Mastering Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2's Character Progression: Essential Perks for Your First Playthrough

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 offers immense freedom in shaping Henry's character, but this can feel overwhelming. This guide highlights the most impactful perks to prioritize early on, regardless of your preferred playstyle. While any build can succeed, these perks provide significant advantages.

Note: Your approach to building Henry is entirely up to you. Whether you favor a knightly brute-force approach or a charismatic diplomat, many strategies are viable.

Top-Tier Perks:

Main Level:

• Opportunist: Reduces reputation loss by 10%.
• Undaunted Cavalier: With Charisma above 20, your armor effectively increases by 15 points.
• Burgher: Provides +1 to Strength, Agility, Vitality, and Speech in towns and villages.
• Martin's Heritage: Increases Sword Fighting, Crafting, and Survival skill gains by 10%.
• Radzig's Heritage: Increases Heavy Weapon, Shooting, and Scholarship skill gains by 10%.
• Good Natural: Boosts Persuasion, Impression, and Presence by +2, making peaceful interactions easier.
• Blood of Siegfried: Permanently increases armor by 10 points.
• Heroic Vigour: Each Vitality level grants an extra Stamina point (retroactive).
• Charming Man: Increases reputation gains by 10%. Maintaining a strong reputation is crucial, especially during your first playthrough. Prioritize Opportunist and Charming Man early. Choose between Martin's and Radzig's Heritage based on your skill focus.

Strength:

• Hard-Working Lad: Halves the weight of sacks and unconscious bodies, increasing carrying capacity by 8 pounds.
• Pack Mule: Increases carrying capacity by 12 pounds.
• Strong as a Bull: Increases carrying capacity by 20 pounds.
• Heracles: Grants +1 Charisma for every 5 Strength levels. Even stealth builds benefit from increased carrying capacity.

Agility:

• Creeping Phantom: Increases sneaking speed by 15%.
• Finesse: Increases slashing damage by 5%.
• Viper: Increases piercing damage by 5%. Agility perks are paramount, especially Creeping Phantom for faster stealth movement. Choose Finesse or Viper based on your weapon preference.

Vitality:

• Ascetic: Slows Nourishment depletion by 30%.
• Well-Dressed: Slows dirt accumulation by 20%, simplifying hygiene management.
• Marathon Runner: Reduces Stamina consumption while sprinting by 20%.
• Diehard: Prevents one fatal blow, restoring 25% health (with a cooldown). Vitality perks significantly improve the overall gameplay experience by reducing tedious chores.

Speech:

• Hustler: Simplifies selling stolen goods, granting Stealth and Thievery experience.
• Jack of All Trades: Provides +2 to skill checks and doubles experience from them.
• Partner in Crime: Allows selling stolen goods undetected. Speech perks are exceptionally powerful, synergizing well with other activities. Hustler facilitates selling stolen goods, while Jack of All Trades enhances skill checks.

These perks provide a strong foundation for your Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 journey. Remember to consult additional resources like The Escapist for more in-depth game strategies.