gothic 2: notr apprenticeship questions

[dermatologist]

for a character who will eventually become a merc, what is the most profitable apprenticeship to take? i've read smithing is slightly superior to skinning.

also, is the best weapon/armor craftable (e.g. via smithing)? or can alternatives be found?

if there's a good resource on the net, please link it. my googlefu failed me and i didn't find anything via this forum's search.

 

[Revenant]

I found this site to be quite informative when I was playing Gothic games:

http://mondgesaenge.de/G2DB/EN/

There is a list of weapons and it is noted whether they are craftable.

 

[curry]

for a character who will eventually become a merc, what is the most profitable apprenticeship to take? i've read smithing is slightly superior to skinning.

also, is the best weapon/armor craftable (e.g. via smithing)? or can alternatives be found?

if there's a good resource on the net, please link it. my googlefu failed me and i didn't find anything via this forum's search.

Yes, you must craft the best weapons yourself so smithing is the way to go. (dunno if this changed in NOTR though)

 

[deuxhero]

The best path is always skinning unless you really need the 5 SP. The Merc's best weapons are made by Smithing, but you can learn the first level from the merc smith (who you need to learn the other levels anyways) that's only 5 SP and the crazy amount of gold you get from skin selling for such little effort (you are alreddy killing the animals) is not replaceable.

 

[Merkwürdigliebe]

Well they all have their benefits, Skinning give you a whole lot of gold, alchemy is possibly the best if your a power gamer since the permanent stat potions are quite powerful benefit, and the Dragon hunter make their own sword. That might be changed in NotR though since I havn't had a chance to play through it yet got it s itting on my shelf, only played the base game a few years ago.

 

[Metro]

Ultimately you can find/buy a sword that's only slightly worse than the crafted one -- it's called the Dragon Slicer or something and is in the cave with the shadow lords (that guide linked earlier is quite good/extensive). In terms of which profession is more profitable I would just go with skinning. There's really no need to min/max earnings in Gothic as you'll have more gold than you can spend.

 

[dr. one]

Well they all have their benefits, Skinning give you a whole lot of gold, alchemy is possibly the best if your a power gamer since the permanent stat potions are quite powerful benefit, and the Dragon hunter make their own sword.

But you don´t have to be an apprentice to be able to learn any of these.
I´m not sure, but it may be possible to learn to brew the best potions a bit earlier if one becomes the alchemist´s apprentice, but these potions are better to be used later anyway.
I´d say the choice of apprenticeship is only relevant when it comes to means of income.
Both smithing and skinning are good. For a first playthrough smithing may be slightly better option since it provides somewhat better head start (a good sword + the income that mostly doesn´t depend on killing stuff) and, well, due to what likely is a bug it can be exploited, which may come in handy as a last resort if for some reason you´re short on cash when the best (and rather expensive) armour becomes available.

 

[Merkwürdigliebe]

I thought alchemy was essentially only from becoming the apprentice the Alchemist in Khorinis. With the exceptions being the the trainer in the monastery that was only available if your were a mage if I remember correctly. There is another alchemist in the lower district, but didn't he teach only basic potions?

 

[Derek Larp]

It's been years since I played G2 so I might be mistaken, but isn't there a witch in a cave north of the merc camp that teaches alchemy?

 

[dr. one]

I thought alchemy was essentially only from becoming the apprentice the Alchemist in Khorinis.

I´m pretty sure he teaches everyone, but a character who isn´t his apprentice first needs to learn the basics elsewhere (from the guy in the lower district, for example).

 

[Nim]

If you use the infinite raw steel exploits smithing wins hands down in the money department. Not that you should ever have a shortage of money even as a Merc beyond the immediate beginning of the game . Last time I played I had more than 50k gold after buying the last Merc armor and that was without smithing and skinning.

Best 1H weapon is merc exclusive and doesn't need smithing at all. Best 2H weapon is a choice between 2 found weapons with bad range and the merc one with a lot more. So there is no need for smithing for either 1H or 2H.

And as you have NotR be sure to use http://mondgesaenge.de/G2ADB/EN/

 

[curry]

It's been years since I played G2 so I might be mistaken, but isn't there a witch in a cave north of the merc camp that teaches alchemy?

Yeah, follow the road and the cave will be on your right.

 

[dermatologist]

great stuff guys, thanks a bunch!

 

[CreamyBlood]

Perhaps fortunately, I only played G2 with NoTR. For me, I always play a Wizard and that was my goal in this game as well but for some reason, somewhere along the line I was too busy getting my ass kicked to figure out *how* to become a wizard and was just trying to stay alive. Eventually I hooked up with a bunch of guys that were helping me out and ultimately became the complete opposite of what my original goal was.

I sure had a good time doing it though.

The same thing happened in Risen, I was *very* intent on becoming a mage, I knew it could be done. Yet again, because of just trying to stay alive, accepting my play styles and not knowing how to build the character 'right' and perhaps more importantly because I 'felt' that I didn't like the fuckers I ended up on a completely different path than I'd intended. It's brilliant. In a way, the game molds you into what you become by the early choices you make without you realizing it, and when you do, it's almost too late.

I'd just go with the flow if this is your first time, and let yourself play it out. I just installed G2 Gold again for the first time in around five years or so and am looking forward to it. Again, I'm planning on being a magic user but I have a feeling it won't be that easy and maybe I'm really something else at heart.

Have fun.