The Gothic 1 Remake Free Mine is a large underground area in the colony that provides ore and valuable resources. You can grab excellent gear here early on, but you must liberate the area from Gomez and the Old Camp later in the story.
What we cover:
How to Reach the Free Mine from New Camp
If you want to find this location, you need to start your journey at the entrance of the New Camp.
The path is much longer than it was in the original game. Follow these exact steps to reach the quarry:
- Walk past the dam and look for a tavern nearby.
- Keep the lake on your right side and walk up the path.
- Stop when you meet Cord. He is an NPC who teaches one-handed weapon skills.
- Turn left near Cord and follow the mountain road upward.
- Fight or sneak past the scavengers, wolves, and Molerats along the trail.
- The gate to the quarry is located at the very end of this mountain path.
Free Items You Can Get Early
Do not worry if the actual mine shaft is locked during the early chapters. You can still explore the outside quarry area to gather great loot. You only need a quest to open the main gate.
Talk to Sweeny in the quarry area to receive some digger clothes. This outfit serves as a free armor piece and grants you immediate access to the tavern. You can also find a free bow resting nearby. If you want stronger melee weapons, check the table below for two excellent options.
| Item Name | How to Get It | Extra Details |
|---|---|---|
| Mercenary Two-hander | Go down the mines and find a room full of crawlers. Bait the crawlers away from the two Templars inside. Loot the sword from the dead Templar. | This weapon is worth 800 nuggets. Save your game before attempting this. |
| Axe | Push Okyl off the cliff edge near the mine entrance and loot his body. | A highly effective weapon for the early chapters. |
Recovering the Free Mine Quest Guide
During chapter four, the Old Camp will attack and conquer this area. You must take it back alongside your allies.
Do not run straight to the mine to start this fight. You need to speak with Xardas first to trigger the Orc Shaman quest. Once you do that, Gorn will appear on the path between the New Camp and the mine. He usually waits near Cord and two other mercenaries. Walk down into the bottom of the basin with Gorn. You have to eliminate the human guards and kill Jackal to clear the area.
How to Fix the Quest Progression Bug
The game currently has a few progression blockers in this specific area. A common issue happens when Gorn stays at the entrance and offers no new dialogue, leaving the quest stuck. If this happens, you must edit your save file.
- Upload your save file to a savegame editor tool.
- Navigate to the Quests tab.
- Type “freemine” into the search bar.
- Change the flag to “Succeeded” for the following three items: Quest_NewCamp_NCCHAPTER4_RECOVERFREEMINE_RECOVERFREEMINE_OBJ_RECOVER, Quest_NewCamp_NCCHAPTER4_RECOVERFREEMINE_RECOVERFREEMINE_OBJ_WOLF, and Quest_NewCamp_NCCHAPTER4_RECOVERFREEMINE.
This workaround allows the storyline to continue, though you might lose the immediate quest rewards.
You should also watch out for other minor issues here. The lightning orb spell collides too easily with the walls when fighting large enemies like the Red shadow beast. Finally, the bandit Wolf might disappear completely from the map after you hand him the crawler plates. He is supposed to wait at the mine gate, but this is a known bug.
The Banner of Banners Quest
Deep inside the lowest water levels of the Free Mine, you will discover a prison cell guarded by spiders and crawlers. An Orc named Tarrok is locked inside this cage. You need to bring him specific monster trophies so he can craft the Ulu-Mulu artifact for you. For the exact path to his cell and a full list of required items, check out our complete Banner of Banners Quest guide.
