Playing Gothic 2 now after finishing Gothic 1. Still love the games, but man this NoTR add on has changed the very nature of Gothic 2. And not for the better. Before it was a tough, but fair game, where if you went to the wrong areas, or pissed off the wrong NPC, you paid the price heavily. But if you were careful, strategic, and smart, you could navigate the game and find yourself immersed in the story, the characters, and the unique world. It was just fun.

Now, it is just a constant stress fest. You can only be so careful, and so strategic, and so smart, but some fights just have to be fought, and right now, Level 11 in Chapter 1, there are still fights that are expected to be doable, that were in fact doable in Gothic 2 originally, but are now a complete and total waste of time with zero chance.

So my decades old gushing over Gothic 1 and 2 is now officially relegated to Gothic 1 only. I play to have fun, not to get irritated with constant dying. If that's what I wanted, I'd play Dark Souls. Fail THQ Nordic, fail. Especially because you not only drastically changed a game we all bought (Gothic 2), you made it so we had NO CHOICE in the matter because we can't just install vanilla Gothic 2 anymore. Shame on you.

I'm not even sure I'm going to continue this game. Just. Not. Fun. It's constant stress.

GAME CLAIMED

Below is a code for Potion Craft - Alchemist Simulator. The 2 hints required to claim it are 1) 3142 and 2) kcatta cixelsyd rehtona tey yb kcurts neeb ev'I, tnemom yrev siht ta, won thgiR.

1DDFB-BBE89-CE634-F3143

Game has been claimed. The actual code is below:

98EBB-3413F-BFDD1-436EC

(I didn't follow the last discussion about G2's new difficulty very closely.)
The problem is that the add-on NotR is now integrated into the installer and can't be deselected or disabled anymore. Is that correct?
Because I remember from my original play-through (back then, before GOG) that I completed the main game and only then installed the add-on. I did not encounter any problems with the difficulty that way. Totally understandable. There are only a few games and genres where I am able to tolerate a constantly high difficulty and stress level. And those games are usually short and/or playable in short intervals (i.e. levels / stages). Neither of that applies to Gothic or other open-world titles.

Well, I am a moron, lol, so maybe I missed it, but I couldn't figure out how to just install Gothic 2 (without NoTR).

And I too recall playing the add-on before, because I distinctly remember playing the new part with pirates and, IIRC, lots of sand (like it was a desert or something). But I can't remember if I added that on to an existing save or started anew. If I did start a new game and made it far enough to get to the new part, then that would be proof that I am capable, or was capable at one point. Man right now I'm just getting really irritated with dying from two hits from an NPC that I know with certainty I beat rather easily in vanilla Gothic 2 because my first play through of Gothic 2 I did indeed join the mercenaries. Thus I had the same requirements - you have to beat up a number of mercenaries to "get their respect" in order to have the votes to join the mercenaries. I finally beat ONE of them, after save scumming about 7 or more times, which is NOT fun. The others I die so quick I don't even think save scumming will save me.

And as far as I'm concerned, if you've made a game where save scumming is necessary to proceed, then you've done it wrong.

AFAIK the GOG version can't be installed without NotR, so you didn't miss anything.

No, the GOG installer is for the "Gold" version. You didn't miss anything. It is what it is now.
I bought my physical copy of G2 on CD-ROM in 2003 and played it right away.

In the other thread there was mention of the Gothic II Classic Mod. Maybe you are willing now to give it a try? I mean, it is better than losing interest and giving up ...

I too originally bought both Gothic 2 and NoTR on discs at a mall, and not at the same time. IIRC, I had already finished Gothic 2 once (the ship sailing away is the ending animation from vanilla 2 right?) when I bought the NoTR. And then, as I said, I remember playing it, and seeing the new area and new monsters and... pirates! Who doesn't like Pirates? And for whatever reason my memory insists on it being very "sandy" and maybe it was a beach (makes sense because... Pirates) but my memory seems to be more like a desert than a beach.

But actually I'm thinking about going a different route. I'm thinking about giving the free add-on The Chronicles of Myrtana a try. I haven't ever tried that yet.


Or.... I might resort to save scumming, kiting with a bow, yada yada yada just to get to Chapter 2, better armor, and then see I feel about it. I'm so conflicted because man.... the nostalgia is strong. The world is the same, it's still the Gothic feel, and I still just LOVE IT. But this level of difficulty is just NOT FUN. No other way of saying it. If you have to kite, save scumm, exploit, etc. etc. then that's not fun, that's.... work. I play games to have fun. But maybe if I can just get through this first Chapter, then start getting the benefits of some of the other ways of increasing attributes like stone tablets and alchemy, then maybe it will be okay. But man, I still can't wrap my head around the very statement in the NoTR manual that said "Gothic 2 was too easy." I still have a hard time typing that. I mean a Gothic game... too easy...??? Well their attempts to make it harder were successful. So there is that.

maybe give other hints?

Thank you very much OldFatGuy for the game. I hope you have fun with other games if Gothic 2 is not to your liking.

Pouyou-pouyou, congratulations to you. :)

Edit: Removed code, as OldFatGuy had posted it directly afterwards.

One of the reviews says: And it's a review from this month.

UPDATE: Well, I played this evening, and was able to get 2 more levels, and used them, as well as some goblin berries to push my DEX to 60, went and got a Master Sword (120 DAMAGE, 60 DEX requirement, plus 10 points bonus to 1H weapon skill) AND i maxed out the donations to Daron which ended up adding lots of hit points (plus even got 1 learning point and quite a bit of experience). These two actions have really changed everything. I still fear Orcs, Wargs, and Skeletons (man skeletons are hard in this NoTR version) but now Lizards and Snappers are falling at my feet like leaves in the woods in the fall. lol

Suddenly went from constant stress to feeling much better. NPC's (for some reason) are still a challenge, but I do now have a fighting chance.

I applaud you for your perseverance. :-)
Is your newly found morale and improved DEX enough to deal with the mercenaries yet?

Yeah. I had previously beaten Buster, who was pretty easy actually. But Bullco was a different matter altogether, and fighting Raul left me losing every time but not instantly, you know? After these upgrades I dispensed with him rather quickly. Bullco was still... a real bull. lol. It took three tries (had to reload twice), but I got him.

Then two militia fellas came by Bengar's farm and I sliced through them like knife through warm butter. It was very satisfying. lol

Wargs, Orcs (especially Elite Orcs), skeletons, and Shadowbeasts are still something to be feared, although I may be able to hold my own now with Orc scouts and at least have a fighting chance with Orc Warriors, and if things went like 100% right I'd probably beat shadowbeasts now too... but one slip up and you're laying on your back drawing your final breaths.

I think the lesson I've learned from this with NoTR is there can be NO, NONE, ZERO, jack of all trades allowed. You have to pick two attributes and focus on them ONLY. Strength and either 1 or 2 handed weapons or dexterity and 1 or 2 handed weapons. For me now, my DEX is 60, my 1H skill is at 50%, while my strength, 2 handed weapons, bow, and crossbow are all still at 10 (the beginning). It just seems to me that the only way to survive and be effective is to pick one thing and don't waste a single LP on anything else. It's a very unforgiving game with NoTR.

But as I play it more, I think I get what they were doing. They made magic more relevant, as the use of scrolls is very, very important now (in Gothic 1, the only time I used scrolls were when the game "forced" you to.) and acts as an equalizer for your weaker state in NoTR. By making them all cost only 5 mana, and by making their delivery more efficient, scrolls are your friend in Gothic 2 NoTR.

But man I love this game. The atmosphere, the story, and just how well it all works for a game over 20 years old is just nothing short of amazing. IMO I still believe Gothic was more of a trailblazer in transitioning from the 80's-90's style RPG's to the modern era. Morrowind usually gets all the credit for that, but I think Gothic 1 and 2 were both ahead of the curve over Morrowind, and even Oblivion.

ADDED: What I did to change things up was just totally forgot about advancing the story, and spent all last evening critter hunting. I went everywhere I could and killed everything I could, and that got me two levels (20 LP's) and I then used them and 1 DEX potion and a few goblin berries and a Ring of Dexterity and got my DEX to 60 and then laid out 2,400 gold for the Master Sword, and boy am I having fun again. lol (Note: when I stated my 1H was 50, that's not accurate,it's actually 40, but the Master Sword has a plus 10 bonus to1H weapon skill.

AARGH Landlubbers... Ye Olde Fat Guy's a Pirate now, and about to show these filthy bandits what walking the plank is like, and how they'll prefer that option to this salty blade I'll shove up their arses. Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum, Ye Olde Fat Guy is Cap'n now mates.!

Damn I'm having way too much now... lol