Best Start in Gothic 1 Remake

The opening hours of Gothic 1 Remake can be brutal, as you start the game with no money, no gear, and no real combat prowess to speak of. Indeed, players who stray from the path at the very beginning are likely to die often, and that can quickly become frustrating.

The route detailed in this guide is designed to help players overcome those early-game challenges and establish a solid foundation. If you follow along, you'll end up with some reasonable starting gear, a couple of levels under your belt, and the ability to really start experiencing Gothic 1 Remake. Notably, this route avoids making any major faction commitments, and it doesn't require you to decide whether to join the Old Camp, New Camp, or Swamp Camp.

Trying to complete every quest? See our Gothic 1 Remake chapter and quest list for a growing walkthrough hub with confirmed quests and related guides.

Best Start in Gothic 1 Remake

For the best start, your goals should be to follow Diego to the Old Camp, earn experience from easy quests there, use an escort to reach the New Camp, and then complete some low-effort, high-reward tasks once you arrive. Here is a more detailed summary of that route, which is fully elaborated in the sections below:

1. Exhaust Diego's dialogue and follow him closely to the Old Camp.
2. Along the way, loot safe supplies like berries, beer, ore, a pickaxe, and a lockpick. Also grab the Old Sword, Club, and Hunter's Knife.
3. Speak with Drax and Ratford on the path to learn a bit more about hunting and get a Shortbow.
4. Enter the Old Camp, and be ready for Mud to start following you.
5. Talk to the named NPCs, initiate quests, and address a few of the easiest ones for XP.
6. Grab the Shortsword from the Old Camp's southern ramparts if you want another safe early weapon.
7. Exhaust Thorus's dialogue to start the Out of Sight quest.
8. Find Mordrag and let him escort you to the New Camp.
9. Stay close to Mordrag to earn free XP from his kills.
10. Loot meat and weapons from enemies killed during the escort.
11. Talk to named NPCs in the New Camp, and complete some easy tasks.

What To Do On The Way To The Old Camp

Stay Near Diego & Loot What You Can

After speaking with Diego at the start of the game, follow him toward the Old Camp, staying close so that he can help you deal with any enemies you may encounter. As you travel, collect any berries, beer, tools, and ore that you find. Notably, there is no inventory weight limit, so you should feel free to grab anything that you see, as long as doing so is not considered stealing.

Don't worry if you do not find much meat to cook before reaching the Old Camp. You'll find plenty on your way to the New Camp, and you can use berries to heal for now.

Old Sword, Club & Hunter's Knife

Near the beginning of your journey with Diego, you'll pass by a man hanging from a tree. There is an Old Sword underneath him, and it is worth equipping immediately.

You should also enter the area to the right of the tree, being careful to avoid the Juvenile Scavenger you find there. You'll see a corpse leaning against a tree in this area, and there is a Club on the ground next to it. Past that corpse, you can find a Hunter's Knife on the ground, which you should definitely collect.

For more on weapons, see our Best Early Weapons guide.

Drax, Ratford & Shortbow

Continue along the path to find Drax and Ratford. At the very least, quickly talk to Drax and return the Hunter's Knife you found to get a free Shortbow. That NPC can also train hunting skills that let you harvest different materials from animals, though you won't have the LP or ore to pursue that training now.

What To Do When You Reach The Old Camp

When you reach the Old Camp, mention Diego to the guards to gain entry and start exploring this hub. While there are merchants, trainers, and a mapmaker in the Old Camp, you probably won't have the ore to fund any major purchases yet.

If you somehow have enough ore to buy a map, you could consider doing so, as it definitely helps with navigation. For the exact map location and price, see our Gothic 1 Remake map guide, though you don't need to get one now.

Instead, this visit should be about learning the layout of the Old Camp, earning XP from some easy quests, and getting an escort to the New Camp. Specifically, focus on talking to named NPCs and completing the following optional quests:

Snaf's Recipe

Talk to Snaf, the cook near the large pot, to start the Snaf's Recipe quest. This quest centers around finding some ingredients for Snaf, and they can be safely collected in and around the Old Camp. Snaf's Recipe rewards some XP and a renewable food source, and it's very easy to complete.

Whistler's Sword

Look for Whistler, an NPC who is often sitting on a bench, to get 100 ore and start Whistler's Sword. All you need to do to complete this quest is talk to Fisk on a nearby bench, return to Whistler for 10 additional ore, purchase the sword from Fisk, and return it to Whistler for some easy XP.

The Vanished Warder

The Vanished Warder is slightly more difficult than the other two quests, but it can be completed now if you're careful. Speak with Sly in the Old Camp to start the quest, then investigate what happened to Nek outside the camp. You may want to put this quest on hold if you are low on healing items or are having trouble dealing with enemies.

Check our The Vanished Warder walkthrough if you need help with this quest.

Safe House & Shortsword

You're almost ready to leave the Old Camp, but before you do, consider the following:

• Climb up the southern ramparts to get a Shortsword. This is another safe early weapon you can claim, and you can see our Best Early Weapons in Gothic 1 Remake guide for more details.
• Stop by the free safe house to sleep. That house has a red awning, and it is located in the upper arena area. You can learn more about this mechanic in our guide covering How to Sleep and Pass the Time.

Start Out of Sight & Get an Escort from Mordrag

After addressing the optional quests above, talk to Thorus, the NPC who blocks your entrance to the castle, and exhaust his dialogue to start Out of Sight. Now find Mordrag near the south gate, but do not fight him. Instead, tell the NPC that he has a problem, and pursue his dialogue to get an escort to the New Camp.

This is the real payoff of the first Old Camp visit, as Mordrag's escort is a great opportunity to get XP and meat. Taking this approach to Out of Sight therefore solves some early-game problems, and it is highly recommended. For more details, see our Out of Sight walkthrough.

Mud, Casting Shadows & Saves

There are a few final things you should know about this preliminary trip to the Old Camp:

• You will almost certainly run into Mud, and he'll start following you. This can be quite annoying, especially when you're trying to get your bearings at the beginning of the game. While there is an achievement tied to hearing his unique dialogue, you can attack Mud to get rid of him quickly. For the full explanation, see our guide on how to get rid of Mud in Gothic 1 Remake.
• You should not worry about completing Casting Shadows during this first trip to the Old Camp. Instead, plan to return to the hub once you have more levels, resources, and gear, as it will be much easier to address the faction quest at that point.
• Make a manual save before leaving. In general, you should get in the habit of saving often, but you definitely want a point you can return to if anything goes wrong on the trip to the New Camp.

What To Do On The Way To The New Camp

After Mordrag agrees to take you to the New Camp, follow him closely and save often. This escort can provide a major early boost, as Mordrag will kill many enemies along the way, giving you enough XP to level up. You should also make sure to loot anything you find on the ground and all the bodies of enemies Mordrag kills, as they'll provide meat that you can cook into health-restoring food and even swords.

Mordrag is strong, but he can die. Keep an eye on his health, be careful not to pull too many enemies on top of him, and make multiple saves in case something unexpected happens.

Mordrag's Ring

Once you reach the entrance to the New Camp, speak with Mordrag to earn some XP and Mordrag's Ring, a wearable that grants +5 Dexterity. Now head inside the hub.

What To Do When You Reach The New Camp

Once you're in the New Camp, you should take an approach similar to what you took in the Old Camp: talk to named NPCs and address tasks that are low-effort and high-reward. Here is what is recommended:

Canvassing Customers

Head through the Rice Fields, across the bridge with Homer, and into the Residential Cave on your left. Find and speak with Baal Kagan to start the Canvassing Customers quest.

This quest centers around selling swampweed to the various bandits, mercenaries, and guards around the New Camp, and you'll get to choose a reward at the end. While it can be tempting to take the ore, going for Brotherhood approval is advisable, as it makes things easier when you reach the Swamp Camp.

Make sure to use a pan to cook all the meat you collected during your trip to the New Camp while you're in the Residential Cave.

Digger's Dress

Use the food you've cooked to heal to full, leave the Residential Cave, and follow the path on your left. Use the path on your left before the waterfall, and dodge the Scavengers, Molerats, and Wolves ahead to reach the Free Mine. Find and speak with Swiney inside to get a free Digger's Dress. While this is certainly not the most powerful armor in the game, it's much better than nothing.

For a more detailed route, see our Best Early Armor guide.

The New Camp Tavern & The Herb Merchant

You can now head back toward the Residential Cave. With your new armor equipped, you should have no trouble dealing with the Molerats along the path, though you may still want to avoid Wolves and Scavengers.

Once you're back by the cave, go to the tavern across the way. The guards will let you in if you're wearing the Digger's Dress, and you should speak with Baal Isidro inside to start the Herb Merchant quest. This is yet another task that focuses on selling swampweed, and it's great for getting ore.

Next Steps

At this point, you have a solid foundation with some reasonable weapon options, a set of defensive clothes, a ring, some ore, and some Learning Points from leveling up. You can now start really digging into the game, and you may want to head back to the Old Camp to complete some more quests, pick up a map, and do some shopping.

To get back to the Old Camp without a map, exit the New Camp and go left, following the path through the Bloodflies. Go right at the fork to cross a bridge, and follow the road all the way back to the Old Camp.

You can also consider the following:

Best Skills to Get First

You may now want to start using your Learning Points and ore to buy skills from trainers. One-Handed Weapons is a safe first investment when you can afford it, as it can help with early-game combat. You can also focus on raising your Strength if you plan to focus on melee or Dexterity if you want to rely on bows.

Scatty in the Old Camp and Cord in the New Camp train One-Handed Weapons. Diego in the Old Camp can teach you Strength and Dexterity.

When Should You Choose A Faction Camp?

You may also be interested in locking into a faction at this point, though you don't need to rush things. In fact, it's recommended that you pursue all the factions up to the point at which you commit to one of them. This will both maximize your rewards and help you understand the differences between the factions, which can then inform your decision.