Gothic Gothic 1 Mage Learning Points

I've been saving points pretty much except for the strength and dexterity increases mentioned above, plus sneaking and all the hunting skills (which I think were only 1 learning point each?). So probably have spent about 38 points so far. Have 138 points saved, at level 16 now. Still in chapter 1 before picking a camp. Mine must be the longest playthrough ever. ;)
 
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Hah, yes indeed. Have you picked a camp by now?
 
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Just finished farming Xp last night. Gave up on swampsharks, Orc warriors, shadowbeasities, and a guardian thingie. The Orc town is unmolested too, and leaving the skeleton Mage alone, for now.

Picked the old camp, started exploring the castle. Very cool, but a truckload of chests to pick. Aiii! This is slow going…

The door in a pit at the end of a trail of ore nuggets was locked and unpickable.

Still haven't got the chance to become a mage yet. Just wondering if I need better weapon / strength / dexterity levels to do stuff before becoming a mage.

Eventually, ;), I'll get circle four and spend all but maybe 10-20 points to boost mana. I'll see how it goes continuing to hoard points points until then...
 
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Shouldn't be needed, especially not dexterity. It's useless to a mage. Might want to get a little more strength if you have a hard time with certain things, but I wouldn't worry too much.
 
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There are certain enemies that you just won't be able to defeat in the first chapter no matter how hard you try. It doesn't make a difference because you won't lose out on XP by waiting until you're stronger to take them on, and the number of total enemies remains the same regardless of what chapter you kill them.

I wouldn't say dexterity is useless for a mage. It's a prerequisite for using stronger bows, and I found bows to be quite useful in some situations. Especially in the early going when you don't have ranged magic yet.
 
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I defeated a lot of tough enemies using a bow. I suppose ranged magic will supersede bows, unless enemies are magic resistant, or I run out mana.
 
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It will destroy bows completely. I generally find doubling my strength a far better approach than going 50/50 strength/dexterity, as it means you can use solid weapons like Raven's Right even as a mage. With 55 strength and Raven's Right, you can kill almost anything in melee even as a mage. Most enemies you meet prior to getting magic will die in 1-2 hits.

Anyway, with the amount of skill points you have gathered, I'd just go straight for magic.
 
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Right now the orc hammer is pretty good. But orcs, orc dogs, snappers, skeletons, and bloodhounds + others require many more than 2 hits. I usually don't survive melee with them, and have to use the bow (except skeletons).
 
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That's why I prefer the sword + strength solution. You can not only kill orcs and what not, but you'll kill everything else so fast you never need a bow.

Anyway, right now it boils down to getting magic.
 
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Just get the first tier. It costs 10 points and makes sure you have a decent combo and somewhat smooth combat. You probably have it already, otherwise your character would still be holding 1h swords with both hands. Getting the second upgrade is not worth it.
 
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I like to get 1h expert (10 points) + 55 strength (45 points) + lockpicking, basic (10 points) + animal trophies (4 points) = 69 points in my first 7 levels. I also get +5 strength for free from one of the guys working the fields in the new camp, all that's needed is to convince him you'll use it to smack the Rice Lord.

I do this on every character, no matter their future specialization, as a character with that setup can always complete the game. After reaching that point, my future development depends on specialization:
- Mage: Only magic.
- Merc or Guard -> Merc: Strength to 100, followed by 2h expert + master (70 points total) from Lee as soon as possible. Then I go for crossbows and dex just for the sake of it.
- Templar: Strength to 80, followed by 1h master -> 2h expert + master. The reason is that Angar refuses to teach you 2h weapons until you master 1h. Lee does not have that restriction. After that I go for magic, as Templars can learn 4th circle, providing them with most major spells (healing, storm of fire, etc).

I have done this so many times by now there's really no reason to keep doing it, but ah well. I still replay it from time to time.
 
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Honestly, I think Gothic is more fun without such an extreme degree of metagaming. There's really no need to overthink the spending of every single LP.

Develop a basic plan and stick with it. There are more than enough LPs to go around without having to plan your entire playthough ahead to the last detail.
 
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Yeah, it's mostly something that has evolved over dozens of different characters. I lost count years ago.
 
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Thanks for the useful advice Maylander! I'll train in 1 handed now, and try holding off on more strength training until I get a better one-handed weapon that requires a higher strength. I'll still have to stay away from meleeing the tougher enemies though.
 
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If you have the LPs, there's no reason to not increase your strength now.

Strength does more than simply determine what weapons you can use. The damage you do in melee is calculated by base strength + weapon damage. i.e. 10 more points in strength will equal 10 more damage on every successful melee attack.
 
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Yeah, I know that, but not sure if I want to sacrifice mana gains in the near future. Although, I won't be a mage apparently, until some plot developments take me out of chapter 1...
 
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And then some. I'm not sure why you're holding it off, but to each his own. :)
 
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Yeah, I should go ahead and spend points on one handed, and some strength. Not sure how much since I've already spent points on dexterity, sneaking, hunting skills, and strength.
 
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