The Gothic 1 Remake is a game that gives players a lot of freedom when it comes to their decisions, and every nameless Hero is free to backstab and betray as much as they like. However, there comes a point of no return, a time when they need to settle down, get serious, and commit. This represents one out of two points of no return in the game, but its the most important one.
This is, of course, when you need to choose a camp to ally with and take that camp’s oath of allegiance. This binds you to that camp and dictates the story quests you’ll be doing between now and the end of the game. However, the ending is the same regardless of what camp you choose. There’s also a second point of no return at the final dungeon, but we’ll get to that.
Spoilers lurk below for the quests and story.
First point of no return: Pick a camp
You’ll spend the first half of the game exploring all three camps, doing quests, and getting to know the NPCs. You may have been playing them off against each other and not really committing to anyone. That’s smart, but eventually, you’re going to need to swear allegiance to one of them to progress the story.
Of course, it may depend on the build you’ve chosen or the alliances you’ve made so far. If you’ve chosen the path of the warrior, it may make sense to join the Old Camp and become a Shadow. Or maybe you want to become an archer or a water mage, and should side with the New Camp. Then again, perhaps you’ve found religion and want to sit around and smoke swamp weed all day. In that case, it’s the Swamp Camp for you.
Either way, if you want to join any of the three camps, these are the quests you’ll need to complete:
Old Camp
Admission to the Old Camp – This will be automatically completed at the start of the game when you meet Diego there.
Casting Shadows – This involves completing quests for Shadows like Whistler, Fingers, Sly, and Dexter to secure their trust and endorsement.
Test of Faith – Diego asks you to secure a shipment from the Old Mine and bring it back to him. Once you’re done this and have reached level 5, you’ll be invited to meet Gomez and swear your oath to the Old Camp.
Securing the shipment will alienate the NPCs at the New Camp, but don’t worry, this won’t impact the story, and you’ll still be able to build alliances there.
New Camp
Admission to the New Camp – The New Camp will be happy to let you join, as it means annoying the Old Camp, but you’ll need someone to advocate for you. You can do this by meeting Mordrag at Old Camp and having him escort you to New Camp.
The Supply List Betrayal – This is a lot like the Test of Faith quest, but involves you delivering the shipment to Lares at New Camp instead of Diego.
The Convoy Raid – This is when the bandits of New Camp attack the Old Camp’s caravans and steal their shipment. Participating secures your spot at the New Camp and burns bridges with the Old Camp, but that won’t matter for long.
Swamp Camp
Admission to the Swamp Camp – As with the New Camp, you just need an NPC to advocate for you. Chat to Lester or Baal Pervez in Old Camp to be escorted to the Swamp Camp.
Impressing the Gurus – This is a relatively easy but long-winded quest; you’ll just need to do some menial tasks for the four Gurus/Baals at the Swamp Camp, such as fetching swampweed or listening to their sermons.
Cor Kalom’s Approval – Once you’ve befriended the Gurus, you’ll be invited to join the Brotherhood by Cor Kalom. You won’t need to take part in the caravan raid or betray one of the other camps, this is a bonus, but it ceases to matter when the story reaches a certain point.
Regardless of the camp you join, you’ll still end up brokering an alliance between the fire and water mages to help with your escape plan, so it ultimately won’t matter who you side with.
The Old Camp will still attack the New Camp’s mine once their’s collapses, and the cultists of the Swamp Camp will be revealed to have been making a grave error.
Power will eventually shift to those who side with the Hero and his escape plan, and those like Gomez who want to cling to power and life in the colony.
Second point of no return
The second point of no return is at the end of the story when the Hero enters the Sleeper’s Temple to put an end to the magical barrier that’s trapping the characters in the colony. At this point, you cannot go back to the open world and will need to press on to the final fight.
Be sure to save your game before you enter the temple, that way you can take care of any unfinished business before you need to go and kill a god.
