Gaming

Exploiting Reputation in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

Yogesh

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 (KCD2) tries hard to be historically correct and make you feel like you’re really in the Middle Ages.

But, like many big, hard-to-play games, it has some tricks and bugs that you can exploit to your advantage.

This article will talk about one of these tricks that lets you quickly improve your reputation in the game world of Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

Prerequisites:

Before attempting this exploit, players should ensure they have:

  1. A substantial amount of Groschen (in-game currency) – ideally 5,000 to 10,000, though more makes the process faster and easier.
  2. The “Memorable” perk, which causes reputation changes to spread more widely across different groups and regions.
  3. Basic lockpicking skills (level 13-14 recommended) to access vendor chests.

The Reputation Exploit Method:

  1. Choose a Vendor: Start with a vendor you can easily steal from later. The blacksmith Ravan in Talmberg is an excellent choice, as he offers lodging if you work for him, making it easier to access his storage later.
  2. Buy and Haggle:
    • Engage in trade with the chosen vendor.
    • Buy as much as you can afford.
    • When haggling, increase the price instead of decreasing it. This is done by holding ‘X’ (or the equivalent on your platform) and using the up arrow or ‘W’ key, along with scrolling the mouse wheel up.
    • Confirm the transaction, giving the vendor a “tip”. This will result in a significant reputation boost.
  3. Sell Back and Haggle Again:
    • Immediately sell all the items back to the same vendor.
    • When selling, haggle again, but this time decrease the price slightly.
    • This sells the items for less than you bought them, effectively “tipping” the vendor again.
  4. Repeat:
    • Continue this buy-sell-haggle loop until your reputation stops increasing.
    • You can check your reputation in the player menu under “Reputation”.
    • Keep going until the reputation for even distant groups (like Shepherds) stops increasing.
  5. Recover Your Money:
    • Find the vendor’s house and storage chest.
    • Use your lockpicking skills to open the chest.
    • Take back all the money you spent.
    • Groschen doesn’t count as stolen goods, so you won’t get in trouble for having it.
  6. Rinse and Repeat:
    • Once you’ve recovered your money, you can continue the buy-sell-haggle loop with the same vendor or move on to another town.

Additional Tips and Variations:

  1. Talmberg (Ravan):
    • If you work for Ravan, you can enter his house without trespassing, making the theft easier.
  2. Rattay (Jerg):
    • Follow Jerg home at night and pickpocket his keys.
    • His chest is located in the shop.
    • Consider using potions for the buy-sell loop, as they’re expensive and stack easily.
  3. Indulgence Chest:
    • Located in Rattay, this chest allows you to pay to reset your reputation to 35 across the entire map.
    • Useful if you’ve tanked your reputation through other activities.
  4. Money-Making Tips:
    • In Rattay, steal guard keys at night.
    • Use these keys to access chests with valuable loot.
    • Sell the loot in other towns to avoid suspicion.

Implications and Considerations:

  1. Reputation Impact: Interestingly, we noted that reputation doesn’t seem to have a significant impact on gameplay beyond slightly better vendor prices. Players can seemingly complete the game with a baseline reputation of 35-40 without major issues.
  2. Risk vs. Reward: While this exploit can quickly max out your reputation, it comes with risks. Getting caught stealing can instantly drop your reputation to zero, negating all your efforts.
  3. Game Balance: This exploit essentially trivializes the reputation system and the economy of the game. Players should consider whether using such methods aligns with their desired gameplay experience.
  4. Potential Patches: As with many exploits, this method may be patched in future updates. Players interested in using it should do so while it’s still available.

Ethical Considerations:

Finding and using tricks like this in games can be fun, but they can also make the game less enjoyable overall. The way KCD2 handles your reputation is supposed to show how complicated relationships were in the Middle Ages.

If you skip this part of the game, you might miss out on interesting conversations and tough situations the game makers wanted you to experience.

Conclusion

The reputation exploit in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 offers a quick and easy way to max out your standing across the game world.

By manipulating the buying and selling mechanics, coupled with some strategic theft, players can rapidly increase their reputation far beyond what would be possible through normal gameplay.

But it’s important to know that even though this trick works well, it might not change how much fun the game is overall. The game is made to be fun even if not everyone likes you that much.

So, players should think about whether using this trick is worth missing out on some of the game’s challenges and feeling of being in a real world.

In the end, it’s up to you if you want to use this trick or not. Some players might like it because it helps them skip parts they find boring.

Others might want to play the game the way it was meant to be played.

Whatever you choose, remember that the main goal is to have fun in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2.

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