Gothic 1 Remake: Best Free Early Weapons
Wandering into the Colony barehanded is a guaranteed way to become scavenger food.
I learned the hard way that the opening hours of this game are utterly merciless. Ore is the primary currency, and you'll barely scrape together 50 nuggets after clearing a whole pack of enemies. Don't waste that precious cash buying basic swords from a vendor. You need to save your Ore for skill trainers and consumables like raw meat, which you can cook to increase its value. Instead of going broke, you can arm yourself with some highly capable gear just by exploring, stealing, and taking advantage of a few naive NPCs.
Surviving the Canyon Run
You start with literally nothing. The game doesn't care, and it expects you to figure it out before you even reach the gates of the Old Camp.
Pickaxe and Rusty Sword
Diego mentions an abandoned mine down the canyon. Go there first and grab the Pickaxe sitting in front of the locked door. It swings terribly, but you absolutely need it. Cross the hanging bridge to find a Rusty Sword stuck in the ground. Before you rush over to grab it, notice the molerat guarding the area. That thing will kill you in two hits. Bait it away from the weapon or use a slow dodge and swing rhythm with your Pickaxe to wear it down first.
Old Sword and Shortbow
Keep walking toward the crossroads near the Old Mine until you spot a hanged man. Search the ground near him to pick up the Old Sword. With a requirement of just 8 Strength and a damage output of 12, it's a massive step up from your rusty trash. You can also pick up the Hunter's Knife in this same area. Give that knife to Drax, and he'll reward you with a Shortbow.
If you prefer taking what you want, you can steal a bow instead. After your intro chat with Diego, turn left and head to the Exchange Zone. Wait for the guard near the crates to walk away, sneak into his hut, and loot the Exchange Zone Key from his chest. Just remember that stealing requires breaking line of sight, so brush up on how lockpicking actually works in Gothic 1 Remake before you get caught and murdered by the guards. Go back outside, wait for the second guard to start his inventory check, open the gate, and grab your free Shortbow and arrows. It requires 10 Dexterity to use and deals 20 point damage, which is perfect for keeping wolves and lizards at bay.
Looting the Old Camp
Once you make it inside the walls, your arsenal options expand. You just need to be willing to climb some roofs and break into a few houses.
Shortsword and Hand Axe
The Shortsword is the safest upgrade you can grab. Head to the Southern Wall and climb the ladders near the shacks to get up to the ramparts. Keep climbing until you reach the bridge right above the gate. You'll see a lit torch and some crates. The Shortsword is just leaning against the left box.
For something a bit more brutal, head to the Arena district. Find the large house with a second floor. Sneak inside and grab the Hand Axe stuck straight into the target practice board.
Morning Star and Nail Club
Go to the Market District and climb the ledge overlooking the traders. Get onto the roof of the two story storehouse, drop to the balcony, and sneak inside. Climb down the ladder on the left and steal the Morning Star. It's an incredibly strong blunt weapon.
You can also get a Nail Club by dealing with a scam artist named Grim. Bloodwyn will try to extort you for 10 Ore for protection. Refuse to pay him. Soon after, Grim approaches you with a quest called The Amulet. It's a complete setup. Lure Grim away from the guards, beat him senseless, and take the Nail Club right out of his inventory.
High Risk, High Reward
If you want the really heavy hitters, you have to manipulate the AI and make some shady deals. Before you go wandering into the wild looking for these encounters, you might want to buy a map so you don't get hopelessly lost.
The Escort Exploit
You can hire escorts like Mordrag or Baal Parvez to guide you to the other camps. Let them do all the heavy lifting. Walk behind them and let the local wildlife drop their health bars to almost zero. Once they're weak, walk up and finish them off yourself. Parvez drops the Steel Tongue mace, and Mordrag drops the Sting Mace. Both are fantastic weapons that deal serious damage and will easily carry you into Chapter 2.
Withered Axe
Talk to Sly to start the Missing Warder quest. Head out the South Gate and follow the road until you see three molerats near a cave on the right. Bait them back to the camp guards so you don't have to fight them yourself, though you won't get the experience points this way. Go into the cave, find Nek's corpse, loot his Amulet, and pick up the Withered Axe lying on the ground next to him.
Whistler's Sword
Talk to Whistler in the Old Camp. He gives you 100 Ore to buy a sword from Fisk. Fisk refuses to sell to Whistler, so don't mention his name and definitely don't say you thought the price was 100 Ore, or you'll fail the quest. Fisk will suddenly demand 110 Ore. Go back to Whistler, get the extra 10, return to Fisk, and buy the Bastard Sword. Now, just walk away. Don't give the sword back to Whistler. He'll eventually try to beat you up for stealing his money, but keeping a weapon this powerful in Chapter 1 is completely worth having a target on your back.
Early Weapon Stats
Here are the exact numbers on the gear I just mentioned so you know what stats to build around.
