The Gothic 1 Remake lets players commit to a magic build if they’re not feeling the path of the warrior or the sneaky bow-shooting rogue. This can also be a very effective build; however, when picking a magic build in Gothic it pays to plan if you’re going to be a pure caster or a battlemage. In our view, a caster who also makes use of melee is the best magic build you can craft in Gothic.
Below, we’ll walk you through how to assemble this build from the start, all the way to the endgame. We’ll also cover the path of a fire mage versus a water mage, and what you’ll need to do to create both. However, let’s start by saying that the best magic build in Gothic is that of a fire mage who’s also adept at single-handed melee combat. This will be the main build we focus on.
Best camp to choose for this build
- Fire mage: Old Camp
- Water mage: New Camp
As we covered in our best melee build guide, we believe the very best build in Gothic is that of a battlemage, and the best thing about this is that it can be focused on either melee combat or spellcasting.
For this build, we’re going to make casting fire spells our main offensive technique and use some single-handed weapon skill as a backup for when things get close and personal. So this is why we’re going to make the Old Camp our home. It gives us access to the NPCs who can train us in Rune Magic, Mana, Strength, and One-Handed Weapons.
However, if we’re going to go down the path of a water mage, then we’ll need to live at the New Camp, which is where they hang out and can train us. More on that later.
Best training for a magic build in Gothic
- Rune Magic
- Mana
Now that we’re staying in the Old Camp and committing to the path of a fire mage, our first port of call should be Torrez. He’s a fire mage who’ll happily induct you into his ranks. He’ll also sell you spells and train you on Rune Magic and Mana. This will help you adopt a caster build and use spells like Firebolt as your main offensive skill.
You’ll want to pump many of your points into these two skills to make sure your spells are powerful and make you deadly from a distance. We also advise that you completely ignore the dexterity stat, as you’ll have no use for it in this build. Who needs a bow and finite arrows when you can shoot fire balls?
If you’re finding lockpicking to be a chore, then visit Fingers in Old Camp for some training, but only if you can be bothered with the tedious minigame. Also, consider asking Draw in the New Camp to train you in Hunting if you’re grinding levels by zapping a lot of animals. This will mean you get better rewards if you do.
Adding some melee to a magic build
If you’re going down the road of being a battlemage – and we recommend it, you’ll need to add some skill points to your Strength and One-Handed Weapons stats. To do this, visit Diego in Old Camp and have him train you.
As you’re a mage first and a warrior second, prioritize your magic stats, but it’s helpful to be able to cut foes down when they get too close, and your mana is recharging. This is especially true later in the game when some powerful swords and maces appear (Scar’s sword is amazing in the endgame).
We split our melee and magic skills fairly evenly, but if you’re planning on being more of a mage than a warrior, make these skills your focus.
Choosing the Water Mage build
Most of what we said above still applies if you’d rather be a water mage in Gothic. The main difference is that you’ll need to live in the New Camp and visit Saturas for training in Circles of Water Magic. You can also visit Cronos for Mana training rather than Torrez.
You can still walk the path of a battlemage, or you can forgo melee almost entirely and just be a pure water mage. However, we’re of the view that the best build in Gothic is that of a battlemage who makes use of Fire Magic and single-handed weapons like swords and maces.
