Warhorse Studios’ hit new medieval open-world RPG Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 isn’t afraid to throw some pretty brutal challenges your way, and that’s especially true with combat encounters. You can get through these unscathed with good armor and excellent swordplay, but sooner or later, you’re sure to suffer a few gnarly wounds and lose health.
A reduced HP bar means you’ll be easier to kill and will have reduced stamina, so restoring your health should be your first priority if you get hurt. However, KCD2 doesn’t have any kind of automatic heal-over-time mechanics, so doing so is an active process that will require some effort on your part.
Thankfully, there are a few different ways to heal up in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, and doing so isn’t difficult or terribly expensive. I go over everything you need to know in the guide below, so read on.
How to heal in KCD2
Before going over how to heal, I’ll note that you won’t be able to effectively heal unless you’ve taken care of any bleeding, health-draining wounds you have (represented by a status effect that looks like a blood drop). You can do this by using bandages looted from slain enemies and chests or purchased from Trader and Bathhouse merchants. You’ll likely need to use multiple bandages for severe wounds, so it’s a good idea to stock up.
Once you’ve dealt with bleeding, there are two ways you can heal. The first is by sleeping, which slowly recovers your health as you rest. If you want to speed up your recovery, you can drink Chamomile decoctions to heal more while sleeping. You can make these elixirs yourself via Alchemy with Wine, two Chamomile, and one Sage by boiling the Wine and Chamomile for one hourglass turn, grinding the Sage and adding it to the cauldron, and then pouring the mixture into a phial. Alternatively, you can simply buy these from an Apothecary (look for a potion icon on your map and on signs, like the one pictured above).
For more direct healing, you’ll need Marigold decoctions that instantly start recovering some health over time once you drink them (they also help with hangovers, if brewed well). To make these with Alchemy, you’ll need to add one Nettle to a cauldron of Water and boil it for two hourglass turns, then grind up two Marigold and add it to the brew before pouring. Note that these, too, can also be bought from an Apothecary if you don’t want to craft them.
The question of which healing method to choose ultimately comes down to the context you find yourself in. If you know you’re going to be fighting again soon or if it’s early in the day, you should drink a Marigold decoction or two for quick healing and so you don’t have to be awake at night (at least use a torch, if you will be). If it’s close to nighttime and you’re going to sleep soon anyway, though, recover your health that way (and drink a Chamomile decoction if you’re hurt badly).
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is out now on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC (via Steam, the Epic Games Store, and GOG), and PS5. It’s undoubtedly one of the best Xbox games and best PC games of the year, so if you enjoy RPGs, definitely consider picking it up (it’s just $44.99 on CDKeys, which is an amazing deal).
