A Master Thief's Guide to leveling fast in Kingdom Come Deliverance

[@TrialBySquire]

A quick note: Upon doing testing for another video I found that some "Hard Locks" can be picked at level 4, so 6 is not the minimum. Sorry for the incorrect info!

[@sgovender1994]

Holding the stick with two fingers is definitely a game changer. I was so frustrated when trying to pick locks that I've ignored it for a while. Thank you for giving lock picking some use to me.

[@TrialBySquire]

That's awesome! I'm so happy my video could help you out.

[@Griff_Gaming]

Good stuff bud! Very clear and useful knowledge. Who knew Ledetcko could be such a theifs paradise!

[@TrialBySquire]

Thanks, Bud! Very kind.

[@nateguzman5134]

Pro tip, buy the item legally then walk around back and steal back your money, that way the item isn’t marked as stolen

[@TrialBySquire]

Indeed, that works nicely. It's definitely better to do that or "clean" any items one intends to keep themselves rather than leaving it marked as stolen. In ledetchko, I like to place items in the Tanner's chest to convert it to money (he resets daily, along with the tailor and herbalist) but he's also good for removing stolen tags from gear. He works outside and his chest never gets locked again after picking. Any vendor chest can be used to put stolen items in, though, so it's really up to personal preference provided you have the upfront money needed.

[@jasonxtheman]

NGL I am excited to see you do a KCD2 Thief guide in 2025, you definitely deserve my sub and probably many more. You got this bro!

[@TrialBySquire]

@@jasonxtheman That's a really great comment and I very much appreciate it. It's going to be chaos on release with creators trying to get stuff out ASAP, but I'll take the time to test, break, and innovate so I can bring my fellow Henrys the value they deserve. I can't wait to dive in! Your support helps me push through the doubts and keep putting myself out there. 🍻 Cheers!

[@jasonxtheman]

@@TrialBySquire cheers brother 🍻

[@mshaman86]

This is gold right here. Great tips, thank you.

[@TrialBySquire]

@@mshaman86 I appreciate the comment and the view! I'm glad it's a helpful video. I just discovered an interesting little exploit related to lockpick training so keep an eye out for a video in the coming days, if interested. Good luck on your playthrough!

[@mshaman86]

Will do. I'm on console so I need all the help I can get with lock picking

[@TrialBySquire]

@mshaman86 I, also, am exclusively console. 🎮 I play on Xbox and edit videos on my phone. My computer is a moldy potato. 🥔

[@acoegarten]

great tips! your narration is the best part of this video !

[@TrialBySquire]

Thank you! I was pretty sick through a lot of this video and I remember struggling a lot to get everything recorded. I'm so glad it came together as well as it did. I appreciate your comment! 😁

[@Bog_Wizard]

Golden information. You’ve earned a sub.

[@TrialBySquire]

Huzzah! I'm glad you're here. 🤩

[@babyatemydingo574]

Quality material. Subbed.

[@TrialBySquire]

Hey I appreciate that. Thank you for watching!

[@GreyMatterPlatter]

Very well done. Subbed.

[@TrialBySquire]

Thank you so much! 🤩 It was fun optimizing a "Zero to Hero" route. Cool name, BTW.

[@dakaodo]

I'm a PC player, so the controller tips don't apply, but the rest of your video is awesome. I want to specifically shout out your tips on archery. Holy cow, XP farming the two pig pens by Ledetchko is amazing. Super fast turnaround. It's something like 184 XP for Bow for both pig pens (12 pigs total), and 72 XP for Hunting (I think?). Plus selling the meat (and liver after I got Hunting Offal perk) got me 1000+ groschen in one day from the merchants. After I tapped them out, haggling for selling free meat to them get 2X reputation. Totally faster XP and groschen earnings than the archery tournaments. (not sure about chumps winnings b/c I haven't competed in one yet)

[@TrialBySquire]

The pigs really are impressive for XP. Sheep are annoying and cows are tanky. Contests are pretty garbage for XP but I find the money per minute on the standard contests to be very respectable (albeit labor intensive). In Ledetchko, the Tailor and Tanner both restock daily. Moving tailor stock to tanner's chest is an easy 7k+ groschen per day for nearly no effort. Contemplative perk on normal mode makes it stupid easy to fund Pribyslavitz rebuild just from doing that. You can add the blacksmiths stuff twice a week @3k each restock as well. Spend a week moving stock and skipping time in Ledetchko for well over 50k payout! Thank you for the kind words, brother. I'm glad my guide was useful even for PC players! Good shout on the meat. I love switching up the ways I make money and this game has many options.

[@lemanael8199]

stuffing can actually put negative noise on your armor pieces making you able to wear more armor if you know how to pick it right

[@TrialBySquire]

Like the dyed black pauldrons. They seem to be like -3 noise iirc. Thanks for pointing that out; It's a good tip for anyone building their stealth loadout. 🍻

[@Rabijeel]

Or, you do not use that up like that as it also eats up negative Modifieres to your Actions as well and allows for disadvantages beeing ignored. Also, this only works on each Category of clothes seperatly - you can not negate Armor Pieces with Clothes Bonus and vice Versa. To check the "Category", look where you buy it and what you repair it with. If it is repaired with the Tailors Kit, its Effects get counted up together. Same goes for Armor.

[@APARECIDAPENASVERDADES]

And also, what endgame gear for stealth was that at 11:18 ? I watched the video for the black combat jacket and I don't think it's that one.

[@TrialBySquire]

@@APARECIDAPENASVERDADES it was an aachen dark brigandine on the charlatan's tunic. Dark Saxon gambeson, black hood, black dyed pauldrons, nobles dark shoes, decorated black hose, leather gloves, padded coif. The 1k value necklace and the special "ring" ring one can get from besmirched.

[@APARECIDAPENASVERDADES]

@@TrialBySquire Thank you!

[@drewbienewbie03xx81]

Lol. My guys using the drone grip! Hes tight that grip gives you excellent precise movement.

[@TrialBySquire]

That's right. Your Henry will be bombing Sigismund from three fiefdoms over after this tutorial.

[@szczuraxer3265]

Good tutorial

[@TrialBySquire]

Hey Bud! I'm so glad you enjoyed. It was a lot of fun to put together. I love Ledetchko even more now.

[@szczuraxer3265]

@@TrialBySquireif i watch this tutorial in my first playtrough it will be a lot easier😅

[@TrialBySquire]

@@szczuraxer3265 we have until Christmas to start many playthroughs! 😏

[@Pathofmen]

Pro tip for lockpicking on ps4 (console, maybe xbox also) Use the outside, not the inside of the circle. When you start to lockpick the lock, make sure it's small first. If it's big it won't work as easily. I only use the outside instead of trying to keep it near the middle. It gets really easy. I promise. I don't use the luck of the drunk either. I might not ever get that one, i dunno, makes being stealthy harder. You may have to back out and go to lockpick again. It's usually a 50/50 chance it's small enough to go completely around the outside edge. Hey, it works for me. I played a ton of games with lockpicking and this was annoying at first. Getting busted n breaking all lockpicks, in prologue at first i was annoyed as hell.

[@TrialBySquire]

@@Pathofmen solid strat. I don't find luck of the Drunk to have much of a downside. I know it says you're noisier but it's never been an issue. I will say, if you get your stealth stat high it's almost impossible to make enough noise to arouse suspicion. At 20 stealth I can jump right on a sleeping bandit and he won't respond. I have to shoot an arrow next to him to get him up.

[@joshuastrunk687]

Lock picking is one of the main reasons I have stuck to playing on mouse and keyboard

[@TrialBySquire]

@@joshuastrunk687 it's been so long since I've used keyboard and mouse for gaming, I'm not sure my tiny mind could handle it anymore...

[@theoutsiderjess1869]

I do the circle method on console the dumb thumb thing hurts my hand and my aim is off

[@TrialBySquire]

Dumb Thumb is a scourge that plague many Henrys!

[@Moneybagsa]

I found lowering the sensitivity on console helps with lock picking

[@TrialBySquire]

That's a real solid tip. It's a shame there isn't a separate sensitivity slider for that but if someone is struggling and down to their last few picks I would say this is something they should try. Thanks for the comment! 🙏

[@hakso9457]

I dont get it. It says my reputation is risen in the top left corner of my screen. But when i go check it its still 50?

[@TrialBySquire]

@@hakso9457 it takes time to affect global rep. The rep gained is with the individual. Over the following hours they will "gossip" about you and affect how others feel about you. So, if you're doing the Farkle table- do a bunch and then skip 4 hours or so, or go to sleep to the next day. You should see the result after

[@hakso9457]

@TrialBySquire okey thank you🙏

[@alanphelan9108]

You can get your lockpicking to 3 in Skalitz

[@TrialBySquire]

Indeed. You can get it up passed 6 in Skalitz if you loot the whole town. Skalitz is a valid option but it's not the most efficient place to level. You only get 4 lockpicks and the lock difficulties are all out of whack there. I've seen "very hard" locks I've opened at level 3 and I've seen "easy" locks I couldn't open until I was level 2 or 3. Skalitz is a pretty paranoid place. So many doors are "hard" locked, if not "very hard". There are witnesses everywhere and they never sleep. I've done it a few times and it can be really fun but it's certainly not for people that struggle with lockpicking, especially since you can't get more picks once they are broken (until talmberg). By waiting for Rattay, the player gets 15 picks and can be level 3 before leaving the mill (lasting lockpicks makes a huge difference). It's the easier and less risky option. Ledetchko doors are pretty much all "very easy" and only vendor chest are "very hard". There's more and better stuff to steal in ledetchko and since it's not time locked you can sleep, skip time, and vendors restock.

[@alanphelan9108]

@@TrialBySquire I usually do the chests you are certain to get. One in your house, the 2 in Deutchs house as soon as he leaves, the ones in the tavern which there are 5 of (2 upstairs and 3 in the back room) and one in Kuneshs.

[@TrialBySquire]

@@alanphelan9108 a solid plan. Do you happen to know how far away from level 3 that gets you? I never tracked the XP in Skalitz too closely. It's 11 locks in Rattay (the 10 training and the 1 easy next to it), but I don't know if those training locks are a special amount of XP. Skalitz locks are definitely non standard so I expect their XP output is non standard as well. With those 9 you do in skalitz, how many more do you have to unlock to reach level 3?

[@alanphelan9108]

@@TrialBySquire well some of the houses where the chests are the doors are locked so they count as well. Also some of the npc’s re lock the doors when they enter and leave so you can do the lockpicking again. It’s crazy but level 3/4 would be doable.

[@TrialBySquire]

@@alanphelan9108 absolutely doable, I agree. I recently leveled lockpicking in skalitz while doing some testing. I got to level 6 and starting getting all the vendor chests. Those doors getting locked again are really helpful and the only way some people get to level 20 in skalitz (which sounds awful grinding away a few doors all the way up to 20 🥵). The ones I found tricky are near the tavern because of the bailiff, Adam, and possibly Deutsch. I didn't kill them or lure them away and you gotta be so fast unlocking the tavern chest they can see through the window, and then the hard doors that are right across from the table they sit at. Thankfully, my visibility was pretty low with everything I'd accumulated so I had just enough time to pop them open. I had to load a few times to get it right, though. Good times, for sure. I don't personally feel Skalitz is a good place to level but I do think it's a really fun challenge area since it has some unique rules. The only thing you really get in Skalitz that you can't get later (and easier) is the speech XP. Once you leave the prologue all that dialogue is gone forever. Still, there's enough XP in the open world to Max speech without it.

[@sarge1408]

I think its the childhood of Arkham games, but ive found the lockpicking minigame on controller to be extremly fun, so i was curious how to level the skill so i could do it more. Its unironically almost as fun as combat to me imo.

[@TrialBySquire]

If you enjoy doing it, then makes sure to NOT take the Master Thief perk. It'll auto unlock low-level locks. It also works with Luck of the Drunk, so it'll unlock even done hard locks when you've been drinking. Fair warning. If you want a quiet place to practice, check out my video on "Early Game Money and Lockpicking Leveling". Otherwise, if you want the thrill, Rattay and sassau are the places with the most stuff to steal

[@sarge1408]

@@TrialBySquire damn, will have to remember that then. Would suck to have to reload an old old save to do that minigame again

[@TrialBySquire]

@@sarge1408 there's a potion you can brew called "Lethean Water" that'll reset your perk points. No need to worry. Also, "very hard" locks will always need the player to do the minigame, so it'll always be there just depends how much. If you aren't using guides, the recipe can be purchased from the Rattay apothecary.

[@officiallynoname7945]

I too, am a sufferer of “Dumb Thumb”

[@TrialBySquire]

@@officiallynoname7945 We are many; we are one. 🫂

[@Pathofmen]

I don't want the negative part of luck of the drunk.. it makes you stink and 30% less stealth. BUT does that 90% perk get rid of that???

[@TrialBySquire]

@@Pathofmen I half answered this on your other comment but.. Silent fiddler definitely offsets the noise increase from luck of the Drunk. I'm not sure about the smell thing. I don't recall that being a part of that. I believe that's a different main level perk where when you are dirty you get worse stealth but better charisma with women. Manly odor, I think. I've never used that one to see how much it hurts because the benefits are totally unnecessary

[@camdenmailman7653]

Playing dice in ledetchkp isnt gaining me any rep? I did it like 10 times and my rep is still at 40. Any idea why?

[@TrialBySquire]

You'll need to be losing those games (I assume you are but just mentioning) but also it takes a few hours to be reflected. Try waiting a few hours and checking again. I'm not sure how frequently the number updates. Probably 4 hours wait is good enough but worst case try sleeping/waiting until passed midnight if the 4 hours didn't work. You should be up to 55 rep if you lost 10 games (with money on the line, not 0 groschen games).

[@TrialBySquire]

Last thing I can think of is ensure you are not quitting too soon. Before the score card shows up (before the screen flashes black for a brief moment) will not count as a lost game. If you bet 1 groschen(minimum) and quit after the score cards show up then you should see reputation gained at the top left of the screen after you quit/lost. At that point it'll take a few in game hours to update on the rep page.

[@camdenmailman7653]

Thank i didnt think to wait! I appreciate the quick response

[@TrialBySquire]

@@camdenmailman7653 no problem at all. After editing, the wait part of the instructions became way less emphasized. I'm happy we got it working!

[@benjerry420]

can you beat the game like this

[@TrialBySquire]

@@benjerry420 I'm not sure what you mean, exactly. I've beaten the game many times and usually as a degenerate thief.

[@ThomasSorensen1]

Losing 30+ rounds of gambling takes forever, my opponent keeps busting on like half his turns 😂 Any way to speed up the game?

[@TrialBySquire]

@@ThomasSorensen1 you quit. As long as the scoreboard is showing you can quit and it'll count as rep gained

[@_Gnome.]

Do you bite your nails?

[@TrialBySquire]

@@_Gnome. Lol. Yeah, sorry.

[@jrod7929]

I absolutely HATED the simplified lockpick setting. So much harder than original. Don't know what it is. But original was definitely easier for me personally.

[@TrialBySquire]

That fair. It's all about finding what's best for you. I think you could still probably use the two finger method on that right stick but it would probably melt my brain. Thanks for watching!

[@BotThot]

I was the same way at first. The reason simplified is harder in the beginning is due to the one set speed of spinning the lock w/ LB. When you keep it on original you can slow it down with the left stick while fighting with the right stick. But once I got consistent with the right stick I turned simplified back on and it made things so much quicker and easier. Having left and right stick control on original is a helpful crutch but it soon becomes a handicap.

[@TrialBySquire]

@@BotThot I've heard this from a few people. I can see the merits of standard and I always encourage people to find what works for them. We ain't all the same. If someone is struggling, though, I still recommend starting from simplified at least until things start to click for them. But I think, ultimately, a person "could" pick faster in standard if they are good at it.

[@Ben-zr4ho]

Ew that controller... The XBox controller is the like the main advantage XBox has over PlayStation. Why would you buy a XBox controller that is basically a PlayStation controller with the joysticks parallel to each other like that...

[@TrialBySquire]

@@Ben-zr4ho lol. It's because I'm a Convert. I was a playstation user from first release to PS4. My hands were hurting, at first, trying to get used to the new controller so this was my way of adapting.