Gothic Two Full Guide

Copyright 2004 Patrick E. Bryant

Use of this guide is premitted for all non commercial functions, 
provided that proper credit is given.

Character Creation

Although you don't create a character off the bat in Gothic, you should 
have some idea of what you want to do. Advancement is slow at first, 
but after a while you'll pick up a huge number of advancement points. 
Each point of advancement in a statistic or skill costs one point, 
usually.

Your statistics
Strength - Trainable to 100 (also rises with potions and a few rare 
extras)
Dexterity - Trainable to 100 (also rises with potions and a few rare 
extras)
Health - Not Trainable (also rises with level, potions, and a few rare 
extras)
Mana - Trainable (also rises with potions and a few rare extras)

Your skills are
One-Handed Weapons - Trainable to 100 (rises with a few rare extras)
Two-Handed Weapons - Trainable to 100 (rises with a few rare extras)
Bow - Trainable to 100
Crossbow - Trainable to 100

If you want to kick butt in melee combat, you'd be wise to raise your 
strength and a chosen melee skill. However, you may only advance so far 
in a skill before also raising its counterpart. For example, to reach 
Master level in Two-Handed Weapons you'll need to put points into One-
Handed Weapons as well. If you try to raise Two-Handed Weapons anyway, 
you'll automatically have to pay the points for One-Handed Weapons as 
well. So, instead of raising Two-Handed Weapons for 1 advancement 
point, you'll spend 2, and get a point of One-Handed Weapons as well. 
There are a few ways to get around this, such as "Alrik's Sword", a 
special item that raises your One-Handed Weapons skill when wielded. As 
far as the game is concerned, there is no distinction between your 
natural attributes and any enhancements from magic items.

Your skill in melee weapons determines the odds of getting a critical 
strike, which adds you strength into the damage formula. At the start, 
you'll only add a few points of damage and only do it rarely. Study 
diligently, and by the end of the game you can effortlessly add over 
100 points of damage above weapon damage with every single hit. While 
there are a few rare ways of adding to your skill without spending 
points, there is no use in getting them over 100. Strength has no use 
apart from this.

One-Handed Weapons are faster and easier to use. Two-Handed Weapons are 
stronger and have a slightly higher damage output. At the end of the 
game, the difference will not be that much between them. Paladin 
characters may want to study Two-Handed since their special Two-Handed 
weapon (The Holy Executioner) is far and away better than their special 
One-Handed Weapon. Mercenaries should just pick whichever they favor. 
For Fire Mages, it is largely irrelevant. Nevertheless, up until 
Chapter 3 they will probably rely on swords as much as spells.

If you want to shoot people safely down from a distance, study Bow and 
Crossbow skills. Unlike melee combat skills, your relevant stat 
(Dexterity) is always included in the damage total. However, without 
much skill in this, you won't be able to hit enemies easily from a 
distance; your range will be very short. With practice, however (and 
maybe a safe spot to shoot from), you'll be able to tear through mobs 
of foes with no resistance. Bows are faster than crossbows (and 
probably better for dedicated archers) but do less damage. Bows also 
require a higher Dexterity than Crossbows. Past a certain point you'll 
have to raise the both skills just as with melee weapons.

While no other character really needs to worry about it, Fire Mages 
should train their Mana score as high as possible. It's not a bad idea 
to save some points for other things, but Mana is still your life's 
blood. Apart from that, you should have a weapon skill of some sort, as 
you'll need to use it from time to time. A good point to learn this is 
in Chapter 1, before you join the Fire Mages, since you'll need some 
muscle to get through anyway.

Other Skills

You can learn the basics of hunting from Bosper the bowyer (that means 
he makes bows) for 5 points. Then you can obtain the hides of any 
sheep, wolf, warg, shadowbeast, troll, or black troll you kill. 
Thereafter, you can ask various hunters you meet to teach you how to 
harvest other things, such as claws, Shadowbeast horns, or even hearts. 
Its possible to make a lot of money this way, but the cash is really 
not necessary. You should probably learn the basics, but anything more 
is overkill. The exceptions are if you need the item for making 
something else: mercenaries in particular need to learn these skills to 
obtain their ultimate weaponry. Every skill takes 5 more points to 
learn, so don't pick them up lightly. The problem with the other 
trophy-taking skills is that they are not very cost effective. No one 
buys them full-price, and the valuable ones are to rare to make it 
worth the effort unless you need them for some other reason.

You can learn smithcraft from Harad or Bennet. This allows you to make 
some nice early-game swords. You'll find better soon, but in each 
chapter you can learn better sword-making abilities, for 5 points each. 
The first sword recipes need only a steel piece, but later ones demand 
magic ore or more exotic ingredients. Only Bennet can teach you more 
advanced smithcraft.

Alchemy can be learned from any of the games main alchemists: Ignaz, 
Constantino, and Sagitta. Ignaz will do it for free if you accomplish 
his quest for him. Constantino will only teach you if you become his 
apprentice (though you don't need to learn it even if you do become his 
apprentice) and Sagitta has her own quest for you. Either way, 
Constantino and Sagitta can teach you many more advanced potions, 
including ones that increase your statistics permanently. Each potion 
costs 5 LP. They are more or less divided into two lines, and each 
recipe needs a water flask as well as its specific ingredients. Late in 
the game, Vatras the Water Priest can teach you all the potions as 
well. As long as you know how to make any potion, you can also refine 
swampweed into smokable form. There seems to be no benefit to using 
them, however.

You must learn each level of potions before the next within a 
particular line of potions. For example, you must learn Essence of Mana 
to learn Extract of Mana. You must learn Elixir of Healing to learn 
Elixir of Strength or Life. I have marked the potion levels below.

1 Essence of Healing (2x Healing Plant, Meadow Knotweed) +50 HP
2 Extract of Healing (2x Healing Herb, Meadow Knotweed) +75 HP
3 Elixir of Healing (2x Healing Root, Meadow Knotweed) +100 HP
4 Elixir of Life (Healing Root, King's Sorrel) +15 Max Hit Points 
permanently

1 Essence of Mana (2x Fire Nettle, Meadow Knotweed) +50 Mana
2 Extract of Mana (2x Fire Weed, Meadow Knotweed) +75 Mana
3 Elixir of Mana (2x Fire Root, Meadow Knotweed) +100 Mana
4 Elixir of Spirit (Fire Root, King's Sorrel) +10 Max Mana permanently

You need to learn either level 3 potions to learn these:
4 Elixir of Dexterity (Goblin Berries, King's Sorrel) +5 Dexterity 
permanently
4 Elixir of Strength (Dragonroot, King's Sorrel) +5 Strength 
permanently

It seems only Ignaz or Vatras can teach you this potion:
1 Potion of Speed (Snapperweed, Meadow Knotweed) Double running speed 
for 5 minutes

You can learn lockpicking from Thorben the carpenter, or Ramirez the 
thief. Thorben costs more and you must prove your honorable intentions 
to him and Ramirez is cheaper, but requires you join the Thieves at 
least temporarily. Costs 5 LP. To use it, you need a lockpick and then 
must click on a locked chest. Your character will crouch down. You must 
push the left and right movement buttons to manipulate the pick back 
and forth. Each chest is a series of L/R switches. They don't change so 
you can just reload once you discover the solution. If you get a switch 
wrong, you have a % chance of breaking your lockpick, which appears to 
be your 100-[Dexterity score]. So, if you have a Dexterity of 30, you 
have a 70% chance of breaking your pick.

You can learn Sneaking from Bartok the hunter or Jesper the thief. 
Costs 5 points. Sneaking lets you get into a few places you couldn't 
otherwise go without being attacked, but it not awesomely useful. If 
you want to nip some rich people's goods, though, it's invaluable. It 
does not work against animals or other monsters that I've seen.

Only Cassia the thieves' guild leader can teach you pickpocketing. It 
costs 5 LP. Pickpocketing requires you have to enter into conversation 
with your mark and then use the pickpocket command to nab his stuff. 
The game will give you a good idea of the difficulty, but not the exact 
score required. For the monetary reward it's not worth it, but you do 
get experience for each successful steal, and the experience increases 
with each chapter. If you wait until chapter 5, you'll be able to gain 
a boatload of experience by pickpocketing everyone in the game. If 
you're caught, however, you will be immediately attacked.

Guilds

Gothic 2 has three character guilds: Paladin, Mercenary, and Fire Mage. 

The Paladins offer superior armor and, late in the game, some very 
powerful and mana-efficient magic spells. They have special magic 
weapons you can get later in the game, a unique one-handed sword or a 
unique two-handed sword. Both are powerful, but the two-handed blade 
beat the other by 20 points of damage. Each of their spells cost 5 
points to learn, but you can get several for free after you advance 
your rank from militiaman to Paladin. All in all, Paladins are a tough, 
balanced character choice that will give you a lot of fun, and let you 
take an enormous amount of damage. Most Paladins are melee specialists, 
but in Gothic 2 there's nothing keeping you from playing a ranged 
specialist or even a magic-specialist. You'll not get a damaging spell 
until chapter 3, but Paladin runes are quite powerful and use little 
mana. However, playing these latter ways won't really work with your 
specialties as a Paladin.After you become a Paladin, you also get 
double bonuses from praying to Innos at the small shrines.

To get spells, ask to receive a Rune from Albrech after joining their 
holy order. Alternatively, you can just use runes you find. I recommend 
this, because each Rune you get from Albrech costs 5 LP. You can just 
find runes of Holy Light, Greater Healing, and Destroy Evil.

You may join the Paladins in this manner: first, become a citizen or 
root out the Thieves' Guild, then speak to the militia commander Andre 
to sign up. This will net you Militia armor. In Chapter 3, free Bennet 
from jail, and Lord Hagen will admit you to the order of Paladins.

The Mercenaries have lighter armor than paladins, but it comes cheaper 
and the can learn how to forge the ultimate melee weapons. The 
dragonhunter armor is hardened against dragonfire, and for that purpose 
it is better than paladin armor (not that this has much effect on the 
game). Mercenaries find it easier to play ranged-attack characters, but 
get no runes. Their Dragonhunter armor is also the best looking, in 
this FAQ-writer's opinion. However, merc will need to spend a huge pile 
of money getting armor and gear over the game, so be prepared to 
scrounge for every scrap of cash. I recommend learning more hunting 
skills and stealing to compensate.

You may join the Mercenaries in this manner: first, show up at Onar's 
farm, speak to Lee and accomplish the tasks Torlof gives you, and then 
convince the mercenaries to admit you. Speak to Lee again, and you can 
join the mercs. Later, free Bennet from jail, and you can get 
Dragonhunter armor. You should learn both hunting and smithing as a 
merc, since these will be needed to make your ultimate melee weapon. 
The difference between one-handed and two-handed damage is only 10, so 
pick whichever you feel most comfortable with.

Fire Mages mostly stand back and blast things into dust. With a 
protected position, they can call down attacks that make even the best 
archers quake with fear. Other than that, they can learn summoning 
spells, transformation magic, and healing spells. Its not really 
recommended for your first Gothic 2 game, but whether you're a first-
timer or a old hand, Fire Mages are fun to play. Your armor will suck 
compared to the other guilds, however, so you'll not be charging Orcish 
hordes if you're smart. You can obtain reasonably powerful weaponry, 
but not to the extent of the mighty blades of the mercenaries and 
paladins. Your combat skills are also more expensive to train, so you 
should get something before joining. You should learn "Take Hearts" so 
as to get otherwise unobtainable spell ingredients.

To join the Fire Mages, go to their monastery and ask about admission. 
You'll have to make a donation of 1,000 gp and a sheep. The gold can be 
earned by whatever manner you choose, and the sheep may be obtained by 
talking to Pepe behind Onar's house. The sheep costs you 100 gold. Make 
sure you kill every wolf and warg between you and the Monastery or 
you'll be sorry. There are a couple of wolves hidden in the brush near 
Isgaroth, on the other side of the road from him, so kill them before 
they can surprise you.

Other Stat-boosters

Wulfgar the militia skill-trainer will be up and-at-em early in the 
morning (around 6-7 am). Meet with him at this time and he'll teach you 
a special bonus tip, raising your one-handed by 2%.

Lutero the merchant in Upper Khorinis will sell two special books for 
5,000 gold each. One, Southern Defense Art, raises your One-handed by 
5%. The other, Double Blocks, Raises your Two-Handed skill by the same 
and costs the same. Zuris and Constantino sell a book called Divine 
Power of the Stars. This book gives you a small mana boost.

Fire Mages can get a special +2% Two-Handed bonus after completing a 
special quest.

If you join the Thieves and learn their special signal, you can learn a 
special trick from Rengaru that raises your Dexterity by 2.

You can pray at statues of Innos and make a donation of 100 gold to get 
+4 HP or +1 Strength. If you happen to be a Paladin, you get +1 Hit 
points, +4 Mana, +2 Dex, or +2 Strength from this. Fire Mages always 
get +4 Mana.

Thorben the carpenter sends you on a special quest that requires you 
get a blessing from Daron the Fire Mage. Whether you do this or not, 
you can pay Daron money for his blessing. Pay him in 50 gp increments, 
up to a maximum of 1,000 gold, early in the game. This is well worth 
it. Daron will grant you a massive hit point boost, along with a few 
other extras. Make sure you are fully healed before getting any of his 
blessings, though, or you'll waste one being healed.

If you eat 50 Dark Muschrooms you'll get a +10 mana boost. If you eat 
25 apples, you'll get a +1 Strength bonus. Both the aforementioned 
bonuses appear to work only once. Coragon the bartender has some 
special beer he'll give you if you're extra nice to him. This adds +1 
Mana and +4 Hit Points permanently. You can get 2 of these.

If you eat a pot of Thekla's stew, you'll get a +1 Strength bonus per 
use. You can always get three of these stews; Fire Mages can get an 
extra one. Fire Mages can ask for one for free. Any character can beat 
up Bullco and ask Thekla for on. Ask again and she sends you on a fetch 
quest to Sagitta. Come back and ask for another. Later in the game, in 
Chapter 5, you can come back to Sagitta for yet one more.

When you get the item, Ring of the Orcish Warlords, it drains you 
strength by 20 if you wear it (you get them from orc warlords and orc 
colonels in chapters 4, 5, and 6. You can then train you strength up to 
100, remove the ring, and instantly have 120 strength!

>> I first read this trick in Ellusion's FAQ on Gamefaqs, but have 
confirmed it for myself. Credit where credit is due. <<

Combat

     Melee combat in Gothic 2 looks hard until you learn a few tricks. 
First, there are two methods of attacking. First, you'll want to 
normally hit the "lock-on" button to target a specific creature and 
whack it. You can do forward hacks or side-to side slashes. Forward 
slashes are quite powerful and with increasing skill levels can be 
chained into long, elaborate combos. Side-swings have the advantage of 
being chained indefinitely. You can also do a running slash, but this 
is a clumsy maneuver. However, its handy when fighting certain foes, 
like Trolls and Dragons. 

     Ranged combat and spell combat is similar but obviously you attack 
from long range and only have one attack mode. The key here is making 
sure you have a good position and can run away.

     You cannot block the attacks of animals or any other creature that 
doesn't use weaponry, so don't bother. You can hit them and they will 
back away just a bit. You may block the attacks of weapon-wielding 
foes, like humans, skeletons and orcs, but this is of limited utility. 
It's most useful at low levels, but as you improve, you'll want to 
concentrate more on attacks. Plus, many weapon wielding enemies at high 
levels will come in packs, making blocks pointless. You may block one 
attack only to be hit by the next.

     The critical factor in the game past Chapter 1 is mob control. You 
need to learn how to pull only a few enemies at once. Do this by 
finding foes separate from groups and run toward them a little bit at a 
time. Once they pull their weapon or begin their warning sequence (wolf 
growls or bloodfly hisses) or, in the case of snappers, stalk you, hold 
your ground until it attacks. If you pulled too many, run back a bit 
until they stop growling. If you accidentally activate a bunch of foes, 
run like mad until they stop chasing you. Some enemies link, which 
means that if one is attacked or sees you they'll all come chase you. 
If an enemy is linking, you may be able to get a few to chase you 
around a corner and then kill them separately. Some nonlinking 
creatures will link if you attack or kill one near the rest. Snappers 
won't link normally, but will link if you actually shoot arrows into a 
pack.

Creature Combat Notes

Bloodflies, Field Raiders, Lizards, and Lurkers: Nonlinking; these all 
warn you off before attacking. Bloodflies tend to get stuck on top of 
you so you can't hit them a melee attack. Just move away and attack 
again. Field raiders are easy to fend off since their charge is slow. 
Lizards will rush you fast and chew you up if you haven't got good 
armor. Its possible to fend them off without getting hit, but they are 
quite fast. Some of these enemies try to circle around you - as long as 
you pull only onne at a time, this is no threat. If you have two, it 
can be. Try to kill one quickly, or ust recenter on the nearest oen and 
knock it back, then switch to the other to hit it.

Demons: nonlinking; Demons are vicious but not the worst foes. Don't 
let them hit you or they'll do massive damage. They can be held back 
fairly easily with quick side-slashes. They leave a pretty blue light 
show when they die, as well as some potions on their corpses. You won't 
meet very many in the game.

Fire Lizards: Nonlinking; Fire Lizards look like lizards but they are 
red and have a nasty fire attack that tears through you. If you give 
them a quick smack on the nose when they charge (like regular lizards) 
they jump back and won't breathe fire on you. They're easy to kill once 
you get the knack.

Goblins, Orc Warriors, Orc Elites, Orc Warlords, and Lizardmen: 
Linking, Weapon-using; Goblins are easy early-game opponents, but Black 
Goblins can be a pain until you hit the mid-teen levels. Either one can 
be dangerous if they swarm