Gothic 2 – Magic Guide

In Gothic 2 Night of the Raven spells can deal 3 types of damage: Fire, Magic and Wind. Fire based spells deal fire damage; the rest of the spells deal magic damage, however certain enemies can be completely or partly immune to specific spells even though they deal the same type of damage (I elaborate this further later at the spells sections). Wind damage is applied to only one spell and the resistance to it is a hidden statistic.

Damage calculation
The damage calculation follows a really straightforward formula:

Spell damage – Resistance

Spell damage can be fire, magic or wind and the resistance can be against that specific damage type. Ranged spells work the same way as Bows and Crossbows, except the projectile hits 100% of the time, if the projectile actually lands on the target. The difference between the spell damage and the melee and ranged damage is that the formula lacks the minimum 5 damage dealt condition, so unlike melee and ranged damage, where you are certain to deal a little damage always, even if the target would resist it; in the case of spells this is not true. Shortly: if spells are resisted, they deal 0 damage.

Mana training
Increasing mana via teachers will cost more Learning Points as your maximum Mana increases. The price of 1 point of Mana change based on your current maximum Mana:
10 -> 30 – 1 Mana / 1 LP
30 -> 60 – 1 Mana / 2 LP
60 -> 90 – 1 Mana / 3 LP
90 -> 120 – 1 Mana / 4LP
120 -> 300 – 1 Mana / 5LP *

You can save some Learning Points by training to 29 and then training to 34. 29 points of mana is still below the threshold, so the 1 Mana / 1LP cost is applied.

*Only Pyrokar can increase your mana that high and his maximum is 300.

Magical circles & runes
In order to use magical runes you need to learn the magical circles. There are 6 circles and each cost 5 LP to learn in Night of the Raven (in vanilla Gothic 2 the cost of each circle was 5 LP * X, where X is the magical circle), however you can’t learn all circles at once:
– Circle 1: Chapter 1
– Circle 2: Chapter 2
– Circle 3: Chapter 3
– Circle 4: After completing ,,The Eye of Innos” quest (end of Chapter 3, Chapter 4)
– Circle 5: Chapter 5
– Circle 6: After discovering the secret vault of the Monastery (Chapter 5)

Teachers:

• Parlan – Circle 1 -> Circle 3
• Karras – Circle 4 -> Circle 5
• Pyrokar – Circle 6
• Saturas* – Circle 1 -> Circle 6

*Only becomes available after entering Jharkendar.

After you learned the circles you need to learn the formulae of each spell rune you are going to use. Runes allow you to infinitely cast that specific spell, while scrolls expire after 1 use, however runes in general require more mana to use. In order to create a rune, you need a Blank Runestone, a scroll of that specific spell and some extra ingredients, if you have all that you can create your own rune at a Rune Table.

This section is meant to be a list of free Mana bonuses (0 LP cost) in the game. It will also cover the best mana increasing Rings & Amulet set.

General + Items
– Eating 50 Dark Mushrooms +5 each time
– Coragon’s Beer +1 and +2 Hitpoints each time
– Lou’s Hammer +1 only once
– Donating 100 Gold to a Shrine of Innos +1 each time, maximum 20 Mana can be gained this way and works only once per day
– Donating to Daron +2 (+ many other extra)
– Old Stone Tablets for Vatras + the amount of stone tablets given (it only works if you give him 10 or more at once to him)
– Priest set (2 Rings of the Priest and one Amulet of the Priests) +40, the set is scattered in Jharkendar
– Freeing Raven’s slaves +3 from Vatras
– Divine Power of the Stars book +2 (can be bought from Zuris and Constantino in Khorinis)
– Magic Wand +20 (can be bought from Gorax)
– Essence of Spirit +3, found in Jharkendar’s Great Library

Stone tablets
Many Stone Tablets are scattered in the world and some of them can increase your mana. They also increase your other attributes as well, however reading them requires you to know the language. This can be learned from the water mage Myxir. The language has 3 levels and each level allows you to read higher level stone tablets, which give better bonus. It costs a total of 30 learning points. The cost of each level is 5LP * X, where X is the specific level.

Elixir of Spirit
Elixir of Spirit increases your mana by 5 points each time you drink it. It is a rare and expensive potion to come by, however you can buy it sometimes from Zuris in Khorinis and Milten* carries one as well. You can brew it yourself as well, however in costs around 30-40LPs (learning the basic mana potions + learning the recipe of the Elixir of Spirit, which costs 20LP)

Teachers:
– Neoras
– Riordian**
– Constantino
– Sagitta

The elixir needs one Fire Root and one King’s Sorrel. Fire Root is relatively abundant and inexpensive, however King’s Sorrel is limited. There are 11 King’s Sorrels scattered in Khorinis and there are 2 scattered in Jharkendar. They are usually located at stone circles or at special locations/dungeons, but it can be a reward for certain quests as well. You can also buy it from these vendors sometimes (costs 500 Gold for each plant):
– Constantino
– Sagitta
– Lutero
– Vatras***
– Milten***

* Needs pickpocketing skill (10 LP) and needs around 60-70 Dexterity to steal it from him
** Only becomes available after entering Jharkendar
*** They only sell one in Chapter 6 if you bring them with you

M – mana cost
FD – fire damage
MD – magic damage
WD – wind damage
H – healing
I – ingredients
L – LP cost
[F] – 2x damage against ice-based creature, 0.5x damage against fire-based creature
[W] – 2x damage against fire-based creature, 0.5x damage against ice-based creature

Teachers:
Hyglas – Fire spells
Marduk – Ice/Thunder spells
Karras – Summoning spells
Parlan – Utility spells (basically every spell which don’t fall into the previous 3 categories)
Pyrokar – Circle 6 spells
Nefarious – teaches every spell after entering Jharkendar
Milten – teaches various spells from different schools

Circle 1
These spells are the weakest. They usually cost around 1-5LPs. Since you can go straight to Chapter 2 to learn Circle 2, you can skip learning most of them.

Fire Arrow: In order to become a Magician, you need to create this rune. This is your first rune. [F]
– M: 5
– FD: 30
– I: Sulphur
– L: 5
Small Lighting: It is a semi-useful rune, because it deals relatively good damage against Skeletons, but it just doesn’t worth learning it. It also stuns human NPCs, so it doesn’t kill them.
– M: 15
– MD: 30
– I: Rock Crystal
– L: 3
Summon Goblin Skeleton: Summons a Goblin Skeleton. It is good for swarming enemies.
– M: 20
– I: Goblin Skeleton Bone
– L: 3
Heal Light Wounds
– M: 10
– H: 200
– I: Healing Plant
– L: 3
Light: Illuminates your surroundings for 5 minutes. If you don’t like carrying torches, you can learn this spell, because it is inexpensive.
– M: 10
– I: Gold Coin
– L: 1

Circle 2
You are going to stick long in Chapter 2 and these spells will mostly be core spells until Circle 4.

Ice Arrow: A better version of Small Lighting. It can kill skeletons with 3 hits. It has a unique interaction with the Circle 3 spell, Ice Block and the Circle 5 spell Wave of Ice. [W]
– M: 10
– MD: 50
– I: Glacier Quartz
– L: 5
Fireball: This is among the earliest single-target damage spells, which has the best mana – damage ratio. [F]
– M: 15
– FD: 75
– I: Pitch
– L: 10
Sleep: Situational spell, which puts the target into sleep for 30s. It only works against human NPCs only, but some of them have an inherent resistance to this spell (for example Talamon). It is great for looting houses in Khorinis and can save you learnin the Sneaking talent.
– M: 20
– I: Swampweed
– L: 5
Fist of Wind: A special spell taught by Parlan. It is a close a range, chargeable spell, which deals the unique wind damage. It is exceptionally powerful against Seekers, whose resistance to this type of damage is 0. It can also deal extra environmental damage, but if the environmental damage kills your opponent, you don’t gain XP.
– M: 20-80
– WD: 50-200
– I: Coal
– L: 5
Summon Wolf: Summons a wolf. It is inferior to Summon Goblin Skeleton, so don’t learn it at all.
– M: 40
– I: Wolf Pelt
– L: 5

Circle 3
This is the Circle where spells are becoming more potent. This circle marks the first area of effect and splash damage spells.

Fear: Targets caught in the area will flee for 5 seconds. Unlike Sleep, it works on non-human NPCs as well, but similar to it some NPCs are inherently immune to its effect (khm khm Talamon). The Undead are completely unaffected.
– M: 50
– I: Black Pearl
– L: 5
Small Firestorm: Deals splash damage around the target for the same damage as the spell’s base damage. It is great against enemies, who travel in groups (like for example Wargs). [F]
– M: 25
– FD: 100
– I: Pitch, Sulphur
– L: 15
Ice Block: Freezes the target for 19s. Amplifies the damage of Ice Arrow during its duration. Big enemies resist the freeze effect (for example Trolls, Shadowbeasts). [W]
– M: 40
– MD: 40 + 2/s for 19s
– I: Aquamarin, Glacier Quartz
– L: 10
Ball Lighting: Chargeable spell, which will only stun human NPCs.
– M: 10-40
– MD: 30-120
– I: Rock Crystal, Sulphur
– L: 10
Heal Medium Wounds
– M: 25
– H: 400
– I: Healing Herb
– L: 5
Summon Skeleton: Summons a Skeleton, which is great for swarming certain enemies. With Ice Block this spell is really potent.
– M: 60
– I: Skeleton Bone
– L: 10

Circle 4
This is the circle of the most mana efficient single target spells.

Lighting: Core spell, must learn. It has the best mana-damage ratio among single target spells.
– M: 30
– MD: 150
– I: Rock Crystal, Glacier Quartz
– L: 5
Large Fireball: Chargeable version of Fireball. Until Circle 6, this spell deals the most damage. Really efficient at taking out Ice Golems and other high profile targets. [F]
– M: 40-160
– FD: 75-300
– I: Sulphur, Pitch
– L: 10
Summon Golem: Summons a Stone Golem. Since Golems will start attacking each other and one Golem is actually pretty bad thanks to its awful AI, I don’t recommend this spell at all.
– M: 80
– I: Stone Golem Heart
– L: 15
Destroy Undead: Instantly kills most undead enemies, but other enemies are unaffected. The final enemy is immune to it in Night of the Raven (in vanilla you can use this spell on him). Due to its high mana cost and the fact that most undead are susceptible to magic anyway, it is best used in the form of scrolls against tougher undead. Don’t learn it.
– M: 100
– MD: 1000
– I: Holy Water
– L: 10

Circle 5
Transitional spells till Circle 6. Contains some really good spell.

Summon Demon: Summons a Demon. Demons can kill Dragons 1v1.
– M: 120
– I: Demon Heart
– L: 20
Wave of Ice: Freezes everything in the area for 19s. Can even freeze big enemies, even Dragons. Like Ice Block, it amplifies the damage of Ice Arrow during the effect. [W]
– M: 120
– MD: 60 + 2/s for 19s
– I: Aquamarine, Glacier Quartz
– L: 20
Large Firestorm: Chargeable version of Firestorm with more damage. In theory the splash damage would scale with the charge, but will deal the same splash damage as Small Firestorm, so this spell is actually really useless, because it is basically Large Fireball with Small Firestorm’s splash damage. [F]
– M: 50-200
– FD: 75-300
– I: Sulphur, Fire Lizard’s Tongue
– L: 10
Heal Heavy Wounds
– M: 50
– H: 800
– I: Healing Root
– L: 10

Circle 6
These are the spells for which you are playing the mage. These spells just make the rest of the game a cakewalk and they are fun to use. They also have the most expensive ingredients

Army of Darkness: Summons 5 Skeletons.
– M: 150
– I: Skeleton’s bone, Stone Golem’s Heart, Demon’s Heart, Black Pearl
– L: 20
Breath of Death: This spells is probably bugged, because it deals half of its supposed damage. Its unique effect is that it can hit all enemies caught in its path. It is a fun spell, but really inferior due to its bugged nature. Undead are inherently immune to this spell.
– M: 100
– MD: 500 (250)
– I: Coal, Black Pearl
– L: 20
Rain of Fire: This spell is rather overrated, but actually it is inferior to Wave of Death, it only has shorter cast time. [F]
– M: 150
– FD: 500
– I: Pitch, Sulphur, Fire Lizard’s Tongue
– L: 20
Wave of Death: Wave of Death has a pretty long cast time, but it is the ultimate area of effect spell in the game. It summons and expanding wave, which deals the same magic damage to everyone caught by it. The wave can hit every target more than once, so apart from Dragons and maybe Trolls, nothing will actually survive more than one hit from this spell.
– M: 150
– MD: 500
– I: Skeleton’s Bone, Black Pearl
– L: 20
Shrink Monster: Shrinks the target and divides their statistics by 10. Human NPCs and the final boss are immune to its effect.
– M: 300
– I: Goblin Skeleton’s Bone, Troll Tusk
– L: 20
Holy Bolt: Play the game through as a mage for this ultimate single target damage spell. 😉
– M: ???
– MD: ???
– I: ???
– L: 0

Circle 2
Ice Lance: From all of the Circle 2 spells this one has the highest base damage, but its mana-damage ratio is the same as Fireball’s. [W]
– M: 20
– MD: 100
– I: Glacier Quartz
– L: 5
Whirlwind: Traps the target in a whirlwind for 10 seconds
– M: 30
– I: Bloodfly’s Wings
– L: 5

Circle 3
Geyser: It has an okay mana-damage ratio, but among the Circle 3 spells this is among those, which hit harder. Human NPCs are stunned by this spell.
– M: 75
– MD: 150
– I: Aquamarine
– L: 10
Storm: It is a nerfed version of Rain of Fire. Creates a storm, which hits the surrounding enemies.. It has relatively long cast time.
– M: 100
– MD: 250
– I: Bloodfly’s Wings, Glacier Quartz
– L: 5

Circle 4
Waterfist: It could be considered a weaker version of Lighting, but it deals double damage against fire-based creatures. [W]
– M: 25
– MD: 125
– I: Aquamarine, Rock Crystal
– L: 10

You can obtain these runes after you get the Claw of Beliar. You need to sacrifice some hitpoints permanently in order to get each spell up to Circle 5. You can only have one of these runes at the time. They don’t require anything else from the player. The community is divided on these spells, because some of them have just limited use. However these are free spells, which you can change whenever you want, so you can freely experiment with them.

Circle 1
Root Snare: The opponent is entangled by a thornbrush for 20 seconds. You can consider it a free counterpart of Whirlwind.
– M: 50

Circle 2
Steal Energy: This spell only works against human opponents (minus the Seekers, who are inherently immune to this spell). This spell basically reduces the opponent’s hitpoints to 1 and heals the player for the same amount. It also disables the target for the duration of the effect, which is 9 seconds.
– M: 30
– MD: 100/s for 9s

Circle 3
Beliar’s Wrath: It deals the highest single-target damage from all Circle 3 spells, however it costs a lot, but it can 2 hit kill orcs.
– M: 100
– MD: 200
Summon Stone Sentinel: Summons a Stone Sentinel. You can consider it a free alternative to Skeletons. The summoned Stone Sentinel hits a bit lower than the Skeleton, but as a compensation it also has relatively higher defensive stats, especially against magic.
– M: 60

Circle 4
Insect Swarm: It conjures a swarm of insects, which will attack the opponent, disabling him for 6s and reducing his hitpoints to 1.
– M: 20
– MD: 80
Summon Zombie: Summons an armored Zombie. These zombies are tougher and hit harder than those common zombies.
– M: 80

Circle 5
Cry of the Dead: It is basically a high-risk, high-reward spell. It deals really heavy damage in a wide area around the target, which will instantly kill most enemies. Deals no damage to the undead.
– M: Minimum 250, depletes your mana reserves completely
– MD: 666

Other spells

Every spell scroll cost 5 mana to cast with the exception of chargeable spells, which apply the rune’s mana cost and expire after a single use. Certain spells only exist in the form scrolls, this include:
– Oblivion: The target forgets the player’s crimes.
– Transformation spells: The player transforms into a creature and inherits all their stats. You can use this to sneak past different opponents or offense, but be careful, because certain creatures will still be antagonistic towards you (like Scavengers and Wolves). !!!Avoid leveling up in transformed state, because you will lose the gained hitpoints after you transform back!!!

To make travelling faster there are also Teleport Runes, which can be found after Chapter 2. These runes don’t require the magical knowledge and casting each of them costs 10 mana.

Paladin Spells

This part of the guide is only meant for sharing some interesting gimmicks of this game. These runes cannot be obtained without cheating or exploits. All of these runes are Circle 6 and have really low mana cost, but they deal heavy damage.