Chapter 4 of Gothic 1 Remake pushes you into the Orc Territory to track down Xardas, the exiled necromancer Saturas wants you to recruit. The catch is that a demon guarding his tower will not let you upstairs until you kill three elemental golems and hand over their hearts. Each golem resists ordinary attacks, so the fights only go smoothly when you bring the matching weapon or spell.
Quick answer: Carry a blunt weapon for the Stone Golem, fire spells or Fire Scrolls for the Ice Golem, and ice spells or Ice Scrolls for the Fire Golem. Loot all three hearts, give them to the demon at the base of Xardas’ tower, then climb the stairs to speak with Xardas.
What to bring before entering the Orc Territory
The Orc Territory is the highest-level region you can reach in this part of the game, with orcs, orc hounds, and large beasts patrolling the route. Equip your strongest armor and pack healing items before you set out. Because two of the golems shrug off melee weapons, even pure fighters need spell scrolls.
If you cannot cast the required spells yourself, buy scrolls from Cronos (also spelled Kronos) in the New Camp. He sells them in the Water Mages’ meeting room or down where the magical stones sit. Mana recovery potions matter here, since you will spend a lot of mana spamming bolts at the golems.
| Golem | Weakness | Recommended tool |
|---|---|---|
| Stone Golem | Blunt damage | Steel Mace, hammer, or battle axe |
| Ice Golem | Fire damage | Fire Bolt, Fireball, or Fire Scrolls |
| Fire Golem | Ice damage | Ice Bolt, Ice Wave, or Ice Scrolls |
Note: If Cronos refuses to sell to you, advance your Water Mages faction quests by speaking with Lee and Saturas first. Mages who struggle against orc packs can rely on the Ice Lance spell to stunlock enemies while backing away.
How to reach Xardas’ tower
The tower sits in the middle of the Orc Territory, south of the Old Camp. This is the same region where you found a Focus Stone earlier, but Xardas lives in a different part of it. The clearest route runs through the ravine near the Old Camp’s south gate.
Note: A nearby spot is labeled the Xardas Sunken Tower. Despite the similar name, that is a separate location tied to a later chapter and is not part of this quest.
Speak with the demon gatekeeper
Inside the tower, talk to the demon guarding the entrance. He refuses to let you pass and instead orders you to kill the three elemental golems and return their hearts. You can hand them over one at a time as you collect them, or all together once you have the full set.
Stone Golem location and how to beat it
The Stone Golem dwells in a dusty, sandy area near the tower. Behind Xardas’ tower, a path leads upward and opens into an arena with a single tree, where the golem waits, sometimes resting in a body of water. You can also reach a Stone Golem along the approach path before you ever cross to the tower.
Equip a blunt weapon, since it is the only thing that damages this golem well. The Stone Golem moves slowly but attacks fast, with both melee swings and a thrown rock. Its best opening comes when it lunges forward and swings each arm. Once that chain ends, step in for a hit or two, then back off.
The Stone Golem can teleport, often diving underwater and surfacing on the other side of the arena after taking damage, which breaks up your combos. Keep tracking it, finish it off, and loot the Stone Golem Heart. Mages with low stats can use a Summon Skeleton scroll to win without melee.
Ice Golem location and how to beat it
From the Stone Golem’s area, look for a path leading upward into the snowy mountains. Climb the ledges and follow the route lined with wooden planks until you reach a large cave at the top. The Ice Golem waits inside.
The snowy slope is patrolled by Tundra Wolves, which hit harder and are more aggressive than normal wolves. You can run past them, or jump along the rocks at the side of the path to skip the fight entirely. Equip Ice-defense rings and amulets if you have them.
Use fire magic against the Ice Golem and keep your distance, because it can freeze you up close. It fires ice shards and a forward channel of ice, and partway through it splits into three smaller golems. Focus the larger one with Fire Bolt or Fire Scrolls, then loot the Ice Golem Heart. You can ignore the small golems once the main body falls.
Fire Golem location and how to beat it
The Fire Golem sits in a lava cave on the west side of the tower. From the Ice Golem’s cave, continue through to the opposite exit, drop into the lakes below, and follow the path down toward the lava area. You can also reach it from the arc-shaped bridge by crossing to the far side and climbing the ledges near the cliff wall.
Grab the Ice Bolt Scroll lying on the floor along the way if you spot it. Climb the wall, then look for the cave entrance to your left where the Fire Golem resides.
Use ice magic from range. The Fire Golem swings its arms up close and fires two ranged attacks, a line of lava along the ground and a thrown molten rock. The ground slam is easy to dodge and leaves a long recovery window for free hits. As the fight goes on, lava floods the sides of the cave and shrinks your space, so back toward the entrance while you keep casting. Loot the Fire Golem Heart when it dies.
Hand over the hearts and reach Xardas
With all three hearts in your inventory, return to the demon at the base of the tower. Give him the Stone, Ice, and Fire Golem Hearts and he removes the seal, opening the spiral staircase. You know it worked when the demon grants you passage upstairs.
Before you head up, loot the tower. There are several valuable items here, including a Summon Golem Scroll that becomes useful later. Climb to the top and speak with Xardas to advance the main story. He sells useful scrolls and amulets and can teach you Orcish, which unlocks new dialogue options down the line. He is also the only trainer for 6th circle spells.
Returning to Saturas: Do not lie
After meeting Xardas, head back to Saturas in the New Camp. He gives you two options, to tell the truth or to lie about the meeting. Lying causes the Xardas mission to fail even though you did all the work, so choose to tell the truth and the quest completes.
Either way Saturas says he will find another route to his plan, so there is no lasting penalty to the rest of the story. The campaign continues with the next chapter objective regardless of your reply. Gothic 1 Remake is available on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox through its official site.