I finished Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 about a month ago, spending around 72 hours on it because I was super into the story. I didn’t explore most of the maps and ended up cheesing some parts, like farming cows for endless food and relying heavily on master strikes only with swords, which made combat pretty easy. Now I’m thinking about replaying it in hardcore mode for a more immersive and challenging experience. Combat felt too easy the first time around. How is hardcore mode? Does it make fighting tougher or add interesting challenges? Also, any tips on what to expect since I’m planning a restart soon.
4 Answers
If you struggle with directions, watch out for the sleepwalking negative perk. It makes you wake up in random places on the map, which can be annoying if you’re not great at navigating. I played the first Kingdom Come with that debuff and it felt more like a navigation challenge than a game, so I ended up restarting without it.
From what I remember in the first Kingdom Come, saving is much more limited in hardcore mode. You can only save by sleeping in a bed or using savior schnapps. It really forces you to prepare before heading out because riding everywhere takes longer and you can’t just reload after every mistake. The immersion factor is huge!
The no combat indicators part really ups the difficulty. Since you can’t see when a perfect block or dodge will trigger, you need to read your opponents’ moves more carefully. It totally shifts combat from button mashing to paying attention, which is refreshing if you found the first run too easy.
Hardcore mode changes a lot of core gameplay elements. There’s no HUD or map, no fast travel, and your compass basically doesn’t work. Combat indicators are disabled too, which means you’ll have to rely on timing and observation, making master strikes way harder. You’ll also pick some negative perks at the start, which can really affect your playstyle.
That sounds intense! My biggest worry is getting lost without a map or compass. How do you usually navigate? Do NPC directions help enough?
So no quick saves? That definitely makes me approach the game more carefully and adds an extra layer of realism.