Old Camp guide
The Old Camp in Gothic 1 Remake gives you two paths: guard (pure melee with the heaviest armor in the Colony) or fire mage (the highest-damage magic school in the game). Diego walks you there from the opening. If this is your first playthrough, this is where you want to be.
Still deciding? Compare all three camps. Or skip straight to the New Camp guide or Swamp Camp guide.
The camp runs on ore and hierarchy. Gomez controls the supply. Thorus enforces the rules. Corristo and the Circle of Fire handle the magic. Everyone else mines, fights, or gets out of the way. The camp also houses the Colony's largest smithy (blacksmithing guide) and Cronos teaches alchemy, though the Swamp Camp goes deeper.
Old Camp location
The Old Camp is the first settlement you reach. Diego catches up to you within minutes of the opening and walks you toward the main gate on the south road. Stick to the road -- molerats and scavengers are the only things between you and the gate. Inside, the camp splits into an outer ring (diggers, traders, the smithy) and an inner ring (guards, Gomez's throne room, the Circle of Fire tower).
Old Camp ranks and gear
Two paths diverge at shadow rank. One leads to heavy plate. The other leads to setting things on fire.
Guard path: Digger -> Shadow -> Rogue -> Light Guard -> Medium Guard -> Heavy Guard. The longest melee ladder in the Colony. Diggers mine ore. Shadows handle enforcement. Rogue and above opens the inner camp and heavier armor. Thorus promotes you at each gate.
Fire mage path: Fire Mage -> High Fire Mage. Branch into the Circle of Fire instead of climbing guard ranks. Corristo teaches fire magic through Circle 5. Fire mages trade plate for the most destructive spell school in the Colony.
The Old Camp fields the deepest armor set in the Colony — five melee tiers and two mage tiers.
| Armor | Role | Path |
|---|---|---|
 Digger light armor | Starting digger gear. Slightly better than prisoner rags | Guard |
 Digger medium armor | Mid-tier digger set. Earned through early camp tasks | Guard |
| Guard/shadow medium armor | Shadow rank promotion unlocks this set | Guard |
 Guard heavy armor | Strong physical protection. Full guard rank required | Guard |
 Senior guard heavy armor | Old Camp endgame. The heaviest physical set in the Colony | Guard |
 Fire mage apprentice robes | Light robes for Circle of Fire initiates | Fire Mage |
 Senior fire mage robes | Late-game mage set. High magic utility, low physical defense | Fire Mage |
Old Camp guards carry named swords. These are unique items tied to their NPCs.
| Weapon | Type | Carried by |
|---|---|---|
 Scar's Sword | One-handed sword | Scar, master-tier sword teacher |
 Whistler's Sword | One-handed sword | Whistler, sword mastery trainer |
 Thorus' Sword | Two-handed sword | Thorus, head of the guards |
The endgame legendary weapons — Innos' Rage and Claw of Beliar — are available regardless of faction. See the combat guide for weapon families and mastery tiers.
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The Circle of Fire is exclusive to the Old Camp. Corristo teaches fire magic, and no other camp offers it. Fire is the highest single-target and area damage school in the Colony -- the tradeoff is that you wear robes instead of plate.
| Spell | Effect |
|---|---|
 Fire Bolt | Single-target fire projectile. Your bread and butter from Circle 1 |
 Fireball | Larger fire projectile with area splash |
 Pyrokinesis | Direct damage spell. No projectile, no dodging |
 Rain of Fire | Area bombardment. Clears groups of enemies |
 Storm of Fire | Late-circle devastation. The endgame fire spell |
 Storm Fist | Melee-range burst. Useful when something gets too close |
 Teleport to the Fire Mages | Fast travel back to the Circle of Fire tower |
Old Camp trade-offs
Joining the Old Camp locks you out of water magic, psionic magic, and most Swamp Camp content. The New Camp also becomes less cooperative in later chapters. For the full comparison of what each faction trades away, see which faction to pick.