Best perks in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2

Part of the joy of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2’s deep RPG elements is the possibility to shape a blank canvas Henry into a smooth-talking thief, a master alchemist, or a redoubtable swordsman. Much of this specialisation comes through the conduit of perks, unlockable skills and buffs that improve stats but also confer unique options in the numerous situations you’ll find yourself having to get out of in Warhorse’s take on 15th-century Bohemia.

While there are no real right or wrong perks to unlock, and we very much recommend experimenting based on your own playstyle, there are what we’d call some generalist perks that are well worth getting as soon as possible. In this guide, we’ll walk you through what we consider to be the best perks in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. If you’re having trouble getting on top of the game’s more unforgiving aspects and difficulty level, then these should ease the process. There’s no ranking system at play below or any other sort of tiered classification – simply a list of the best of the best all-around perks.

Well-Built

Category	Main Level
Requirement	Level 10
Description	As your strength increases, your carrying capacity increases faster. For each level of strength, you gain 12 points of carrying capacity instead of the usual 10.

Sliced through the flesh of a pesky crew of bandits? You’ll have tons of loot to ferry back to town to trade in for some easy groschen. But, Henry, despite being a strong lad, has limited carrying capacity. With the Well-Built perk, you’ll get an additional 2 carrying capacity alongside the 10 every time you level up strength. By level 20, you’re looking at an extra 40 carrying capacity. Not bad.

Pack Mule

Category	Strength
Requirement	Level 8
Description	Your carrying capacity is increased by 12 pounds.

Getting this perk doesn’t really need an explanation. More carrying capacity = more loot without being over-encumbered, which translates to more groschen to spend on fresh weapons, gear, food, potions, and more.

Featherweight

Category	Agility
Requirement	Level 6
Description	Fall damage is reduced by 30%.

Whether it’s accidentally tumbling into a ravine or running down the stairs a little too quickly, fallen damage is real in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. To help give you a bit more acrobatic leeway, get the Featherweight perk to cut down on fall damage by near enough a third.

Hermes’ Haste

Category	Vitality
Requirement	Level 12
Description	You’ll be 20% fast when sprinting.

Though you’ll soon have access to a horse, Henry will still spend an awful lot of time darting around Bohemia, whether that’s running away from sword-wielding goons or jogging to the next quest objective. To help speed things up, the Hermes’ Haste makes you sprint 20% faster, a real boon for escape and just generally cutting down on the time it takes to get about.

Marathon Runner

Category	Vitality
Requirement	Level 12
Description	When sprinting, you consume stamina 20% slower.

If you’ve played only a few hours of Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, you’ll immediately understand the benefit of getting the Marathon Runner perk. Henry’s stamina depletes frustratingly quickly, so having him consume it a whooping 20% slower makes life in Bohemia a whole lot more bearable. The perk also pairs beautifully with Hermes’ Haste.

Revenant

Category	Vitality
Requirement	Level 14
Description	Your health will gradually regenerate up to 50 health points. This effect does not apply if you are in combat or bleeding.

Though you can sleep to recover health, there are times when you don’t have a handy potion at hand and you need to recuperate precious HP. This is where the Revenant perk comes in, which regenerates your health up 50 health points, acting as a reliable safety net if you’re close to collapsing after a hard-fought tussle.

Jack of All Trades

Category	Speech
Requirement	Level 10
Description	You get a bonus of +2 to skill checks. You’ll also get twice the amount of experience from these skill checks.

Skill checks come at you quick and fast in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. It can be frustrating if you don’t quite have the stats to smooth over a situation or convince a local that you weren’t, in fact, robbing them for all they’ve got. To mitigate this, the Jack of All Trades gives you an easy, free boost to any skill check.

Art of Preservation

Category	Alchemy
Requirement	Level 6
Description	Raw food and herbs you have in your inventory will spoil 50% slower.

While there’s no shortage of food to pick up in the many villages and settlements you’ll come across, it doesn’t tend to last all that long once it’s in your inventory. Let it fester then make the mistake of eating it and you’re in for a rough bout of food poisoning, which saps your health and stamina. The Art of Preservation ensures food spoils half as fast and does the same for herbs.

Secret of Matter

Category	Alchemy
Requirement	Level 8, exclusive with Secret of Equilibrium
Description	Every time you successfully brew a potion, you get 1 extra potion of the same quality.

Regardless of how you decide to play, you’ll spend at least a bit of time at an alchemy bench, if only to brew up Saviour Schnapps from Belladonna and Nettles to save your game manually. While the alchemy mini-game is fun and all, it is quite tedious after a while, but with the Secret of Matter perk, you’ll get double the amount of potions for every brewing session.

Liberal Arts

Category	Scholarship
Requirement	Level 10
Description	You’re able to recognize the difficulty of skill checks, but not your chances of succeeding. You’ll still have to decide for yourself whether it’s worth the risk. The effect of your reputation isn’t taken into account in the displayed difficulty.

You’ll bump into skill checks right, left, and center as you explore Bohemia. Many feel like throwing a dart in the pitch black, hoping it’ll land on the board and score some points. With the Liberal Arts, you’ll get a marker next to every skill check option detailing its difficulty – easy, medium, hard, and very hard. This should allow you to make more strategic decisions and up your chances of passing skill checks.

Hardened Veteran

Category	Warfare
Requirement	Level 8
Description	In combat, your stamina will regenerate 10% faster

Combat takes its toll on poor Henry and you’ll often find yourself short on stamina, limiting your scope for attacking enemies when you need to the most. To mitigate this, invest in the Hardened Veteran perk, which lets Henry regenerate stamina 10% faster while in combat.

Steadfast

Category	Warfare
Requirement	Level 6
Description	Blocks will cost you 20% less stamina and your shield and weapon will wear down 20% slower by blocking.

Another perk to help you manage stamina in combat, Steadfast makes blocks cost a fifth less stamina. Shields and weapons will also degrade 20% slower when blocking, meaning fewer trips to the blacksmith to get them patched up.

Ironclad

Category	Warfare
Requirement	Level 12
Description	The weight of the armour you wear affects your speed of movement and how much stamina sprinting depletes. Using this perk, your armour will weigh you down 20 lbs less, thus having a lesser effect on your stamina. Neither the actual weight of your armour nor your carrying capacity will change, however.

As you get deeper into Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, it becomes extremely apparent that a good set of armour is the difference between getting brutally slain within seconds and actually standing a chance in most fights. In other words, you’ll invariably have some permutation of armour equipped. It’s heavy stuff though, so the Ironclad perk helps keep Henry sprightly by reducing the armour’s slowing effects and stamina consumption when sprinting.

Against All Odds

Category	Warfare
Requirement	Level 8
Description	When fighting against superior numbers, you gain +2 bonus on Strength, Agility, and Warfare skills.

Try as you might to avoid taking on multiple enemies at a time, it will happen. To give you a fighting chance of coming out on top, it’s worth picking up the Against All Odds perk as soon as you can. It gives you a welcome boost to various combat-focused stats right at the time when you need them the most.

Pacifist

Category	Main Level
Requirement	Level 14
Description	As long as you don’t kill anyone, your non-combat skills will be increased by 2 and your Speech by 3. If you kill someone, you lose the bonus but can regain it if you don’t kill anyone for 12 game hours.

This perk might not suit all playstyles, but as long as you don’t go around slaughtering everything in sight that has a pulse, then it should prove worthwhile. It grants you a nice boost to non-combat skills and Speech for simply not being a bloodthirsty murderer.

Heroic Vigour

Category	Main Level
Requirement	Level 16
Description	Each level of Vitality adds 1 extra stamina point. The effect also applies retroactively.

Though you won’t be able to unlock this one until you hit level 16, it’s a thing of beauty for those struggling with stamina. It grants an extra +1 stamina points for every level of Vitality you’ve reached, meaning a significant boost to stamina the deeper you get into the game.

Defender

Category	Houndmaster
Requirement	Level 14
Description	In combat, Mutt will be tougher and will take 10% less damage from enemies.

Aside from angering the locals, Mutt is a useful ally in combat, able to keep enemies distracted when you’re outnumbered. To up his fighting chops, invest in the Defender perk as soon as possible to make him take 10% less damage from enemies.

Explorer

Category	Scholarship
Requirement	Level 18
Description	The entire map is revealed, showing all settlements, fast travel spots, hunting grounds, caves, and other interesting places.

This is more of a quality-of-life pick than anything else as it saves you from having to scour every inch of the two maps to clear the fog of war. It isn’t available until level 18 so quite late into a playthrough, but it’s worth getting as soon as you can to make getting around easier.