Alchemists and potions

[ozwald]

Anyone know a list of all possible potions that an Alchemist can make?

Also, what level does the Alchemy skill need to be at before you can start doing this?

Thanks

[Gimli]

A list of the ones they can make from different ingerdients is here:

http://www.geocities.com/jandrall/Wizardry8/Recipe1.htm

Anyone with sufficient Alchemy skill can mix potions BTW, so ninjas, rangers and bishops can do it too.

I don't know what they make when camping without ingredients, never ran a pure Alchemist.

[ozwald]

Thanks.

I once used a pure Alchemist before turfing my whole lousy party and starting again. If you rest for 8 hours he will mix a few potions/powders/whatever. From what I could gather, he didn't need any ingredients to do this... not that I was watching my inventory closely enough to notice.

[Gimli]

I really never use pure magic-users other than Bishops - but I eventually changed my mind about the Priest, and thought they were one of the best support characters around - liked taking them over Bards and Gadgies.

[ozwald]

Originally posted by Gimli: I really never use pure magic-users other than Bishops - but I eventually changed my mind about the Priest, and thought they were one of the best support characters around - liked taking them over Bards and Gadgies.

Really? I can't do without my Bard. He's my thief, backup magic user (insanity, haste, pandemonium, hex, silence, heal all - excellent back up spells) and backup fighter. Not to mention he gets some cool armour only usable by himself and helps heal the party when resting.

Heaps better than a priest, IMHO.

[Gimli]

My last party didn't have a bard or gadgie - not to put them down because they are both nice classes, and anyone playing Wiz 8 should experience both at least once, particularly the gadgie, as it's a very unique class to this genre of games.

The priest is the ultimate "battery" for a party - no one else can heal, rest, buff, cure and generally keep you alive and operating at peak better than the priest. I'd only use mine for offense if I was so overwhelming my foes that he wasn't needed for anything else. He just makes everyone else better.

Depends alot on what setting you play on - I played in expert after my first few parties, and the priest really shines in that level.

[el_kalkylus]

The alchemist is a great class IMO. It suits my style of play perfectly.

[ozwald]

Originally posted by el_kalkylus: The alchemist is a great class IMO. It suits my style of play perfectly.

What style is that, exactly? I found him a little limited compared to a Bishop.

What party do you have?

[el_kalkylus]

My parties usually consist of one fighter, at least two casters with divinity skill, at least one with alchemy skill and at least one with wizardry skill. The more alchemy and wizardry the better so I can cast layers of damage spells. This is especially efficient in the beginning to mid part of the game, and it is also good in the end of the game. Against big groups of monsters, it is better with magic, and I like to kill big groups of monsters fast. Against smaller groups, it's not efficient all the time, but once you levelup to certain levels, you can pretty much kill anything with magic from distance. It depends on how high level monsters you face. The bigger the difference between you and a monster, the harder it is to kill it with magic. So having one fighting class is sufficient for me whenever I am in such situation.

Why do I choose an alchemist over a bishop for example? Bishops are good, but slow to develop, and slow to levelup. They also have many skills to develop, so they cannot concentrate on anything other than magic (unless you train the skills). The alchemist have other uppertunities, like concentrating on mythology or ranged attacks etc. Another good thing is that the alchemist has 25% bonus to alchemy and levelup faster than a bishop, so the alchemist will cast spells more efficiently than a bishop a big part of the game, which is especially useful in the beginning and mid part of the game. My games usually end around level 19-22.

[Gimli]

Well all class advice has to be taken with a grain of salt, it depends on how you're going to construct your party, what level you play at, and what your playing style is. I don't know too many pure Priest or Alchemist supporters, but for the right player they can be really effective.