Gothic 1 Tips and Hints

[Vivec]

Hi all!

I started playing this game when it came out, and it's easily my favorite RPG of all time because of the amazing gameplay, unique features, and warm fuzzy feelings I get when I boot it up :D I know a TON about this game because of all the running around I did in it when I was younger, so I wanted to share by biggest tips here in this forum, so hopefully someone can get some use out of them. Enjoy!

1) Leveling - between all the quests in the 3 camps in Chapter 1, you should be around lvl 8-9 when you finally join a camp. Be sure to explore every camp very well in order to get all the quests done. The best order to do quests in is Old Camp 1st, then New Camp, then Sect Camp. Requires the least amount of running around.

2) Money - first thing I always do in a game is go to the smithy in the outer ring of the Old Camp. At that smithy, there is a locked chest that is easily picked which contains 20 raw steel. Using the smithy, you can turn all of these into crude swords (use raw steel at furnace 20 times, then anvil, then bucket, then grindstone). This gives you 20 crude swords, worth 1000 ore! This is more than enough to get all the ore from Dexter, Fisk, and Cavalorn (and all their lock picks). This will set you up with 600 ore, and enough to get the diggers pants for 500 ore (you can get this ore back from Fisk once you buy the pants too). The smithy in the sect camp has a similar chest as well, with even more raw steel in it which you can turn into swords, ensuring that you'll be totally set for money through most of the first couple Chapters. Best part, you don't get in trouble for picking these chests for some reason, meaning free ore!

3) Weapons - right at the start of the game you only have 10 STR. Fisk sells a sword that does 20 damage, and only requires 10 STR. Pick up this weapon first using the crude swords you make from the raw steel, as it's nice to have a 20 damage weapon you can use without putting any LP into STR. After you get your strength up to 40, and your one-handed skill up to the first level you can make a trip to the New Camp and visit an NPC called Silas, who is located in the bar on the lake. If you beat up Silas (may require some reloads) you can take his weapon "Silas' Axe." This is a beast of a weapon that does 55 damage and only requires 40 STR. You won't get in trouble for beating up Silas either, seeing as you're in the New Camp. This weapon makes most fights MUCH easier, and makes clearing out forests in Chapter 1 a breeze, leading to easier leveling. You can also beat up Lares for his axe, which requires just 5 more STR than Silas' Axe, and does a whopping 65 damage. You shouldn't get in trouble for beating him up, but picking up his weapon off the floor, or wearing his weapon in front of him might attract attention from his guards.

4) Weapons Continued - after you join a camp, you'll be visiting the Ore Barons in the Old Camp. There is an NPC here called Scar, which has the best one-handed weapon you'll be seeing in the entire game, and you can get it in the first chapter! If you become a shadow and beat up Scar (which should be much easier with Silas' Axe) you won't even get in trouble with the other Ore Barons. If you belong to the Sect Camp or New Camp however, you'll get beaten up for attacking an Ore Baron, and may need some clever maneuvering to pick up Scar's Sword before you get knocked down. This weapon requires 70 STR, and does 85 damage, and is well worth the challenge of getting it early in the game.

These hints make my game go much smoother, and I hope they can help you too! If anyone else has any hints for Gothic 1, feel free to post them.

[JohnJSal]

I know this is an old post, but it's excellent! Thanks so much for the tip about making ore!

As for 1h training, is Scar's Sword better than most 2h weapons? 85 seems like a lot. Or is it best to just save points to train 2h? I've read Lee will teach it without requiring 1h training first, but is it only if you join the New Camp?

Thanks again!

[Vivec]

Damn after 2 years I'm very surprised to see a post here, happy to see it though!

Scar's sword will easily get you through the entire game (save one part that I won't spoil), and if you keep leveling up your STR it will take out most anything in very few hits. The two-handers you get in the later chapters are better, but of course slightly slower.

You can learn 2-handed combat from either Cor Angar in the sect camp, Lee in the New Camp, or Thorus in the Old Camp. I'm pretty sure you can learn 2 handed from Cor Angar or Lee, no matter which faction you joined, later on in chapter 4 or 5.

I wouldn't worry too much about the heavy STR requirement if you're going to go with a melee build, the STR just adds to your damage.

[JohnJSal]

Thanks for the reply! Glad you are still checking the post! :-)

So would you recommend I train the second level of 1h weapons as soon as possible, or should I focus on getting the strength to use Silas' and then Scar's weapons first?

So far I've done 5 points in hunting, 10 for sneaking, 5 for strength, and 10 for the first level of 1h weapons. I have another 10 to spend right now as I explore the new camp. I also bought the strength ring from Cronos, so my strength is 20.

Basically, all I have left to train is 1h, 2h, and strength, I'm just not sure in which order.

[JohnJSal]

I got Silas' axe! My thinking was, at least get strength to 40 for the axe. And I may try to get it to 70 for Scar's Sword as well, before training the next level of 1h weapons.

And it seems like the damage of the sword is on par with most 2h weapons, so I figure I should save 2h training for later, when I get one with higher damage than the sword.

[Vivec]

The way I normally do it is one-handed level 1 first, then STR until I can use Scar's Sword, then one-handed level 2. After that it's whatever I want.

You definitely won't need 2-handed until much later if you have scar's sword, and by that time you won't have anything else to spend your LP on.

[JohnJSal]

Thanks!

[Vivec]

No problem :D

[Wafflesaurus Supreme]

I never pay for the Digger's pants in the Old Camp. I just get them for free at the New Mine behind the New Camp. Tell one of the guys that you're a digger and that you have experience and he just gives them to you. 500 ore saved. Equipping them also gives you free access to the bar on the lake where you can meet Silas.

[Vivec]

Very true, but they're so much more ugly than the digger's pants! If you use smithing to make swords like I posted then getting ore won't be a problem for most of the game.

[JohnJSal]

Indeed it won't! I'm not sure I ever needed my hunting skills, because I had a ton of ore between your advice and just buying up all the ore with the weapon drops from mobs.