View Full Version : Accessing NotR in G2 Gold
I just installed Gothic 2 Gold in hopes of jumping directly into the expansion: Night of the Raven.
I'll hold off on a rant about poor install instructions of Gold version & get to the point: [B]Do I have to play G2 from the beginning in Gold version in order to play NotR?
Renzatic Gear
10-03-2006, 05:00 PM
Yeah you do. You won't get to the expansion bit til after you've completed a few key quests.
I was a little put off by it at first, but there's so much different in base game that it actually makes it entertaining enough for a 2nd playthrough. Instead of thinking of it as an addon, think of it as a retelling of the main story, with all the new stuff added in the middle.
I kinda got that feeling after viewing the revised intro, meeting up Xardas in his tower & moving around a bit....things had a different feel from what I recall in G2. Not just visuals but dialogue added too. It appears that NotR has been embedded throughout G2. This should make a good game better & hopefully NotR will have more challenges too[fingers crossed].
Speaking of challenges, I recall some early reviews hearing NotR "...is too hard...", LOL, what do you think RG? Is it simply a matter of having a maxed out/leveled up unit & previous experience playing Gothic, or did PB go overkill on game difficulty here?
Cant wait for G3, its getting close now......
Renzatic Gear
10-03-2006, 10:12 PM
I wouldn't say it's insanely difficult, but it will try your patience at times.
Just make sure you level up alot and spend some time in the expansion area, and you'll do fine.
I was playing G2 Gold up until a few weeks ago, when I got sidetracked by some other games. I've been going back and forth between the main quest and the NOTR stuff. I was doing the bandit camp quests in NOTR when I left off. I've been going slow and trying to level a lot before getting too far into the story, and was already at 20 when I took a break.
I was playing G2 Gold up until a few weeks ago, when I got sidetracked by some other games. I've been going back and forth between the main quest and the NOTR stuff. I was doing the bandit camp quests in NOTR when I left off. I've been going slow and trying to level a lot before getting too far into the story, and was already at 20 when I took a break.
Aku, didnt you play G2 originally a year or two ago, OR is this your first run through? The original G2 story could seemed convoluted @ times to me, cant imagine adding NotR on top of that, should be fun none the less.:thumbsup:
[Level 20, good enough for a jaunt through Valley of the Mines.]
I started G2 a few years back (still have the old CDs), didn't know what was going on, didn't have a clue how to play, played it seemed for ten hours and only made level 3 and then just said to he[[ with it. So over the summer I picked up Gothic and played it. I really liked it and the game seemed a lot easier than G2. After I finished that, I picked up G2 Gold and started playing. This time, I knew what was going on and all the dialogue references and characters made sense to me because I had played the original (I really recommend playing Gothic before Gothic 2). And I knew how to play the game properly this time too, so I was able to level up fast and knock out the quests pretty quickly.
Now I've been distracted somewhat, but I'm going to jump back into it again this weekend and make some progress. NOTR has its own world map, so once you get that area opened up, you can jump back and forth between worlds and do both campaigns simultaneously. I left off after having made my first short journey into Valley of the Mines to scope it out, and I was back in the NOTR map at the bandit camp working on those quests.
My question now is what do I start concentraing my upgrade points on? I'm level 20 and my strength is 71 and dexterity is 51. I know you have to be super heavy strength or super heavy dexterity to use certain weapons late in the game. I have some dexterity so I can pick locks and do some pickpocketing, plus shoot with some of the meidum-caliber bows. But I'll have to conecntrate all the way on one or the other soon.
[1]Playing as Merc?
[2] Have you beaten &/or located the Black Troll yet? I ask this as I recall the game taking a major turn for the better as I was aprox lvl 20 when I stumbled upon this guy & more.....
I focused on strength for 2 handed melee both first run through as Merc & second play as Paladin. Ranged attack didn't appeal to me in Gothic2. I trained my 1 handed to Masters skill [think that's 60%] then poured the rest into 2handed till I reached 90% [followed by every possible strength enhancer to be had; i.e. Thekla's stew, eating 50 apples, praying to Innos etc], followed by build up of dexterity. I did this out of greed for a powerful 2 hander I found early on but had to wait to get there in XP before I could use it. Although high damage 2 handers are hard to find early on in G2, the payoff of being able to wield these latter in game makes for satisfying & much faster paced leveling. Range is a real plus for 2 handers vs 1 handers, though raising 1 hander skill is easier & requires less strength.
At least this what what I recall from my experience playing G2 vanilla previously. Since I'm restarting with the edition of NotR embedded, I may change my approach this time. I'm sure others have a more effective [faster] way of character building than my simple approach.
I'm curious to learn if NotR added any new weapons to G2.....cant imagine
finding anything more desirable than the DS in G2 vanilla.
Yeah I'm a merc. I still haven't killed the black troll, I have to go back and do that. I've been too busy doing stuff in NOTR. I'm back in the main map now to start doing the original quest again. I'm level 21 now. I'm wearing pirate armor from NOTR which is 55/55.
silversparrow
10-07-2006, 07:03 PM
I'm curious to learn if NotR added any new weapons to G2.....cant imagine
finding anything more desirable than the DS in G2 vanilla.
Yeah there's lots of new weapons and magic spells in NotR.
As for the black troll, I played through G2 Gold earlier this year as a mage, and I was able to kill it with a few casts of Wave of Death.
Yeah I'm a merc. I still haven't killed the black troll, I have to go back and do that. I've been too busy doing stuff in NOTR. I'm back in the main map now to start doing the original quest again. I'm level 21 now. I'm wearing pirate armor from NOTR which is 55/55.
Pirate armor eh? I continue to experience more stuff, more NPC's @ the start of G2 due to NotR. Fur Trader/Trainer Bosper offered armor that wasnt there in the vanilla version.....if these useful combat items continue to show up the game will play out faster w/less frustration for noobs or any of us short on gaming time.
I've already got a half dozen super weapons that I can't use because I'm not strong or dextrous enough yet.
I went back and killed the black troll yesterday. I just stood behind a stone pillar at the front of the cave and safely hacked at him until he went down.
I went back and killed the black troll yesterday. I just stood behind a stone pillar at the front of the cave and safely hacked at him until he went down.
LOL! I hesitated to suggest using that approach for killing the Black Troll [many have considered it an exploit]. A couple years back on my 1st run through as Merc I ran across said troll but was very weak, think aprox lvl 10 or so, I discovered the sweet spot you mention & just sat there banging away @ the keyboard for what seemed like an eternity till I was victorious...kind lame but what a boost to XP...think 1K?. Theres a load of XP to be had in this vicinity & boarding Sun Circle area, cant wait to revisit under NotR.
Btw, what do you think of the skeletons in Gothic2 ? I found their speed, strength & efficiency w/sword the best in almost any game I recall.
The upper end Shadow Warriors are more than a challenge, especially if you are lvl 20 or so....
Recall the story implications of an Orc Horde garrisoned behind the Orc compund [Valley of Mines]? Did you scale the wall & check out the interior of the compound? It took great effort for me to get inside, but the dev's humor was almost worth it. I took this screen to document my triumph over nothing, lol. Thats my Merc w/Dragon Slicer
WARNING! SPOLIER BELOW IN TEXT!
Yeah I'll have to go find that sign now. I've been up in those mountains once but didn't go every place. Skeletons still kick my a$$ and I'm level 25 now. But I got heavy merc armor now so I can take more of a beating. I won't be able to use the dragon slicer very well because I'm a one-handed guy. I'm doing chapter 3 of the main quest now, killing seekers for all that extra experience. Where are you at?
Suicides-by-Steve
10-13-2006, 06:41 AM
Recall the story implications of an Orc Horde garrisoned behind the Orc compund [Valley of Mines]? Did you scale the wall & check out the interior of the compound? It took great effort for me to get inside, but the dev's humor was almost worth it. I took this screen to document my triumph over nothing, lol. Thats my Merc w/Dragon Slicer
LOL Classic! Yeah, that's worth getting to that point for sure!
Yeah I'll have to go find that sign now. I've been up in those mountains once but didn't go every place. Skeletons still kick my a$$ and I'm level 25 now. But I got heavy merc armor now so I can take more of a beating. I won't be able to use the dragon slicer very well because I'm a one-handed guy. I'm doing chapter 3 of the main quest now, killing seekers for all that extra experience. Where are you at?
[1] The sign of revelation is located inside the Orc compound wall, good luck getting there. Ive spent over 30 minutes running the wall looking for an opening, I'm convinced the only way in-& its hard- is the main gates & a lucky combo of W & ALT diagonal movement...let me know if you make. The interior compound is size-able, yet mostly barren. Guess the devs got tired & didn't want to add anymore to game?
[2] G2 Skeletons are quick & high damage, I recall they proved to be an irritant till I was nearly level 30 or so.
[3] When Seekers were released in original game I was nearly bored with game. They breathed new life, though short lived challenge. Much like you said, for XP & a few goodies.
[4] Keep in mind I just started over in G2. This is my first run through with NotR enhancement. As such I'm only 4 hours into game, level 3-decided to focus on single hander/dexterity this time but as Merc again [Paladins to easy, Mages TOO hard in the beginning consuming way to much manna to advance].
NotR expansion truly adds much to vanilla G2 [as RG said], I'm no longer interested in pursuing my thread question re: accessing only that portion of game. Story line is good despite previous run throughs, I'm hooked for now
[haven't touched AoW:S.M. for 3 days now, lol].
LOL Classic! Yeah, that's worth getting to that point for sure!
Wonder if there are other games that generated a similar storyline illusion.
I recall reading on JoWood forums a couple years back that many a gamer were pissed to find the "great Orc Hordes" never existed, lol.
Still , satisfying to me in a FPS sort of way:mad2:
Where you at, E.T.? It's interesting that they've interwoven the Raven quest with the main quest, insomuch as you have to complete certain Raven quests in order to continue with the main quest again. I'm up to level 29 now, got my light dragon armor and can handle a 110 sword. I can do some decent damage now. If you want to gain a lot of points fast, use your experience on reading the stone tablets. You have to train with one of the water mages in NOTR to do this. There are three levels of tablet reading, and when you get a tablet for a level you can read, you just click on it and gain points for that skill. I think it took 45 experience to get all three levels, but when I got the third level I was carrying like 11 level three tablets and immediately gained a bunch of points across the board when I read them all.
Renzatic Gear
10-18-2006, 01:16 PM
Ha! I'm already one full game ahead of you slowasses! I've just imported Gothic 3, and it should be here sometime next week. :D
I may be slow, but I catch up fast! Before August I had never even played Gothic. Now I'm done with that and halfway through G2 and the expansion. I started Morrowind two years after it came out, and have finished the whole thing plus probably more campaign mods than just about everyone here. :p
Renzatic Gear
10-18-2006, 10:24 PM
Man, I'm surprised you were able to play Morrowind that long. I never beat the game, though I have played the hell out of it. But even after taking a hiatus for a year, I discovered I'm still burnt out on it after firing it up again. There's just no challenge to the game, it's all about collecting stuff and seeing everything that can be seen.
That's one of the reasons why I like the Gothic series more. They're smaller, and they last about half as long, but they put up a good fight throughout and always manage to keep things feeling fresh from beginning to end. To me, a difficult but fun 40 hour game is alot more entertaining than a pretty but easy 100 hour game.
Plus the Gothics manage to you feel like you're accomplishing something in the main game even when you go off on a sidequest. When you do something similar in Oblivion, it feels like the entire world has been put on hold while you explore caves and get better loot.
Yeah, Morrowind was kind of ridiculous in that you could find a ton of money, train up middle level within a day or two of stepping off the boat, grab some of the better armor in the game, and be kicking a$$ all over the place. Gothic is challenging. Baldur's Gate is challenging. Might and Magic series is tough. Wizardy (I played 8) was like a trip through Hell. Yep, I played Morrowind because I like to explore adn collect things and make a cool pad for my character and all that. And some of the add-on mods are really cool, like Morrowind Underground (and actually have a few challenging enemies).
Suicides-by-Steve
10-21-2006, 06:53 PM
Hey, how come my guy looks "squished"? It seems like I'm playing through the game at a 16:9 ratio instead of the 4:3... What's up?
I figured I'd fire the game up now that number 3 is on the way, and my current rig can fully support every graphical option available...
It's actually refreshing to play a solid single-player RPG once again. Time to find that funny sign that ET posted.
Where you at, E.T.? It's interesting that they've interwoven the Raven quest with the main quest, insomuch as you have to complete certain Raven quests in order to continue with the main quest again. I'm up to level 29 now, got my light dragon armor and can handle a 110 sword. I can do some decent damage now. If you want to gain a lot of points fast, use your experience on reading the stone tablets. You have to train with one of the water mages in NOTR to do this. There are three levels of tablet reading, and when you get a tablet for a level you can read, you just click on it and gain points for that skill. I think it took 45 experience to get all three levels, but when I got the third level I was carrying like 11 level three tablets and immediately gained a bunch of points across the board when I read them all.
Sorry for late reply Aku.....[thought I replied to this already, but guess not].
I'm struggling to make progress as I decided to dedicate myself to one hander & Dex.....it hasn't paid off like my first two romps through G2.
I am loaded with the stone tablets, haven't checked in water mages yet:(
The big hold up for me is gaming time @ the moment [work ,family etc]
I'm level 10 I think, just enlisted w/Lee & his gang. As this is my third time through [but 1st time w/NotR] I'm all over the place w/goals & story.
I think I'll refocus on locating the pirates [I know, I should have handled this early on, lol] I meet up w/Pirate Spike waiting for trader Baltrom.
I need a "..cog or ship.." to locate Pirates.
I figured I'd fire the game up now that number 3 is on the way, and my current rig can fully support every graphical option available...
What kind of hardware do you have? I'm looking forward also to G3. but my current rig wont touch it. I like to compare notes as I'm lining up for a new rig this week [hopefully].
It's actually refreshing to play a solid single-player RPG once again. Time to find that funny sign that ET posted.
How far along are you in the story? Have you made it to Chapter 2 : Valley of Mines? ....hidden within you'll find the sign.
You actually have to complete NOTR before the main campaign. You have to finish it before a water mage will relieve Vatras in the main story, because all the water mages are over in the expansion area. I trained up a lot of desterity early with one-handed, then I started putting my points in strength. And it only takes about 30 experience points to get to level 3 tablet reading.
I'll work on finding a way to "access NotR in G2", been hitting on bits 'n pieces of expansion.....HOWEVER I did find the underground chambers w/mages & priests trying to decipher meaning of stone tablets. Looking for KEY to portal, suspect this will GET ME OFF ISLAND OF K & into NotR??
Talk to all the priests. One of them will tell you to get three or four pieces of an ornament so he can put the portal key back together. He will give you a map to the pieces. You have to activate something at these locations, and do a little killing, to get the pieces. I actually got one of the pieces at the first location before even finding the priests.
Thanks for tip on portal key.
Hey, didnt you play Gothic 1? Herse why I ask: In G1 there was a bonus to DEXTERITY called "Acrobatics" I believe. G2 DIDNT have Acrobatics. I hear Acrobatics was restored in G2:NotR.......by chance have you tapped out dexterity yet to 90% & applied enhancement to find out? Curious to know if this is worth pursuing.
My dexterity is like 82 or something with modifiers. I heard acrobatics in Gothic 1 was a waste of experience. Just allowed you to scale mountains u couldn't climb before and get some nice views.
What a mess Ive made of this expansion! I'm @ level 17, mastered one hander/Dex to 70%/Dragon Armor w/boosters...tough enough to play with Orc Elites but still cant access NotR in G2 Gold.
[1] I have collected all the portal key pieces, saw them forged in ceremony & given to Mage Saturas. I ask Saturas for the key but he says he cant give it to me till Vatras gives his approval......so its back to Vatras I go to be told "...I [Vatras] could give you this letter allowing you to join expedition..", but no letter is received. [apparently this letter is needed before Saturas will give up key???].
[2] I thought somehow the "missing people" quest was tied to Vatras' approval of me [& release of said letter], but I have been to bandits camp high on lookout by Onars farm, killed Dexter, read letter & returned to Vatras only to get nothing.:mad2:
Ideas?
Renzatic Gear
10-29-2006, 05:14 PM
I think...think...that happened to me. I believe all you have to do is go to the ruins and they'll let you in on word of mouth. Like you have the letter in your inventory, even though you can't see it.
Try that. If it doesn't work, then hit up the Gothic boards and ask for a solution there. They'll probably know what to do.
Thanks RG; no sooner had I posted this & returned to game when things started to click. I went through my inventory & re-read all the letters/messages within, followed by a trip back to vatras & exhausting all possible conversation...this time it worked! Vatras welcomed me as a member to Ring of Water & instructed me on sequences to getting on the expedition that would lead me to accessing NotR in G2 Gold! Finally, I'm outa Khorinis & on to some new turf:D
Geez.....guess I'd better pay closer attention to the storyline from now on:blush2:
You'll like the new area, got a lot of variety though it's not as big as it looks at first. I've level-grinded my way up to 37, and I'm in chapter 4 of the main quest now. Just killed my first dragon last night.
Sure do like it....different music, some arid open climate & more pirates!
Sounds like you are near the top of character abilities [50 max I believe].
I don't know about you, but I found the dragon battles somewhat easy when played in vanilla G2. The eye of Innos & Dragon Slicer w/a few boosters made it almost ant-climatic imo.
On the subject of difficulty, I'm most certain now that NotR has increased nearly every units hitpoints &/or damage. I recall hearing chatter about the expansion making the original game harder, now I'm in that camp. For those who complained G2 was hard & G2 Gold harder I sympathize w/you.
On a side note: What if any good are those red X's all over the maps?
I don't recall seeing these in the original version of G2. I assumed initially they could be spawn points.....
Unfortunately I'm experiencing CTD when entering the portal for add-on map now.
I nearly finished my quest there [all but raven battle & finding Juan in swamp].
I have SIX files saved, using any of these to teleport into add-on map causes crash. Surprised Jowood.com doesnt offer G2 Gold patch, still searching for
CTD issues/resolutions.
Anyone else experience crash when entering add-on map?
Get yourself a pick axe, then click your mouse when standing by an X and see what happens. I read that all the dragons were made harder in G2 Gold. I definitely had a hard time defeating the fire dragon. Had to keep him busy with summoned skeletons while I hacked away at him with my 125 damage axe. All through this game, whatever level I am, there are things that are just a little bit too tough for me to beat, at least without using some creative solutions. My game doesn't crash, but lately it slows down to freeze frame during some battles, especially when I use Claw of Belliar (makes a lightning effect). I may need to reinstall the game. Wasn't doing this until recently.
I read that all the dragons were made harder in G2. All through this game, whatever level I am, there are things that are just a little bit too tough for me to beat. My game doesn't crash, but lately it slows down to freeze frame during some battles, especially when I use Claw of Belliar (makes a lightning effect). I may need to reinstall the game. Wasn't doing this until recently.
Yeah, I agree. Right from the get-go battles were much harder to win than G2 vanilla. I'm glad to hear that will continued w/Dragon battles [haven't got there yet].
Got lucky on CTD, I had an old untitled file that saved my bacon [lost aprox 2 hrs game play]. I think my aging rig & minimal ram are being challenged now.
Are you still running the rig you bought aprox 3+ years ago for G2Gold?
Yep, that's my rig. The game runs fine, but there's been an intermittent problem of late. I think the game just needs to be reinstalled or maybe I need to defrag my drive.
I don't recall the dragons having regeneration in G2 vanilla!
The significant damage I do to dragon in battle is immediately & completely healed [not what I recall in G2]. What am I forgetting? [Eye is charged btw].
Wow, you're playing through this pretty fast to already be in Chapter 4. How did you catch up to me so fast? Yeah, they regenerate, and fast. You can't hurt them with ranged weapons, not strong enough and they regenerate too quickly. All you can do as a fighter is get in there and hack away. I saved up and bought the medium dragon hunter armor, and I was able to kill the ice dragon with my orc slayer sword and three summoned stone golems. It was tough but I did it. Now I'm in Chapter 5 and in the home stretch. All the way up to level 42 now.
Suicides-by-Steve
11-04-2006, 05:57 PM
Now I'm in Chapter 5 and in the home stretch. All the way up to level 42 now.
Huh? There's 10 Chapters though...
;)
No, just five chapters according to the guide I looked at. I'm in the final part of the story now.
Beat G2 tonight. Looking forward to G3 now.
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