Arcania: The Complete Tale (PS3) Trophy Guide & Road Map

Arcania: The Complete Tale (PS3)
Arcania: The Complete Tale (PS3) Trophy Guide

Estimated Difficulty: ??/10 (Platinum Difficulty Thread)
Offline Trophies: 45 (24 , 19 , 1 , 1 )
Online Trophies: 0
Estimated Time to Platinum: 35-50 hours
Minimum Number of Playthroughs: 1 (if you save before the point of no return, see Step 1)
Missable Trophies: 22 (Many you will get through natural play, but are technically missable. Check individual trophy descriptions for more details)
Glitched Trophies: None
Do cheats disable trophies?: No cheats
Does Difficulty affect trophies?: Yes (Must play through entire game on Gothic difficulty for Conqueror)

This is the fourth game in the Gothic series, and the first venture onto the PS3. This Complete Tale version comes bundled along with the expansion pack Fall of Setarrif. There's an open world to explore, and enemies around every corner so keep your wits about you at all times. The graphics and controls do feel dated, and can be frustrating, but don't let that put you off giving this game a try. Enjoy your journey across Argaan!

Step 1: Complete the game on Gothic difficulty and collect all collectibles

When you start a new game, make sure to choose Gothic. This is the hardest difficulty available and will prove a challenge to begin with. Once you've got the combat down and mastered the art of dodging () and the trick of shooting with your bow whilst backing away, you should have few problems. Make sure to save often as the autosave is not that frequent, and keep your eye on gathering all the collectibles in each area you are in to make things quicker and easier on yourself (2 missable recipes on the first island, see Master Chef). Use the map and the videos provided in those trophies to help you with these.

Mix up your offensive strategy so that you get all the combat related trophies, swapping to a different method of killing your enemies as you unlock them. You should not need to buy anything from the vendors apart from a few arrows if necessary and the missable recipes Mama Hooqua sells. The best weapons and equipment will be either given to you, or you'll find them as you go. Feel free to sell any old equipment and weapons you're not going to use anymore, and any recipe scrolls that you've already learnt. Do not, however, sell any consumables or Misc items (unless they are labelled as "loot") as they may come in handy.

To help speed up getting to level 30, you'll want to complete every quest you can; this is also useful because a lot of the quests give you recipes as rewards and you'll need all of these to get the trophy Master Chef. If you don't reach level 30 by the end of the game or have 200 thousand gold, don't worry as you can play the expansion as stated in Step 2 and you'll reach it there.

All the quests are marked on your map as exclamation marks and you can set waypoints to help you find your way. There are also teleports to help speed up your travel across the land, but these are few and far between and sadly only let you travel within the area you're currently in.

Make sure to create a save when you're in Thorniara just after you're told about the teleporter in the Lighthouse. This is the point of no return, if you don't create a save and then use the teleporter you'll have to restart the game over and play through it again to pick up any collectible based trophy if you missed some earlier.

In this step you will earn:

Teacher Beater
Family Man
Queen Slayer
Bane of the Bandits
Kingmaker
Champion of Silverlake
Master of the Elements
Chosen by Fire and Shadow
Seeker
Forged by Destiny
Avenger
Saviour
Deft Hands
First Blood
Initiate
Hunter
Explorer
Awakened
Greenhorn
Adventurer
Veteran
Conqueror

You should also try and earn:

Deadly Adversary
Glutton
Alchemist
Bad Dog
Weaponsmith
Battlemage
Champion
Marksman
Merchant
Legend
Army of One
Richer than Diego
Arcane Reaper
Duelist
Sniper
Chickenbane
Master Chef
Jackrabbit
Relaxed Attitude
Ancient Treasure
Radiant Blessing
Dark Reward
Geek

Step 2 (if needed): Play Fall of Setarrif to get any remaining gold/level related trophies

Once you've defeated the final boss in Arcania you immediately start the expansion pack, Fall of Setarrif, with your character and all your items and experience come across with you. You can change the difficulty down to Easy in the options menu and then play through this until you reach level 30. After a few quests you'll reach Milten, near him to the north east is a trader. Save and then sell everything you have and see if you reach 200,000 to get the trophy. If you don't then reload, continue playing for a while and then go back and resell everything. Keep doing this until eventually you reach that 200,000 mark.

Step 3 A (if needed and if you kept a save from before using the teleporter in Thorniara): Load your save in Thorniara and mop up any trophies you've missed

Reload the save and then go to the options menu and change the difficulty down to Easy to make the backtracking as painless as possible. Use the videos, map and locations guides in the trophy descriptions below to help you find what you're missing, and search around for enemies to get the combat trophies if you require them.

Step 3 B (If needed and you didn't make a save before using the teleporter): Playthrough again on Easy

If you didn't keep a save in Thorniara then you'll need to start a new game and play through it all again, this time concentrating on whatever trophies you missed the first time round. Stats do not carry over, so if you do need the 1000 kills you'll start from 0 when you start a new game.

Dodging

This will be the most useful combat technique you have, by pressing and a direction you roll out of harms way. Luckily most enemies attacks are slow and easy to read so make use of this to get the advantage on them.

Health Bar

Press and open the options menu, under the gameplay section is a tickbox where you can turn enemy health bars on. This is very useful!

Sheathing Your Weapon

To do this you must press and hold , after a couple of seconds you will put your weapon away. When you have your weapon drawn you move at around half speed, so it's best to keep it sheathed when you're not in combat.

Backing Away and Shooting

This is a great tactic for most situations where going in swinging seems a bad idea. Simply back away whilst firing your bow and whittle away the enemies health. Once you've backed away far enough the enemy will retreat back to it's original spot and you can recover your health, then go back and finish them off. Any damage you do to them does not regenerate when they run away. Also note that you cannot harm an enemy that is running back to it's original location.

Levelling Up

As you level up you earn skill points, each level giving you three that you can allocate as you wish. Personally I would advise you to stick your points into Discipline, Precision and Zeal. This will increase your melee damage, your ranged damage and give you the fire spell which is the most damaging spell in the game.

Loot Everything!

Make sure to check every dead enemy, open every chest you come across, pick up every herb and generally clean out every room you enter. You have a limitless inventory so it does no harm to stock up and a lot of the items will come in handy.

MMDE - For the Trophy Guide Template
Hakashi - For the Collectibles Map
Shini1984 - For the Collectibles Videos
II OE II - For the Recipe locations

[PS3T would like to thank Xander45 for this Road Map]

Geek

Obtain all other trophies
(2)
Teacher Beater

Prove your mettle to your secret mentor
This is story related and cannot be missed

You get this after completing the quest "A Smuggler in the Forest". After you fight Diego he will send you to kill two goblins on the beach nearby. Defeat them both and return to Diego to receive his machete and this trophy.
Family Man

Obtain Ivy's agreement to marry you
This is story related and cannot be missed

Once you've completed the quest to obtain Amber from Orruk, and had Halwen make a bangle for you, speak to Ivy and she will accept your proposal.
Queen Slayer

Defeat the loam vermin queen
This is story related and cannot be missed

After meeting Lyrca the witch she will teach you magic and tell you to kill the Loam Vermin in the cave. At the end of the cave you will find the Queen. She requires the same tactics as her smaller relatives, attack as normal, dodging her attacks, and hit her with lightning when she burrows into the ground to force her back out.
Bane of the Bandits

Clear the bridge to Stewark
This is story related and cannot be missed

You get this after getting Hiluan to open the gates to the bandit camp and you defeat Dartan and his men. Once you've defeated them and looted their hideout, head through the back gate and across the bridge. Speak to the merchant here and he will tell you where to go next, then the trophy will pop.
Kingmaker

Bring stability to Stewark
This is story related and cannot be missed

After completing the missions in Stewark and freeing Mermund, speak to Lord Renwick and you will be able to choose some armour as a prize. The trophy will pop during this conversation.
Champion of Silverlake

Obtain access to the Silverlake archives
(1)
This is story related and cannot be missed

After dealing with the orc issues you will receive a key to the archives from Lord Gawaan, retrieve the map and speak to Lord Gawaan again to advance the story and get the trophy.
Master of the Elements

Obtain an audience with the Grand Master of Water in Tooshoo
This is story related and cannot be missed

Complete the quests for Vultus or Gilana then speak to Merdarion and the trophy will pop.
Chosen by Fire and Shadow

Learn the secrets of the abbots of the Sea Cliff Monastery
This is story related and cannot be missed

Complete the two trials in the Monastery (defeating 2 golems and then a monk) to gain access to the main chambers of the monastery. The monks in here will ask if you wish to enter the temple, once you agree to enter a short FMV will play and the trophy will pop.
Bad Dog

Defeat Jabo’s watchdog
Missable

Complete the Quest "Seeds for Jabo", then speak to Jabo again to be told about his dog problem. Kill the "dog", return to Jabo and claim your prize.

You need to do this on your first time through the jungle after leaving the Monastery. If you do not Jabo moves from this spot and the quest becomes inaccessible.
Seeker

Gain access to the forgotten temple
This is story related and cannot be missed

Once you've entered the temple you will have to complete a trial, choose the fire one as it's easier to dodge through. Then you must fight Dantero and 3 Obsidian Golems. Lure them back across the bridge you lowered and they will flee, time this right and you can be left alone with 1 or 2 golems which you should pick off easily. Rinse and repeat until you're alone with Dantero and then defeat him.
Forged by Destiny

Claim the power of the divine forge
This is story related and cannot be missed

After making your way through the Goddess temple and defeating the Ahn'Bael you will reach the forge. Pick up the Divine Hammer and the trophy pops.
Avenger

Obtain revenge for Feshyr
This is story related and cannot be missed

After you reach the Arena in Thorniara you will need to fight Drurhang and 14 of his men. Your best bet is to run in circles whilst letting off magic spells or meleeing the archers. Keep doing this until the numbers are low and then finish off the rest.

After you defeat all of them speak to the apparition to finish the quest and get the trophy.
Saviour

Defeat an ancient evil
(1)
This is story related and cannot be missed

You get this immediately after beating Xesha. If you're around level 28 then you should have no trouble with this, even on Gothic. Make sure you have plenty of potions with you and take out any reinforcements she calls in quickly. Her ranged attacks are easy enough to dodge, and make sure to avoid her charged melee attacks when she gets in close. Magic and ranged attacks are the best way to take her down, keep some distance between the two of you and you'll be fine.
Deft Hands

Craft your first item
In the caves where you are sent to collect Blue Mushrooms in "Mushrooms for the Master", you will come across 2 goblins sat around a fire. To the right of them are some spilt apples. Near those you will find the recipe for Grilled Meat. Press and open your inventory, press until you reach Scrolls. Select the recipe and press to learn it. Then open the crafting menu, select Grilled Meat and confirm. The trophy is now yours.
First Blood

Emerge victorious from your first battle
This just means your first kill, I got this by killing a chicken in the village whilst going for Chickenbane.
Initiate

Annihilate an enemy with a spell
After you deliver the herbs to Lyrca the witch she will unlock your magical abilities. To use magic to begin with you must place a magical scroll in one of the shortcut buttons ( ), then press the button you've assigned it to. Once you've done this use to fire your magic.
Hunter

Finish an enemy off with a well-placed shot
During the quest "What, no bow?" you will receive a bow and have to hunt some deer. Once you've killed one this will pop. Hold and release to fire your bow, make sure to hold it down until the three red lights are lit to do the most damage.
Weaponsmith

Craft 5 weapons
Missable

There is an easy way to get this, once you find the recipe for Muck Wasp Arrows (you can buy from Mama Hooqua) create it and you get the trophy. This creates 100 arrows and each arrow counts as a seperate created weapon. You need 100 Hunting Arrows, a Giant Stinger (which you can get from Bloodfly's and other enemies of that type) and a Wild Scavenger Feather (which you get from the Scavengers near Silverlake). Seeing as some of the ingredients for the other weapons are harder to come by this is by far the easiest way to get this trophy.
Alchemist

Craft 50 potions, elixirs or food items
Missable

In the crafting menu there is a section called "Alchemy and Food", simply craft 50 of these items. You'll be crafting from this throughout the game so don't worry about rushing it.
Battlemage

Kill 100 enemies with magic
Missable

See Arcane Reaper
Champion

Kill 100 enemies with melee weapons
Missable

100 melee kills will come quite easily, the melee attack must be the killing blow ().

Try to do this in conjunction with Duelist.
Marksman

Kill 100 enemies with ranged weapons
Missable

Kill 100 enemies with a bow or crossbow.

Try to do this in conjunction with Sniper.
Merchant

Sell 200 items
Missable

Sell 200 items to merchants over the course of the game.
Explorer

Cover more than 50Km on foot
You'll travel a lot further than this over the course of the game, I got this around Silverlake.
Awakened

Reach Level 2
See Legend
Greenhorn

Reach Level 5
See Legend
Adventurer

Reach Level 10
See Legend
Veteran

Reach Level 20
See Legend
Legend

Reach Level 30
Missable

You'll need to do a lot of the quests available and do a lot of exploring to get this if you plan on getting this in your Gothic playthrough.

If you don't reach it then don't worry, when you finish the story you go straight into Fall of Setarrif with your character, so complete the quests here to get to level 30.
Conqueror

Complete the game on the hardest difficulty level
When you start the game choose the difficulty Gothic and play the entire game on this setting. Make good use of the dodge ability () and the fact that enemies only chase after you a certain distance and you should be fine. A good tactic is to use your bow and shoot at them whilst backing away, once you get far enough away they'll run back to where they came from. Move towards them and repeat the process, any health you took off them will not regenerate so you can take your time if there's a group.
Deadly Adversary

Defeat 500 enemies
Missable

See Army of One
Army of One

Defeat 1000 enemies
Missable

This should come over time. Just keep completing quests and defeating any enemy you come across and you'll get this later on in the game.

These are only missable if you happen to run away and only kill mission specific enemies, which is highly unlikely.
Richer than Diego

Hoard 200`000 pieces of gold
(2)
Missable

You'll need 200 thousand pieces of gold at one time. This is possible, but very difficult to get during your Gothic playthrough. Once you're in Thorniara and told to use the teleporter, save and then sell everything you own and see if you reach 200,000.

If you don't, then reload and after you finish the game you'll go straight into Fall of Setarrif. Complete the quests and explore this area to collect more items to sell to the merchant near Milten until you reach your target.
Arcane Reaper

Kill 300 enemies with magic
(1)
Missable

To help with this your best bet is to weaken enemies with your melee weapon before finishing them off with magic. Once you've spent some skill points in any of the three magics (Lightning, Fire, Ice), it will be automatically assigned to the button.

Fire magic does the most damage so try and use that more than others.
Duelist

Kill 100 enemies with flurries
Missable

To unlock flurries you must spend one of the skill points you obtain from levelling up on Discipline. To activate a flurry you attack as normal (), but delay attacking again until your weapon glows. You will then unleash a flurry of strikes that will deplete your stamina slightly. It's quite hard to see the glow on your weapon at times so it's best to practice the timing of your strikes outside of battle to get it down.

In most situations, wait until you've fully swung the weapon all the way through before pressing again, practice makes perfect. You'll know you've performed a flurry when your stamina goes down. This just has to be the killing blow, you don't need to do all the damage with flurries.
Sniper

Kill 100 enemies with headshots
Missable

Once you have your bow drawn (), move the right analog stick to aim freely. Let all three red dots light up then aim for the head and fire, headshots do a lot more damage than ones to the body. Make sure the reticule is red before releasing . You can see if you've hit them in the head by where the arrow is lodged in the enemy's body after you've killed them. This just has to be the killing blow, you don't need to do all the damage with headshots.
Chickenbane

Kill 10 chickens in the game
Missable

You can find 7 of them just down the road in the village where you start the game, and others can be found just outside the Cleaved Maiden pub. The stable boy by the pub will speak to you after you've killed them, but other than that there are no negative effects to hunting chickens.
Glutton

Consume 200 items
Missable

This will come as you play. It does not just mean items you can eat, but any item you use such as bandages. You'll be using a lot to try and stay alive so this will come.
Master Chef

Learn all recipes
(9)
Missable

There are many recipes to find, a lot are lying around as scrolls, some need to be bought from vendors and others are given as quest rewards. You need them all to get this trophy.

Be warned that there are several recipes that are missable, 2 on Feshyr and 2 that Mama Hooqua in Blackwater sells. Mama Hooqua disappears later in the story so buy the recipes from her as soon as you can trade with her after finishing the quests for Leboras. Every other vendor you can backtrack to and buy from later.

Here is a list of all the recipes you require and their locations, thanks to II OE II from our sister site xbox360achievements.org for this;

Recipe Locations

NOTE: If you can't see the Greater Elixir of Prowess in your list and it won't let you use the scroll for it, you should notice 2 different versions of Lesser Elixir of Prowess. One of those versions uses more ingredients and that one IS the Greater Elixir.
Jackrabbit

Jump 1000 Times
Press to jump, you will do a lot of jumping during your time playing Arcania, but if you'd prefer you can stand on the spot and jump 1000 times right at the start.
Relaxed Attitude

Use beds or chairs for 60 minutes
Missable

This is as tedious as it sounds, there is no benefit whatsover to using beds or chairs. For this you just have to sit or lay there for a cumulative 60 minutes. You can do this as soon as you start if you like, enter the hut you start outside of and press next to the bed, then leave your controller for an hour and you'll have another trophy to add to your collection.
Ancient Treasure

Obtain all ancient relics
Missable

Use this video in conjunction with the map in the spoiler below Dark Reward and you'll find all the relics with no problem. The relics look like a small wooden Y as shown in the trophy icon. To make it easy on yourself collect them as you go, otherwise you'll have to do a lot of backtracking.
Radiant Blessing

Obtain all Innos statuettes
Missable

Use this video in conjunction with the map in the spoiler below Dark Reward and you'll find all the statuettes with no problem. These look like a small wooden idol as shown in the trophy icon. To make it easy on yourself collect them as you go, otherwise you'll have to do a lot of backtracking.
Dark Reward

Obtain all Beliar artifacts
Missable

Use this video in conjunction with the map in the spoiler below and you'll find all the artifacts with no problem. These look like a skull as shown in the trophy icon. To make it easy on yourself collect them as you go, otherwise you'll have to do a lot of backtracking.

Collectibles Map:

The numbers in yellow are for forgotten graves and are not necessary for a trophy.