Alchemy Impressions

[Luscinia]

You are a Master of General Alchemy. \o/ On to the profession specific disciplines!

This was my first postcap goal and I'm very glad I waited to work on this now instead of when it first came out. It took a few months and was overall smooth sailing. I think I averaged about a rank per evening of play, working on it in between regular hunting.

Empaths have some natural advantages in ranking up alchemy: we can summon specific herbs for making tinctures, and additionally have a +30 profession foraging bonus. I picked up 30 ranks of Survival to make it easier to find pepperthorn: it's a nice enough skill to have overall and the effect on skinning bounty tasks has been noticeable. We also have a great training recipe with greater health potions ("vibrant red potion", restores 100 health): it works for boil/infuse from 44 to 63 and only costs a single t'ayanad crystal and a large troll tooth. It's a very easy-to-make alternative to sneezing powders.

Premium/FWI was a major timesaver. With access to the FWI guild, cleaning and polishing tasks are twice as fast. And it's great to be able to toss all the alchemy equipment into a locker at a moment's notice.

I didn't farm for any rare ingredients, relying almost entirely on checking the alchemy backrooms. Essences of fire were the main thing of course, but small/large troll teeth and blue/violet essence shards were also very useful. Towards the end I started picking up crimson motes/dust for channel tasks. Crystals were never a serious issue as the 1-for-2 breakdown recipes kept me well enough supplied. (Many thanks as well to people who saw me working and gave me ingredients.)

I also didn't do any task trading as it didn't seem necessary. For the Gathering Ingredients task I would check virilneus.com to see which list items were available without too much travel, and do a lot of partial turn-ins.

As far as scripting, I wrote my own StormFront scripts for crafting that also work on the resistant training cauldrons. At this point the templates I have seem to function well enough that converting a recipe only takes a few seconds of copy/paste. Obviously ;alchemy is great too, I just chose not to use it to make everything so as to explore on my own some more.

[Allereli]

great insight, thanks :)

[Elgrim]

One day...

Just not today!

Thanks though for the info. Lets me know what I have to look forward to. :)

[Fallen]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. I'm not looking forward to it, but one day I plan on mastering the craft.

[Kembal]

When I was doing general, I enjoyed making luck talismans and then using them for deeds. :)

Good luck with potions and trinkets. Let me know if you need any help.

[Luscinia]

You are a Master of Alchemic Trinkets.

Before starting on reps, I made a table of all the likely recipes and the places I would need to go for foraging or skinning components, and tried to find an easy path that wouldn't require too much back-and-forth. This is the plan that I picked out, in case anyone finds it helpful in the future:

01-13: fine sanguine flakes (Heal). Kobold skins can be found around Landing or Ta'Vaalor. It's everyone's first recipe: not many alternatives here, and kobolds are quick spawns in a small area.

11-24: warm golden crystal (Manna). Wheat grass can be foraged around Ta'Vaalor or Ta'Illistim. By far the easiest trinket to make in this level range, since it only needs a single foraged herb per rep.

17-31: foggy grey crystal (Spirit Fog). Wraith talons in the Landing graveyard. Heath asters can be foraged anywhere. On paper this might not seem the quickest to make as it requires four skins per rep plus mortar and pestle grinding, but the Landing wraith area is ideal in that it only spawns wraiths, so it works quite well in practice.

23-40: shifting dark crystal (Darkness). A decent alternative. Keep in mind that nightbloom can only be foraged at night.

Anyway, the two crystals above are good enough to cover the bridge from 25 to 28. At 29, we learn:

29-45: slender ivory wand (Bone Shatter). Among the best trinkets for personal use. Four skeleton bones per rep, not necessarily the quickest to find, but can be collected at a decent rate around Landing or Ta'Vaalor. Each wand also needs a single ayanad crystal. This recipe doesn't have an Infuse step which we'll start needing at 30, for that we'll have to make:

30-46: lustrous beryl wand (Unbalance). This uses the same skeleton bones, plus two s'ayanad crystals and foraging, which is a pain but we only have to put up with it for a couple ranks of infuse reps, because at 32 we can start making:

32-49: grooved ebony wand (Fire Spirit). There are two ways to make this, with different skins, but the gem requirement can only be purchased in the Elven Nations, so that's the easier place to go. It also needs essence of fire, which is actually perfect for processing the leftover stockpile from training General Alchemy.

Ivory and ebony wand-crafting will last until rank 50, though I think I ended up running out of essence of fire around 47 or so. That's all right, since along the way we have:

41-60: sleek alabaster wand (Empathy). This has no skinning component and can be made very quickly. White hook mushrooms can be foraged everywhere, but only at night. Each rep also needs a single s'ayanad crystal.

For channeling tasks, of course, the main option is:

50-62: blue crystal (Spirit Strike). Bone golems can be found around Landing or Ta'Vaalor, but stargazer lilies are only foraged in the Elven Nations (that I know of).

For the last couple ranks, on non-channeling workshop tasks, an alternative is:

50-62: faceted amethyst wand (Empathic Assault). Basilisks can be found near Solhaven, Ta'Illistim, and Ta'Vaalor. Each rep also requires three ayanad crystals.

And that's more or less all there is to it! Unlike other pures, empaths don't otherwise get an Imbed ability, so this is the closest we have.

Before I forget, a couple of data points for the wiki page:
- minor mental focus crystal (pale yellow crystal pyramid) gave reps up through 25, but not 26.
- sleek alabaster wand gave reps up through 60, not 61. (And looking through alchemy-recipes.lic, it's listed there at 51.)

On to Potions now, I'll see how it turns out.

[Whirlin]

My Thoughts on Alchemy
Having done through alchemy, I highly recommend against it. When I started alchemy, in order to stockpile the necessary reagents, I needed to go premium.
Why?
I needed an alt that could be in each city that I'd be able to give my alchemy satchel to when I wasn't doing alchemy
WWWWWHHHHHYYYYY?
My alchemy satchel weighed 120 pounds, and was constantly capped out in capacity.
Why not locker?
You're carrying a ton of different types of reagents, some of which are temporary for the steps your working on, and some of them skins of critters, which don't bundle the same way you can put crystals in jars. A bundle of 10 hawk-owl tufts is still 10 items in your locker.
Why not just a mule?
Access to the FWI alchemy shop is a godsend when you're 2 reagents short on a step. It also facilitates buying additional reagents like essence of fires from Teras hunters, rather than making the trek from Zul Logoth where you find the truffles that you need for your current potions ranks.
But I'm gonna run ;alchemy, and it'll be super fast!
I've been scripting with ;alchemy pretty much as soon as my Lumnis wears off each week, for about 2-3 years now... still not capped in everything.
But I'm only going to rank X, it'll be cheap
I've probably spent at least 15m in alchemy reagents... That's just stuff from the shops too. Not counting things purchased from players (bulk essence of fires, gems to powder)
But you're making mad loots at cap alchemy, right?
I sell on average maybe 1 Avyeneh potion a week. 225k-ish per potion. Approximately 100k in materials, and about 20-40 minutes to create, depending on how many crystals I need to breakdown.
But now you're net positive, right?
No. Not by a longshot... I'm still probably 13m in the hole at the end of the day
But I'm going to hunt for my materials, it'll be cheap!
The way the treasure system works, if you're vastly underhunting, the drop rates will suck. If you're at cap, and going to Gossamer Valley in Ta'illistim for essence of waters, or fire mages for essence of fires, the drop rate will be pretty much non-existent. And the various ayanad crystals are just intermittent, at best. The likelihood of getting the proper tier you need is incredibly low... and if you're breaking crystals down, you're just being inefficient.
Ok, then I'll just set aside a month, and do nothing but alchemy!
When I gave my 15m estimate on just store bought mats... that was also stockpiling the forward-looking materials whenever I stepped foot in any town ever. If you were looking to actually buy supplemental materials at a premium, I can easily see someone spending upwards of 30-50m to master in a month.

That being said... go for it if you want... but I warned you.


Does Empathy Alchemy have anything marketable to sell at cap?
Wizards have pre-temper potions
Sorcerers have Ensorcell Potions
Clerics have pre-temper potion ingredients
Empaths have... ... ...???

[Kembal]

You are a Master of Alchemic Trinkets.

Before starting on reps, I made a table of all the likely recipes and the places I would need to go for foraging or skinning components, and tried to find an easy path that wouldn't require too much back-and-forth. This is the plan that I picked out, in case anyone finds it helpful in the future:

01-13: fine sanguine flakes (Heal). Kobold skins can be found around Landing or Ta'Vaalor. It's everyone's first recipe: not many alternatives here, and kobolds are quick spawns in a small area.

11-24: warm golden crystal (Manna). Wheat grass can be foraged around Ta'Vaalor or Ta'Illistim. By far the easiest trinket to make in this level range, since it only needs a single foraged herb per rep.

17-31: foggy grey crystal (Spirit Fog). Wraith talons in the Landing graveyard. Heath asters can be foraged anywhere. On paper this might not seem the quickest to make as it requires four skins per rep plus mortar and pestle grinding, but the Landing wraith area is ideal in that it only spawns wraiths, so it works quite well in practice.

23-40: shifting dark crystal (Darkness). A decent alternative. Keep in mind that nightbloom can only be foraged at night.

Anyway, the two crystals above are good enough to cover the bridge from 25 to 28. At 29, we learn:

29-45: slender ivory wand (Bone Shatter). Among the best trinkets for personal use. Four skeleton bones per rep, not necessarily the quickest to find, but can be collected at a decent rate around Landing or Ta'Vaalor. Each wand also needs a single ayanad crystal. This recipe doesn't have an Infuse step which we'll start needing at 30, for that we'll have to make:

30-46: lustrous beryl wand (Unbalance). This uses the same skeleton bones, plus two s'ayanad crystals and foraging, which is a pain but we only have to put up with it for a couple ranks of infuse reps, because at 32 we can start making:

32-49: grooved ebony wand (Fire Spirit). There are two ways to make this, with different skins, but the gem requirement can only be purchased in the Elven Nations, so that's the easier place to go. It also needs essence of fire, which is actually perfect for processing the leftover stockpile from training General Alchemy.

Ivory and ebony wand-crafting will last until rank 50, though I think I ended up running out of essence of fire around 47 or so. That's all right, since along the way we have:

41-60: sleek alabaster wand (Empathy). This has no skinning component and can be made very quickly. White hook mushrooms can be foraged everywhere, but only at night. Each rep also needs a single s'ayanad crystal.

For channeling tasks, of course, the main option is:

50-62: blue crystal (Spirit Strike). Bone golems can be found around Landing or Ta'Vaalor, but stargazer lilies are only foraged in the Elven Nations (that I know of).

For the last couple ranks, on non-channeling workshop tasks, an alternative is:

50-62: faceted amethyst wand (Empathic Assault). Basilisks can be found near Solhaven, Ta'Illistim, and Ta'Vaalor. Each rep also requires three ayanad crystals.

And that's more or less all there is to it! Unlike other pures, empaths don't otherwise get an Imbed ability, so this is the closest we have.

Before I forget, a couple of data points for the wiki page:
- minor mental focus crystal (pale yellow crystal pyramid) gave reps up through 25, but not 26.
- sleek alabaster wand gave reps up through 60, not 61. (And looking through alchemy-recipes.lic, it's listed there at 51.)

On to Potions now, I'll see how it turns out.

I am very surprised you didn't do 209. Not only is it fairly easy for reps from 35 to about 50 or so, it's one of the most resellable things that Empaths have. Sold my whole stock at 2k a pop, and it's very easy to do in Ta'Vaalor. (Not really difficult to do in the Landing either, but does take an extra skin)

[Kembal]

Does Empathy Alchemy have anything marketable to sell at cap?
Wizards have pre-temper potions
Sorcerers have Ensorcell Potions
Clerics have pre-temper potion ingredients
Empaths have... ... ...???

Apparently, no one's interested in full stamina potions (or stamina potions in general), or greater stamina regeneration crystals (or stamina regeneration crystals in general). Never understood that one, especially since Ardenal Surge potions sell pretty well. We also have the physical temp enhancive items (STR and CON), but no one seems interested in those either.

Our best four marketable items are:
Ardenal Surge potions (I sell them for 5k)
Untrammel dust (I sell them for 2k, although I'm out right now)
Bone Shatter wands (I sell them for 2k)
Empathic Assault wands (I sell them for 2.5k)

I've never figured out why our stamina-related stuff isn't more wanted outside of Ardenal Surge.

[Allereli]

lol I have untrammel dust in the shops for 250 from my cleric and they rarely move

[Candor]

Apparently, no one's interested in full stamina potions (or stamina potions in general), or greater stamina regeneration crystals (or stamina regeneration crystals in general). Never understood that one, especially since Ardenal Surge potions sell pretty well. We also have the physical temp enhancive items (STR and CON), but no one seems interested in those either.

Our best four marketable items are:
Ardenal Surge potions (I sell them for 5k)
Untrammel dust (I sell them for 2k, although I'm out right now)
Bone Shatter wands (I sell them for 2k)
Empathic Assault wands (I sell them for 2.5k)

I've never figured out why our stamina-related stuff isn't more wanted outside of Ardenal Surge.

Actually I forgot about stamina potions - I'll be scouring the shops looking to buy a few. I use CM VANISH quite a bit, and that really saps the stamina.

[Kembal]

Actually I forgot about stamina potions - I'll be scouring the shops looking to buy a few. I use CM VANISH quite a bit, and that really saps the stamina.

blood red tonic - full stamina potion
light red tonic - greater stamina potion
pinkish-grey tonic - lesser stamina potion

I forget what minor stamina potion is, but it's kind of useless.

[Luscinia]

You are a Master of Alchemic Potions.

I worked on Potions last since there looked to be comparatively fewer useful formulas, and there are some gaps in the training that force travel. But it wasn't too hard in the end. These are the main things I made for training:

01-13: light blue potion (Spirit Warding I). The foraged reagents (ayana leaf, small daisy) can be found around every town. Ayana leaf comes in a few varieties, but if you toss it into a jar and pull it back out you will always get a leaf, which can help keep things properly sorted.

There are a few other formulas after the first one, but for the early ranks they are either more expensive to make or need rarer reagents. The cloudy grey tonic (lesser stamina) may be a good alternative, especially around Landing where all three reagents are available, but it only covers simmer tasks.

Once the light blue potions stop giving reps, move on to:

14-27: pale sea-green potion (Poison Resistance). The gem requirement is a green tourmaline, which can be bought at the guild shop for only 220 silvers. The Elven Nations version can be made very quickly, needing only a single black viper fang, while the Landing version needs two tree viper fangs.

The next formula is inconvenient but there's no choice as it is the only one for the next few ranks:

20-34: deep blue potion (Spirit Warding II). The foraged reagent, blue poppies, is mainly found by the Lava Flows on Teras Isle. River's Rest also has some, but perhaps not nearly as densely. Meanwhile, the skin reagent from ghoul masters is only in Landing or Ta'Vaalor, and the smoky glimaerstone gems need to be bought from Elven Nations guilds. I ended up taking a field trip to Teras to forage up a few hundred poppies, then shipped them across to the mainland via lockers. Don't fall asleep on the lava flows.

Infuse mana tasks start at 30, and the required formula for those is:

30-46: scintillating lilac potion (Purify Air). There are two ways to make it. The EN version is cheaper in gems, but needs 4 skins instead of 2, so it's a matter of silvers vs. time. If you are in Voln I would definitely recommend going to the Black Moor in EN as releasing four wights per potion will earn you quite a bit of favor. You might also be able to hunt wights in River's Rest but you would need to pre-purchase the gems in that case.

Keep an eye out for pink pearls and siren's hairs, as with those you can make:

32-49?: effervescent pink potion (lesser wisdom). Because the reagents are rarer, these can't be made often enough for training, but are still helpful to carry around for personal use. I can confirm that these still count for reps up through rank 48, and I'm guessing for 49 as well since Fire Spirit wands are known to be 32-49.

A few more formulas open up in the subsequent ranks:

34-51?: deep green volatile elixir (vertigo relief). Very situationally useful--drink it before you cast 130, and you are safe from the nausea cycle. Slightly tricky to make since you won't be able to buy green garnets directly from the empath guild stores, but the gem is sold in the wizard and sorcerer guilds so you can ask one of them to gather some for you.

35-52: sparkling aquamarine potion (Water Walking). If you've been hunting lesser moor wights for the Purify Air potions, this is a nice bonus as you will now be able to do something with the greater moor wight skins, and these only require a single skin per potion. Seaweed will have to be imported from the Coastal Cliffs near Landing, unless you are in River's Rest.

36-54: turbid aquamarine potion (Adrenal Surge). A good training formula for anywhere, provided that you can buy or make some s'ayanad crystals.

The potions above are more than enough to get up to 50 ranks. There are a couple more that can be made, but save the reagents for after 50:

38-56: dimly glowing sky-blue potion (Undisease). Fairly easy to make as long as you can carry around a lot of skins. For the western version, you also need green jade which you can buy from the Icemule Trace guild shop.

41-60: dimly glowing sea-green potion (Unpoison). The foraged reagent, striped heart mushrooms, can only be found during daytime. For skins there is the option of 3 mountain trolls per potion, which can be slow, or a single cave lizard tail, which is very fast but requires you to head into Zul Logoth to collect them.

47-62: light red tonic (greater stamina). Not ideal as a training formula as it only covers boil tasks and needs a rare gem in uncut rubies, but if you can find the rubies, then these are very easy to make. Pick up large troll teeth from alchemy shop consignment tables, they appear fairly often. Essences of vitality are extracted from yabathilium fruits and they grow densely around the Vornavis beaches among other places, though they can't be found in the Elven Nations.

Channel tasks start at 50, and the only formula for those is:

50-62: milky blue oil (Minor Sanctuary). The EN version is slightly cheaper as it needs 2 blue moonstones for 4400 silvers, instead of a blue sapphire for 6000. If you grind your own moonstones, mind that the moonstones you can buy from the guild shop have slightly different base descriptions from the ones you grind with a mortar, but both work just as well for alchemy.

And that should be enough all the way to mastery.

What I liked about alchemy training is that there was always a sense of tangible progress. Even when the alchemy products being made for a rank were not useful, the rank would still go up for every one of them. And at least in the current system, there's nothing that blocks progress, there are no audience reps, it's possible to just work on it in between normal hunting and see the skill gradually improve. The gather-reagents-for-guild tasks are sometimes fun as a mini-puzzle, I wouldn't mind being able to have those even after mastery as a sort of alternative experience gain. I could really do without the floor sweeping though--what good is knowing magic if you can't use it to clean a room.

[Kembal]

A couple of comments:

Cloudy grey tonic is the minor stamina potion.

There is one room in Ta'Vaalor where you can forage blue poppies. It's in the Ravelin.