Here are some for those having difficulty early on. Sorry if they've been covered before:

- Zoom out your TPP view. The scroll wheel zooms out (and back in), while moving the mouse itself pitches the view up and down. This eagle-eye view is helpful to see over rises in the landscape, peer over cliff edges, etc.
- But sometimes trees and such get in the way, so use your radar. Whip out your bow / crossbow and slowly turn in a circle to scan for targets. This is helpful for finding hidden targets that you suspect are nearby (at night, for instance), and for IDing targets you've found through regular exploring
- Swinging your weapon left and right continuously will take out Orc Warriors eventually. He may get a few hits in, though, and they hit hard. In other words, it ain't foolproof and you should have a recent save ready to load.
- In some cases you can use Sneak (x key) to, well, sneak up behind enemies and get into attack range undetected. This will allow you to get in a couple hits for 'free'. I used this yesterday on a sleeping Shadow Beast (snores like my old cat did : D ).

One thing the game doesn't tell you is that certain fights are prearranged to have you knock someone out. Therefore, if you accept a quest to, say, 'teach that guy a lesson', you will only knock him unconscious once he reaches 0 health. In other words, don't worry that you'll accidentally kill the person since the game knows you're just trying to make him go sleepy-time. Once down, you have a short window of time to loot the snoozing target.

If you want my two cents, not all of the skinning skills are worth anything, especially in the base game. Learn basic skinning from Bosper the bowyer by becoming his apprentice and leave it there, unless you need to take the claws of a specific snapper.
In terms of melee I've found one handed weapons to be superior if you have good reflexes. Especially in NOTR. You really need to be able to jump backwards at any given moment.

If you have a hard time at the beginning of NotR with killing creatures start exploring!
You won't succeed if you keep trying to kill too powerful creatures, you will get frustrated.
Instead explore, and "peel" the world out of the creatures like an onion, layer by layer.

Some tips to make chapter 1 easier:
http://www.gog.com/en/forum/gothic_series/well_i_just_finished_gothic_ii/post16

anyone have tips for chapter 4? Salamander men and Orcs in hordes... I am 26 Paladin and not seeing the light of day... so frustrated.

Have you cleared out Jharkendar again? There are lots of less challenging enemies there to level up on. Jharkendar refills with new enemies in chapter 4, so even if you've previously cleared it out you'll find new foes in this chapter.

It's a bit late now but you should also take down as many enemies as you can before advancing the plot because each new chapter and/or major plot point adds a lot of new enemies to the world regardless of whether the existing ones are still there, so if you have left the orcs and such alone until now they will have huge numbers.

I cleared out what i could find.
Am now considering going to Jharkendar again like you suggest.

It just seems so strange that I am having such a hard time when i covered most if not all quests up until chapter 4 and then rolls in a chapter that just has you drown in futility. I am 28 now and am scrambling to increase my basic skills. I have yet to use my STR potions or TH tablets because I would like to continue to TRAIN them...

Now I was asked to kill the Orc Colonel in a cave outside of Korinis... 2 Warlords standing guard... What are the developers thinking here?


EDIT:

I managed to beat the game.

I was holding off (on my second playthrough) on taking the strength potions until I had TRAINED it to 100 via trainers. I managed to pull one of the Warlords back separate from the other :). The game became so much easier once I was able to wear my Dragon Slicer and then finally the Barbarian's Axe. Too easy in the final chapter actually. The initial stage of chapter 4 seems unbearably hard if you do not have your Strength boosted above the 100+ and 70%+ In your main weapon skill. Once you get the skill and strength up.. the game becomes a joke.

[SPOILERS]
I had to cheat myself threw the final doors of the temple (i think the switches in the rooms were glitching and the last dragon eye door did not budge even after reading the note and getting the key.) to actually get threw to the dragon and back to the ship.

This is obviously too late for your game Orlim, and I don't know if you're still around, but I think why you found the game so difficult is because of your delayed development. I'll explain in a way that will also be useful to newbies.

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[color=green]The first and most important choice you have to make when playing G2 is whether you're going to play with or without the NOTR expansion.[/color]

NOTR doesn't just add new content, it also changes the rules for gameplay and character building. For example, in classic, the primary stat for your class is raised on a 1:1 basis. If you had 0 Str, raising it to 120 for your warrior would cost 30+30+30+30 or 120 skill points, a 1:1 cost. In NOTR, it would cost 30+60+90+120 or 300 skill points, a much higher cost. This is especially important for mages, since high mana is far more vital for them than high Str or Dex is for the other classes. Obviously you can get higher stats in classic vs NOTR, which makes classic generally easier. Personally I like games to be harder, not easier, so I've never played classic, but if you find NOTR just too impossible to do, you might consider giving vanilla a whirl, if only to have the satisfaction of finally succeeding once or twice. Read up on all the differences between vanilla and NOTR if you're curious.

Stat Raising

As noted above, raising stats in NOTR via training is very expensive. Stats cost 1:1 up to 30, 2:1 31-60, 3:1 61-90, and so on. In addition to training, there are permanent stat boosting potions you can find. Lastly, you can also spend skill points later on to learn how to make these potions, but be warned. These permanent potions all require King's Sorrel, of which you'll only find about two dozen in the game; thus, there's a hard limit on how many you can make.

Because training costs so much, you'll want to train as high as you're going to go first, and only apply stat boosters later. Spending more points on training means you're going to have a higher final stat at the end of the game, but also means you'll have to hold on boosters until you reach that point. Delay too long and you may not live to reach the end (see Orlim's story above). Plus, there are plenty of other things you'll want to spend skill points on, so pouring them all into stats is unwise.

Since the cost breaks are at every 30, you should pick when you want to stop training. IMO, ~300 SP for a 120 stat is insane, and I would never do it. ~180 SP for a 90 stat is expensive, and I would only recommend it if you know what you're doing. ~90 SP for a 60 stat is much more reasonable I think, and I suggest newbies not train higher than this, at least not in your first game. I play mages and don't train my mana higher than 60. Mercs have the most free skill points to play with, so they MIGHT want to go to 90 in a stat, Maybe. Remember that you only gain 10 SP per level and level gain slows as you get up there.

Faction and Guild

You must join one of three factions, which is your class, but can choose one of three guild masters to serve, if you want. Constantino gives the least money in the game. Bosper edges Harad out somewhat, unless you enjoy cheating, which I won't explain. In general, Harad can get you more money right away, while Bosper is steady throughout the game. The difference isn't huge so pick Harad or Bosper as you like.

As for faction, you need to know something about the classes. No matter your class, the game will expect you to kill most creatures with weapons. That means even mages need to have decent fighting skills... sad but true. I've modded the game to fix that for myself (it's very easy), but newbies need to know that mages WON'T kill everything with spells. Whatever your class, choose melee or missile, and train the hell out of it.

There are three final tips I'll share. Pickpocketing is a useful skill for extra cash, if you want to be that kind of character. Know that PP is different in classic and NOTR. In NOTR, the xp you get from PP increases based on the number of people you've already pocketed. This means you'll want to pocket as many folks as possible. This means you'll want to get it as soon as possible, as some NPCs only exist for brief periods, such as during a quest or chapter. Miss pocketing them, and that's less overall xp you can get. Also know that loot you get from pocketing ONLY exists for pocketing; these rewards won't be there if you kill them.

Another thing to know is that some quests can have more than one solution. For example, there's a quest you get in the city that can be solved in the city, OR it can be solved well out of the city. These alternate solutions are NOT obvious, and you may have no clue they exist. I'm just letting you know that unlike most games, this is not a game of one peg for each hole. There may be multiple pegs, some better than others. You can try holding off on solving quests, or just go through the game and maybe learning of some of the alternate solutions later. Your choice. Because you will miss some, the game has good replay value.

One last thing to know about NPCs is that if you beat them down with melee attacks, they will not die. Instead they will fall to the ground for a bit before getting back up with 1 hp. During this time you can loot them, take their weapon, do what you want. If you want them dead, hit them again while they're down to make the killing blow. This only works for melee attacks; if they take fatal damage from spell or missile, they will die, no knockdown at all. Be careful doing this in sight of other NPCs, as they will likely mark you a criminal and attack you. However, this tactic can be useful in getting yourself extra stuff and is useful in not accidentally killing off NPCs that might be necessary for quests or other things later in the game.

Boy i remember playing this game when it came out and i remember buying it and installing it and getting really really PISSED OFF! this is one of those games that you either love or you hate because of its brutal unrelenting difficultly but ive found it a lot easier (sort of) to do these things at the beginning

-kill everything that's smaller than you! (except the wolves they will be important)
-if you see a plant pick it
-avoid going into the forest under the farm there is not only no good loot but a goddamn Orc!
-do all the menial task the farmer gives you (trust me you need the gold)
-when you get to town and see a pirate outside the town DO NOT give him your farmers outfit!
-get the apprentice job from the hunter or the blacksmith (the alchemist is pointless and lock maker is worthless)
-go hunting with the hunter outside the bow maker shop
-remember the Orc i warned you about? well show him your a man with the help of your friend!
-don't forget to loot every last corpse you see!
-don't go any further than the Orcs location the goblins ahead will break your knees with their clubs
- on your way back to town avoid the left-hand corner of the outside its got snappers and they are mean!
-bring the Orc sword to the blacksmith OR kill the wolves on the way to town
-congratulation! you have taken one of the most brutal openings in an RPG and made it...slightly less brutal!


(for all you guys who love the Gothic series i love it too in my own sarcastic way and to the new players its not quite as bad as i made it out to be but seriously start with Gothic 1 or Gothic 3 for your own sake!)

Ah I remembered starting the Gothic Series it brought back that old nostelgic feeling and the insane difficulty is refreshing and makes it all the more satisfying to beat. First off this game is about the journey and not the end of it.

And also decide what your character wants to be good at during the beginning of the game because if you try to be good at everything G2 NOTR may be unbeatable.

Something else that wasn't mentioned. Spend the skill points on learning the ancient languages as early as you possibly can. No matter you class, it'll be one of the best investments you ever make, as the stat boosts you get from the tablets you find over the course of the game are by far the biggest return you'll ever get on your skill points.

Skills are not the only thing available though. Mobs and order of killing as someone mentioned is far more important imo. Also for extra levels (and i am sorry if someone already mentioned this), do ALL the faction quests BEFORE you officially join one. You can do quests for mercs, militia and mages (i believe) before you actually accept one of them.
Also recommend you just about clear as much as you can of the map before you are to go to Mines and such. It is quite possible.

Get some money buy all the scrolls and things that you can. Steal whatever you can ... once you run out of things to do and that should be well AFTER you kill the black troll, then accept a faction and continue the game.

Nice money glitch in the game is if you take the blacksmith as your master. make 2 swords (the more expensive the better). Equip one sword and have the other in the inventory. Talk to blacksmith. Sell the sword in your inventory. What this will do however is only un-equip the sword you were carrying and you will see 2 swords in your inventory. Equip one again, and sell again. You can do this as much as you feel like or want or need.

Found one of my posts gathering dust on a dead forum I used to visit quite often some time ago.
They might be of use to some.

A few Gothic II Tips:

- Don't help Cavalorn directly with the bandits: go persuade the bandit staying at the cave entrance and tell him you're from penal colony as well and warn him about Cavalorn and then warn him again about Malek knowing he stole the sheep from Lobart's farm.

- Enter Khorinis by swimming, for maximum XP bonus from Lares.

- Do not help Greg at the beginning: help him after you already entered the city. After exiting the city, hand over farmer clothes to Greg, then do not equip any armor, just go back to the gate - the guard will stop you: say you come from Constantino for max. XP bonus.

- Most powerful help in chapter 1 comes from Ignaz: after you do his Experiment quest, browse his shop and buy Scroll of Dragon Snapper transformation - use it to kill wargs and shadowbeasts in the valley near Lobart's farm, and those in the woods behind Onar's farm (though this way you may not loot them)

- When going to the forest to get Nefarius ring fragment, take Lares with you: when you'll arrive there, do not activate portal, simply lure all orcs, wargs, lizzards etc to Lares and he'll kill everything as at this stage he's immortal (important: watch out that you don't die and don't lose your targets while luring them to Lares).

- Don't forget about Thieves guild quests, etc etc

- Important: I found out that while you're guildless, the maximum amount of XP is granted by joining Fire mages: first you do all mercenary quests, up to when Torlof sends you to Lee (don't go talking to him)(and don't forget to kill warehouse guard in Khorinis and take swampweed package for Buster).

- Black Troll tip: if your master is Bosper, after killing black troll, don't go to him, instead do mercenary quests, and after you chose a side, Raoul will accost you, saying you're nothing but a big mouth etc, and give you black troll quests: pursue him to give you a higher reward, then give him the black troll hide. After that, beat him, take the hade back and sell it to Bosper.

- When joining mages, forget about direct method, use alternative method (with help from Vatras).

- Don't forget to buy molerat fat from Martin and open the locked door at the cave near the portal where you go with Lares after ring fragment.

- The beginning is the hardest part of the game. Once you get used to the combat system the game gets easier as you get stronger.
- Focus on one kind of combat, max out those stats and ignore the rest. Use either 1h+str, 2h+str, bow+dex or magic+mana. The crossbow is bad because it needs str AND dex. Don´t try to be good in many things. (I prefer the bow, but its up to you what you want)
- You don´t need all skills that give trophies from enemies. You will swim in money sooner or later anyway. basic skinning is enough.
- Kill all enemies before starting quests. Sometimes new enemies will spawn when you start a quest to kill something. (confirmed for the razors in the canyon, snappers near digging sites in the mine valley and bloodflies in the swamp)
- When you have a quest to follow somebody (=you get exp when he kills enemies) lure all nearby enemies to your friend. Make sure your friend survives. Don´t go too for away from your friend or he may disappear. (long live Lares the immortal champion, but your personal pirate crew is not bad too.)
- Don´t lure enemies to people who are not in your party. Wait until you get stronger. In fact I made some crazy stunts to kill some enemies before some farmers or soldiers do so.
- Enemies use to get stuck in cave entrances or bridges.
- Most non humanoid enemies cannot climb. Rocks, trees and walls are your friend. Beware that orcs and skelletons CAN climb well.
- Talk to everybody again when a new chapter start. people have new quests ans stores new items. Revisit everything because new monsters will also spawn.
- I started to take stat boosters (stone tablets, potions, . . .) once my combat skill (bow in my case) was 64 and my main stat (dex for me) was 90. Don´t forget to prey at shrines, eat apples and mushrooms and some other things).

And again the most importand thing: SAVE OFTEN AND IN DIFFERENT SLOTS !!!

I'm relatively new to the game even though I have played Gothic 3 and 4. This game is amazing and really fun. But please any help with crossbows and bows would be welcome. I have a problem where either one I shoot, my shots don't register beyond like 2-3 meters. Also I need help with bandits in the lighthouse for the quest where this dude named Jack asks you to clear the lighthouse of the bandits. Please help and fast.