that'd even scare N64 NPCs. Funnily enough, some monsters were also affected and became giant, non-descript blobs.

Well, that pesky bug has reared its head once again. It shouldn't be too much of a surprise, though. Even at the time, Capcom admitted the beta build was outdated and said the in-development game was "already in a more improved state." Since then, the developers have only continued to hammer away at known issues, though the publisher had already confirmed that such improvements wouldn't be present in the second beta as the team were busy on Monster Hunter Wilds' final release, coming in just a few weeks.

Still, I'm not-so-secretly happy that the cursed bug is back because, like, just look at some of the screenshots below. How many big-budgets games look like that anymore!? It's glorious and ugly and the icing on the cake is how damn grumpy the Palicos look.

I wanted to share the silly graphical issue from r/MHWilds

My game looks good from r/MHWilds

It's not just humans and our feline friends who are being transformed into unsightly shapes. The bug is also laying claim to the titular monsters. The one below is some kind of ominous entity, and I really hope Capcom actually releases a post-launch enemy with a similar design as some sort of homage.

Polygon hunter: Wilds from r/MHWilds

If the wonky textures are really getting on your nerves, don't worry too much. Capcom's improvements will be in Monster Hunter Wilds' retail release, coming to PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on February 28.

Check out the best Monster Hunter Wilds weapons and tier list for the beta.

How to get the best armor in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

The best armor in KCD2 is made out of the following pieces:

• Brocade Hood
• Noble Bascinet
• Mail Hood with Coat of Arms
• Aketon Short
• Hauberk long
• Riding Waffenrock
• Milanese Cuirass
• Nuremberg Gauntlets
• Nuremberg Plate Gauntlets
• Noble's Plate Legs

It goes without saying that you'll want to get all of these at gold quality, as that will massively increase their stats. With these pieces combined though, you'll be as durable as it's possible to be in KCD2 (though the hood and waffenrock barely make any difference and are mostly there to add visual flourish and secondary stat bonuses).

To get this armor, you need to reach the second region of the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 map and go to the city of Kuttenberg to the East. At the map location shown above you'll find an Armorer by the name of Master Nicholas Krondel who will sell you all of the plate pieces.

However, be warned: they're incredibly expensive, with some individual pieces costing over 5000 Groschen. The whole ensemble will cost well over 20,000 Groschen, even if you haggle but don't lose hope: it's possible to find random bandits and enemies with pieces of that gear throughout the game. It's rare, but it does happen, and either way it works out: sell the second-tier armor you find off them to afford the set above, or just use any armor that fits into the outfit we've outlined. In fact, selling these high value armor pieces is basically the best late-game Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 money farm, so it's just good practice at this point.

Want to find some solid armor before that point? We've outlined where to find all the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Brunswick armor locations, or check out how to pair your kickass armor with the best weapon in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission

In a quickfire interview with MinnMax, Patel was asked what Pillars of Eternity fans are hoping to get from Avowed, which takes place in the same world of Eora. She said Pillars fans want to "see the world they got to know over two games in a big immersive space around them that they can explore." Asked if that has been accomplished in Avowed, she replied, "mission accomplished."

She also revealed that "maybe a third of the team that worked on Pillars is on Avowed." Finally, she confirmed that there will be Pillars of Eternity characters in Avowed, and when asked if there will be more than three, she replied in the affirmative.

Hitting Xbox Series X, PC, and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on February 18, Avowed will take players back to Eora for the first time since 2018's Pillars of Eternity 2. And if you haven't played the Pillars games, you needn't worry; Obsidian designed Avowed specifically to be an entry point to the plague-ravaged Living Lands. Obviously longtime Pillars fans will have a lot of fun with the crossover content, but it's not necessary to understanding the story.

"It can't start in a way that just feels crappy": Avowed devs are turning to animation to solve an RPG "challenge" of offering a sense of progression without sacrificing a strong start.

"This is the dream, baby," EdyBot says on stream, 1,097 deaths into her run. "We're so close."

The Century training dummy she's using appears to be rigged with motion control wires that allocate each section of its body to a button – she hits and presses on the top middle of its chest, for example, to deliver standard and heavy hits – while a cord in her shorts connect her to both the dummy and a heart rate monitor. To run and roll, she seems to be using a modified dance pad.

That means, during her fight with Malenia – who is notoriously difficult to conquer, since she regenerates health each time she lands a hit – EdyBot was tired. Using the Bloodhound's Fang curved greatsword, EdyBot huffs as she rapidly punches her dummy's pecs to carve out big slices of demigod. She only breaks her flow to glug Crimson Tears, which she swigs by knocking her dummy, who she calls Fleshman, directly in the groin.

The moment Edybot finally manages to take down Malenia, she collapses to the ground completely out of breath.

"Oh my God," she wheezes, "I fucking did it." She pulls Fleshman in for a big hug, and then she brings out a stool that also seems to be fixed with motion control censors. EdyBot squats over it, and her bald Elden Ring character performs a few fatigued teabags.

Ultimately, EdyBot wrapped up her knuckle-breaking Elden Ring challenge after 2 weeks, with 1,428 deaths down. It doesn't sound like my preferred method of gaming, but it does seem more entertaining than the elliptical.

Elden Ring streamer puts us all to shame and beats every boss – including the DLC fights – in a single hit in 54 hours, which is less than your average playthrough.

The debut trailer for Cloudheim has everything I could ask for in a video game: a kaiju-sized turtle, multiple muscle ladies, and combat all about hitting dudes with other dudes. Cloudheim's central hook is its combo-based combat, where you can knock enemies into the air, juggle them with other players, toss them into each other, or tear down chunks of the world to drop on their heads.

"Our core gameplay began with a simple question - what if we take the juggling from fighting games, and make it the combat foundation in a co-op action RPG?" according to David Hunt, CEO and founder of Noodle Cat. Hunt previously served as lead systems designer on Fortnite from 2013 through 2022, and before that he was a designer at BioWare on Star Wars: The Old Republic. According to a press release, the studio's "gameplay thesis is based on applying the design principles behind Fornite's explosive growth to create a collaborative physics-based action RPG combat in the gameplay loop of a survival craft game."

Cloudheim is teasing robust crafting systems and a wide array of locations and dungeons to explore, and given how nice it all looks I'm very much ready to find out what's in store. The game is set to launch in Q3 2025 across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

These are the best RPGs you can level up in today.

You might remember Nightmare Kart (FKA Bloodborne Kart) as the game that went viral thanks to its mix of PSX-style polygonal art, whacky party-game racing, and characters ripped straight from FromSoft's gothic masterpiece. Its developer just announced an expansion called The Old Karts, a riff on Bloodborne's The Old Hunters DLC, which is bringing a "new mini campaign, new racers and karts, new tracks," and "new power ups and game modes" soon. The Old Karts' first trailer below looks wonderfully silly.

But LWMedia's exciting announcement came at quite a turbulent time, however, as the demake project that later turned into Nightmare Kart has also been hit with a legal notice from the series' rights holder Sony.

"I have been provided with evidence that [tech firm] MarkScan is working under Sony to issue a legitimate DMCA takedown on my video," Walther says on social media, speaking about her Bloodborne Demake project's teaser. "It's now known that the issue was not on the [teaser] video itself, but the download link in the description. As such, the download link for BBPSX is now removed.

"I am of course going to comply with this and not make the fan game available to download in the future," she concludes, before clarifying that racer Nightmare Kart is still "fine."

With so many Bloodborne-related DMCA notices in the air, fans have obviously huffed some copium again and are guessing that something official is coming their way - maybe in the form of a remaster, a PC port, or a brand new game. A leaked Metal Gear Solid 3 remake trailer and what seems like an incoming Death Stranding 2 announcement certainly has me convinced that a PlayStation State of Play is coming sooner rather than later. Whether Bloodborne's hypothetical return rears its head at the show is anyone's guess, though.

In the meantime, why not check out the new games of 2025 that we definitely know are really real?

Some of you on Xbox and PC might have already discovered Dungeons of Hinterberg's charms, but if you've never laid eyes on its gorgeous comic book-esque art, the quick rundown is that it's essentially The Legend of Zelda meets Persona, as random as that might sound, and it's coming to PS4 and PS5 on March 13.

You play as a white-collar worker who escapes her corporate life and leaves for a slaycation in Hinterberg, a rural area where magic and magical dungeons mysteriously popped up out of nowhere - and, of course, the local government turned the whole situation into a money-printing tourist attraction.

Borrowing from Persona's in-game calendar, you spend the days monster-slaying and dungeon-crawling, before winding down for the evenings by going to the cinema, reading, buying gear, improving your social stats, or investing in your relationships with various characters that'll reward your blossoming friendship with, err, an upgraded health bar or a combo counter. God, I love how silly games can get.

The Zelda inspiration comes from the dungeons themselves. There are more than 25 of them spread across four beautiful biomes, and you can choose to tackle them in any order as long as you have the means (and the stats) to get to them. The dungeons are full of unique puzzles, tense combat, and constantly creative gimmicks. One biome might give you a magical skateboard, for example, while another lets you entrap enemies in a jelly block that you can also use for puzzle solving. So, if the lack of full-fat dungeons in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom left you feeling down, here's a more-than-solid alternative.

Alongside the new console port, the game's also getting a "new, secret episode" that I'm excited to check out. You can grab the game right now on PC (Steam), Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Game Pass.

In the meantime, don’t miss a single exciting release with our new games of 2025 and beyond release calendar.

When is the Monster Hunter Wilds beta?

The second Monster Hunter Wilds beta will take place in two stages, although the first has concluded at the time of writing.

The previous beta was an exclusive PlayStation Plus Early Access Play period for PS5, followed by a full open beta period for PS5, Xbox Series, and PC players via Steam. However, the second Monster Hunter Wilds beta is open to everyone.

The dates and times for the second beta are as follows:

• February 6 - February 9, 2025 open beta [concluded]
  US: February 6 @ 7pm PST / 10pm EST - February 9 @ 6:59pm PST / 9:59pm EST
  UK: February 7 @ 3am GMT - February 10 @ 2:59am GMT
• February 13 - February 16, 2025 open beta
  US: February 13 @ 7pm PST / 10pm EST - February 16 @ 6:59pm PST / 9:59pm EST
  UK: February 14 @ 3am GMT - February 17 @ 2:59 GMT

Due to the extended period of PSN downtime during the first period of the second Monster Hunter Wilds beta, Capcom are considering running the open beta for an additional 24 hours at a future date to make up for the lost time. Details are still TBD, so it's not clear if this will be an extension of the next open beta period or an extra period added at a separate time.

How to access the Monster Hunter Wilds open beta

In order to access the Monster Hunter Wilds second open beta, you will need to head over to either your PC, PS5, or Xbox Series X. From there, you'll need to access your platform of choice's storefront and download the open beta client.

No sign-ups, pre-orders, or beta keys are required here. However, a pre-load will be available on all platforms 24 hours ahead of each of their respective start times. That means you can get as much time as possible with the open beta, so be sure to prepare ahead of your chosen platform's launch time.

What's included in the Monster Hunter Wilds beta?

You'll kick off the Monster Hunter Wilds beta with access to Character Creation, with all of the features that will be available in the final release of the game. You can use this to design your hunter and Palico, and are able to remake your character as often as you like during the beta to perfect your look. Furthermore, your Character Creation data carries over to the full game, so you can jump straight into your adventure when that launches.

With your character created, you can watch the opening cutscene and then play the tutorial which will guide you through a Chatacabra hunt, so you can get to grips with the weapons and mechanics. You can then move into the open world to take on a Doshaguma hunt, where you goal is to eliminate the alpha of the pack, while exploring the vast area riding your Seikret.

The new content in the second beta also includes the following:

• Flagship monster Arkveld and returning monster Gypceros
• The Training Area
• Private lobbies (allowing a maximum of 16 players)
• Online single player

Rewards for taking part in the second Monster Hunter Wilds beta

All players who take part in the Monster Hunter Wilds beta will receive the Open Beta Test Bonus Pendant pictured above, to attach to your hunter. They will also receive the Open Beta 2 Test Bonus Item Pack, which includes the following:

• Raw Meat x 10
• Shock Trap x 3
• Pitball Trap x 3
• Tranq Bomb x 10
• Large Barrel Bomb x 3
• Armor Sphere x 5
• Flash Pod x 10
• Large Dung Pod x 10

The good news is that you can get these rewards as soon as your character is created, so don't worry about any content being unlocked under playtime restrictions. Also, if you played the first open beta, you'll receive an extra item once the full game is released.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

A quiet update to the Monster Hunter Wilds Steam page reveals that the game is now targeting an RTX 2060 or RX 6600 as a recommended spec, down from the previous recommendation of an RTX 2070 Super/RTX 4060 or RX 6700XT. Capcom suggests this will get you 60fps at 1080p medium settings with frame generation enabled.

The minimum GPU specs have seen the 1660 Super bumped down to a normal 1660 and the 5600 XT down to a 5500 XT. On the CPU side, we're down to an i5-10400/i3-12100/Ryzen 5 3600 processor across both minimum and recommended specs.

The benchmarking tool works pretty much as you'd expect once you grab it from Steam. After a 26GB download - and a relatively lengthy shader compilation process - you can choose your graphics settings and see how performance plays out over the course of an in-game cutscene and a handful of exploration sequences. For the record, I got an average of 59.37fps on my i9-9900K/RTX 3080 combo with high 1440p settings and no upscaling.

Capcom had previously hinted that lowered PC specs and a benchmarking tool were on the way, and it's good to see them both arrive nearly a full month before the game's final launch. You'll also be able to get a much bigger taste of the game with the second Monster Hunter Wilds beta kicking off on February 6.

Putting beta feedback into action, Monster Hunter Wilds devs show off improved hitstop and reworked weapons that feel how you remember them.

Where to get a Torch in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

Torches in KCD2 can be found on most bandit enemies and indeed most combatant enemies as a rule, such as guards and soldiers. That doesn't mean you have to kill them (though that obviously works) - pickpocketing will also serve to take it off them, if you want to take the risk.

Beyond that, Torches are reliably sold by Traders, who will have at least one Torch in stock. You can find Traders in most major settlements, and indeed many non-trader merchants can sometimes have torches on them.

Once you have a Torch, go into your inventory and make sure you equip it to Henry. Then, when you want to actually use it, hold the down button on the D-Pad to toggle that torch. It's always carried in your off-hand but can't be used as a weapon, meaning that fighting with a torch out always limits you to certain gear (for example, you can't have a torch and shield at once).

As mentioned, Torches are expected from any character in a settlement, town or village after dark (if they're outside), as trying to hide in the dark is seen as very suspicious. If a guard sees you, they'll warn you to equip a torch immediately, or will potentially turn aggressive. Of course, having a torch lit makes you a lot less stealthy, so if you are doing something suspicious, such as skulking about Troskowitz for the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Materia Prima quest, you'll want to work under cover of shadow.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 things to do first

The first thing you should do is read our Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 tips and tricks to get some general advice about how to handle the game. Although, if you're after specific activities and quests to pursue immediately after getting out of the pillory, here's what I recommend doing in roughly this order:

1. Speak to Bara and ask about Tomcat. This'll begin the Combat Training 1 side quest which will help you learn the basics of sword fighting, but I'll come back to this later.
2. Ask Bara for help. Ask about money and she'll give you 5 groschen – better than nothing. Ask about something to wear and say you need armor to get a lockpick from her which you can use to steal a set of armor in the Troskowitz Rathaus. If you pre-ordered the game, now is a good time to speak to scribe Gaibl to begin the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 The Lion's Crest quest for the Brunswick armor too.
3. Head straight to Tachov and speak to blacksmith Radovan. Tachov is well within walking distance northwest of Troskowitz. Find the blacksmith and speak to him to begin the "A Blacksmith's Son" quest. Radovan will be so impressed with your smithing work that he'll offer you his spare room to sleep in whenever you need it, which also comes with a chest that you can access any Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Collector's Edition items from. You should also sleep here to save.
4. After saving, you could try playing some Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 dice to gamble your groschen and hopefully win big. Spend some money on a bit of food too but save what you can.
5. Ask if Radovan has more work to begin The Jaunt quest. We'll come back to this quest later but getting started now will help as you need to head to Semine.
6. Head west to the Combat Training 1 quest marker via Zhelejov and the wagoners' inn. Both of these areas are useful fast travel points and there area some side quests you can pick up.
7. Complete Combat Training 1 and 2 with Tomcat to unlock the Master Strike combat technique. It's a good idea save just before duelling Tomcat, so that you can easily reload if you lose.
8. Head to Semine to carry on The Jaunt. As part of this side quest, you can get a horse in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. Continue following the quest to get more groschen and combat experience.
9. Ride out to the quarry at Trosky Castle and collect the money stash. After The Jaunt, you can ride to the castle north of Troskowitz and collect over 500 groschen from a stash hidden atop the quarry. Read our tips and tricks for directions!
10. Ride back to Troskowitz to buy the Marigold Decoction recipe from the apothecary. This lets you brew healing potions.

You don't have to follow these steps to the letter or even strictly in this order, and it'll take you a few hours to get all this done anyway, but it should set you up nicely for what's ahead. Since I advise talking to the blacksmith as early as possible and starting the Jaunt, this'll set you on the blacksmith path for the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Wedding Crashers quest, but you can also head to the Lower Semine Mill later to start working on miller Kreyzl's path into the wedding, which begins with the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Materia Prima quest.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

How to get Twitch Drop rewards in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

You can get Twitch Drops in KCD2 by doing the following:

1. Make a Twitch account if you don't have one already, or login if you do.
2. Go to this page and scroll down to the section for the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 campaign.
3. Click the icon at the bottom of that section to create a PROS account and link it to your Twitch account.
4. Sign onto Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, go into the start menu, and press DLC and Extras.
5. Select PROS account, and use the QR code to link your KCD2 game to your PROS account.
6. With your game linked to PROS, which is also linked to Twitch, go back to Twitch and watch any of these streams associated with the campaign.
7. Watching streams for a certain amount of time will cause rewards to be added to your profile's Drops Inventory.
8. Claim them there to have them added to your Player Storage in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, where you can pick them up!

All Twitch Drop rewards

Right now players have until the end of 11 February 2025 to earn all the currently-available rewards. To earn them, you'll watch streams for the following amount of time:

• 30 minutes - Warhorse Waffenrock
• 1 hour - Brigandine Sleeves
• 1 hour 30 minutes - Warhorse Gauntlets
• 2 hours - Brigandine Leg
• 2 hours 30 minutes - Warhorse Boots
• 3 hours - Warhorse Caparison
• 3 hours 30 minutes - Warhorse Shield
• 4 hours - Warhorse Bascinet
• 4 hours 30 minutes - Warhorse Pourpoint

It's also been stated that there will be future campaigns and drops in the future, adding new gear and rewards for players to earn.

Want to get even more out of the game? Find out how to use the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 cheats and console commands here, or check out the future Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 roadmap here!

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission

2025 Roadmap for Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

The trailer above from developer Warhorse reveals the current roadmap for Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 in 2025, with seasonal windows about when we can expect them:

• Spring
  • Barber Feature (Free Update)
  • Hardcore Mode (Free Update)
  • Horse Racing (Free Update)
• Summer
  • Brushes with Death (Paid Season Pass DLC)
• Autumn
  • Legacy of the Forge DLC (Paid Season Pass DLC)
• Winter
  • Mysteria Ecclesiae (Paid Season Pass DLC)

Not much detail has been given about these additions, though we can infer a few things. The Barber feature seems to bring Hair Customisation to the game, Hardcore Mode sounds like a new level of terrifying difficulty, and Horse Racing seems pretty self-explanatory.

Meanwhile, each of the three DLC packs has its own hook, promising to extend Henry's story. Brushes with Death promises the chance to "help a mysterious artist with an enigmatic past", Legacy of the Forge will have you "restore Kuttenberg's Forge and become a master blacksmith", and Mysteria Ecclesiae says that players will "explore Sedletz Monastery to stop the spread of a deadly illness". These will come out in Summer, Autumn and Winter respectively, though the trailer does add that release windows are subject to change. It's not known if there'll be further content beyond 2025 right now, but we'll update this page when we hear more.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission

Where to find Belladonna in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

Belladonna can be gathered for free in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, so look for a small, leafy plant with dark, purple berries and flowers as you explore. The game also says to look for it around clearings and leafy woods as you explore Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 map, but in our experience it's quite difficult to find.

The best location to search is the Nameless Spring landmark found roughly southwest of Zhelejov and southeast of Bozhena's shack. There are a few herb paris and belladonna plants next to the stream that runs out from the spring, but there's also a basket you can loot that has lots of belladonna and herb paris inside. In total, you can get at least 25 belladona from this one spot, which will help you brew plenty of Saviour Schnapps potions – be sure to dry it before its condition degrades too much.

If you're a bit more desperate, you can also buy fresh and dried Belladonna from apothecaries and herbalists for a couple of groschen or less. Visit Emmerich in Troskowitz to stock up if you've got the coin to spare.

It's highly likely that the reason you're looking for belladonna in the first place is because you need to brew some Saviour Schnapps to save in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. For that you'll also need nettles, which seem to be a lot easier to find. Look for them at waterbanks, near the edges of forests, and in field furrows. They can blend in quite easily with grass but look for tall, green plants with broad, jagged leaves. And thankfully these nettles can't sting you as in real life.

Now that you've got belladonna and nettles for Saviour Schnapps, take a look at our save system guide linked above to learn more about brewing the potion itself. This'll log your progress on Henry's quest, whether you're getting the blacksmith's or miller's help for the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Wedding Crashers quest or are trying to settle a dispute in the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Battle of Frogs and Mice side quest.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Speaking in a recent interview with GamesRadar+, Warhorse Studios' global public relations manager Tobias Stolz-Zwilling explains the developers "learned a lot from the community" by "looking at what they like, what they didn't like" – but that doesn't necessarily mean the team strayed too far from the formula that defined the original Kingdom Come. "Some of that stuff is by design," as Stolz-Zwilling describes, and that includes Saviour Schnapps.

"The Saviour Schnapps will forever stay there," continues Stolz-Zwilling, "but the game [generally] saves more often." Not often enough, apparently, as one creative player has released a handy mod that functions like an autosave feature. Highlighted by PC Gamer, "Unlimited Saving 2," as it's dubbed by creator "EddieShoe" on Nexus Mods, allows fans "to save anytime the game would normally allow you to save in a quick save fashion, without using up your Saviour Schnapps."

The convenient mod went up less than 24 hours after Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 itself launched, but it's already accumulated more than 10,000 downloads and 35,000 views – figures I'd argue speak to the player base's desire for a quick save feature. It's not entirely an unexpected mod, either, as senior game designer Ondřej Bittner tells GamesRadar+ players new to the sequel might not know how to save in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

"It makes sense to sleep or eat or whatever," says Bittner. "But [then] people who play games are like, 'Oh, I can't just press F5 to quick save?'" Convenience is key, I suppose – and as a notorious save-scumming stan in other RPGs like Baldur's Gate 3, I'd personally feel lost without the ability to save whenever and wherever I'd like to myself. As is always the case on PC, however, modders seem to have all the bases covered.

Be sure to check out our guide to Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's best weapons if you're just getting started in new action RPG.

The gruelling medieval RPG launched just yesterday and players are already sweeping through all of its corners for secrets, loot, and hidden quests. So, it didn't take long for some Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 fans to find the skeletal remains of a warrior who died with a pot around their skull and two blades clutched in each hand - and, of course, no other items of clothing around their bones. Unmistakeably a Let Me Solo Her reference. See it below!

Is that "Let me solo her" from Elden Ring? from r/kingdomcome

The lore implications for this are pretty wild. Not only can the hero jump between multiple Elden Ring timelines to help the various warriors in the Lands Between, he can also jump into different universes. Unfortunately for him, despite besting Malenia thousands of times, travelling to 15th century Bohemia proved to be just a step too far. Fighting giant, mythical beasts is one thing - fighting pungent archers is another, though.

When GamesRadar+'s Austin Wood reached out to the streamer, he said the reference is "awesome," and "it's always amazing when people tell me they've found an Easter egg of me in another game."

The small reference isn't the only cool thing about the game, either. According to the devs, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 was made to feel like a spiritual successor to two funkier classics, Morrowind and Oblivion, because "instant gratification has become a problem" in more modern games. Our Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 review also says that it's "utterly absorbing."

Check out how to save in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and how to find the best Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 weapons to make the most of your romp through Bohemia.

How to set up Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 cheats

If you want to enable cheats in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, here's how you can go about it:

1. Make sure the game is closed, then go into Steam and right-click Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 in your library.
2. Choose "Properties" and then make sure you're in the "General" tab.
3. Go to the "Launch Options" section at the bottom and enter the following:

-devmode

4. Close the menu and launch Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 as normal.
5. When in the game, press the tilde key (~) to open console commands.

At this point, you just need to use the console commands laid out below to input various cheats and game-altering elements.

Console Commands list for Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

Below we've got all the console commands for Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 we know of so far, so you can trigger cheats for the game whenever you want.

• Save Mod
  • Save whenever you want without needing Saviour Schnapps: wh_sys_NoSavePotion = 1
• Gain Money
  • Add money to your inventory without having to use the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 money farm: wh_cheat_money (number)
• Gain Item
  • Add item to your inventory: wh_cheat_addItem (item ID)
• "One Shot Kill Mode"
  • You kill all enemies on the first strike, but they do the same to you: wh_rpg_OneShotKill = 1
• Get location coordinates
  • Be told the coordinates of where you're standing: wh_rpg_getLocation
• Teleport to coordinates
  • Appear at a specific location in the game: goto (coordinates)
• Remove Wanted Level
  • Stop all pursuit by law enforcement and guards: cheat_set_wanted_level=0
• Easier lockpicking
  • This increases the durability of lockpicks: wh_pl_LockPickingDOF = 50
  • And this one stops the lockpicks shaking: wh_pl_LockPickingShakeOverride = 0
• Steal Horse
  • Make a stolen horse you're sitting on into your own, proper horse: wh_horse_StealCurrentHorse

Of course, if you want to do these things legitimately, we've got a guide on how to get a horse in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, or you can check out how to brew your very own Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 healing potions and Marigold Decoctions.

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 item IDs

The wh_cheat_addItem (item ID) cheat command requires a specific item code to be entered in afterwards. There's hundreds of items in KCD2 and clearly not all of them are as equally helpful (not to mention that the community is still figuring them out) but we've put some of the key ones below.

• Essential Items:
  • Marigold Decoction: B38c34b7-6016-4f64-9ba2-65e1ce31d4a1
  • Saviour Schnapps: 928463d9-e21a-4f7c-b5d3-8378ed375cd1
  • Lockpick: 8d76f58e-a521-4205-a7e8-9ac077eee5f0
  • Smoked Sausage: 29a4f58e-6e00-4f9c-9273-1a76e0eccff0
  • Bandage: 9fa3000e-3807-48a8-bed8-81427f0bda55
• Repair Items
  • Armorer’s Kit: 167eb312-0e9d-4c2f-8ce3-56c32f5a84cb
  • Blacksmith’s Kit: C707733a-c0a7-4f02-b684-9392b0b15b83
  • Cobbler's Kit: 238538b5-cd3e-460e-8e85-52c820edb716
  • Tailor’s Kit: 9f7a0c0a-6458-4622-9cc5-2f4dd4898b50

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission

For the uninitiated, the second Monster Hunter Wilds beta starts at 7pm PT on Thursday, February 6 and runs until February 9 at 6:59 PT. If you miss that one, you'll have another chance to play ahead of launch the following weekend from February 13 to 16. And if somehow you manage to also miss that one, well, the game comes out on February 28. You can wait.

None of that is new, but what is new is the trailer you can watch below, which reveals the return of two fan-favorite monsters: the cute and cuddly Gore Magala from Monster Hunter 4 and the fun and friendly Nerscylla, also from Monster Hunter 4. Meanwhile, there's also a brand new, unannounced monster shown in the trailer. The snow-dwelling leviathan Hirabami can be found in the new Iceshard Cliffs locale, which is explored for the first time in the new trailer.

Capcom also revealed that Arkveld, the flagship monster of Monster Hunter Wilds, will be at the center of a new "advanced quest" available in the upcoming beta, giving players to fight it for the first time. Oh, and the beta will support online single-player, which should clean up some systems for people who don't wanna mess with stuff but may want backup via SOS flare.

The showcase also revealed customization options for your pop-up camp, a more feature-rich Hunter Profile replacing Guild Cards, and a training area for solo play.

I spent 5 hours with a new build of Monster Hunter Wilds and it solved basically every problem I had after playing the beta – now this really feels like Monster Hunter World 2.

All Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 maps revealed

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 has two maps, as the game is split into two areas that you'll gain access to at different points. The first is Trosky, a countryside area made of a network of small villages, and the second is Kuttenberg, named after the Capital in that area, but also including the settlements around it. We've also got a guide on how to get back to Trosky in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, so you know how to journey between the two areas freely.

Trosky Map

The Trosky map is shown above. You'll start the game in this area, going through a tutorial that takes you to a house between the Nomad's Camp and Zhelejov, and ending up in Troskowitz before you're given the chance to fully explore the zone.

Kuttenberg Map

The Kuttenberg region is one you'll access about halfway through the campaign of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 after you hit a certain story flag. It's a bigger, more dynamic region, with a huge city of the same name on its east side that's very good for those who engage a lot with traders and merchants (selling weapons and armor you take off bandits here is a great mid-to-late game Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 money farm).

There's also a lot of industrial elements here - quarries and large buildings under construction - as well as greater conflict and wealth, with figures of power battling each other. Kuttenberg as a region is more brutal than Trosky, but it's also where you have the opportunity to really get the best the game has to offer.

Want to know more about this huge, historical epic? We've got a guide on finding the best outcome to the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Battle of the Frogs and Mice quest chain, as well as a guide to finding the hidden Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Axe from the Lake.

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With that in mind, we'll explain how to get the best horse in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 below, but considering that's pretty far into the game, we'll also explain how to get free horses in the early stages prior to that, including the near-useless Pebbles and the rather smelly Herring.

Where to get horses in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

There are three ways to get horses in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, all of which we've outlined below.

• Progress through the main story to get certain horses for free.
• Buy a horse from a horse trader for a high price.
• Steal a horse and register it with a Horse Handler.

Each of these has its ups and downs, but getting a horse is definitely something you'll want to do at the earliest opportunity. The big reasons why are speed of travel and increased inventory, both of which vary depending on the horse you have.

Keep in mind that you cannot have more than one horse at a time. However you acquire the new one, it always gets rid of the old horse. This means you want to be assured that you're trading up and getting a steed with better stats.

Best horse in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

Of all the horses we've found, we'd say the best horse in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is Meadow, who is found in the Enemy Camp in the Kuttenberg region on the map marked above (if you haven't unlocked Kuttenberg yet, just keep playing the main story).

Meadow is actually a horse owned by the bandits in that camp, so if you can slay all of them, you can steal the horse and claim it in the method outlined further below. Alternatively, sneak past them in the middle of the night, leap onto Meadow's back, and ride away as fast as you can.

Meadow the Horse has the incredibly good stats shown above, including a superb carrying capacity that can be extended even further with the right saddle. There are horses with similar or individual stats that are better (Meadow's not the most courageous), but Meadow shows extremely high stats as a rule, and you don't even need to break the law to get them.

Getting a horse for free

Certain quests and locations in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 allow the player to obtain horses for free early on, though their stats aren't great. Here are their locations:

• Pebbles: By pursuing the blacksmith path for the Kingdom Come 2 Wedding Crashers quest, you can find Henry’s starting horse at a horse trader in Semine, who the bandits sold her to. Semine is southwest from the starting village of Troskowitz, and if you succeed on a dialogue check, you can convince the trader that you're the horse's legitimate owner. Pebbles is cute, though has the worst stats in the game.
• Herring: Continue the main story until you complete the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 For Whom the Bell Tolls quest, which will be anywhere from five to twenty hours in the story, depending on your progress. Afters you'll start a quest called Back in the Saddle, where you'll be given the option by an ally at Trosky Castle to trade your horse in for a new one called Herring. Herring also doesn't have great stats, but nonetheless is better than Pebbles. What horse isn't?

Where to buy horses and Horse Trader locations

If you're looking for an upgrade and to buy a better horse, you need to find a Horse Trader merchant (marked on the map with the image of a white horse's head). Here are four options for where to find them.

• Trosky Region
  • Semine Castle (Southwest of Troskowitz)
• Kuttenberg Region
  • Kuttenberg City (Just South from the Western Gate, within the city walls)
  • Grund (East from Devil's Den)
  • Horse farm West of Maleshov (Southernmost point of the map, down from Bylany)

When you go to a horse trader, do the following:

1. Go to each horse in the attached paddock and examine it with the Triangle/Y button.
2. Find one with the stats that meet your needs.
3. Go to the trader and tell them you want to buy a horse, then say the name of the horse you want.
4. At this point you'll be given a price, and the chance to haggle. This price also includes any money you get back from selling the horse you already own.
5. Close the deal to obtain the new horse and sell your old one.

Horses tend to be pretty darn expensive, so buying one will usually be a significant investment and not something that you do often. It's good to examine the stock of a Horse Trader when you first encounter them and commit any really good horses to memory. Then you can start saving up money to buy it later - if you need help with that, we've got a guide to the best possible Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 money farm here.

How to steal horses in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

To steal a horse in KCD2, you need to do the following:

1. Find a horse you want to steal by examining it.
2. Wait to steal it until a moment where you're not being watched (I suggest doing this after dark).
3. Press the mount button to steal it.
4. Ride it to a horse handler (or fast travel while mounted on it) and pay the fee to register it as your own.
5. This will remove your previous horse and make this the new one.

Horse theft is a serious crime, so you definitely want to do this without getting caught. I recommend stealing from a Horse Trader - they have the best stock, after all, and the large paddocks and fields mean that there's often large sections of the field that aren't being watched, especially at night.

Registering your horse with a handler isn't cheap, but it is certainly better priced then buying one. A horse worth 5k at the trader dropped to 2.1k when I took it to a handler, a massive discount. And if you can do it without being spotted, there are no consequences to deal with, either reputationally or legally.

There are two Horse Handlers that we know of, though there may be more in undiscovered regions of the map. They are marked with the same horsehead icon as the Traders.

• Trosky Region
  • Mikolai / Nomad's Camp (West of Bohzena's Home)
• Kuttenberg Region
  • Stoia / Unnamed lodgings.(West of Kuttenberg City and South of Old Kutna)

It seems as though if you can make it from the scene of the crime to the Handler without being caught by the law, you'll be in the clear. For example, I managed to steal a horse from Grund stables without being caught, then made it to Handler Stoia under cover of darkness and registered it immediately. At that point I could go back to Grund on my stolen horse, even take it to the Trader to get its coat cleaned, and nobody was any the wiser. On a technical level, once you register it, it IS yours.

Want to learn more fundamental mechanics and systems in KCD2? We can show you how to master the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 stealth kill here, or find out how to brew your own Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 healing potions!

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Alternatively, there are other ways to save progress, like sleep and mission checkpoints, but these aren't as reliable as on-demand schnapps saving. With that in mind, I've laid out the details of saving in Kingdom Come 2 below, as well as how to brew Saviour Schnapps at alchemy tables.

How to save the game in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

There are four ways to save your progress in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, all of which are laid out below.

• Drink a Saviour Schnapps potion.
  • These consumables immediately save the game at any point, allowing you to reload from then. Saviour Schnapps can be bought from certain apothecaries and some merchants, found on enemies, or brewed yourself at Alchemy Tables if you have the recipe. Higher strength Schnapps also grant temporary health and stat bonuses.
• Sleep in a bed.
  • Sleeping for any period of time creates a save point when you wake up. Ensuring you've got a bed for the night is one of the most important things to do first in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. It's good to have accessible beds scattered around the map for you to use, but you can always rent a room from an Inn, or even find abandoned camps with sleeping rolls for you to use.
• Reach a set mission checkpoint.
  • Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 has an autosave system that triggers at certain key moments - usually at the beginning and end of quests, as well as certain essential points in the middle of them (such as just before tough boss encounters or when entering a new area). These autosaves tend to be a little more liberal in the main story quests, but less so in side quests and tasks. You also get saves when you travel between different regions via caravans (if you don't know how to do that, we've got a guide on how to get back to previous regions in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2).
• Quit the game from the pause menu.
  • The "Save and Quit" option in the pause menu will allow you to save whenever you want, and you can technically reload that save at any point, which is a useful advantage that Deliverance doesn't highlight much. However, you can only have one exit save at a time. If you save and quit again, it deletes all other exit save files you've made.
• Use cheats. While this goes against the ethos of brutal medieval survival, PC players can use Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 cheats and console commands to save freely without potions.

How to get Saviour Schnapps in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

Saviour Schnapps in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 are one of the most important resources, and you can usually buy them from most merchants, though with limited stock. Troskowitz sells them, many herbalists will sell them, and you can find them as items on some enemies while looting.

Saviour Schnapps recipe location

The best way to get Saviour Schnapps is to craft your own at an alchemy table, which you can do infinitely (assuming you have the herbs). You'll need the recipe though, which is given to you automatically when you complete the early sequence with Bozhena and Pavlena, just before the opening credits. Read the recipe in your inventory, and you'll be able to craft it at Alchemy Tables for the rest of the game.

How to craft Saviour Schnapps at Alchemy Tables

To brew your own Saviour Schnapps via Alchemy, you'll need 1x Nettle and 2x Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Belladonna, and to bring them to an Alchemy Table (you can use dried versions too, though it's harder to make a good quality Schnapps). Once there, do the following:

1. Fill the cauldron with wine.
2. Crush 2 handfuls of Belladonna with the mortar and pestle and put it in the dish, not the cauldron.
3. Put 1 handful of Nettles directly into the cauldron.
4. Set the cauldron to boil for 2 turns of the hourglass, then take it off the heat.
5. Put the dish of ground-up Belladonna in the cauldron.
6. Boil it again for 1 turn of the hourglass, then take it back off the heat.
7. Take a phial from the left shelf and pour the potion directly into it.

As your Alchemy skill improves, you'll get more Saviour Schnapps per brewing process, as well as increasing the likelihood of creating better quality versions of the Schnapps.

You can get the process wrong to some degree (boiling for the incorrect amount of time or using the wrong ingredient quantities) and still potentially come away with some working version of the potion, though it might be inferior. Henry will usually comment on any errors made as you take the potion at the end.

Learning all the fundamentals of KCD2? We've got a full guide on how to play the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 dice minigame here, or check out all the outcomes to the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 bandits at Bozhena's house conundrum in the tutorial if you're not there yet!

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Still, the Brunswick armor is very good early game plate armor with a nice charisma bonus, so we'll lay out how to solve the riddle and where to find the first piece, as well as how to solve all the different treasure maps for all the different Brunswick armor locations, and even how to get the special weapons - a pretty dagger and a giant poleaxe.

If you're struggling with the riddle of the Lion's Crest pre-order mission and want to find all the Brunswick armor locations in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, here's where you need to look.

All Brunswick armor locations in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

There are five locations that players need to look to find all the Brunswick armor in the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Lion's Crest pre-order mission.

1. Chapel in the Rocks. Solve the starting riddle to find a shrine hidden in a rocky crevice, with Brunswick's Dagger, Gauntlets, and two treasure maps inside.
2. Wolf Hunting Spot. Lodged between two tall trees in this dangerous area is a sack that contains Brunswick's Chainmail Coif, Plate Leg Armor, Caparison, and the third treasure map.
3. Crosses in the Rocks. Several crosses on a cliffedge mark this location, the leftmost one of which has a chest with Brunswick's Plate Sleeves, some Saviour Schnapps, and the last treasure map.
4. Cross and Skeleton. This forested grave West-South-West of Tachov has a skeleton with a sack leaning against a tree, the sack holding Brunswick's Brigandine. The skeleton itself also has a valuable Knight's Sword.
5. Treasure Hunters' Camp. The stone cairn with a white cross has Brunswick's Bascinet (helmet) and a Shrinking Dice for the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 dice game. You will have to kill or sneak past the treasure hunters to get it though.

We'll go into all the specifics about each of these locations below and the treasure maps if you need more help, but we do recommend waiting until you have a horse and at least some basic gear before pursuing this questline - some of the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Gold Edition items might help you here if you have access to them.

The wolves and treasure hunters can be challenging for really low level players and, if nothing else, travelling the length and breadth of Trosky (the first region of the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Map) can be tough to do without some fast travel points and a decent steed. The treasure maps you gain later are also based on understanding certain landmarks and clearing the map itself.

You will also need a Shovel to complete this quest! You can buy them from merchants or steal them from cemeteries.

How to solve The Lion's Crest Riddle in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

The solution to the starting riddle in The Lion's Crest in KCD2 is the Chapel in the Rocks, which is in the forest North of Trosky Castle.

The actual riddle is a pretty tough one that's based on some in-game knowledge and some slightly elastic logic. "Take your leave of Crone and Maiden, standing tall behind the gates" is relatively easy - when you make it to Trosky Castle, you're told more than once that the two main towers are called Crone and Maiden, so you clearly start there (you'll here this over and over when you go through our Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 For Whom the Bell Tolls walkthrough).

Then it gets trickier: "Boldly go towards true midnight, in caverns cold your prize awaits" is a tough one because… midnight doesn't have a direction. In fact, this is a bit of oblique logic telling you to go North, (presumably because it's the direction of twelve o' clock) leaving through the North gate of Trosky Castle. Keep going until you hit the forest directly North; the "hall of forest kings" referring to a Stag hunting ground that gets marked on your map.

From there, pass into a canyon with a rock on either side of you and one directly in front, so the path forms a Y-shape. Circle around the rock ahead of you carefully until you're on the North side of it, and you'll find a small crevice with a shrine inside: the Chapel in the Rocks. Interact with it to open it up, the dig with the shovel to gain the following:

• Brunswick's Dagger
• Brunswick's Gauntlet
• Fine Wine
• Fragments from the Bible (Skill Book)
• 17 Groschen
• 2 Candles
• Brunswick's Map I
• Brunswick's Map II

You can use the Dagger to perform a Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Stealth kill on unaware enemies, and obviously the Gauntlet is the first piece of the armor set. With two maps, it's time to start hunting the rest of them.

Brunswick's Map 1 solution and armor location

No more riddles, the first treasure map for Brunswick's armor leads you to two trees at a Wolf Hunting Spot west of the Chapel in the Rocks, and North of Tachov, to the left side of the road that stretches down. The wolves here are pretty lethal for the unprepared, so you might want to refresh yourself on how to save in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 before you go up against them.

You'll have to kill or drive off the wolves here, but what you're looking for is a small sack between two very straight trees on the South side of the area, next to a small hole in the ground. Inside you'll find:

• Brunswick's chainmail coif
• Brunswick's plate leg armor
• Brunswick's caparison
• Beet
• Leek
• Turnip
• Brunswick's Map III

The caparison is used for decorating horses, but obviously if you don't own one yet it'll just clog your inventory. If you need help, we'll explain how to get a horse in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2.

Brunswick's Map 2 solution and armor location

The next treasure map marks Brunswick's armor near the crosses on the road, which are specifically just north of Vidlak Pond on the west side of the map. Head to the cliff just North of the settlement, scale it using the slopes on either side, then go to the South side to see three crosses on the edge.

The highest one on the left, accessible via a fallen tree, has a chest in front of it. Open that to find:

• Brunswick's Plate Sleeves
• Saviour Schnapps
• 3 Bandages
• Brunswick's Map IV

Brunswick's Map 3 solution and armor location

The next treasure map takes you South, near the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Battle of the Frogs and Mice - head to the Zhelejov Wagoners' Inn and go North along the road to the second right. Head along the river and then take the dirt path right into the forest.

Climb the hill on your left to go up to a small graveyard, with a sprawling tree and a skeleton leaning against it, marked on the map as "Cross and Skeleton". Grab the Knight's Sword in its hands, then open the sack next to it to get:

• Brunswick's Brigadine
• 30 Apples
• Fine Wine

Brunswick's Map 4 solution and armor location

The stone cairn shown on the final treasure map for the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 mission is in the forest East of the Nomads' Camp. Specifically, you need to find the Treasure Hunters' Camp Northeast of the Nomad's Camp - head down the path and then up the hill on your left.

The three treasure hunters will attack you if they spot you, but how you deal with it is your choice - you can fight back or sneak around them. What you need to find is the Cairn that matches the one on the map, on the northwest side of the camp. Interact with it to get:

• Brunswick's Bascinet
• Shrinking Die
• Worn Rosary

There's also numerous other treasures and items around the camp for you to get, so make sure to loot everything! You're also not that far from the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Axe from the Lake, so why not check out our guide on where to find this silvery weapon?

How to get Brunswick's Poleaxe and dagger

The two weapons of The Lion's Crest pre-order DLC, Brunswick's Dagger and Brunswick's Poleaxe, are comparatively easy to get. The dagger is found at the first location when you solve the riddle, and it's functionally identical to any other dagger that you use for Stealth Kills, it just looks prettier.

Brunswick's Poleaxe can't be found, you have to craft it yourself at any Smithy. The crafting recipe is given to you when you start the quest, from Scribe Gaibl, and will require the following:

• 1 Fastening Material
• 3 Iron
• 1 Frankfurt Steel

There's all manner of places you can get these, but they're all sold by the blacksmith at Trosky Castle. Crafting it will take a while, but at the end you'll have a pretty strong heavy weapon. Of course, if you're feeling more ambitious, we've also got the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 best weapons laid out here!

The Lion's Crest armor is powerful, but there's better to find - check out how to get the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 best armor and dominate the late-game here!

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How to heal in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

To heal yourself in KCD2, there are two main methods you can use:

• Drink a Marigold Decoction (healing potion) to gain health regeneration for 1 Minute. You can drink this via the inventory menu but you will need a belt and pouch to equip (and therefore use) consumables during combat.
• Sleep in a bed to restore a certain amount of health dependent on how long you sleep. Drinking a Chamomile Brew potion speeds up this process. This is also one of the ways to save in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2.

There are other ways that health can be restored. Certain abilities and perks can provide passive restoration, and certain foods can provide very small health regeneration when eaten, but those above are the main ones - Decoctions for emergencies, and bed rest for full restoration. Additionally, if you're bleeding, which causes your health to drain over time, you'll need to use bandages to remove the effect and keep your blood on the inside.

Keep in mind that healing in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is supposed to be challenging on some level, something that's hard to immediately undo without preparation. That doesn't mean it's impossible, but as a rule it's smarter to avoid being hurt in the first place rather than trying to heal.

How you avoid damage is up to you though. It might mean equipping yourself with heavy armor for combat, drinking an Aqua Vitalis potion for health reduction, fighting at range, using Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 stealth kills to take down foes, or succeeding on speech checks to avoid combat altogether. If you're in trouble you can always try to run away, shout that you surrender to negotiate a peaceful ending (though if you've killed several already it might not work), or even reload an older save if you've been using Saviour Schnapps liberally - look out for Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Belladonna if you want to brew your own Saviour Schnapps.

How to get healing potions and Marigold Decoctions

Marigold Decoctions, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2's equivalent of healing potions, are generally sold by all apothecaries, herbalists and some traders, as they are fairly common stock (there's an Apothecary in the starting town of Troskowitz if you need a point of reference for where to buy them). You can also occasionally find them as loot on enemies, but this is rare enough that you shouldn't depend on it as a method.

The best way to get Marigold Decoctions is by brewing your own on an Alchemy Table, as it's free and the ingredients are easy to find though you need this requires first. If you're really desperate, you can always turn to Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 cheats.

Marigold Decoction recipe location

Player can find a recipe for the Marigold Decoction potion early in the game by going to Troskowitz and speaking to Apothecary Emmerich on the South side of town. He sells you a recipe for the Marigold Decoction for around 150 Groschen, though you can get it cheaper by improving your reputation and haggling. It’s a big investment early on, but one that's definitely worth it, as once you use the recipe in your inventory, you'll be able to make Marigold Decoctions at any Alchemy Table with the ingredients.

Brewing a Marigold Decoction specifically requires the following:

• 1x Nettle
• 2x Marigold

Both of these are almost guaranteed to be sold at any of the same shops that sell potions, but you can also find them in the following terrains:

• Nettles (Green, with pointed leaves): Next to water, at the edges of woods, and in the furrows of fields.
• Marigold (Small, with yellow flowers): Rubble piles, dung and pastures.

How to use Marigold Decoctions in combat

You can't drink a potion or consumable of any kind from your inventory during combat unless you have a belt and a pouch, which can be bought at Tailors and certain other merchants. These are separate pieces of equipment - a belt to wear, and a pouch to equip off that. The better the pouch, the more consumable slots you'll have access to during combat. Equip what consumables and potions you want, then during combat you can pick that consumable with the right D-Pad. Incidentally, this is also how you can have more Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 weapons equipped at once!

Remember that a Marigold Decoction is not an instant heal - it's a passive regeneration over the next minute, with how much health you restore depending on the quality of the potion.

Want to know more about KCD2? Find out all the hidden Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Brunswick armor locations as part of The Lion's Crest here, or find out which is the best Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 playstyle to choose here!

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The best money farm in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

The best way to farm money in KCD2 - especially if you're early in the game - is to find a tavern with a dice table, spend a small amount to sleep in the bed and save, and then bet everything you have at dice.

This means that any money you wager is effectively insured - if you lose the game, you reload the save and immediately try again. If you win, you sleep for another hour to save once more, then go back to the dice table. It's highly recommended that you use this gambling method to build up your cash before you make the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Wedding Crashers blacksmith or miller choice and attend the wedding as you need to pay for an outfit!

Different dice players will wager different amounts, so it's a good rule of thumb to shop around, but it's a scheme that works in almost any settlement; there's no village or town where you can't find at least one possible bed and one gambler. Generally though, look for areas with more wealth - a nobleman or merchant, or even a professional gambler, will bet more than a farmer or a miner.

How to make money in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

Beyond that money farm, there are some good bits of advice that players should keep in mind when playing generally to help make sure they earn Groschen in KCD2.

• Load up your horse. As an extension of your inventory, your horse can hold a lot of gear you can then take back and sell wherever. Putting unneeded - but valuable - loot on your horse's back should be second nature to you before long.
• Loot enemies and sell armor. Armor in particular is generally worth a lot, but anything can be taken and sold. Equipment becomes especially more valuable once you hit the second region, and there's a string of merchants in Kuttenberg City who will all buy them off you.
• Find a Fence. These special merchants will take any stolen gear without question, so those who are getting the most out of the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 stealth system can profit off them. There's one in the Nomads' Camp in the Southwest of the Trosky region, West of Bozhena's house.
• Always haggle, and build your reputation. Haggling successfully helps you buy for lower prices and sell for more. It also builds your reputation with merchants which will make future haggling even easier. Even a couple of Groschen saved or gained is better than nothing.
• Sell to the right merchants. Merchants will offer you a better price if you're dealing in their stock. A smith will buy weapons and armor for more, and an Apothecary will buy potions at a better price - they know what it's worth, after all.
• Craft what you can. A recipe isn't always cheap, but it's still worth checking to see what you have and what everything costs. In the long run, if you tend to use a lot of potions, it's better to buy the recipe and ingredients to make your own. Or, if you've found a recipe along your journey, that'll save you even more money. Brewing your own Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 healing potions and Marigold Decoctions should be something you do every so often, rather than buying them outright.
• Use cheats. If you're not above financial gains via console commands you can use Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 cheats to simply give yourself groschen.

For more info on KCD2, why not check out our Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 For Whom the Bell Tolls walkthrough, so you can find your way through one of the game's toughest quests? Or discover all the different Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Brunswick armor locations in The Lion's Crest for those who got the pre-order bonus quest!

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Where to collect your Kingdom Come 2 Gold Edition Gallant Huntsman's Kit gear

You can't get the Gallant Huntsman's Kit gear from the Kingdom Come 2 Gold Edition until you've spent an hour or so completing the opening of the game, but then it can be one of the first things to do in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. Once Henry is in Troskowitz and free to start exploring, you'll want to head north-northwest to the small village of Tachov. However, if you also pre-ordered the game, you can start the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Brunswick armor quest by speaking to scribe Gaibl before you leave Troskowitz.

Once in Tachov, speak to Radovan the blacksmith, who you'll find opposite the inn and near the south entrance of the town. Agree to forge a hunting sword as to begin the side quest "The Blacksmith's Son".

Complete this short quest and Radovan will permanently offer a bed in the chamber by the woodshed to sleep in which also had a chest where you'll find your Gold Edition gear. The room is to the left of the front door of Radovan's house, and you'll find the chest behind the door on the right. Many rooms, particularly ones in inns that you pay to stay in have one of these supply chests and the contents transfer between each one, so this isn't the only place you can store or take this gear from.

Here are all the items you'll find in the chest as part of the Gallant Huntsman's Kit and the Shields of Seasons Passing:

• St. Hubert's hat
• Master Huntsman's hood
• Nimrod's coat
• Master Huntsman's gloves
• Master Huntsman's hose
• Master Huntsman's boots
• Artemis' crossbow
• Hunting bolt
• Shield of Spring
• Shield of Summer
• Heater Shield – Autumn
• Shield of Winter

All the armor above has good charisma stats which will help you during conversations and if you chose the adviser Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 playstyle. While you're in Tachov, you can also see about completing the Mice side quest, which eventually leads into the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Battle of the Frogs and Mice quest, and you can begin the hunt for the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Silver Axe.

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It doesn't help that KCD2 really throws you in at the deep end, as you're left wandering around the Trosky region without even any respectable clothes, let alone a good weapon or any real money. If you want to know what to do first in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, we've got a separate guide covering some key activities to pursue, whereas our sage advice here is focused on general gameplay and survival. Having collectively spent several weeks in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, we've come out the other side with all sorts of tips and tricks to help you get a foothold in Bohemia and help Henry with his latest quest.

1. Buy the Marigold Decoction Recipe at the earliest opportunity

The Apothecary in the starting town of Troskowitz sells you all sorts of helpful items, but most helpful is a recipe to make Marigold Decoctions - aka, healing potions. It's expensive at 150 Groschen, but it should still be an early priority, especially as the actual ingredients to make Marigold Decoctions are very cheap and easy to find. Buying it might seem optional, but this recipe really is essential, and you'll be happier for having it. For more info on this process, we've got a dedicated guide on making your own Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 healing potions and Marigold Decoctions.

2. Build a Fast Travel network and use it mostly by day

Each major settlement you reach is a place you can fast travel to, marked on your map by a blue icon with a wheel (if you reach a settlement and it doesn't come up, try exploring around a bit). Having a big network of points to fast travel to makes the game a lot cleaner as an experience, so roaming around between quests to find new areas is another investment that will pay off later.

Secondly, it's safer to use that network by day. When you fast travel there's always a chance of a random encounter, good or bad, but attacks by bandits tend to be more common during nighttime. That still doesn't mean you're safe in daylight hours, but your odds of not being accosted are better.

3. Beds are essential, just make sure they're yours!

Sleeping in a bed heals you and gives you rest, as well as being one of the methods of how to save in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, but sleeping in somebody else's bed risks a confrontation with the law. Certain quests will provide you with free beds (such as helping the Blacksmith in Tachov), but you can also go to Taverns and Lodgings and pay for places to stay. A small payment will let you stay for a night, but a bigger one will gain you permanent room, which can help a lot.

There's also a difference between rooms. Go to a tavern and ask for a place to stay, and all they might have is a bale of hay in the barn. Go to a proper inn, and you'll get a bed that provides a better night's rest, as well as access to a chest that serves as a player stash to put spare inventory, as well as food. Of course, the hay bale is likely to be cheaper, and if you're really desperate, you can find abandoned camps in the wilderness, or clear hideouts of bandits so you can use it for yourself.

4. Always haggle, even if it's for pennies

Haggling is a minigame that you can do with every trade you make, from equipment to horses to beds and more besides. Now, if you haggle poorly, you'll upset the merchant and must pay full price, as well making further haggling attempts difficult. Over time you'll learn the sweet spot for this minigame, but ultimately you should always haggle, even if you ask for very little in terms of a discount. Importantly, you can also haggle when selling to get more groschen out of your own stock!

Successful haggles grant you positive reputation, increase your Speech skill, and over time all that saved money will really start to add up. One good idea is to occasionally haggle the wrong way - offer to pay a little extra to make the merchant love you, then come back and haggle for a really expensive item to get a serious profit.

5. Build three loadouts to match the game's playstyles

In your inventory you can have three loadouts that you swap between. You can make these whatever you want, but we recommend building them around the big three Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Playstyles: open combat, stealth and dialogue. You can't swap loadouts during combat or dialogue, so make sure you know what's coming and what you want to be ready for. As you progress through the game, you might even find equipment that pulls double-duty (such as plate armor that grants a hefty charisma boost), and works in both loadouts, though you're unlikely to find a build that works for all three.

6. The Masterstrike is a game-changer attack

One of the early abilities you can learn is the Masterstrike, taught to you by a travelling swordsman called Tomcat. You can find him at the Nomad's Camp west of Bozhena's house, and after meeting a few criteria, he'll teach you the Masterstrike, a special counter-attack. It can only be done with swords, but it's incredibly powerful and fairly easy to pull off, deflecting an opponent's strike and hitting them with a follow-up attack that often leaves them vulnerable to even more follow-up attacks. If you're focusing on swordplay, this skill should be an early priority. Frankly, we think that most of the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 best weapons are longswords, and their ability to use the Masterstrike is part of the reason why.

7. In combat, try to keep opponents in a line

Fighting is a lot harder when there's more than one enemy to deal with, so your best option in fights with several people is to try and control them - so you only have one at a time to deal with. Back away so they fall into a line to follow you, have Mutt attack one of them to keep him distracted, and stay agile - if you get surrounded, you're probably going to die.

8. Potions don't just heal and cure you, they can make certain challenges easier

There are plenty of skills that you'll be terrible at early on, like Speech, Blacksmithing and the Thievery minigames. The only way you develop these talents is with practice (or by reading special skill books), but there are also special consumables you can find and brew yourself like Quickfinger and Perfume, which provide temporary buffs to certain stats. If you're coming up against a challenge you really want to beat - a lock you want to pick or an NPC you want to win over - having these in your pocket can help get you over the edge.

9. There's a stash of money near the start of the game you should grab ASAP

Northeast from the starting town of Troskowitz you'll find Trosky Castle. You'll come here later as part of the main story, but if you head to the Quarry just outside the castle walls, you can find a stash of 549 Groschen. It's an easy win and a significant cash sum early on that can do a lot to smooth out your early hours. Of course, if you're looking for more ways to get cash rich, we've got a guide on the best possible Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 money farm.

10. Find a horse trader, and rob them blind

Wondering how to get a horse in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2? You can get a free horse - and even two - when playing the main quest from generous NPCs, but if you want one with better stats you'll have to take a different route. You can buy them from Horse Traders, but we suggest instead finding a Horse Handler, (it's different), then stealing one of the Traders' horses under cover of night so you're not caught doing so. Immediately head to the Handler with your stolen horse, and you can register it as yours for a fraction of the buying price.

11. You can farm Strength by being overencumbered

If you want your Strength to go up, pick up everything you can find, and then walk across the map. Seriously! It's boring, but it works and it's easy. Being overencumbered slowly grants you Strength experience, so long walks with a backpack full of armor are a low-risk way to improve your muscle mass and do more damage with melee weapons as a result (as well as increasing your max equip load so that it's harder to be overencumbered).

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Still, it's worth picking it wisely, as while there's no choice here that will lock off your options, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is pretty ruthless in the early game and every advantage is essential. With that in mind, we'll explain the best playstyle for you to choose below, ranking the three options and explaining what you get out of each of them.

Best playstyle in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 to choose

Henry is given three playstyles in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 to choose from early on, when answering about his duties to von Bergow's men. The three playstyle choices are as follows:

• Soldier (Strength and melee combat focus)
• Adviser (Charisma and dialogue/knowledge focus)
• Scout (Agility, stealth and ranged combat focus)

Each one will give you a scattering of extra experience in some associated skills, but again - there's nothing you can't learn later. Skills in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 are simply learned through doing those actions, so if you pick Soldier but wish you were better at sneaking, just try doing stealth for a while and you'll keep gaining experience in those skills. Remember to spend skill points on perks via the ‘Player’ menu to improve Henry’s abilities even more.

Of the three, I'd say that Adviser is the best option, followed closely by Soldier. My logic is that with any level of skill in combat can still win fights, it's just a bit harder, but dialogue checks are ultimately pass/fail and you can't redo them without reloading a save, not to mention that early on it's good to be able to talk your way around danger and haggle lower prices until you're better set up to deal with the world.

Still, Soldier is a second choice because while stealth can be very effective, there are a lot of encounters - especially high difficulty ones - where sneaking simply isn't an option, and it's better to have mastered any of the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 best weapons. That's not to say that there aren't plenty of chances to sneak, especially if you want to burgle a lot, but Kingdom Come likes to put you into direct confrontations where stealth isn't an option fairly frequently.

After choosing your playstyle and finishing the introduction, you'll want to know What to do first in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. If you got the pre-order quest "The Lion's Crest" too, it's worth setting out to find all the different Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Brunswick armor locations as soon as possible.

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Where to find dice tables in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

You'll find a dice table around any tavern in the game so they're always a good place to look. When you start the game properly there are easily accessible dice tables in Troskowitz, Tachov, Semine, and Zhelejov Wagoners' Inn. Dice tables are also marked on your map with a dice icon and when you're near one, you'll see the same icon on your compass.

Approach the table and talk to your opponent to get started, first by choosing whether you want to play with or without a badge and then how much groschen you want to wager. Badges are special tokens that grant the player using them a special ability to help them win. Dice with badges allows higher bets but is inherently less predictable and not all opponents are willing to play with badges. After that, you can swap in any loaded dice and get playing.

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 dice rules and tips

Dice in Kingdom Come 2 is a simple risk/reward game where you and your opponent take turns rolling several dice at once to try and create poker-style hands worth varying amounts of points. This back-and-forth dice rolling continues until one player reaches or exceeds the score limit, winning all the money wagered at the start of the game – this is why playing dice with a bit of save scrubbing can be one of the best ways to make money in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2.

Your turns always start by rolling all six dice and seeing what the highest number of points you can score is. If possible, you can score multiple combinations per roll too – for example, if you rolled 1,2,4,4,4, and 5, you could score the 1 for 100 points, three 4s for 400 points, and the five for 50 points to get 550 points. I've covered all the possible point combinations further below, but you can also quickly reference them by pressing the 'Help' button while playing.

Once you've selected the dice you want to hold using the cursor and pressing X/A (you must select at least one die to hold for every roll), you can continue and roll any remaining dice again to try and earn more points, or you can score and pass to your opponent, banking your points and letting the other player roll until they pass play back to you. If you roll your dice and can't score anything, you go bust and lose all your unbanked points from your current turn.

Those are the basic rules for dice in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 but there are some tips you should be aware of to maximize your luck and hopefully win plenty of groschen (and be sure to check out the rest of our Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 tips):

• Only play dice just after you've saved. Knowing how to save in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is critical as you can use it to reload a checkpoint and avoid a lot of pain and groschen. Sleep or chug some Saviour Schnapps, which you need Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 belladonna to brew, and then hit the dice tables, ready to reload if you lose.
• If your first roll has nothing good, get rid of only one dice. Rolling five dice still gives you a chance of getting a big score, either through a four or five of a kind or by getting a straight flush. If you happen to get multiple 1s or 5s on your first roll, you're probably better off choosing to hold only one of them to ensure you still have a chance of scoring big on your next roll.
• Don't push your luck, especially when you're down to only three dice. The odds of you scoring a lot of points are drastically lower with only three dice, and the chances of you going bust are quite high and get much worse with just one or two dice. It's best to pass and bank your points if you score well early on.
• Successfully scoring all six of your dice lets you keep going. If you run out of dice without going bust, it seems like you have no option other than to pass but you can continue your turn and roll all six dice again, potentially accruing a massive score in one turn but also risking losing it all.
• Use loaded dice to tip the odds in your favor. Before a match starts, you can choose to replace the basic dice with any special dice you've collected on your quests or have bought from NPCs. Always look for loaded dice for sale when trading.
• Buy badges or win badges to help you win higher stakes games. As mentioned, playing against opponents who are willing to use badges will also be willing to wager more money, so getting badges is important if you're looking to make more money. Many vendors sell the odd badge but after making your Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Wedding Crashers blacksmith or miller choice and reaching the wedding, there's a dice tournament you can participate in to get several badges quite easily.

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 dice scoring combinations

As mentioned, the scoring in Kingdom Come 2 dice uses a system similar to poker hands where different combinations of dice results are worth different points. Winning relies on you picking out the best possible groupings for maximum points, so make sure you're familiar with every dice combination:

• 1 – 100 points
• 5 – 50 points
• 1,2,3,4,5 – 500 points
• 2,3,4,5,6 – 750 points
• 1,2,3,4,5,6 – 1,500 points
• 1,1,1 – 1,000 points
• 1,1,1,1 – 2,000 points
• 1,1,1,1,1 – 4,000 points
• 1,1,1,1,1,1 – 8,000 points (this is the best possible roll)
• 2,2,2 – 200 points
• 2,2,2,2 – 400 points
• 2,2,2,2,2 – 800 points
• 2,2,2,2,2,2 – 1,600 points
• 3,3,3 – 300 points
• 3,3,3,3 – 600 points
• 3,3,3,3,3 – 1,200 points
• 3,3,3,3,3,3 – 2,400 points
• 4,4,4 – 400 points
• 4,4,4,4 – 800 points
• 4,4,4,4,4 – 1600 points
• 4,4,4,4,4,4 – 3200 points
• 5,5,5 – 500 points
• 5,5,5,5 – 1,000 points
• 5,5,5,5,5 – 2,000 points
• 5,5,5,5,5,5 – 4,000 points
• 6,6,6 – 600 points
• 6,6,6,6 – 1,200 points
• 6,6,6,6,6 – 2,400 points
• 6,6,6,6,6,6 – 4,800 points

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How long to beat Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

Depending on how much of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 you expect to go through, here's the time to beat and general length of the game in hours.

• Main Story / Critical Path: 40-50 hours
• Standard Playthrough (Main Story + Some Side Content): 50-70 hours
• 100% Completion / Full Playthrough: 90-110 Hours

Obviously there are a lot of variables here, but beyond how much side content you want to do, what makes it difficult to judge is the high challenge of the game and how easy people find it. If you're not sure what to do first in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 you should try to set yourself up with side quests and semi-optional content to prepare yourself for the challenges of the main plot, the first being the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Wedding Crashers blacksmith or miller choice The degree to which you do so will be dependent on your skill level, your patience, and your enjoyment of that optional content. Not to mention that the ruthless Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 save system means that it's possible to get killed and lose hours of progress.

But whether you're doing a lean playthrough that's just really the main story or trying to go for a full completionist run, you can expect at least 40 hours, and that's a pretty conservative estimate. Most players will take at least 50 hours and probably closer to 70. Meanwhile, those going for a completionist experience, trying to do all the side content across the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 map, will probably go over 100 hours unless they're incredibly skilled and focused in their efforts.

Want to know more about KCD2? We've got a huge range of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 tips here to help you start off the game, or find out where to get a hidden weapon and locate the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Axe from the Lake here

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Below, we'll explain how to stealth kill enemies in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, as well as how stealth and backstabs work generally, as well as where you can get a dagger for the silent kills.

The Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 stealth kill system explained

You can do a stealth kill in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 by finding and equipping a Dagger. Once you have a dagger, you need to equip it in your inventory like a weapon, but you can't actually hold it in your hand like a normal sword or bow. Don't worry - once it's equipped, you'll get an extra prompt when you're standing behind an enemy and unseen to perform a stealth kill by holding down L2/LT.

You can do something similar without a dagger called a Chokehold, simply by tapping the L2/RT button. Either way, you then have a timed reaction: press R2/RT when the blue sword icon comes up to complete the kill/chokehold.

There's a chance it'll fail anyway - this is a percentage based on your skills - at which point the enemy will try to elbow you and get free. When this happens, press L2/LT to counter their blow. If you time it just right (it is a very small window), you'll manage to overpower them and complete the stealth kill/chokehold. At this point, you can drop or carry the body away. if you picked the Scout when choosing your Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Playstyle early on, you'll have an immediate stat bonus to stealth and thievery.

Should you knock out or kill people?

The advantages of a knockout over a kill are mixed - obviously if you're committing a crime, stabbing a guard to death will impose much more severe consequences over just knocking him out, and killing anybody will incur massive reputation penalties with that faction if your crime is detected and pinned on you.

On the other hand, knocking a foe out means that they will eventually come back around. This takes some time in-game, but if another enemy finds them, they can be awoken immediately. Choose which you do accordingly with that information: a bloody kill is easier now, but might punish you more later. If you choke somebody out and change your mind, you can hold R2/RT over their body to "Slaughter" (stab them with your sword).

How to get a Dagger in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

Daggers in KCD2 are sold by most Blacksmiths and many merchants - they're not hard to find and usually not very expensive. There's also no difference between different daggers - one knife is the same as another. Try checking the smiths' in Tachov or Trosky Castle if you're early in the game.

There's also one special dagger you can get in The Lion's Crest pre-order quest, "Brunswick's Dagger". It doesn't do anything different, but it has a different skin, and you get it for free for finding the first treasure cache. If you want help with that, we've got all the different Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Brunswick armor locations here!

If you're learning the ropes of KCD2, there's plenty more to get to grips with! Find out our pick of the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 best weapons here, or discover where to get Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 healing potions and Marigold Decoctions!

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With time on the line, we'll show a guaranteed method to complete the For Whom the Bell Tolls quest, how to save Hans Capon and even Captain Thomas, a special character who can significantly help you with this quest. If you're struggling with one of the most nuanced missions in KCD2, we'll lay out what you need to do and where to go.

Full walkthrough For Whom the Bell Tolls in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

The Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 quest For Whom the Bell Tolls has multiple ways and options to complete it, but we've laid out what is probably the easiest and most straightforward below.

The objective here is to cure Captain Thomas of his fever, so he can verify Hans' identity and save him. Captain Thomas is at the very top of the Maiden Tower, but what you need to cure him is in the Crone. Of the three Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Playstyles, it's dialogue and stealth that'll really help you progress here, as well as some puzzle-solving lateral thinking.

How to save Sir Hans from execution and cure Thomas

1. Haul 3 sacks to the Charcoal Shed as instructed. This is easy work with no challenge, just do as you're told for now.
2. Speak to the Blacksmith and make a horseshoe as instructed. This new job gives you access to the inner courtyard where the Smithy is situated.
3. Go to the Smithy and loot the red pot on the shelf to steal some lockpicks. Helping the woman with the stuck door will eventually tell you that those picks are there, but you don't need to do that now!

4. Go to the kitchens of the Maiden and speak with Chamberlain Ulrich. He's complaining of stomach pains. Pick the dialogue option you're best at (Knowledge, Speech, or Survival) to diagnose him. He'll tell you to brew a potion in the Crone tower study, and grant you access to that tower so you can.
5. Go to the Crone Tower and ascend the stairs to the Alchemy room. You'll find a familiar face in here called Katherine. Talk to her for a bit until she leaves.

6. Pick up the "Physician's Journal" book on the shelf to your left and read it to learn about Fever Tonic. This is made from Feverfew, Ginger and Elderberry Leaves. You can find these individually around the castle in the locations mentioned in the book, but there's an easier way.
7. In the same room, lockpick the Very Easy chest next to the alchemy table. This will have all the ingredients you need to make the Fever Tonic.
8. Brew the Fever Tonic at the Alchemy Table according to the recipe. It's a simple recipe, but make sure you don't screw it up - otherwise you'll have to go and source new ingredients from those locations mentioned in the book. You can also make some Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 healing potions and Marigold Decoctions here, or any other potions you have the recipes for. They're not essential to this quest, but it's always good to have them.
9. Head to the Maiden Tower. You'll have some access to the lower levels, but not the higher ones, which means you'll need to start sneaking.

10. Sneak up the Maiden Tower to its highest level. Use thrown stones to distract guards and play cautiously. Take every staircase going upwards that you can find, even when you enter the scaffold and rafters of the building. Even if you have a dagger, don't do the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 stealth kill if you can avoid it - you'll need to befriend these people later!
11. Cure Captain Thomas. Speak to Adela at the top of the tower and give her the Fever Tonic to end the mission!

There's all sorts of other ways around this quest, with different ways to get in, different characters you can appeal to, and more besides. For example, if you fall down the well near Kabat and resign yourself to breaking both legs, there's a cave at the bottom that lets you sneak into the Maiden tower. Still, this method works, is relatively simple, and aside from the challenge of sneaking up the Maiden tower shouldn't prove too difficult. Still, we recommend using the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 save system fairly frequently, so you don't have to redo the whole thing if you screw it up.

The important thing to remember is that you are on the clock and being timed! Every time the tower bell rings, an in-game hour has passed. If twelve hours pass, Hans will be executed.

Once you're free and back in the world, it's time to spread your wings! We can show you what you need to do to get the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 best weapons, or find out where to get all the Brunswick armor in our Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Lion's Crest walkthrough!

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How to go to old regions in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

To go between regions in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and return to old and previous areas from the story, you need to find a Caravan, marked on the map with an icon of a red wagon. Once you reach this area, find the Coachman, an NPC with a green shirt and red hat.

Speak to the Coachman and ask for passage to the area of your choice. This will cost you 200 Groschen, and there doesn't appear to be any way to haggle it down. Keep in mind that you have to pay this every time you travel - so if you want to go back to Trosky to complete a quest before returning to Kuttenberg, you'll have to pay 400 Groschen (and do this every time you travel). If you're having trouble with that, we've got a Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 money farm guide for you.

Keep in mind that you also can't travel until you reach a point in the plot where you unlock the area. You can't use a caravan to go to Kuttenberg until you've reached the point in the story where it naturally takes you there.

Caravan locations in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

To find a Caravan, there are two major ones we know of so far, one in the two regions:

• Trosky Region: In the open fields and farmland at the edge of the map, Southeast of Troskowitz
• Kuttenberg Region: On the road West from Suchdol castle.

Don't worry, the caravans don't move around when you're not there. These locations serve as the equivalent of train stations for you to access this long-distance travel, so just grab your Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 horse and ride on over when you're ready to go to a new area of the map.

In short, you can travel between old areas and regions in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 by finding the red caravans and paying the Coachmen 200 Groschen each time.

Want more details on how to play KCD2? Find out all the best Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 tips here, or if you're headed back to Trosky to clean up side quests, find out the best ending to the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Battle of the Frogs and Mice questline here!

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We'll lay them out below and what you need to do to get through one of the earlier choices in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, and what the best strategy is. Keep in mind of all the three main routes to handle them - stealth, dialogue or combat - you'll have a personal advantage depending on which of the three Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Playstyles you chose at the beginning of the game.

The Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 bandits at Bozhena's house explained and how to get rid of them

After coming back from collecting herbs for Bozhena in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2's early quest Fortuna, you'll see the two bandits outside Bozhena's house asking about you and Hans Capon in the house. There are three ways for you to handle them:

• Dialogue and lying about who you are
• Combat and using the Work Axe to attack them
• Waiting for them to finish talking and then try to stealth kill them

Ultimately, the best option depends on whether you want their equipment or not. None of it is hugely valuable, with the slight exception of the Tin Badge of Headstart that Kozliek is holding, something that will allow you to gain a small advantage when playing the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 dice minigame.

However, it goes without saying that going into combat or even attempting a Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 stealth kill risks a fight where you might get cut down or badly hurt. I'd say it's worth the risk if you're confident about your fighting skill. The gear isn't very good, but it's so early on in the game that you should get whatever you can - every bit of gear and clothing has some value, even if it's just to sell later on.

Dialogue and peaceful options

You can get rid of the bandits with dialogue and non-violence by stepping out into the open and talking to them, where you'll have two dialogue options.

1. We're messengers and we were ambushed.
2. You don't look like von Bergow's men.

Pick the second one! These are men here to hunt you, so telling them your identity will immediately aggro them.

After that, you have several more options for dialogue.

1. We're messengers and we were ambushed. (Aggro)
2. You're looking in the wrong place. (Lie) (Coercion check)
3. Clear off! (Intimidation check)
4. We sent them away. (Lie) (Survival).

Picking the first one will just get them to attack you. Beyond that, all three options can get rid of them, but you have to pass the check. The best thing you can do is pick whichever one you have the highest number for at the top for the best chance. Keep in mind that if you equip the axe so it's visibly on you, you'll have a better intimidation score.

Pass any of the three checks, and you'll send the bandits away. You won't get any of their gear, but you won't get hurt either. However, screw it up, and they'll both attack you.

In summary, fighting the bandits outside Bozhena's house will get you some basic loot, but at this point in the game basic loot is still worth something. Alternatively, passing a dialogue check will get rid of them without any combat, assuming you don't tell them the truth about who you are.

Want to know more about KCD2? Check out how to get a horse in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 so you can mount up ASAP, or find out how to get a powerful weapon early on with our guide to the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Axe from the Lake.

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Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Battle of the Frogs and Mice best ending

If you've started the Battle of the Frogs and Mice side quest in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 by speaking to either Innkeeper Prochek in Tachov or Old Olbram in Zhelejov, you can get the best outcome for this quest by asking them if they wouldn't rather make up – don't agree to meet the villagers in the pasture that they both lay claim to just yet!

Doing this leads you to Bailiff Thrush in Troskowitz where you can dig deeper into the dispute between the two villages. However, before you go any further, I highly recommend completing both the "Mice" and "Frogs" side quests if you haven't already – doing both isn't essential to getting the best outcome, but going too far with Battle of the Frogs and Mice will lock you out of whichever quest you didn't do, therefore missing out on some groschen.

Otherwise, here's what you need to do to complete the Battle of the Frogs and Mice side quest in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 with the best ending:

1. Talk to Bailiff Thrush in Troskowitz about the feud and say, "Von Bergow would reward you", when prompted. This leads to him telling you about a nonsensical chronicle written by a previous Bailiff that you need to decipher.

2. Head into the Rathaus where you can find Scribe Gaibl during the day (he tells you about the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Brunswick armor) and read the large book on the plinth to the right of Gaibl.

3. Flip all the way to the last page where you'll find a Latin phrase in red: "Fecit ordinem in regione ope clavi ferrei".
4. Ask Gaibl about the Latin phrase. His translation suggests there's an iron nail that marks the border between Tachov and Zhelejov in the disputed pasture.
5. Follow your map to the highlighted field between the two villages and look for the tall tree almost right in the middle of the highlighted area on the map, next to the main path.
6. Examine the old nail sticking out the tree's trunk and then return to Troskowitz and tell Thrush that you found it.

7. Examine the old nail sticking out the tree's trunk and then return to Troskowitz and tell Thrush that you found it.
8. Go to back to whoever started the Battle of the Frogs and Mice for you (either Prochek or Olbram) and tell them that you're ready to meet the other village in the pasture. You'll then automatically fast travel to the pasture, tell the villagers about the nail dividing the pasture with Thrush's help, and then everyone will disperse.
9. Talk to Thrush about the dispute being settled and then say, "happy to help". This leads to him giving you the Master's Studies 1 book, to which you should say, "thank you". Asking about groschen as a reward and saying that a book is better than nothing leads to you losing reputation with Thrush so it's best to avoid these dialogue options.

And with that, you've resolved the Battle of the Frogs and Mice in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, getting you an achievement/trophy for your diplomatic efforts as well as the book. While Master's Studies 1 doesn’t seem like a thrilling reward, you can study it to improve your Scholarship skill and then sell it to a scribe for groschen later. Siding with either of the villages also gets you some Groschen as well as reputation but I'd argue getting the book is worth the effort.

There are plenty of other choices and tricky moments in this medieval RPG, notably the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 For Whom the Bell Tolls quest. While you're exploring around Tachov and Zhelejov, it's also worth hunting down the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Silver Axe.

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Kingdom Come 2 Axe from the Lake location

When looking for the Axe from the Lake using the map and journal in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, you'll notice a large area is highlighted around Rocktower Pond in the west of the Trosky region. The axe is buried in a grave found on top of the hill roughly north of the Rockwater Pond pier within this highlighted area.

To make the search straightforward, you can head to the pond's pier to start a short trek up the hill, finding landmarks mentioned in Zdenyek's story that eventually lead to the grave. Here's exactly how you reach the Rockwater Pond pier starting point and uncover the silver axe in Kingdom Come 2:

1. Head westbound along the path on the northern side of Rockwater Pond. This path is easily accessible from Zhelejov or the Zhelejov Wagoners' Inn.
2. Look out for a narrow path on your left that leads down to the pond bank and the pier. The pier is also clearly visible on the map so you can set a checkpoint to more easily direct yourself there.
3. Turn around and head back up the narrow path but keep going straight ahead towards a new path that goes between two large rock formations.

4. Follow the path up the hill and you'll eventually reach an old oak tree on the right followed by a large rock on the left.
5. Carry on a little further until you reach the crest of the hill path. To your left and slightly down the other side of the hill, you'll be able to spot a disturbed patch of dirt near a tree overlooking the valley ahead.

6. Approach and dig up the grave to uncover a gemstone silver ring, which can be sold to make some Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 money, and the broken silver axe.

Now that you have the Kingdome Come 2 axe, you need to fix it at a blacksmith. Hopefully you've got acquainted with Radovan the smithy in Tachov, so fast travel over there and use his blacksmithing gear to forge the adorned axe – this requires the broken axe and one fastening material, which you can buy for less than two groschen from Radovan.

Forge the axe like normal, heating the axe head up until it's yellow-hot, then hammer it out on both sides until it has been shaped. Once you're done, you'll have the adorned axe in your inventory, so you can tell Zdenyek the good news to wrap up the quest and then then sharpen the axe to a deadly edge at a grindstone. While you're in Tachov, be sure to grab any Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Gold Edition Gallant Huntsman's Kit items you might have from the chest in Radovan's spare room.

It might not be one of the best Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 weapons, but it's a solid early-game chopper with great slashing damage and a bit of blunt damage too, sitting between the stabbing and slashing power of a sword and the bludgeoning force of a mace. I recommend using a shield as well to make up for its poor defense. If you're strapped for cash, it's also quite valuable compared to many other weapons found in the early game – Radovan was offering around 120 groschen for it before haggling – so selling it to get some is certainly an option, but why not get some use out of this legendary axe first?

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Should you help the blacksmith or the miller in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2?

The best choice is to help Kreyzl the miller up until you need to escort a woman to the wedding as part of the Opus Magnum side quest, then switch to helping the blacksmith and go to the wedding with him. I won't spoil the details, but the Opus Magnum quest carries on after the wedding and you won't be locked out of it by not going to the wedding with Kreyzl's help. Importantly, doing the side quests in this order will help you get as many rewards and benefits as possible before you even go to the wedding.

However, don’t worry if you miss out on one of the paths as completing one doesn't lock you out of the other. While you can only accept the wedding invitation of one of these NPCs, the side quests for whichever NPC you did not get help from can still be started after Wedding Crashers even though the wedding has already happened.

Considering how long it takes to beat Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, you may only want to focus on one path anyway to get on with the main story. If this is your preferred playstyle, I recommend focusing on the blacksmith's path to get into the wedding as it feels most useful for the early stages of the game. Helping Radovan on the various side quests he offers means you'll learn about smithing, get your first horse, and will have plenty of opportunities to practice combat. Weapons and armor from dead foes can then be scavenged and sold for an easy Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 money farm.

Bear in mind that, whichever path you choose, you'll have to buy some nice clothes form the tailor in Troskowitz to attend the wedding, so you'll need a good amount of groschen on you. One of the big downsides of the miller path is that it isn't especially lucrative, and the Opus Magnum side quest also requires you to buy an expensive dress. Using your stealth and thievery training can help you here but it's a risky strategy.

If you still want to know more about getting the help of the blacksmith or the miller for the Wedding Crashers quest in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, I've explained more about the quests you'll complete and the rewards you can expect below:

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Wedding Crashers blacksmith path

Heading to Radovan the blacksmith in Tachov leads to you completing three side quests for him which task you with doing the follow and offer these benefits – note that some of your choices and actions in these side quests may mean you don't get every reward listed here:

• The Blacksmith's Son: A simple lesson in smithing from Radovan.
  • Hunting sword, a bed and storage chest (this is a great way to access Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Gold Edition items) which can be used at any time for free, access to Radovan's forge, 8 scrap metal, 4 steel, 2 fastening material, farmer's horseshoes sketch, work axe sketch
• The Jaunt: Find out what happened to Ventza and Franzi, two blacksmith hands who were meant to deliver a cart of goods to Semine but never returned.
  • A Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 horse, Gnarly's club, a chance to practise your fighting skills with Lord Semine, opportunities to fight and loot bandits, 80 groschen from Semine, Ventza's map, and a rusty sheet cuirass
• The Hermit: Find the Toledo steel sword belonging to a mysterious hermit so that Radovan can use it to forge a sword as a wedding gift. This also includes completing the A Sinful Task activity.
  • Crusaders of the Red Star waffenrock, Chronicle of the Knights of the Cross lore book, Seneschal Ambrose's Decree lore book, 155 groschen with more available to loot, opportunities to fight and improve combat skills, Scholarship improvement, Knights of the Cross armor, an invite to the wedding with Radovan.

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Wedding Crashers miller path

If you go to the Lower Semine Mill and introduce yourself to Krezyl the miller, he gets you in on his petty crime side hustle and unusual activities with three side quests. Again, some of your choices and actions during these side quests may mean you don't get everything listed below:

• Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 Materia Prima: Steal a document from the Troskowitz Rathaus to help in Kreyzl's alchemical experiments. If you need help completing this without being detected, take a look at the linked guide!
  • Opportunities to learn about lockpicking, pickpocketing, and stealth takedowns, 10 lockpicks with several more to loot along with a dagger, opportunities to improve Stealth and Thievery skills, various potions, 45 groschen, and the "With the Silence of the Cat I" book
• Forbidden Fruit: Kreyzl requires you to find a saltpetre pit with Bonnie's help.
  • "The Rule of St. Dismas I" book found in the gravedigger's outhouse, opportunities to improve combat and dialogue skills, knacker's gloves, 95 groschen in total, improvements to Stealth and Vitality, "With the Silence of the Cat II" book
• Opus Magnum: Find and dress a companion to escort to the wedding and help her steal a book from Trosky Castle for Kreyzl.
  • Chamberlain's ring (only if you choose to attend the wedding with Kreyzl)

To summarize, blacksmith Radovan's path to the wedding in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 is best for pretty much any player, offering decent rewards and chances to get a fair bit of money to see you through the early game. Although, it is entirely possible to complete both paths and all side quests. Even if you miss one of the options, you pursue it after the Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 For Whom The Bell Tolls quest.

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