The Survival skill is a general measurement of Henry's ability to live off what nature provides in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. A higher Survival skill means you get to enjoy better yields from hunting and foraging, and you'll be able to use your knowledge to help other people as well.
Hunting animals and picking flowers isn't exactly the main selling point of this game, but if you're looking to build the best Henry possible in KCD2, you'll need to pay attention to your Survival XP gains. Here are the best ways to level this skill up.
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How to Level Up Survival in KCD2
You can get Survival XP by doing nature-related things, namely gathering herbs, hunting animals, and processing the resources you get from them. Picking up any useful herb or killing and skinning an animal will net you small amounts of Survival XP, and while spending a few days doing nothing but hunting and gathering sounds tempting, you'll want to process the stuff you've collected to get more XP.
Herbs are processed by hanging them on drying racks. Apothecaries usually have a drying rack on or near their property, and you can freely use them as much as you want. Not only does drying herbs give you more Survival XP, but you'll also preserve the herbs themselves, keeping them from spoiling over time.
Using dried herbs for potions will reduce the quality of your end product. If you're worried about this, take the Dark Arts Apprentice perk and only brew at night.
The same principle applies if you cook, smoke, or dry meat in KCD2. If you're concerned about food preservation, dry your food instead of cooking or smoking them — they'll offer less nutrition and other bonuses, but they'll never spoil. Also, keep in mind that poaching is illegal, so if you get caught carrying animal meat, be prepared to fight or talk your way out.
The bigger the animal you kill, the more XP you'll get. If you find a stag while exploring the wilderness, you might want to take it down, as it killing and harvesting it rewards about 100 Survival XP.
The best place to hunt any animal is on an established Hunting Ground. Check your map to see if you've discovered any.
Which Method Should You Use?
We recommend going the herb farming route since it's simpler and less risky. Picking flowers requires no skill, and people won't get mad at you even if you pick herbs from their own gardens (such is the case in the Troskowitz apothecary). The glades behind Bozhena's hut and the one near Nebakov (the same place where you get to romance Klara) has a lot of flowers that are ripe for the picking.
Bring a bow or crossbow with you whenever you go out for herbs. If a deer or stag approaches, take the time to hunt it for even more XP.
Kingdom Come: Deliverance II
- Released
- February 4, 2025
WHERE TO PLAY
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ / Use of Alcohol, Blood and Gore, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity
- Developer(s)
- Warhorse Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Deep Silver
- Engine
- CryEngine
- Number of Players
- Single-player
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- Playable
- PC Release Date
- February 4, 2025
- Xbox Series X|S Release Date
- February 4, 2025
- PS5 Release Date
- February 4, 2025
- Platform(s)
- PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, PC
- Genre(s)
- RPG, Action-Adventure, Open-World
- X|S Optimized
- Yes
- OpenCritic Rating
- Mighty
