Best Starter Loadout in KCD2 (Trosky Region)

Weapon

A short sword (available from an early quest with Hans) is balanced for low Strength and faster than a longsword. Until your Strength climbs, lighter blades let you actually use them — the Train Hard Fight Easy perk from the early perks guide lowers the requirement further.

Shield

A small wooden shield from the Trosky guard barracks is free and teaches block timing. A shield turns unknown incoming angles into manageable perfect blocks while you learn the Master Strike.

Armor

A padded gambeson plus brigantine, looted from prologue raid bodies, is cheap mid-tier protection. You do not need plate yet — heavy armor slows stamina recovery, which hurts more than the extra protection helps when you are low-level.

Helmet

An open-faced kettle hat protects without cutting visibility. Closed helms carry a Speech penalty in town, so keep the face open when you are not fighting.

Ranged and consumables

• A hunting bow (buy from the Trosky huntsman) lets you bypass tough melee fights from range.
• Bandages x5 to stop bleeding (very common).
• Saviour Schnapps x10 for manual saves — brew your own per the save guide. This setup is not optimal — it is survivable. ## When to upgrade Move off this loadout once Strength and Vitality let you wear plate without choking your stamina, and once you have learned the Master Strike so a heavier sword becomes safe to swing. Until then, the gambeson-and-short-sword combo keeps Henry mobile and alive — exactly what the Trosky region demands of a new player. As your stats and build develop, swap the gambeson for better plate and the short sword for your chosen weapon type.