Gothic 2 Two Handed Weapons

[Jennifer Curtis]

Authenticallycrafted from the original at the Landesmuseum (Museum in Zurich), the Two Handed Gothic Sword is a testament to the superb skills and craftsmanship of the later part of the middle ages. Elegant, resilient and reliable, the two handed gothic sword is a heirloom-quality medieval sword for the ages. Skillfully engineered and individually crafted, the two handed medieval sword will surprise even the most discriminating collector.

From the 14th C. onward, the sword began to be used not just as a battlefield weapon, but as a civilian weapon as well. Starting in Germany and then Italy, sword masters such as Johannes Liechtenauer (late 14thc) and Fiore dei Liberi (c.1340-1420) trained students in the use of the sword, not on the battlefield but in the judicial duel against unarmored and armored opponents. With the type XVIII and its sub-types,. We see the development of a true cut-and-thrust sword and one of the most successful sword types in Europe. In a period where art, status and functionality was of prime importance, the XVIIIb Gothic sword was a coveted weapon of war and social status.

Rarely in art do we find simplicity and elegance as a single defining character of a piece. This is precisely what imbues the Gothic sword with its inherent beauty. Its deep graceful lines reflecting the artistic revival and Gothic architectural patterns of the day. The Gothic sword, inspired from the original formerly displayed at the Landesmuseum in Zurich (national museum ), was a long sword used by the elite aristocracy during the peek of full plated Armour.

The simple, yet elegant simplistic geometry of the sword reflects the Gothic artistic revival that not only inspired blade smiths and armorers but also architects and painters of the period. The deeply hollow ground blade and clean hexagonal guard and fishtail pommel reflect this artistic revival. Swords during this period were not only exceptionally engineered to precisely perform their primary function, but also reflected the artistic patterns and influences from the gothic architectural structures of the time. Typically, the pommels on the two handed swords of this period tended to be flaring or fluted in shape, and less pronounced then their earlier rounded or globular pommels. More artistic flare was given to each part of the sword, while preserving important functional characteristics of the hilt. Hence, the Two Handed medieval type XVIIIb longswords were not merely weapons of war, but beautifully crafted artistic pieces in their own right.

and acute tip. Valued by the nobility for their resilience, light weight, dexterity and potent thrusting capabilities the two handed long swords were a prized possession among the elite warrior class.

Specifically engineered for armored combat, we wanted the Gothic long sword to have superb handling capabilities, an exceptional response and a very good PoB (point of balance). Despite its long blade and size, the Gothic long sword is an

Authentically crafted from the original at the Landesmuseum (Museum in Zurich), the Two Handed Gothic Sword is a testament to the superb skills and craftsmanship of the later part of the middle ages. Elegant, resilient and reliable, this two handed medieval long sword is a heirloom-quality medieval sword for the ages. Skillfully engineered and individually crafted, the Gothic sword will surprise even the most discriminating collector.

Just received my sword. I had ordered it from Darksword last week so service was exceptionally fast and shipping was great, well protected and wrapped fully. This is a beautiful sword, meant as a present for my son BUT now having second thoughts and wondering about keeping for myself ? and perhaps getting him another one from Darksword!

There are three kinds of weapons: main-handed, sub-handed and double-handed weapons. It is signified as M, S and D. Main handed weapons are equipped with the dominant hand, while sub-handed are on the non-dominant hand. Unless if the character has the "Double-Wielding" skill, it's not possible to equip two main-handed weapons.

Double-handed weapons use two hands, leaving the sub-hand unavailable to equip sub-handed weapons and shields. The only weapon with its official in-game descriptions are those usable in the dungeon. When chosen to unleash the hidden power, it will turn into Junk.

So much has been done in certain genres that only the window dressing is left. Nowadays, what's important is how you disguise it and what color drapes you use to distract the player's attention from "the story behind the curtain."

Despite the glut of fantasy CRPGs, Gothic II managed to capture my attention. People gave it rave reviews, and I just had to have it. I heard it was going to be hard, but fun, and I wasn't disappointed.

IN THE BEGINNING

A three-disk install gave me the time to read the 70+ page rulebook enclosed with the game. The game took 5 minutes to load after install. I managed to correct that flaw with judicious application of Ctrl+Alt+Delete, and terminate the top application. The menu/options screen comes right up after that.

The game picks up where the first Gothic left off. In Gothic I you are an ex-convict who has to escape from a mining colony and beat back a demon. You were successful, but died in the process, and are resurrected for Gothic II by a necromancer, who has evidence that an army of evil is heading your way and you have to save the land again. You could argue that the necromancer is evil too, but this guy just wants to be left alone. So off you go, to die, and die some more, until you learn the best way to survive. Save often.

COMBAT

You likely won't die in your first encounter, but your second one, you probably will, or you'll be at death's door, knocking loudly. They have an interesting combat engine, that has quite a learning curve. You press an action key, and then you press another key to swing in that direction. So, depending on your key bindings, you press ACTION + LEFT ARROW to slash left. Press ACTION + UP to chop, or do an overhead smash. There's a percentage for 1 and 2 handed weapons on your character sheet, as well as bow and crossbow. For ranged weapons, this is your chance of hitting. For melee weapons, this is the chance that your next strike will add your strength to your weapon damage. The main thing you have to worry about in melee combat is that you're close enough. Still, your foe may parry or dodge. So can you.

As you go up in levels, if you bring up your melee skills, you have more combos available to you. This is not the button-mashing of Street Fighter or Tekken part 5,761. This is timed, and planned, and quite possibly foiled by your foe's own attacks or defenses. You'll have to swish your weapon around a few times, in a few ways, alone, to get the hang of it. To me, it's fun.

SKILLS

Going up in levels means learning points, which can be spent on increasing basic stats like Strength or Dexterity, increasing your skill with a bow or a melee weapon, or you can learn a new skill. Increasing any of these requires a teacher, teachers have ceilings on how much they know and may teach you. You also may have to do something for the teacher first, anything from raising enough gold to going on a quest to prove you're worth it.

THE WORLD

This is where Gothic II shines, in my opinion. Taking a cue from Neverwinter Nights, you get experience for not only beating monsters, but also doing things for people. Now, that in and of itself isn't new, but the same people show up again and again and again, with different problems. The area teems with people who seem real enough...it's very immersive, I felt guilty picking the pockets of various NPCs. It's almost like a living, breathing world, and rather than feeling claustrophobic, it feels real. A farmer might have a problem with monsters on his farm, or a weapons dealer may be dealing with bandits, and some guy might offer you a job that requires less-than-stellar morals. Doing these things nets you a diary entry, and most likely some experience, and benefits like lower prices, or getting that job you really wanted because you did someone a favor.

Also, the game depends on what jobs you choose to do, what abilities and skills you select to train, and who you ally yourself with. These choices determine what quests you get, and in some cases what you get as a reward. This will also choose how people react to you. This is not divided among racial lines, it's divided among factions. If you become a member of the militia, then no one in the scummy Harbor district will tell you much. If you are part of the mercenary band, the Militia and some townsfolk won't like you. Choices, choices.

You can nearly make the game a new experience by following a different career. I know, because I joined the militia the first time around, and I started a new game as a mercenary. It's practically a different game. I'm sure the path of magic has its own twists to add, but I'm waiting til I beat it this time to try.

SNAGS

Gothic has one other annoying feature -- the inventory. On the plus side, you can carry as much as you want. I never had to dump something, or pick and choose between this and that because of encumbrance, but it really needs a better interface. If you access your inventory, you sheathe your weapon, and your foes keeping beating on you till you select what you need. With something like that, I would have preferred a method of organization, at least. Ideally, a paused game would have been better, as there is a monstrous amount of stuff to sort through.

SOUND

Each person to talk to has a voice actor, and the accents are strange until you get used to it. Gone are the British, cockney, and Irish accents you may hear in a traditional game. Instead you have everything from Midwestern, to Northwestern, to Southern, to Maine Yankee accents, with voices that range from cool to a little silly. It's a bit off-putting at first, but at least they bothered to get voice actors, and the vast majority isn't that bad. You can hear people talking to each other too, as you cruise around populated areas.

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