Two-handed weapons in the early game: SLIGHT SPOILERS

[Darksword]

I had forgotten how far into Chapter 1 you have to play before a two-handed weapon becomes available (apart from a pick axe). I'm level 9 right now, not far off level 10, and am doing a bit of monster hunting before I get to the point of making a choice of what camp to join. A spiked mace thingie that does 25 damage is the best weapon I've been able to find so far. I guess once one has access to the Castle, things improve a bit.

I had also forgotten how little loot and how few plants are scattered about the landscape. I'm sure NotR has more, and Gothic 3 definitely has a lot more, maybe too much, actually ... but that's another discussion. G1 is very lean and mean: great stuff :D

[hagalaz]

You need a two-handed weapon in chapter one, right?

You could decoy a swamp shark to a Templar. If the shark kills him, you can loot such a weapon.

If you have 2 scrolls transformation into a bloodfly, you could loot a good weapon in the Ork city: Klick (https://www.worldofgothic.de/misc/Rachestahl%20umsonst.jpg)

That are my ideas for a two-handed weapon.

[Arkain]

Having a two-handed weapon and learning to wield it (only possible as a mercenary early on) are two different things though. You could steal a bunch of nice swords from Stone's and Skip's smithy or you could try working your way through the orc territory, as there's a strong two-handed axe near Xardas' tower. You don't need any magic for that, just the skills to either kill or evade the enemies on the way.

[Darksword]

thanks for the suggestions, I'll give them a go.

I'm not thinking about weapons training yet, I prefer to concentrate on getting STR to 95 plus Horatio as soon as possible. It's a tip I picked up early in my Gothic game playing days, and it works for me ...

[hagalaz]

thanks for the suggestions, I'll give them a go.

I'm not thinking about weapons training yet, I prefer to concentrate on getting STR to 95 plus Horatio as soon as possible. It's a tip I picked up early in my Gothic game playing days, and it works for me ...

If only your only goal is damage, please don't forget, that there are a lot of mighty one-hand weapons available as well in chapter one. Please let us know, if you need help about them.

[Darksword]

If only your only goal is damage, please don't forget, that there are a lot of mighty one-hand weapons available as well in chapter one. Please let us know, if you need help about them.

Hi Hagalaz

It's not damage so much. What it is - and I know this is a disputed thing - a big goal for me as far as weapons are concerned is REACH. You see, I have bad arthritis in my fingers and they are very clumsy, and don't move nice and fast and accurately. The other thing is, I like going toe to toe with monsters and other enemies - not that I don't do my share of sniping and other long distance attacking, but the real thrill for me is hand to claw/tooth/hand.

So this combination of physical slowness of fingers and a love of close combat has led me to two-handed weapons as my first choice: i study the REACH stats on Mondgesaenge very closely. And I do find that a REACH of 150 makes my life a lot easier than a REACH of 100.

At the moment, I am really enjoying a rusty two-hander that I found in one of Stone's chests. Lizards have ceased to be a real problem, and I even took out some bloodhounds today ;)

And, for any other two-hander fans who are returning to / discovering Gothic 1, before I got into the Castle i had got hold of the Rice Lord's sceptre, which also has a REACH of 150. I got it after I had the dispute with Lefty: once I'd knocked him down, the Rice Lord came running and attacked me, so I had to take him down too.

I'm sure magic users have a marvellous time of planning a more tactical approach to the various battles, but I've never wanted to play as a mage, even a battle mage. I guess my brain is irredeemably lacking in subtlety.

Thanks once again for all the help, this forum is one of the great joys the Gothic games have brought into my life.