Realish Techniques 2.41 — Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2

[campersinc]

Overhauls how combat techniques interact with weapon and armor configuration, and how those configurations affect stamina, exhaustion, and movement speed.

Technique Rules & Changes:
- Dodge favors a free hand for balance.
- Master-Strike requires two hands for technique.
- Riposte favors a 'balanced' weapon for technique.
- Clinch advantage based upon weapon length, leverage.
- Knockout can occur from weapon blows to an under-protected head (Henry affected).
- Helmets provide protection from Stealth Knockout.
- Feint advantage favors a balanced weapon.
- Reloading Light or Medium Crossbows now possible while upright and moving.
- Reloading Guns now possible while crouched and moving.
- Henry's (or horse) movement no longer significantly slowed by melee hit.
- Wearing metal armor now incurs movement, stamina, and fatigue penalties.
- Terrain has less effect on movement speed.

Perk Changes (take these perks while using this mod):
- Hermes Haste level requirement lowered to 8.
- Ironclad now increases movement speed by 10%.

Heavy Weapon
- Riposte significantly penalized.
- Knockout (head) probability 15%.
- Damage to shields and weapons moderate.
- Enemy Perfect Block window slightly reduced.
Longsword
- Dodge stamina cost x2.
- Master-Strike enabled (must be two-handed).
- Clinch advantage significant, +100% damage (half-sword/grapple).
- Knockout (head) probability 10%.
- Feint advantage slight.
Polearm
- Dodge stamina cost x3.
- Clinch advantage great.
- Knockout (head) probability 15%.
- Damage to shields and weapons moderate.
- Enemy Perfect Block window slightly reduced.
Shield
- Dodge stamina cost x3.
- Riposte significantly penalized.
- Clinch advantage great.
- Perfect Block window significantly increased.
- Stamina cost to block hits negligible.
Sword
- Master-Strike disabled.
- Clinch advantage slight, +100% damage (half-sword/grapple).
- Knockout (head) probability 5%.
- Feint advantage moderate.
Unarmed
- Unarmed Master-Strike enabled (requires Tomcat quest).
- Knockout (head) probability 5%.
- Disarming Strike enabled (requires Unarmed level 18, Unarmed Master-Strike).
- Perfect Block window moderately decreased.
- Wearing gauntlets increases damage 25%.
- Feint advantage moderate.

Head Hit Knockout Mitigation:
- Skullcap level helms provide 5% knockout protection, -5% damage.
- Kettle level helms provide 10% knockout protection, -10% damage.
- Bascinet, open or visor level helms, provide 15% knockout protection, -15% damage.

Stamina Changes:
- Stamina cool-down timers for some combat actions have been reduced.
- Base cost for Attack is 20 (default 26).
- Base cost for Dodge is 10 (default 20).

Armor Effects (full set worn):
- Exhaustion rate +35%.
- Real movement speed -20%
- Max stamina -50.

Armor Effects (NPC):
- NPCs with minimum 0.75 Combat Level can sprint while heavily armored.

Armor Effects Breakdown:
Helmets, Gauntlets, Mail Coif, Mail Collar
- Slight increase in exhaustion rate.
- Slight decrease in movement speed.
- Slight decrease in maximum stamina.
Cuirass
- Moderate increase in exhaustion rate.
- Moderate decrease in movement speed.
- Significant decrease in maximum stamina.
Mail Shirt
- Moderate increase in exhaustion rate.
- Significant decrease in movement speed.
- Significant decrease in maximum stamina.
Arm
- Moderate increase in exhaustion rate.
- Moderate decrease in movement
- Slight decrease in maximum stamina.
Leg
- Moderate increase in exhaustion rate.
- Significant decrease in movement speed.
- Slight decrease in maximum stamina.

Additional Notes (PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBSCRIBING):
- Armor, specifically Metal Armor, is no longer cosmetic, and should only be worn when gearing up for a fight. When fast-traveling, it's best to wear only essential protection, since your exhaustion rate will be much higher when armored. In addition, when at low level, it is unwise to wear a lot of armor, since Henry's base Stamina is quite low, and the Stamina penalties for wearing armor are felt more acutely when under-leveled.
- For most engagements, it's best to use the least amount of armor as necessary (head and torso), in order to maintain mobility and stamina. Potions such a Buck's Blood can help mitigate the Stamina penalties incurred.
- Movement speed is heavily penalized while wearing armor. The threshold for preventing sprint is between 10-15% reduction and/or wearing leg armor; therefore, in order to sprint, Henry will need the perk "Hermes Haste", now lowered to level 8 Vitality - or by taking the perk "Ironclad" which has been rewritten and reworked to include a 10% increase in movement speed.
- Master-Strikes, as is my understanding, are based upon the "Five Master Cuts", and are shown to be longsword techniques. Therefore, they are restricted to longswords, and only when the longsword is used in two hands. This also makes longswords unique, and balances out OP one-handed swords.
- Grappling and Half-Swording are now viable means of fighting armored and unarmored opponents. By winning in the clinch, Henry can deal devestating damage with his sword, often overwhelming armor (but so can NPCs).
- Stealth knockouts are restricted to NPCs NOT wearing head protection. The rear-naked choke would not be very effective against someone wearing a helmet and neck protection. Since the game will not allow for "um-ack-tually" specificity, any NPC wearing a helmet can only be stealth killed, not choked out.
- There are NO clinch attacks for Polearms in the game. To enable clinch attacks for polearms, you'll need a separate mod; however, it's non-PTF and hasn't been updated in since March '25, so it could introduce bugs.
https://www.nexusmods.com/kingdomcomede ... 2/mods/582
- Against bandits, public enemies, or hostile factions, getting knocked unconscious will mean instant death (wear adequate head protection).

Known Issues (Knockout):
If you pick a fight with guards (authority figure):
1. Are knocked unconscious
2. And upon waking you refuse to surrender
3. Are knocked unconscious a second time
As a result, there's a chance the game will bug out and you'll get an endless loading screen, instead of a punishment cutscene. This is because the game doesn't have logic for the new mechanic to connect existing cutscene(s). Building a bridge might be possible in the future, but for now, I have no plans to do so (likely introduce new bugs).

Compatibility: This mod is in PTF format. All buffs, armor_type, and weapon_class files are custom made or minimal edits, therefore compatible with any unrelated mod. Incompatible with mods implementing identical or similar buffs/mechanics, or specifically editing Unarmed MS/Disarm perks, and stamina values in rpg_param, or SoulStateEffectContext. Also contains non-PTF edit of sufrace_type file.

Installation: Unzip and place mod folder in C:\ ... \KingdomComeDeliverance2\Mods.

Changelog

► Show Spoiler

2.41

• Removed movement debuff edits causing archery bug.

2.40

• Terrain has less effect on movement speed.

2.31

• Light and medium crossbows now loadable while crouched and moving (if loading is initiated before crouch).
• Sword clinch damage now viable as 'grappling', 100% increased damage.
• Removed feint speed debuff for shields

2.30

• Reworked and rewrote the perk "Ironclad" to include a 10% increase in movement speed. This will further offset some of the movement speed penalty while in full armor.

2.20

• NPCs with min 0.75 Combat Level can sprint while heavily armored.

2.10

• Hermes Haste perk is now level 8 Vitality.
• Henry and his horse can no longer be significantly slowed from melee hits.

2.02

• Reduced stamina penalty to 50.

2.00

• Overhauled armor interaction with stamina, exhaustion, and movement speed.

1.62

• Removed feint disadvantage from polearms and heavy.

[SoftBreathing_04]

i dont get it so i have a bascinet i will never be knockout?

[campersinc]

i dont get it so i have a bascinet i will never be knockout?

Correct. The incentive is to wear the best head protection as possible, or risk getting knocked out, and killed while unconscious. However, guards won't kill Henry if he gets knocked out, it will trigger a wake-up and new dialogue.

[SoftBreathing_04]

i tested it on an elite armored npc he have a bascinet i knockout him using a long sword but i tried doing it on henry using the same bascinet i did not get knockout even once i tested it for 5 hours straight letting enemies hit my head . (how i test it i just let them hit my head and when i die i just reload the save again and repeat)

i got a feeling npc has more chance to get knockout than henry or is it the same chance as the npc? because i tested it i did not get knockout

and if its ok for you i would like still have a small chance to get henry knockout even he has a best helmet because realistically knights dies due because of crack skulls and daggers on there weak spot so if you have a mace it should still have a small chance henry can get knockout

i really love your mods its transform the game in a whole other level i got all of your combat mods in my game and so far it is super entertaining and soo fun

[campersinc]

The settings I use for knockout possibility are flat, without a modifier, and since knockout is not a vanilla function, Henry and NPCs have the same base probability of knockout. However, there's another mod that revives the KCD perk "Headcracker", which, if you're using, may be influencing your knockout probabilities. With regards to adding a slight chance of knockout no matter the head protection, I decided against this since knockout means instant death for Henry, in all but criminal circumstance. If being knocked out would trigger automatic surrender, and then dialogue with bandits, then maybe I would. However, I'd have to overhaul the entire system. And that feels like an entirely different mod. Simply put, even a small percentage chance would lead to a fair number of instant deaths, especially when out-numbered and receiving a large volume of head strikes. I personally wouldn't find that very fun, therefore, didn't want it in the mod.

[SoftBreathing_04]

I just dont get it i can knock out an npc 3 times in 1 hour and 30 mins wtih the same helmet (bascinet) but when i use the same helmet(bascinet) on henry and let npc hit my head i did not get knockout even once while testing it for 5 hours

(I did not use other mode that modifies knockout chance like head *******)

Maybe my mod is broken i will reinstall and test it again

[SoftBreathing_04]

hello i tested it again i use italian bascinet i never get knockout but the npc with the same gear i knock them out in like 20 secs to 2mins of continues attack on longsword and heavy always. I never use any mod that change the knock out percentage why is the npc so easy to get knockout even in high gear armor but i cannot be knock out if i have the same gear. I feel like npc has more chance to get knockout even they have the most hightier gear and helmets than henry

mods that i use:

betterallies

bigs_inventory_swap

realisheconomy

realishenemies

realishhorsearmor

realishhunting

realishnpcs

realishpoisons

realishspeed

realishstealth

realishtechniques

realishtournaments

realishweaponsarmor

realishwounds

road_encounter

z_stolen_sort

[campersinc]

You can open up the mod files and see what I did. The file in question is buff.xml. The opposing buffs are "hko" for knockout chance and "kopr" for knockout protection. The buff values are mirrored according to the weapon vs helm tiers listed in the mod's description. My experience with testing and playing the mod has been consistent with input buff values. I'm actually not sure what you want me to do: if the numbers I input aren't being reflected by your experience - do I adjust the mod via "Kentucky windage" and hope for the best? Again, I didn't make any numerical errors, to my knowledge, therefore, I have no plans to make changes based upon anecdotal response from users.

[Kamina Tribal]

While I sort of agree with the Exhaustion and Maximum Stamina penalty for wearing heavier armor, I very much disagree on the decrease in movement. Historically armor does not slow down a knight. Quite the contrary, knights are *very* mobile, as mobile as if they're not donning armor. They're faster, more agile, even wildly dexterous compare, to say, normal men-at-arms who would wear lower quality armor or due to training. (The last part Hermes Haste sort of negates, but still a bit hindrance).

I think you can also further improve on the penalty system by having the quality and different types of plate armor affecting the Exhaustion and Stamina penalties. Let's say if a suit of armor is poorly made, then the penalty is more severe, rewarding those who seeks out higher quality armor, or keep it well maintained.

[Oyster Sauce]

While I sort of agree with the Exhaustion and Maximum Stamina penalty for wearing heavier armor, I very much disagree on the decrease in movement. Historically armor does not slow down a knight. Quite the contrary, knights are *very* mobile, as mobile as if they're not donning armor. They're faster, more agile, even wildly dexterous compare, to say, normal men-at-arms who would wear lower quality armor or due to training. (The last part Hermes Haste sort of negates, but still a bit hindrance).

I think you can also further improve on the penalty system by having the quality and different types of plate armor affecting the Exhaustion and Stamina penalties. Let's say if a suit of armor is poorly made, then the penalty is more severe, rewarding those who seeks out higher quality armor, or keep it well maintained.

Wearing a suit of armor is going to slow you down and restrict mobility. I do not care about the 16 year old video of a guy posting his best take of a somersault and struggling to kneel down 1 minute after gearing up (sans helmet).

[campersinc]

While I sort of agree with the Exhaustion and Maximum Stamina penalty for wearing heavier armor, I very much disagree on the decrease in movement. Historically armor does not slow down a knight. Quite the contrary, knights are *very* mobile, as mobile as if they're not donning armor. They're faster, more agile, even wildly dexterous compare, to say, normal men-at-arms who would wear lower quality armor or due to training. (The last part Hermes Haste sort of negates, but still a bit hindrance).

Yes and no. Average weight of plate armor was between 20-25kg in the 15th Century. It's actually been fairly consistent throughout history - as in, a soldier in full kit is going to be around 20-25kg. This will slow you down. Granted, a superb specimen of manhood, such as a European knight, would be able to mitigate some of this - but not all. Even today, with elite soldiers, fatigue in combat and mobility loss due to armor - is an issue.

I think you can also further improve on the penalty system by having the quality and different types of plate armor affecting the Exhaustion and Stamina penalties. Let's say if a suit of armor is poorly made, then the penalty is more severe, rewarding those who seeks out higher quality armor, or keep it well maintained.

The game doesn't allow for such specificity. To be honest, getting these entirely unused systems working and somewhat balanced was a nightmare - and took literal months of work (as you can see from initial publication vs implementation). I'm happy with the 20% loss of real movement speed while wearing full metal armor, and will not nerf it - because it applies to NPCs as well. This is a boon for Henry - so be smart, stay light, and now you can actually kite heavily kitted enemies. With my other mods (Wounds) you can attack and cripple their limbs, causing them to bleed out and die, whilst you sprint away like a gazelle.

[Norfleet]

Wearing a suit of armor is going to slow you down and restrict mobility.

When you first put it on for the first time, sure. Eventually you get used to it as the new normal, and you feel floaty and uncoordinated without it. It gives you vertigo and makes you feel like you're about to float off into the sky like an untethered balloon.

Source: I ALWAYS wear body armor!

[rusty_shackleford]

Wearing a suit of armor is going to slow you down and restrict mobility. I do not care about the 16 year old video of a guy posting his best take of a somersault and struggling to kneel down 1 minute after gearing up (sans helmet).

Maybe there already is one, but there should be a term for internet's disposition towards over-correction.

[Kamina Tribal]

While I sort of agree with the Exhaustion and Maximum Stamina penalty for wearing heavier armor, I very much disagree on the decrease in movement. Historically armor does not slow down a knight. Quite the contrary, knights are *very* mobile, as mobile as if they're not donning armor. They're faster, more agile, even wildly dexterous compare, to say, normal men-at-arms who would wear lower quality armor or due to training. (The last part Hermes Haste sort of negates, but still a bit hindrance).

Yes and no. Average weight of plate armor was between 20-25kg in the 15th Century. It's actually been fairly consistent throughout history - as in, a soldier in full kit is going to be around 20-25kg. This will slow you down. Granted, a superb specimen of manhood, such as a European knight, would be able to mitigate some of this - but not all. Even today, with elite soldiers, fatigue in combat and mobility loss due to armor - is an issue.

I think you can also further improve on the penalty system by having the quality and different types of plate armor affecting the Exhaustion and Stamina penalties. Let's say if a suit of armor is poorly made, then the penalty is more severe, rewarding those who seeks out higher quality armor, or keep it well maintained.

The game doesn't allow for such specificity. To be honest, getting these entirely unused systems working and somewhat balanced was a nightmare - and took literal months of work (as you can see from initial publication vs implementation). I'm happy with the 20% loss of real movement speed while wearing full metal armor, and will not nerf it - because it applies to NPCs as well. This is a boon for Henry - so be smart, stay light, and now you can actually kite heavily kitted enemies. With my other mods (Wounds) you can attack and cripple their limbs, causing them to bleed out and die, whilst you sprint away like a gazelle.

We'll just have to agree to disagree. I'm an avid medieval history enthusiast and armor fitted your body like a tailored suit. The weight are all evenly distributed, so the effects it will have on mobility heavily depends on how they're fitted onto the knight and the quality of the armor (this is why I had made the suggestion, but if it isn't possible and would take too much work, then it's perfectly fine).

And again, I firmly agree with you that even if the suit of armor is properly fitted and the knight is experienced, you'll still suffer from fatigue and generally exhaust your stamina faster than someone without. I just mainly disagree on the mobilty and speed. You can have the knight be running at the same speed as an unarmored combatant on shorter spurts, but longer sprints would greatly diminishes your stamina and tires you faster.

[Oyster Sauce]

We'll just have to agree to disagree. I'm an avid medieval history enthusiast and armor fitted your body like a tailored suit.

A tailored suit that weighs 3 pounds slows you down and restricts movement

[FinnishAmerican]

So I was trying to re-enable masterstrikes with short-sword will keeping everything else intact, but it would crash my game. I was changing "ams=0" to "ams=1" in the buff.xml. I have no clue if this was right or not, but I didn't get far enough to check lol. Help?

[campersinc]

So I was trying to re-enable masterstrikes with short-sword will keeping everything else intact [...]

... I actually disabled the comments on this mod everywhere else because it's been this complaint, this debate, over and over, since the mod's release. I dunno why people love Master-Strike with one-handed sword so much.

Changing the "ams" value to "1" won't cause the mod to crash, but, instead you should delete the "ams=0" entry, this returns it to its default value of "1". However, I dunno what else you edited, or how you saved your changes, or whether you archived the files correctly as a .pak, so diagnosing why your game is crashing after you edited a mod's file, is well, difficult.

[FinnishAmerican]

I was editing the file within WinRAR and started with a completely fresh download of the mod to ensure I was only editing specifically that. Honestly, I like the realism aspect of the Meisterhau being only longswords. I was mostly curious on what I could tweak for personal preference and how it worked. I love the all of your mods for KCD2 though! I was actually watching a review of the game and got confused on a few of the combat complaints they had before I remembered I installed your mods so early when playing the game lol

edit: Figured it out myself by using the KCD PAK Builder from Nexus rather than WinRAR. Thanks for letting me know I was editing the right thing! I hope you keep doing what you do!

[campersinc]

We'll just have to agree to disagree. I'm an avid medieval history enthusiast and armor fitted your body like a tailored suit. The weight are all evenly distributed, so the effects it will have on mobility heavily depends on how they're fitted onto the knight and the quality of the armor (this is why I had made the suggestion, but if it isn't possible and would take too much work, then it's perfectly fine).

And again, I firmly agree with you that even if the suit of armor is properly fitted and the knight is experienced, you'll still suffer from fatigue and generally exhaust your stamina faster than someone without. I just mainly disagree on the mobilty and speed. You can have the knight be running at the same speed as an unarmored combatant on shorter spurts, but longer sprints would greatly diminishes your stamina and tires you faster.

For v2.30 I've reworked the perk "Ironclad" (which is essentially everything you said) to include a 10% increase in movement speed. This should offset some of the penalty, but only by half. However, "Ironclad" can only be attained at Warfare level 12 (average of weapon skills), so in early game, you'll still need to take "Hermes Haste" to sprint while in armor. Otherwise, yeah, you'll be very slow.