Hunting skills any good for making gold?

As you know, gold is kinda hard to come by in Risen (although I think it's not that bad and it makes you think about your choices). So I've been wondering if I should invest in some hunting skills for some extra cash. Problem is, they're pretty expensive themselves and I don't remember hunting skills being all that great in Gothic 2… well, you could get a job that paid pretty well bringing in wolf skins, I think.

So… I've got some gold and learning points saved up. Is it a good choice to invest in skinning, etc. or should I forget about it?

Cash is cash, there are enough animals around to make your investment back, a few times over I'd say.

I maxed out all secondary skills (Alchemy, Thievery and Hunting)

On the long run you will have no problem with skill points - the REAL question is
which skill do you want to learn first ?

More strength for more punch ?, more swordfighting for better swordfighting moves ? A secondary skill for more money ? …

Everyone has to chose

The maximum level for a normal walkthrough is level 28-30, so you cannot max out everything.

Oh, I hate indecision. I knew you can't max everything out, so yeah. I was kinda worried about spending points on non-combat skills, but I guess you put some of my worries to rest. There will be enough to get by. Now to find me some trainers!

Originally Posted by HiddenX
I maxed out all secondary skills (Alchemy, Thievery and Hunting)

On the long run you will have no problem with skill points - the REAL question is
which skill do you want to learn first ?

More strength for more punch ?, more swordfighting for better swordfighting moves ? A secondary skill for more money ? …

Everyone has to chose

The maximum level for a normal walkthrough is level 28-30, so you cannot max out everything.

When you maxed out all secondary skills, did you also max out all primary skills, such as 100% for sword fighting and strength?

I myself so far have only invested 5 points in hunting. I found that with regards to combat, as a low level character with no skills and no Armour and a rusty sword, I can easily defeat stronger NPC's. In Gothics I almost always invest first in swordfighting to get a fluent fighting style.

hunting "skills"?
There is archery, crossbow, and gut animals…
Gut animals is pitiful in the amount of gold it gives you, it is the only source for certain items, like tusks, which are used for crafting certain scrolls. This is totally useless as a mage, and even as a non mage it will be of extremely low use, i FOUND a ton of scrolls, only rare did i have to use a rune, and I could have just crafted some scrolls myself ahead of time had i cared to, or just bought them premade. I would not recommend it.

Crossbow and archery are a TRAP! blasting with a crystal does better damage. mana potions are more expensive than arrows, but you will be swimming in mana potions, while arrows are RARE! and bolts even more rare.

By hunting I meant gut animals

Originally Posted by Guybrush
By hunting I meant gut animals

totally worthless for gold… ONLY source for certain scroll crafting ingredients.

I would say it is a better return on investment than pickpocketing. I would be surprised if it earned much more than 3000 gold throughout the whole game though.

Originally Posted by Burress
I would say it is a better return on investment than pickpocketing. I would be surprised if it earned much more than 3000 gold throughout the whole game though.

Yeah you get about 2 gold or so per item, maybe it will eventually be about 3,000 or 5,000 gold, but i bet you will also have about at least 10,000 gold at the end of the game. But it's only 5 LP. That's not much.

I didn't learn pickpocketing. You probably can also make some gold, but it is 15 LP if you max it out, right? Do you get any permanent stat-increase-potions from it? Otherwise I'd say, you should only get it, if you learn no magic, focus on one melee and one range weapon, and hence have some LP left. And for the sake of fun and roleplaying, of course.

Yet the 15 points on lockpicking are a must, since you get valuable potions and I'd say most of the loot. Besides, nothing worse for me in an rpg, than to leave a locked chest behind.

Originally Posted by taltamir
while arrows are RARE! and bolts even more rare.

I have to dispute this. While it is true that you don't find large quantities of arrows on corpses or in chests, at least 3 vendors sell them in batches of 200 that get refreshed quite frequently.

I've never had a problem with arrow quantity and I rely heavily on archery.

My only complaint with archery is the lack of any extra-special "perks" as you level up. So far I am up to level 7 and what I see are just increases in the speed in which you can fire arrows. Now yes, that is a very welcome improvement. However, I was hoping for other benefits like improved chances of "critical" hits, or maybe fire 2 arrows at once, or maybe a chance at an instant kill or a knockdown. It's certainly not as interesting as following the sword progression which has very visible changes in how you attack as you level up.

I stocked up on the gutting skill and also bought the tools to remove things, and while it helps, it isn't a high-sale prospect. All of the training keeps me constantly pressed for skill points and gold.

As for arrows, I have hundreds and never bought a single one. But I'm playing as a mage.

The fact that everything is sold at 20% of the value means that selling generally isn't the best income. In my opinion, lockpicking is the way to go - get rank 3 lockpicking in every game. Chests often contain 100-500 gold. Selling trophies worth 500 gold will take quite a lot of killing..

Agreed - made me glad I left and re-entered town … and also that I wasn't so far on my Order stuff that the Don's men let me get to the trainer!

Agreed - Level 3 lockpicking is a great investment, probably the best sub-skill of that set.
Pickpocketing was useful in chapter 1 (I had level 2) - made quests much easier. However Pickpocket level 3 does not seem as worthwhile, though I have not tried all the "Difficult pockets" ("Too risky …") and now I am less strapped for cash. The few I tired seemed disappointing.
Prospecting good if you want amulets, along with smithing. But not essential I would say - you can find stuff almost as good.
Alchemy L3 essential of course.

Indeed, Lockpicking 3 and Alchemy 3 are both essential. The rest depend on your style of play and what you prefer.

Just to add to the chorus:

I have found sneak, lockpick #3, and alchemy #3 to be very useful. It's ok to eat about 10 or so pixie hats or ogreweeds if you need extra stats right now. But save the rest for permanent potions. 15 LP is not a loot to give up for the potential boost in stats you can get.

P.S. For those that really want to save points in sneak or acrobatis: