Should you save the hermit in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2? Full quest guide 

The blacksmithing questline in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 tasks you with retrieving a sword from a hermit, but things are never that simple.

Completing side quests like Find Mutt, Miri Fajta, and The Axe from the Lake are great ways to get started in the game but to advance the main story, you’ll have to speak to either the miller or the blacksmith. 

The blacksmith has promised a Damascus steel sword as a wedding gift so it’s your job to get one from an old hermit. The game doesn’t tell you exactly where to go, so here’s how to complete The Hermit, and whether you should save him. 

How to complete The Hermit in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 

For the most part, completing The Hermit in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is as simple as following the quest markers. However, a few parts might trip you up, and there’s a tough decision to make. 

Exhaust all dialogue with Innkeeper Betty

You’ll first want to talk to Innkeeper Betty to find out more about the hermit but make sure you ask everything there is to ask and don’t try to find him too early. If you do, you won’t have the option to speak to him, he’ll just chase you away. 

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I talked to Bara to find out more from the villagers, then just followed the quest markers to complete the investigation side of the quest. After speaking to Shepherd Stanislav, you’re tasked with finding a black horse. 

Find the black horse

The black horse is found at the Abandoned Camp POI east of the road in Apollonia. Check out the exact location on the map below. Once you’ve found and inspected the horse, you can head to the hermit’s camp. 

Find the hermit 

The hermit’s camp is directly west of the Well POI in Apollonia. When you see the stream cross the road, face west and follow the stream until you reach a path. Follow that path round, and you’ll find the hermit’s shack. Check out the image below for the exact location. 

Once you’ve found the hermit, exhaust all the dialogue then press him for answers. After he’s told you that he’s Konrad, a knight from the Knights of the Cross, and the real hermit, his old friend Ambrose, is dead, he says he’ll tell you where the sword is after you deliver a message. 

Save or kill the hermit

Once the message has been delivered, you’ll find more Knights of the Cross outside his camp. They’ll ask you to help them kill him, so it’s best to just agree. 

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Slowly approach Konrad and speak to him – don’t start moving until he’s stopped talking, or he’ll immediately become hostile. Now, you can decide whether to side with Konrad or the knights. 

If Konrad dies before telling you anything, you can find his diary upstairs in his shack. Move the three sacks out of the way, then pick it up and read it. 

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Find the sword

Now you know how to get the sword, head west up the hill then search for the grave. To make things easier, you can see the exact location on the map below.

Once you’ve got the sword, head back to the blacksmith in Tachov and forge it. Then, you can head to the wedding and continue the main storyline. 

Should you kill or save the hermit? 

You should save the hermit, Konrad, in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. Reading his journal reveals that he was telling the truth the whole time. 

Konrad did learn of the archbishop’s murder, grandmaster Zdenyek was involved, and he had to kill two of his brothers to escape. He sought Ambrose for help but the old knight died soon after he arrived, so he pretended to be his friend to fulfill his dying wish and escape the murderers. 

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Of course, saving Konrad is the morally correct choice, but you can play Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 whichever way you like; if you’d rather take the easier fight, you can gang up on Konrad with the knights.

However, in my playthrough, they became immediately hostile after the fight and wanted me to clear off. So, you can kill them afterward and loot their gear to sell, but it won’t be an easy fight. 

Whether Konrad tells you where the sword is, or you learn about it in his diary, you can still complete the quest, so do what feels best for your version of Henry. 

While you’re in Apollonia, you can also check out where Hired Hand Ventza’s map leads to get some free treasure.