Whether you want to play a criminal or righteous Heinrich in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2: You will hardly avoid sneaking, lockpicking, and thieving. In this guide, MeinMMO reveals what you need to know about illegal activities.
As in the first part, the main character Heinrich also finds himself in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 in situations where he needs to procure certain items for clients or sabotage a person. Additionally, there are numerous locked doors and chests that stand between the blacksmith’s son and valuable loot.
And even if you only aim to deal with marauding mercenaries, stealing thieves, and murdering criminals, you might want to eliminate them quietly rather than in direct combat.
In short: It’s worth delving into skills like lockpicking and pickpocketing, securing a discreet outfit for nighttime sneaky activities, and adopting some thieving tricks. Below, MeinMMO summarizes everything important about the life of a rogue in medieval Bohemia.
More tips and tricks can be found in our guide overview for Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. If you want to jump directly to specific topics of the guide for thieves, use the table of contents:
The turbulent life of Heinrich in just about 40 seconds:
Crime pays off
Here are some reasons why it pays off in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 to occasionally break the local laws:
- For many quests, you need to procure items, sabotage individuals, manipulate places, or eliminate nasties. Often, stealth makes achieving the goal easier. Sometimes it is simply necessary, because bribery, open violence, or dialogue are not options (if only because Heinrich lacks the skills (yet)).
- Especially at the beginning, Heinrich has too little of everything. Thieving and poaching tours fill your groats pouch and your stomach. You can find more tips on earning money here.
- Difficult fights against a superior number of opponents can be significantly eased by eliminating victims in their sleep, stealing their equipment, or poisoning the bubbling pot at the campfire.
Good starting point for thieves
Very early in the main story, Heinrich is tasked with gaining access to the wedding of Olda and Agnes. The game offers you two options (which you can approach equally):
- Get help from the blacksmith Radovan in the northwest of Troskowitz.
- Visit the miller Kreyzl in the southwest of Troskowitz to reach the celebration from there.
While at the blacksmith, you can mainly expect … well … blacksmithing, the mill at Niedersemin by miller Kreyzl reminds one of the Rattayer mill of miller Peschek from part 1. Because not everything goes right there, and if that doesn’t bother you, you can practice the tricks of pickpocketing and lockpicking there without anyone noticing.
However, if you are looking to connect with a gang in the second region around Kuttenberg, stop by the rundown east side of the town at the tavern “Rattenloch”. There, gang boss Chenyek and company have a job or two for you. At both locations – Rattenloch and mill – you will also find teachers who can teach you a lot.
Don’t get caught by stealth
Whether you want to steal, sabotage, assassinate, or move unseen from A to B, stealth is your most important skill.
- The higher the skill value for stealth, the quieter Heinrich is while sneaking and the harder it is for opponents to see and detect him. High stealth also ensures that you encounter less trouble while fast traveling.
- You sneak by Heinrich moving crouched (shortcut C on PC).
How do I increase my stealth? The skill improves by committing pickpocketing, lockpicking, stealthily eliminating opponents, and sneaking in areas that are normally not allowed for you.
Also important:
- The value Agility – Also improves your sneaking.
- The derived attribute Noticeability – This value determines how much Heinrich stands out from the surroundings and how long it takes for people to recognize Heinrich. The more inconspicuous you are, the better for stealth. Pay attention to non-descript clothing for outerwear.
- The derived attribute Visibility – The lower this value, the closer an observer must be to see Heinrich. Visibility is calculated based on the average visibility of all uncovered garments Heinrich wears. At night, and with dark, non-shiny clothing, you are particularly hard to see.
- The derived attribute Noise – The louder you are, the more you stand out. Sneaking is quieter than walking or running. If you sneak through bushes, the branches rustle. Also, it naturally makes noise when you fumble with locked doors and chests. Those who want to be as silent as possible should exchange clinking weapons and iron armors for fabrics and a dagger.
Important skills for sneakers:
- Bushman: Heinrich makes 50 percent less noise when moving through bushes.
- Like a shadow: If Heinrich is wanted for a crime or suspected of a crime, he receives a bonus for stealth, agility, and vitality for 120 seconds.
- Pest: Heinrich makes 25 percent less noise when sneaking indoors and 50 percent less noise when opening doors.
- Escape artist: If someone unsuccessfully searches for Heinrich, the person gives up after a while.
- Quick hands: Heinrich is quite inconspicuous when lockpicking and pickpocketing. No one can notice him from a distance.
- Natural camouflage: The dirtier Heinrich is, the harder it is for people to spot him. But caution: They can still smell Heinrich if the dirt is accompanied by a corresponding stench.
- Weasel boy: Heinrich makes 35 percent less noise when sneaking outdoors.
- Silent lockpicking: Heinrich can use a lockpick nearly silently. The sound made by a breaking lockpick is 75 percent quieter.
- Trickster: After Heinrich successfully picks a lock or empties a bag, he receives a bonus for pickpocketing and stealth for 120 seconds. If a lockpick breaks or a pickpocketing attempt fails, the effect ends earlier.
- Playground: In settlements or their immediate vicinity, stealth improves by 3.
- Cheerful (Drunkenness): Indoors, Heinrich moves 20 percent quieter when intoxicated.
- Leshy: In forests, Heinrich’s tracks are weaker, stamina regenerates faster. Strength, vitality, agility, and stealth are increased. The effect can be expanded by “Wild Man” to all areas outside of human settlements.
More tips for stealthy actions: Sneaking is a good way to reach your goal unnoticed. However, a Heinrich sneaking over the marketplace in broad daylight stands out like a sore thumb, even in dirty, inconspicuous clothing.
Occasionally, even conspicuous disguises help you to enter an area that should not normally be open to you – for example, disguised as a guard. Helmets with visors hide your face.
Useful for distracting approaching guards: Crouch (shortcut C on PC) and throw a stone (shortcut G on PC). Alternatively, you can also eliminate guards. You have the choice between assassination (with equipped dagger) or a less lethal knockdown via choking grip.
If a dog is guarding your victim’s property, you can throw him a piece of meat to distract him. With consumables like the Night Hawk Potion (increases your vision in the dark) or the Quick Finger Potion (enhances crafting and stealing), you make your sneaky and thieving tours even easier. Read the book “On Velvet Paws” for more sneaking upgrades.
Lockpicking – how to succeed
The skill of stealing: This is the second important skill for thieves. With stealing, you get better at lockpicking and pickpocketing. With higher levels, you can tackle more complex locks and allow for more mistakes.
In pickpocketing, your victims become increasingly inattentive, making it harder to get caught. Additionally, you can identify items in pockets and bags early on.
With the skill of stealing, you level up lockpicking and pickpocketing. The stronger the lock and the more valuable the stolen items, the more experience you gain.
This is how lockpicking works: The basic requirement for picking locks is that you have at least one lockpick in your pocket. You can find, steal, or buy them. Approach the lock of your desire unnoticed and select “Pick lock”.
Now the lock mechanism opens up. Look for the right spot for your lockpick with the mouse cursor (or the right analog stick of the controller). You recognize the optimal point by the ball glowing golden yellow. The further you are from the point, the smaller and grayer the ball becomes.
Next, you need to turn the mechanism (key D or left analog stick) and simultaneously move the lockpick over the cursor or right stick so that the ball maintains its golden yellow color. If you manage to turn the mechanism far enough while the lockpick hovers over the right position, the lock opens.
If you instead perform the rotation while the lockpick is in the wrong position, the lock blocks, which will destroy the lockpick in due time.
This is how to level up lockpicking: Practice makes perfect. Increase your lockpicking skill by picking very light and light locks as early as possible. Then proceed to medium and finally to heavy and very heavy locks. The more often you successfully pick locks, the easier tricky finger exercises will become.
The following skills significantly increase your chances of success or minimize the risk while lockpicking:
- Silent lockpicking: Heinrich can use a lockpick nearly silently. The sound made by a breaking lockpick is 75 percent quieter.
- Quick hands: Heinrich is quite inconspicuous when lockpicking and pickpocketing. No one can notice him from a distance.
- Trickster: After Heinrich successfully picks a lock or empties a bag, he receives a bonus for pickpocketing and stealth for 120 seconds. If a lockpick breaks or a pickpocketing attempt fails, the effect ends earlier.
- Tool master: Lockpicks are more durable and last longer. Additionally, a broken lockpick returns to the inventory when a lock is successfully picked.
- Master thief: Heinrich almost automatically picks simple locks, meaning without mini-game or committing a crime.
- Locksmith (crafting): When Heinrich picks locks, the stealing value increases by 3 points. He also receives one to three additional lockpicks for every item he successfully forges.
- Drunkenness luck (drunkenness): In the positive phase of drunkenness, the stealing value is 4 points higher.
With the previously mentioned Quick Finger Potion, you temporarily increase your lockpicking skill. Visits to teachers from the thieving milieu and reading certain books (like the Rulebook of the Order of Saint Dismas) permanently enhance your thieving skills.
How to master pickpocketing
While doors and chests cannot fight back during lockpicking, the victims of pickpocketing are not so forgiving should your attempt fail. The good news: While lockpicking is often essential to reaching your goal, pickpocketing is always just an additional option.
Anyone wanting to try their luck should definitely stop by the mill in Niedersemin and train the steal with the miller’s assistant Hensel. This very assistant makes himself available as a victim as often as you wish (also for the stealthy knockdown, by the way).
This is how pickpocketing works: Approach your victim unnoticed and target their bag or pockets. Then start the theft with a button press, and a circular symbol with a number and a border will open.
The longer you hold the button, the longer you search the pockets, and the higher the number rises or the more of the border changes color. The number and border define how much time you have for the actual theft.
However, if you rummage too long in the pockets, the indicator will turn red and your victim will become aware of you. So break off the search early enough, but not too early.
If you successfully complete the preparation without being caught, the actual theft begins. In the now open, significantly larger circle, you see empty and filled item slots, with some items possibly already identified and others represented only by a question mark.
Move to the items you want to steal or examine, uncover them, mark them for stealing, and then return to the door to complete the theft. If you manage all that before the previously earned time window expires, the theft is successful. WARNING: Each time you interact with an item during this process, you consume additional time.
This is how to level up pickpocketing: Here, too, there are teachers and books that can help increase the skill. Otherwise, practice is the key, where you should mainly rob sleeping or drunken targets at first.
The following skills significantly increase your chances of success or minimize the risk of pickpocketing:
- Quick escape: If you don’t manage to return to the door symbol in time during the pickpocketing, you don’t steal anything, but your victim does not notice you either. Once this bonus is activated, it has a cooldown of three minutes before it can take effect again.
- Quick hands: Heinrich is quite inconspicuous when lockpicking and pickpocketing. No one can notice him from a distance.
- Trickster: After Heinrich successfully picks a lock or empties a bag, he receives a bonus for pickpocketing and stealth for 120 seconds. If a lockpick breaks or a pickpocketing attempt fails, the effect ends earlier.
- Inconspicuous: Your victim does not see you, so you can even reach into the front pockets. However, while you rummage through the bag, there is still a chance that it senses your presence.
- Quick fingers: In the first phase of pickpocketing, you collect time for the theft 10 percent faster.
- Drunkenness luck (drunkenness): In the positive phase of drunkenness, the stealing value is 4 points higher.
What alternative is there? Individuals who are dead or unconscious can be searched without the mini-game. For example, you can stealthily remove your (sleeping or awake) victims. However, for a lethal attack, you need an equipped dagger on your belt and the assassination skill.
Loot – just don’t get caught!
All the loot pieces that end up in your pockets through illegal possession change come with a regional monument in the form of a red hand. If you get caught with it during a check by a guard, the loot is gone, and you have to pay a hefty fine or atone in another way. Most traders refuse to buy items that they suspect might be stolen.
Depending on reputation, the personality of the trader, and the situation, some may also be willing to take loot at a lower price. Additionally, the chance of a successful deal increases if you sell normal items along with the loot. Tip: Save beforehand just in case. That way, you can undo any trouble with a few clicks.
The good news: The marking of stolen items disappears after a while or when you move far enough away from the place of theft. Until then, you can store the loot in your personal chest or in your horse’s pockets. Alternatively, visit traders who are morally a bit more flexible and buy up stolen goods. These include
- the fence Mordechai Haim in the nomad camp (west of Zelejow in Trosky)
- the fence Helga Schelm (innkeeper of a tavern west of Kuttenberg – unlocked through the quests of a Kuttenberg thief gang)
What skills ease the sale of loot?
- Ordinary man: People forget Heinrich’s crimes faster. The chance of being searched by a guard decreases.
- Completely lawful (crafting): Stolen weapons, armor, and clothing in your inventory lose the status “stolen” 20 percent faster.
- Thief’s eye: You recognize whether stolen items in your possession are considered stolen at your current location.
- Merchant: Stolen items in the inventory lose the status “stolen” 25 percent faster.
- Hidden pockets: If Heinrich is arrested and searched, there is a 33 percent chance that stolen items will not be found.
The penalties for criminals
What counts as a crime? Anything an honest Christian would not do. Heinrich must not kill innocents, steal, break into others’ houses, harm others, or harm house and farm animals.
If someone catches Heinrich committing a crime, they report it to the guards or confront the wrongdoer themselves. If things suddenly disappear in a region, the affected people also put together who might be responsible for the thefts. If crimes accumulate, there are more guards, and everyone becomes more vigilant and will eventually arm themselves.
What penalties await Heinrich? Those caught and unable to buy their way out or talk their way out face the following penalties:
- Pillory: Heinrich spends a few days in the pillory, and for a certain period, the public humiliation complicates dealings with people.
- Beatings: Heinrich is beaten with a stick, causing his health to suffer for some time. He is noticeably weakened during this time.
- Branding: Heinrich’s neck is branded. Until the wound heals, Heinrich is treated as a criminal and outcast.
- Execution: Anyone visibly branded who commits another serious crime will be executed. Game Over.
In addition, your reputation in a region decreases every time you are associated with crimes. This can lead to teachers, traders, blacksmiths, and bathhouses refusing their services to you, and you will be ostracized. In that case, you should avoid that area for the time being until the situation calms down somewhat.
How can I evade punishment? If you are caught, you have several options:
- Heinrich pays a fine
- Heinrich tries to talk his way out (depending on values like persuading or intimidating)
- Heinrich tries to flee
- Heinrich fights his way out of the situation
- Heinrich accepts an alternate punishment
What is the best option? Those with high values in persuading, intimidating, and co. can quickly talk their way out of trivial offenses with a simple apology or a threat. The safest method, however, is simply to pay the fine.
After a certain amount of game time, you can often afford to take on the mostly small amounts intentionally to, for example, spend a few hours in a normally private bed.
However, avoid a physical confrontation, especially if you are in a settlement or city. Quickly, other people or guards will get involved, wanting to beat you up. If you then draw a sword, an angry mob will stick to your hairy hero’s ass, wanting to see you bleed.
These skills help avoid punishment:
- Law (science): In dealings with guards, Heinrich’s skills in speaking and rhetoric are increased. The fine is reduced by 20 percent.
- Law II (science): If a guard wants to arrest Heinrich for his crimes, he can perform a skill check in science to interpret the law to his advantage and thus avoid punishment.
- Like a shadow: If Heinrich is wanted for a crime or suspected of a crime, he receives a bonus for stealth, agility, and vitality for 120 seconds.
These were our background info, tips, and tricks for all aspiring sneaks, thieves, and criminals. If you are looking for general beginner guides, information on cheats, or recommendations for the best graphics settings, check here: All tips and tricks for Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 summarized
