Beginner Guide & Tips
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Everything you need to know to survive Gothic 2: Night of the Raven. This guide covers the optimal start, how to make gold, combat mechanics, permanent stat boosts and common mistakes.
Starting at Xardas' Tower
You wake up at Xardas' Tower. Before heading out, loot everything:
Upper floor: A stone tablet, several bookstands (punch Xardas once to move him off them), a key, and an Altar of Beliar. The altar lets you permanently sacrifice HP or Mana for gold - skip this, it's not worth it.
Ground floor: Herbs, a Strength Belt (equip immediately), and supplies. Check behind the tower for a skeleton with extra loot.
The path down: Walk around the small lake near the goblin tunnel to find a bow and arrows among the trees. The tunnel has goblins and young field raiders - save before engaging the raiders, they hit hard at level 1.
The tunnel leads to a valley with weak creatures and Lester, a friend from Gothic 1. Talk to him - he tells you that collecting 10 herbs of the same kind and showing them to the guards gets you into Khorinis (quest "Herbs for Constantino").
Back on the main path: first a single wolf, then you meet Cavalorn in distinctive armor who helps you fight and gives you a Wolf Knife (quest "Cavalorn's Bandits"). Past him is the bandit near Xardas' Tower - you can fight or talk him into leaving (quest "The Bandits at Lobart's Farm"). Then another young wolf, and the terrain opens up. Go right toward Lobart's Farm - going left is dangerous with many enemies hidden behind bushes.
At Lobart's Farm, talk to Maleth the shepherd first - tell him you dealt with the bandits. Do all quests on the farm: "Pulling Turnips", "Bring the Turnips to Hilda", "For a Bottle of Wine". Don't buy the Peasant Clothing from Lobart - instead, steal it from his house at night after finishing all quests, then stay away from the farm for a few days.
Check the barn: Two hidden leather pouches - one straight ahead on the floor between junk, the other at the far end behind hay bales on the left side of the entrance.
Upper floor: A stone tablet, several bookstands (punch Xardas once to move him off them), a key, and an Altar of Beliar. The altar lets you permanently sacrifice HP or Mana for gold - skip this, it's not worth it.
Ground floor: Herbs, a Strength Belt (equip immediately), and supplies. Check behind the tower for a skeleton with extra loot.
The path down: Walk around the small lake near the goblin tunnel to find a bow and arrows among the trees. The tunnel has goblins and young field raiders - save before engaging the raiders, they hit hard at level 1.
The tunnel leads to a valley with weak creatures and Lester, a friend from Gothic 1. Talk to him - he tells you that collecting 10 herbs of the same kind and showing them to the guards gets you into Khorinis (quest "Herbs for Constantino").
Back on the main path: first a single wolf, then you meet Cavalorn in distinctive armor who helps you fight and gives you a Wolf Knife (quest "Cavalorn's Bandits"). Past him is the bandit near Xardas' Tower - you can fight or talk him into leaving (quest "The Bandits at Lobart's Farm"). Then another young wolf, and the terrain opens up. Go right toward Lobart's Farm - going left is dangerous with many enemies hidden behind bushes.
At Lobart's Farm, talk to Maleth the shepherd first - tell him you dealt with the bandits. Do all quests on the farm: "Pulling Turnips", "Bring the Turnips to Hilda", "For a Bottle of Wine". Don't buy the Peasant Clothing from Lobart - instead, steal it from his house at night after finishing all quests, then stay away from the farm for a few days.
Check the barn: Two hidden leather pouches - one straight ahead on the floor between junk, the other at the far end behind hay bales on the left side of the entrance.
Accept Canthar's pass at Lobart's Farm. This unlocks the quest "Canthar's Favor" in town which rewards a Ship's Axe or Pirate Saber plus 200-300 XP and 100 gold. Worth doing.
Give the Peasant Clothing to Greg the pirate - he's hiding behind a tree near the city gate. You get bonus XP and he says it'll pay off later.
Never fight groups of enemies at the start. Even with a Leather Armor and a decent weapon like a Fine Short Sword, multiple opponents are a death sentence. Focus on city quests first.
Choosing a Job in Khorinis
To join the Militia (and later become a Paladin), you need to become a citizen. That means getting an apprenticeship with one of three masters: Bosper, Harad, or Constantino (quest "Apprentice in Khorinis"). You need the approval of at least 4 out of 5 masters to proceed. Even if you're going Mercenary or Fire Mage, the apprenticeship gives useful skills and gold.
**Bosper - Hunter** (quest "Pelts for Bosper")
Bring 6 Wolf Pelts. Bosper teaches you Take Pelts for free. His former apprentice Bartok helps with the hunt. Most immersive option - you feel the world pulling you in as you hunt across Khorinis. Pelts sell at full price to Bosper for the entire game.
**Harad - Blacksmith** (quest "A Great Challenge")
Bring an orc weapon or defeat a group of bandits. Only costs 2 LP to learn smithing. The trick: Carl, the other smith around the corner, carries Raw Steel. Knock him out, take his steel, forge weapons, sell them. Every time Carl walks back to his anvil, his steel respawns. Infinite loop = thousands of gold in Chapter 1.
**Constantino - Alchemist** (quest "Plants for Constantino")
Bring 11 different herbs. Worst deal of the three. He pays gold only for Dark Mushrooms and Digger's Meat - items that give permanent stat boosts. He's scamming you. You don't even need his apprenticeship to learn Alchemy - any other trainer works.
The smart route: Do all city quests first. Then go hunting with Bartok - you'll kill the wolves for Bosper's pelts, pick up a Shadowbeast fur on the way, and at the end take down an Orc Scout together for a Light Orc Axe. This completes the hardest master quests in one trip.
**Bosper - Hunter** (quest "Pelts for Bosper")
Bring 6 Wolf Pelts. Bosper teaches you Take Pelts for free. His former apprentice Bartok helps with the hunt. Most immersive option - you feel the world pulling you in as you hunt across Khorinis. Pelts sell at full price to Bosper for the entire game.
**Harad - Blacksmith** (quest "A Great Challenge")
Bring an orc weapon or defeat a group of bandits. Only costs 2 LP to learn smithing. The trick: Carl, the other smith around the corner, carries Raw Steel. Knock him out, take his steel, forge weapons, sell them. Every time Carl walks back to his anvil, his steel respawns. Infinite loop = thousands of gold in Chapter 1.
**Constantino - Alchemist** (quest "Plants for Constantino")
Bring 11 different herbs. Worst deal of the three. He pays gold only for Dark Mushrooms and Digger's Meat - items that give permanent stat boosts. He's scamming you. You don't even need his apprenticeship to learn Alchemy - any other trainer works.
The smart route: Do all city quests first. Then go hunting with Bartok - you'll kill the wolves for Bosper's pelts, pick up a Shadowbeast fur on the way, and at the end take down an Orc Scout together for a Light Orc Axe. This completes the hardest master quests in one trip.
The Carl exploit makes the game significantly easier. Use it for a relaxed playthrough, skip it for the intended challenge.
Combat Mechanics
Melee damage = Weapon Damage + Strength. But you only deal a fraction of that unless you land a critical hit. Your weapon skill percentage is your crit chance.
Skill levels:
0-29% Untrained - slow swings, 0-29% crit chance
30-59% Skilled - faster combos, 30-59% crit chance
60-100% Master - fastest attacks, 60-100% crit chance
Training One-Handed Combat automatically trains Two-Handed Combat at a 30-point gap. Example: 70% One-Handed = 40% Two-Handed. This makes LP investment expensive so pick one style and commit.
Ranged weapons always deal full (critical) damage on hit. Your Bow or Crossbow skill determines how often you actually hit the target. Dexterity adds bonus damage to all ranged attacks. Note: Crossbows need Strength to equip but Dexterity for bonus damage.
Magic requires heavy LP investment across Mana, Circles of Magic (up to 6), and rune crafting. To create a rune you need a Blank Runestone, the spell's scroll, and specific ingredients. Blank runes are limited and finite, so plan ahead which spells you want. Spell damage is fixed and cannot be increased with stats.
Animation Cancel: It's possible to cancel your attack recovery animation by pressing directional key + attack at the right timing. This chains hits rapidly and can stunlock opponents. Not intended by the developers, but widely known in the community.
Skill levels:
0-29% Untrained - slow swings, 0-29% crit chance
30-59% Skilled - faster combos, 30-59% crit chance
60-100% Master - fastest attacks, 60-100% crit chance
Training One-Handed Combat automatically trains Two-Handed Combat at a 30-point gap. Example: 70% One-Handed = 40% Two-Handed. This makes LP investment expensive so pick one style and commit.
Ranged weapons always deal full (critical) damage on hit. Your Bow or Crossbow skill determines how often you actually hit the target. Dexterity adds bonus damage to all ranged attacks. Note: Crossbows need Strength to equip but Dexterity for bonus damage.
Magic requires heavy LP investment across Mana, Circles of Magic (up to 6), and rune crafting. To create a rune you need a Blank Runestone, the spell's scroll, and specific ingredients. Blank runes are limited and finite, so plan ahead which spells you want. Spell damage is fixed and cannot be increased with stats.
Animation Cancel: It's possible to cancel your attack recovery animation by pressing directional key + attack at the right timing. This chains hits rapidly and can stunlock opponents. Not intended by the developers, but widely known in the community.
Learn One-Handed or Two-Handed to 30% as early as possible. The jump from Untrained to Skilled is the biggest combat improvement you'll get.
LP Threshold Trick: Attribute training costs increase at thresholds of 30, 60, 90 and 120. From 1-29 each point costs 1 LP (5 for +5), from 30-59 it costs 2 LP (10 for +5), and so on. The game has a bug: if you train +5 at exactly 29 STR, you jump to 34 but pay only 5 LP instead of the 10 it should cost for crossing the 30-threshold. This works for all attributes (Strength, Dexterity, Mana) at every threshold (29→34, 59→64, 89→94, 119→124). Always train to the threshold minus one, then take +5.
How Damage Works
Every attack calculates damage like this:
Non-critical hit = 10% of your total damage (minimum 5)
Critical hit = 100% of your total damage (minimum 5)
Then subtract the target's armor rating for the damage type.
**Example with a Heavy Branch:**
10 weapon damage + 15 STR (with belt) = 25 total
Non-crit vs 10 armor: 10% of 25 = 2.5, minimum 5 applies → 5 damage
Crit vs 10 armor: 25 - 10 = 15 damage
This is why weapon skill matters so much early on. At 0% skill you almost never crit, so you're hitting for 5 damage per swing against anything with armor.
Ranged and magic always count as critical hits. Full damage minus defense, no crit roll needed.
Why are the civilians so dangerous?
The Night of the Raven expansion massively buffed all NPCs to increase difficulty. The NPCs in Khorinis hit much harder than you'd expect from their appearance. Don't start fights in town unless you're confident you can win.
Non-critical hit = 10% of your total damage (minimum 5)
Critical hit = 100% of your total damage (minimum 5)
Then subtract the target's armor rating for the damage type.
**Example with a Heavy Branch:**
10 weapon damage + 15 STR (with belt) = 25 total
Non-crit vs 10 armor: 10% of 25 = 2.5, minimum 5 applies → 5 damage
Crit vs 10 armor: 25 - 10 = 15 damage
This is why weapon skill matters so much early on. At 0% skill you almost never crit, so you're hitting for 5 damage per swing against anything with armor.
Ranged and magic always count as critical hits. Full damage minus defense, no crit roll needed.
Why are the civilians so dangerous?
The Night of the Raven expansion massively buffed all NPCs to increase difficulty. The NPCs in Khorinis hit much harder than you'd expect from their appearance. Don't start fights in town unless you're confident you can win.
Plot-critical NPCs like Xardas, Lord Hagen or Pyrokar are invincible. You can't damage them regardless of your stats.