Sometimes not drawing attention to yourself is a wise course of action, whether it’s blending in with the crowd and remaining inconspicuous, or actively trying to hide from enemies and guards. Of course, attempting to remain inconspicuous and actually being so are two different things, and to help you sort out when NPCs are looking for you you’ll see a cartoon rabbit icon at the top of the screen. This page will discuss this icon and its various phases that indicate NPC detection and will provide hints and tips for successfully sneaking in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2!

Page Breakdown¶

The Behavior Indicator - Bunny (Hare) Icon¶

As a general rule, Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 trends towards the obtuse when it comes to providing the player feedback - the reactions of Henry and NPCs are supposed to do this. If you botch alchemy, Henry will mumble about what you did wrong, if you neglect to feed Henry, he’ll complain about being hungry, if you let your hygiene lapse, you better believe that NPCs will let you know. NPCs being aware of your presence is no different, but when it comes to stealth, being informed you’ve been detected when an NPC catches you is… kind of redundant.

To help with this and provide information about the general disposition of NPCs towards Henry you’ll see a bunny icon along the top-center of the screen - the Behavior Indicator (Hare). AKA, the bunny icon. It’s not the perfect system, as an NPC has to partially be aware that you - or something, anyways - is in the area, and it won’t let you know that, say, an NPC might wake up if you pick a lock near them or something dramatic like that, but it can help you stalk the outskirts of an enemy camp or skulk along the streets of a town at night, probing to find an opportunity for larceny or murder.

If no NPCs are aware of Henry or taking action regarding him, there will be no icon. You’re blissfully inconspicuous. Once the hare icon appears, however, you may want to moderate your behavior. The various states of the Behavior Indicator are as follows:

White Hare Icon - Suspicion¶

The lowest level of threat and detection is when a white hare appears, either searching with its hand over its brow or via a magnifying glass. In the former case, this means almost nothing except some NPC is searching for “something suspicious”. It doesn’t take much to spook an NPC in 15th century Bohemia, and this “suspicion” could be triggered by approaching some random encounter NPC on the road, or some guard getting spooked and looking for the cause. Essentially this icon is almost always a nothing-burger. The search glass icon is more worrisome, however, as it appears when a crime has been committed and an NPC is looking for clues. When dealing with hostiles, this typically appears when enemies spot something suspicious in their camp or after Henry flees enough to escape immediate detection, but before enemies entirely give up the search.

Yellow Hare Icon - Detection¶

Unlike the white icons, the yellow icons tend to be important, and they may, in fact, be the most important hare icons in the game. These indicate detection/recognition, and the most common example is when you see a yellow hare icon that’s largely static save for its ears. This icon means an enemy is starting to detect/recognize you, and while the hare’s ears will start down they will perk up, indicating the amount of detection/recognition. Once the ears are fully up you’ll be detected by the NPC, and other consequences will follow. If you’re sneaking around, say, a bandit camp, and see a yellow hare pop up ,that means you need to get back into hiding - get some distance, get out of an enemy’s line of sight, etc., as it’s only a matter of time before you’re detected, otherwise.

Orange Hare Icon - Warning¶

Once you’ve been detected, NPCs will respond in various ways, depending on the NPC and the situation. If you’re trespassing (indicated by a blue shield or orange shield icon that will appear within restricted areas - blue being less severe than orange) an NPC may sternly demand you leave the area, indicated by an orange hare icon pointing its finger. If you’re being detained or confronted, an orange hare icon with its hand raised will appear - you are expected to stand and talk to the NPC (usually but not always a guard) and answer for your actions. If the NPC decides to raise the alarm (a villager reporting you to the guards or bandits alerting their companions) you’ll see a yellow hare icon blowing a horn - kill the nark to prevent the alarm from being raised or the authorities from being informed!

Red Hare Icon - Threat¶

Perhaps the most intuitive hare icons in the game, these icons appear after hostilities have broken out. If enemies are actively pursuing you, but aren’t within immediate melee range, you’ll see an orange hare icon with a sword raised. Violence is imminent and you may very well be subject to (or currently engaged in) ranged attacks of your own. When you’re in direct combat with an enemy you’ll see two hares crossing swords.

How to Sneak Successfully¶

While the Behavior Indicator isn’t strictly about stealth, its most useful feature is arguably a gauge of how well you’re avoiding detection. That said, it’s better off if you’re sneaky enough that you never even see the hare icon in the first place, so we’ll provide some advice for sneaking about undetected in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Much of this should be familiar to you if you’ve played… well, any ARPG with a stealth mechanic before, but the sim elements in this game can run a bit deeper than other open world ARPGs, so you still might pick up something useful.

• First and perhaps most importantly, your Stealth skill determines how competent you are at sneaking. If you want to sneak better, level up Stealth, which you can do by leveling up Thievery - sneaking around at night and picking locks is a great way of leveling both!

• Wear clothes with low Noise and Visibility values. Conspicuousness also matters, but less so than the other two stats - it’s more about not looking distinctive and blending in, rather than not being detectable. Good sneaking clothes are generally dark, lightweight and unremarkable. The clothes you can steal during Materia Prima.

• Avoid an enemy’s line of sight and avoid light sources. Sneak around at night if possible, and don’t lug around a torch, obvious.

• Moving slower generates less noise.

• Buy or brew Nighthawk Potions. These will give you night vision, which gives you a huge edge over NPCs and makes light sources even more conspicuous. It can also help you find things in the dark, which is an underrated boon - the less time you’re scrounging around for objectives, the less likely you are to be detected.

• Bathe! While it’s a bit extreme, if you’re extraordinarily unkempt your ungodly stank might give you away! As a general rule of thumb, if NPCs are commenting on your smell, it’s time for a bath.

• Stay away from dogs. If you disturb them, they’ll start barking, drawing unwanted attention to the area.

• If you have Mutt, command him to stay. Some NPCs get annoyed by Mutt roaming about and Henry’s pet pooch can draw unwanted attention to itself and hence Henry.

Keep those tips in mind and you’ll be sneaking around like a pro in no time! Be mindful of the hare and not only will you be able to sneak well, but you’ll avoid trouble entirely and mitigate imminent mistakes.