It won’t be easy in Gothic 1 Remake — choosing a faction is more important than any other decision. Old, New, or Swamp Camp? Everyone has their own status, their own pros and, of course, their cons. If you’re stuck with this dilemma, let’s figure it out in order. From access to teachers and merchants to magic circles, that’s what each of the three options will give you.
From the first chapter (“Welcome to the colony”) You will have to complete a chain of tasks to join one of the factions. The old camp is the most obvious way, and many people follow it. But if you want to get everything out of the remake, it’s better to go through the game three times, once for each camp.
Spoiler alert: there is absolutely no better option. No one wins either in terms of benefits or difficulty in the late game. Each faction has its strengths and weaknesses. Let’s put them on the shelves — it’s easier to understand what suits your style.
Table of Contents
How to join the Old Gothic 1 Remake Camp?
Classic. You follow Diego and do everything you can to become a Shadow, Gomez’s personal army of mercenaries and thugs. Along the way, the task “Letter to Fire Magicians” is completed (for this you need access to the inner fortress). What does the Old Camp provide?
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The opportunity to grow up to be a Guardian or a Fire Mage is access to advanced combat training and powerful spells of Fire and Destruction.
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Factional armor: Fire Mage’s Mantle and Shadow’s dress (later improved).
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Unique faction quests, including joining the Fire Mages.
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Factional weapons.
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Progress to the 6th circle of magic is critical for magicians.
Minus: by joining the Old camp, you automatically fail the tasks “Admission to the New Camp” and “Admission to the Swamp Camp”. The plot will change slightly (without spoilers), but you can safely upgrade a warrior with a two—handed or one-handed weapon.
The pros and cons of the New Camp in the remake of Gothic
Many consider this faction to be the most difficult to join. And for good reason. You’ll have to work hard on the tasks to earn the trust of local bandits and Water Magicians. The first step is to find a Hunting knife (it lies at the intersection near the road to the Old Camp) and give it to Drax. This will be the beginning of your journey to the status of a Mercenary or a Bandit.
What will you get:
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Leveling up a Mercenary, a Rogue, and a Water Mage. Water magic is especially good — it controls the crowd perfectly.
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Faction Armor: Rogue’s clothing, Mercenary’s armor, and Water Mage’s robe. All this gets better later.
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Betrayal of the King (yes, it sounds pretentious) — you give a Letter to Fire Mages to Water mages and unlock unique quests.
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Access to magical training and factional weapons.
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Progress to the 6th circle of magic.
The downside: you automatically fail everything related to the Swamp and the Old Camp. Some classes and teachers are closing. So if you want a crowd control build or a mobile fighter (agility, bows), the new camp is your choice.
Water magic, by the way, is famous for ice spells. As in the Old Camp, here you can get to the 5th circle, and then to the 6th.
Guide to the Swamp Camp to the Brotherhood of the Sleeper
But here the magic opens faster than in the other two camps. Plus access to one of the most lethal melee builds — the Templar. But there are certain circumstances. The other two camps are more or less balanced in terms of strength and late builds, while the Swamp Camp severely limits magical progress. You will only get up to the 4th circle of magic, and the path to the 5th and 6th will be closed. It’s sad, but it’s a fact.
What does a Swamp camp provide?:
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The training of a Novice and a Templar. Powerful melee techniques and Psionic magic are revealed — for example, “Charm” (a very useful thing). It helps a lot in the early stages, and it controls the crowd perfectly.
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Templar Armor and Novice Armor (improved).
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The Brotherhood’s quest line is an outlet to the cult of the Sleeper.
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Learning alchemy.
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Powerful hybrid builds that are good from early to mid-game.
The point is this: you get a fast path to power, but you lose access to high magic. You can’t become a Guru, only a Novice of the Brotherhood. And it’s sad because the 5th and 6th circles remain inaccessible.
On the other hand, psionic spells like “Charm” or “Sleep” work great in hybrid builds.
The results of the guide on choosing a faction in the Ministry
Each faction has its own pros and cons. In short, a new or Old camp will give you the highest circles of magic. The swamp camp will be limited to the fourth round, but in return it will give you a quick start and a powerful hybrid build. The choice is yours.
Beginner’s mistakes when choosing a Gothic camp
Choosing a faction in a Mining pool is a key point of no return, where it is easy to break a build or waste scarce resources. The developers from Alkimia Interactive have preserved the harsh spirit of the original, adding a few unobvious pitfalls. We analyze the main mistakes of the newcomers who decided to swear allegiance to one of the three camps of the Colony.
Wasting ore on armor before swearing in
Buying intermediate equipment right before joining an organization is a guaranteed way to derail the economy. Many people spend their last 300 pieces of ore on miner’s trousers or collect an average sword, forgetting about the main thing. Immediately after the official taking of the oath, the first factional armor is issued absolutely free of charge or at a huge discount. A reasonable strategy looks different: accumulate pieces of ore, join an organization, take away the armor assigned by status, and only then invest your savings in buying attributes and paying for teachers.
Leveling up a Fire Mage through the Old Camp
Following the path of magic through Gomez’s subordinates is a dubious decision that will turn the first half of the game into a survival simulator with a sword. Novice players often choose the Old Camp with an eye to cool spells, but they run into hard timegates. To get to the Circles of Fire Magic, you will have to go through a long and stuffy career chain from Ghost to Guardsman. In terms of the magical start, the Swamp camp looks much more attractive — there access to the runes opens in the middle of the passage. For a pure magic build, it is better to immediately focus on the New Camp or the Brotherhood of the Sleeper.
Conversation with the Guru of the Brotherhood without invitation
In Gothic 1 Remake, a mechanic has appeared that can surprise veterans of the original: trying to talk to Gurus without their invitation instantly hits your pocket and reputation. Sectarians do not tolerate insolence, so you will have to pay a hefty fine in ore for insubordination in order to regain their favor. This type of communication is a unique feature of the Brotherhood of the Sleeper, which other factions do not have. The rule is as follows: enter the Swamp Camp, look around, but wait until important NPCs themselves deign to pay attention to you.
Draining LP learning points from common teachers
Leveling up stats in the initial location from common teachers is a trap for fools. Mentors in the neutral zone, including Diego, charge triple the price for their services and have extremely low training limits. The training points (LP) poured into these trainers will not be able to be returned, and progress will quickly hit the ceiling. It is much more profitable to save points before joining a faction, since specialized teachers inside the camps are much cheaper and are able to maximize the hero’s characteristics.
Quickly join a faction without quests
The main mistake of neophytes is to run after Diego to the Old Camp and immediately agree to his terms, skipping up to 40% of the content of the first chapter. The game allows you to simultaneously complete the starting quests for all three opposing sides up to the final choice. This approach guarantees a huge XP boost at the start and opens up secure access to all key points on the map. Be sure to complete the “Out of Sight” and “Sectarian Recipe” missions — this will raise your reputation in the New and Bolotny camps and allow you to make an informed decision.
