Gothic 1 Remake Nefarius's chest: the locked chest in the New Camp, ready to be picked.
Nefarius's chest in the New Camp. (Image credit: THQ Nordic)

Nefarius is exactly the kind of high-ranking mage whose chest is worth the trouble, and his lock has one of the longer sequences for a five-plate.

Here is every move in order, straight from our verified database. Follow it precisely, or use the one-click option at the bottom and skip the counting.

Nefarius is one of the senior Water Mages of the New Camp — a learned, calculating magus with a clear sense of his own importance. If you just want the lock open and the loot in your pack, the Golden Lockpick tool does it for you — but the full manual combination is right here too.

Where to find Nefarius's chest in Gothic 1 Remake

Nefarius keeps to the Water Mages' quarters in the New Camp. The starting plate layout below is your fingerprint for the right lock.

I always recommend saving your game before you touch the lock. That way, if you mistime a turn and run dry on picks, you can reload instead of losing progress.

How to open Nefarius's chest lock in Gothic 1 Remake (full combination)

This lock has 5 plates. Counting the plates from left to right as you face the lock — Plate 1 on the left — the pins start in the positions below. 0 means a plate is centred, a negative number means it sits left of centre, and a positive number means it sits right of centre. Use this as a fingerprint: if your lock does not match, you are at a different chest.

Starting plate positions

Confirm these match before you turn anything.

Plate 1+2
Plate 2+1
Plate 3+3
Plate 4-2
Plate 5+2

Now follow this exact sequence, in order. Each line is one plate moved one notch at a time, in the direction shown, the listed number of times. This is the verified, working solution from our database:

46 moves listed 48 total plate turns 5 plates
  1. Plate 2 — move to the right ► 1 time
  2. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  3. Plate 1 — move to the right ► 1 time
  4. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  5. Plate 1 — move to the right ► 1 time
  6. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  7. Plate 1 — move to the right ► 1 time
  8. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  9. Plate 1 — move to the right ► 1 time
  10. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  11. Plate 1 — move to the right ► 1 time
  12. Plate 4 — move to the right ► 1 time
  13. Plate 1 — move to the right ► 1 time
  14. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  15. Plate 5 — move to the right ► 1 time
  16. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  17. Plate 1 — move to the right ► 1 time
  18. Plate 4 — move to the right ► 1 time
  19. Plate 1 — move to the right ► 1 time
  20. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  21. Plate 5 — move to the right ► 1 time
  22. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  23. Plate 1 — move to the right ► 1 time
  24. Plate 4 — move to the right ► 1 time
  25. Plate 1 — move to the right ► 1 time
  26. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  27. Plate 5 — move to the right ► 1 time
  28. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  29. Plate 1 — move to the right ► 1 time
  30. Plate 4 — move to the right ► 1 time
  31. Plate 1 — move to the right ► 1 time
  32. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  33. Plate 5 — move to the right ► 1 time
  34. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  35. Plate 1 — move to the right ► 1 time
  36. Plate 4 — move to the right ► 1 time
  37. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  38. Plate 5 — move to the right ► 1 time
  39. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  40. Plate 4 — move to the right ► 1 time
  41. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  42. Plate 5 — move to the right ► 1 time
  43. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  44. Plate 4 — move to the right ► 1 time
  45. Plate 3 — move to the right ► 1 time
  46. Plate 5 — move to the right ► 3 times

The fast way · no broken picks

Skip the 48 turns — open it in one click

Counting 48 plate turns under pressure is exactly how picks get snapped and saves get reloaded. Golden Lockpick reads the lock in front of you and sends the whole sequence for you — Nefarius's chest, and every other chest in the Gothic 1 Remake. It is completely free to download and use.

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What's inside Nefarius's chest

A senior mage's chest is rarely dull. I will not spoil the exact contents, but Nefarius's stash rewards the effort.

Stuck halfway? If a turn does not land where you expect, you have almost certainly miscounted a single move — and there is no way to tell which one without starting over. That is the one thing the Golden Lockpick tool removes entirely: it never miscounts.

More Gothic 1 Remake chest guides

Old Camp guide How to open Dexter's chest in Gothic 1 Remake Old Camp guide How to open Fingers's chest in Gothic 1 Remake Old Camp guide How to open Raven's chest in Gothic 1 Remake

Nefarius's chest — frequently asked questions

How do you open Nefarius's chest in the Gothic 1 Remake?
Nefarius's chest in the Gothic 1 Remake opens with a fixed plate sequence of 48 total turns across 5 plates. Follow the numbered steps in this guide in order, or use the Golden Lockpick tool to open it in one click.
What are the starting plate positions for Nefarius's chest?
The lock starts with plates at Plate 1: +2, Plate 2: +1, Plate 3: +3, Plate 4: -2, Plate 5: +2. If your lock does not match this layout, you are at a different chest.
Will picking Nefarius's chest get me banned or break my save?
No. The Gothic 1 Remake is single-player. Following a combination by hand is normal play, and the Golden Lockpick tool only sends ordinary keystrokes — it never edits your save or the game files.
Is there a faster way than counting the turns by hand?
Yes. The Golden Lockpick tool reads the lock in front of you and sends the correct sequence automatically, so you never break a pick or reload a save. It is completely free to download and use.

Open every chest, not just this one

Golden Lockpick has the full hand-verified database for the Gothic 1 Remake. One file, one click, no broken picks.

Get Golden Lockpick