A Beginner's Guide to Alchemy
by Xaaxacus
By now, I'm sure everyone has heard about the recent class changes: the new skills and spells that drastically altered how each class functions in the game. Each class has been strengthened and weakened in different areas, and, as a result, plays a much more unique role in formations and
solo adventures. Out of all of the new abilities, a lot of attention has been paid to the most mysterious of them all: the spell alchemy, which allows casters to create both potent potions and deadly toxins to apply to weapons.
Since this is a new feature, I'm not going to provide a comprehensive "walkthrough" that would deprive players of the fun and challenge of figuring out the details on their own. My hope is that this guide, along with the game's help files and the advice of other players, will give you a good place to start and a good idea of what you're trying to do.
To create one of the dozens of potions and toxins, you need to fill a magical jar (purchasable for a small fee in one of the major cities) with the right combination of plants and cast alchemy on it. If your combination was a correct "recipe", the contents of the jar will be turned into the mixture and placed in your inventory for you to use. If you made a mistake, the jar will shatter, and its contents will be lost.
Since there isn't, to my knowledge, any way to discover recipes other than trial and error, you have two choices: waste countless gold and hours trying random combinations of plants, or take more educated guesses. The best way to create a desired product is to first learn the magical properties of the plants you're using. On an obscure bookshelf in the
corner of Castle Medievia's library, you can find a book of information on these plants, including where to find them and the role that they typically play in a potion. I strongly urge you to go read it for yourself, but here's a brief list and summary of the 13 plants used in the spellcasting:
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Blacktar Blossom - found in hills; protects and cloaks (potions), increases vulnerability (toxin)
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Bogrot - found in shallow waters; used only in potions
- Cypress Bark - found on trees (imagine that); heals users (potions), damages (toxins)
- Daggerthorn Aloe - found near the Blood Sea; improves vision (potions), very frequently used in toxins
- Darkthorn Moss - found in swamps; protects and heals (potions), damages and sickens (toxins)
- Feverthorn - found in jungles; reveals magical auras (potions), curses (toxins)
- Grave Weed - found around deserts and beaches; strengthens and shields (potion), weakens (toxins)
- Mortis Moss - found in forested areas; *very important in forming mixtures*
- Petrified Peat - found in frigid environments; sancs users (potions), damages and impedes (toxins)
- Shieldrot - found in jungles; combined with cypress bark (potions), creates powerful toxins
- Trembleweed - found in praries; forms the basis of many toxins
- Weevil Spore - found near oceans; reveals the nearby area (potions), severely impairs (toxins)
- Widowmaker Weed - found in moist forests; moves user to safety (potions), slightly weakens (toxins)
Now, this is a lot of information to take in, so the best way to get started would be to decide what your desired result is. Let's say that you want to create a potion that heals you and reveals your surroundings. Looking at the list above, a reasonable guess would be that its ingredients might include cypress bark and weevil spores. Also, virtually all recipes
require some amount of mortis moss - it allows different types of plants to combine in a mixture, while retaining their individual effects.
So, you'd look at a map of Medievia and travel to forests and beaches to search for the three types of plants. Since you're not sure what the exact amount of each plant required for the potion is, it's usually a good idea to grab more than you think you'll need. They're plentiful and free, and you can always drop unneeded plants later. Once you have everything you need, start trying some combinations! Place, for example, 3 clumps of mortis moss, 2 pieces of bark, and 3 spores in a magical jar, cast the spell, and see what happens (note that this combination is just an example, and won't produce anything). If you vary the amounts of each plant that you use with each attempt, the odds are in your favor that you'll soon create exactly what you needed.
There are some tips and tricks that I've left out, but I'll leave you to discover those for yourself. The only other hint I can give you is that it's usually a good idea to include at least two or three clumps of mortis moss per attempt. So start trying things for yourself - I'm sure you'll get the hang of it quickly! And once you find a combination that works, remember to write it down!
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