Survival is of the essence in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. As Henry of Skalitz, you have to face not just heavily armored knights, but also well-armed bandits and maybe even an unruly guard or two. Naturally, you need to be prepared for the dangers ahead. Here's our guide on how to heal in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.
How to heal your character in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2
There are several ways to heal in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. These include sleeping to get some rest and using all sorts of potions that you purchased or brewed. We discuss these methods in detail in our guide, as well as debilitating status effects such as bleeding and food poisoning and a few perks that improve your survivability.
Sleeping in a bed
Sleeping in a bed is by far the best way to heal in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. If you take damage, your maximum health will be temporarily lowered, and this amount can only be restored up to a certain point via potions. However, getting enough rest is usually enough to keep you in tip-top condition so you're ready for the next battle.
Note that restoring your HP when you sleep applies to any type of bed, but there are some caveats:
Beds that you own or rent also trigger a game save.
Sleeping in an unowned bed works, but you might get discovered by NPCs who'll admonish you for trespassing.
Eating food and meals that grant health
If you look at the Food tab of your inventory, you'll see a panel on the left-hand side that provides some helpful info. These include things like:
Nourishment - Alleviates hunger.
Energy - Alleviates lack of sleep.
Freshness/durability - How long before food spoils.
The value that you're looking for is Health, which tells you how much HP is restored. Not all types of food heal your character, so don't gobble up everything if you need a cure. For more info, you can head to our food/cooking guide.
Buying restorative potions
You can either loot certain potions or buy them from apothecary shops. The ones you're looking for are:
Marigold Decoction - Regenerates your HP over time.
Chamomile Brew - Heal more HP when you sleep.
Painkiller Brew - Suppresses injuries and prevents a portion of your stamina from being lowered temporarily due to health loss.
Brewing your own potions
Alternatively, you can brew potions through alchemy. You can collect herbs from villages or the wilderness, or you can purchase these from vendors. As for the recipes themselves, it's better to buy them from vendors, too.
Marigold Decoction
Base: Water
Add Nettle to the cauldron and boil for two turns.
Grind 2x Marigold and add it to the cauldron.
Pour into the phial.
Chamomile Brew
Base: Wine
Add 2x Chamomile to the cauldron and boil for one turn.
Grind 1x Sage and add it to the cauldron.
Pour into the phial.
Painkiller Brew
Base: Spirits
Grind 3x Poppy and add it to the cauldron.
Add 1x Marigold to the cauldron; boil for one turn using the bellows.
Add 1x Comfrey and boil for two turns.
Distill the concoction.
How to cure bleeding and food poisoning?
If you want to heal in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, then you need to be aware of certain debilitating effects that cause you to take damage over time:
Bleeding is caused by injuries. It's best to use Bandages to stop the bleeding effectively.
Food poisoning has a chance to occur if you eat spoiled/rotten food (i.e. those with low condition values). This can be cured if you drink a Digestive Potion.
Digestive Potion - If you want to brew your own drink, you can do so once you've learned the recipe and have the necessary ingredients:
Base: Water
Add 2x Thistle to the cauldron and boil for two turns.
Grind 1x Nettle and add it to the cauldron; boil for one turn.
Grind 1x Charcoal and add it to the cauldron.
Pour into a phial.
Perks that affect your healing capabilities
Finally, here are a few perks that you can unlock to help with healing and survivability:
Vitality: Revenant I and II - Gradually regenerate up to +50/75 HP if you're out of combat and you're not bleeding.
Vitality: Diehard - When you get wounded, you recover +25% of your HP instead of dying outright. There's an internal cooldown before this perk can trigger again.
Vitality: Thick-Blooded - Slows down bleeding effects.
Vitality: Never Surrender - Going below 25 HP during combat grants +25 armor; lasts until your health goes above 25 HP or once combat ends.
Alchemy: Healing potions restore your health +25% faster.
Scholar: Fundamentals of Medicine I - Improves bandage effectiveness by +25%; doubles healing effects from food. You also recover health faster when you sleep.
Scholar: Fundamentals of Medicine II - Makes healing potions +20% stronger.
Scholar: Fundamentals of Theology I - Praying at shrines and crosses grants a buff that protects you from mortal injury in combat and restores +25% of your HP. This effect last for 12 in-game hours or once it's triggered.
That does it for our Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 healing and survival guide. We hope these tips help you stay alive as you explore the rest of Bohemia in the Middle Ages. If you need help with nourishment and hunger mechanics, you can take a look at our food and cooking guide.
