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| Professions: The Alchemist |
| Frequently Asked Questions, maintained by Drifter |
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This FAQ is an attempt to give fairly concise answers
to the questions that are most often asked concerning Alchemy.
In many cases a more complete, in depth answer can be found
in other areas of the alchemy guide. When that is the case,
links to those sections are provided. To suggest additional
questions or provide better answers for those here drop by
the Alchemy
Forum . There is also an Assassin
FAQ and a Potion FAQ
available that you might want to read.
Drifter maintains the FAQ, but is the work of everyone
who has posted information on the Alchemy Guide. When an individual
provides or compiles an answer, credit is given to that person.
Where no credit for an answer is given, the answer is a compilation
of posts from the board.
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| What's the best way to
raise my alchemy skill? |
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| It would be nice if every potion was useful at
every strength. Then the best way to raise your alchemy skill
would be to make the potions you could use and those you could
sell. But --alas-- that is not the case...
As it is, the fastest, most economical advancement seems
to come from making those potions that you succeed at somewhat
less than half the time. Why is this? You gain more skill
for a harder potion than for an easy one, but you must balance
this with the fact that you gain more skill when you succeed
than when you fail. There are also the economic imperatives
to make some potions --at least for most of us.
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| See Also: Training |
[Table of Contents] |
| Which potions sell the
best? |
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Greater Healing Potions are by far the best sellers. After
that many people find that Greater Explosion and Greater Cure
sell well. The stronger Poison Potions and Night Sight are
the next best sellers, but there is not much profit in Night
Sight Potions.
You will see an increase in the sales of Greater Agility
and Greater Strength potions, because of the new, longer duration's.
People are starting to see how these potions --used in combinations
with Greater Heals and Total Refresh-- have benefits in battle
as well as other areas of adventuring.
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| See Also: Salesmanship |
[Table of Contents] |
| When should I start making
each potion? |
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Generally speaking, you will want to wait until
your professional title is about two higher than when you are
first given the option of making that potion. For example: you
can attempt to make Greater Healing Potions when you are an
Apprentice, but you would be wise to wait until you are an Expert.
At that skill level you should succeed at the potion about half
the time. The Potion Charts gives the minimum skill required
to make each potion.
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| See Also: Potion
Charts |
[Table of Contents] |
| What is the taste ID skill
good for? |
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Since all player made potions are now identified
all of the time, and since the other potions that you may come
across are all of the same variety, there is really no use for
the Taste ID skill on potions. You can use it to see if food
is poisoned, and to tell what is inside a keg of potions. NOTE:
if you run a vendor, but the potions are placed on the vendor
by someone other than the person who made the potion, it may
be necessary to taste id the potions before placing them on
the vendor so that your customers will automatically see the
identity of the potion.
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[Table of Contents] |
| Why can't I raise my taste
ID skill past 70? |
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Since late in 1999, it has not been possible to
raise your taste id skill past about 70. This was done in anticipation
of alchemy changes that never took place. This may vary by shard.
As there is no point in having a taste id skill over 5 anyway,
this is not considered a big deal.
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[Table of Contents] |
| Does the skill of the alchemist
effect the strength of the potion? |
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There is much debate over the correct answer to
this question, and the general alchemic community is divided
on the issue. The official opinion of the alchemy guide is that
the skill of the alchemist has no effect on the quality of the
potion produced. (Note, that this seems to be at odds with both
the general opinion of most alchemists as to how the skill should
work, AND with the original intention of the designers of the
game)
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| See Also: Alchemic
Research |
[Table of Contents] |
| Are potions more effective
for the alchemist who makes them? |
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We have not found any evidence to suggest that
this is the case. Furthermore, for this to be true the servers
would have to keep track of who made each potion. We have seen
no evidence that this information is stored for potions or any
other item in UO.
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[Table of Contents] |
| How much should I charge
for a particular potion? |
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| To make the greatest profit, you must balance the
price that you charge for each potion with the number of each
that you sell. Generally, when one goes up the other will go
down. With that in mind, at the low end of the price range you
find alchemists who sell their potions "at cost." At the high
end of the price range are alchemists who sell their potions
for about twice what it costs to make them. You can be successful
at either extreme, but you are better off starting somewhere
in the middle.
In any case, the first thing you should do is find out how
much it costs YOU to make your potions. Once you know that
you can begin to make good decisions about the price that
you charge for them.
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| See Also: Potion
Charts and Potion
Pricing |
[Table of Contents] |
| How many mortars can I
use at once? |
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As many as you want. There does not seem to be a correlation
between the number of mortars used and the strength of the
potion, or with your failure rate. Just don't make grinding
spam where it interferes with other players.
The normal procedure is to put a line of from 4-10 mortars
along the top of a container, "prime" them for whatever potions
you wish to produce by making one potion with them, then simply
go down the row of mortars double clicking to select them
and clicking on them to produce the same potion they made
the last time you used them.
How many mortars should you use? The general feeling among
the alchemy community is that 4 or 5 is best. That way you
are not carrying extra weight, and you can be certain that
one potion is made before starting the next potion in that
mortar. If you are deaf, then a higher number would be better,
because you will not have the audio clues of when a potion
is complete.
In your alchemy lab, you might want to have a bag for each
type of potion that you make. In this bag you can keep your
extra reagents of that type, and 5-10 mortars that are always
set-up to make that type of potion. That way you will not
waste time while a customer waits for their potions.
One final note of caution: It is easy to forget what potion
your mortars are "primed" for if you use more than one. Make
sure that you are making the type of potion that you think
you are before you grind out a few hundred of them.
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[Table of Contents] |
| How much does it cost to
become a Master alchemist? |
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| A lot will depend on which potions that you decide
to make, Some raise your skill faster and some sell better.
Most people have to strike some type of balance between those
two. Count on spending from 50-150k to reach Master, and again
as much to become a Grand Master.
NOTE: The above numbers are now over 6 months old. If you've
kept track of your expenses, please let us know what the current
costs are.
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| See Also: Training |
[Table of Contents] |
| Which potion gives the
best economic return? |
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There are no potions that return more than they
cost to make when you sell them to NPCs. Determining the rate
of return for player transactions will involve figuring out
how much it costs you to make the potion, and then determining
how many of each you will be able to sell at a given price.
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| See also: Potion
Pricing |
[Table of Contents] |
| Why does Alchemy title
show over my Mage title? |
Dark Lord Rich of Baja
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It's because titles are decided upon in alphabetical
order. Also, it uses the base skill level (not counting stats
modifiers) to determine what is higher. So, if Alchemy is at
or above the same point as magery (even if magery appears higher),
Alchemy shows over magery. In fact, Alchemy title will show
over any title with the same skill level. (note that the name
used in determining ofter, but not always corresponds with the
displayed name for that skill)
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| See also: Skill
Order |
[Table of Contents] |
| Where is a good place to
sell my potions? |
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| Where there are people is a good place to sell
potions. To be more specific, where there are people with money.
So, although a bank is a good spot, a bank roof is usually better.
Guild meetings are good, if you can get invited to them. One
way to get invited is to give some free --shall we say-- samples
to the leaders of the guild. Magic shops are also good spots
if you have a sales pitch that appeals to mages.
Some people have good luck selling them in dungeons, and
at knows spawn points. But there is a certain amount of danger
associated with that. Once you find a spot, stick with it
and build a client base. Doing so will serve you much better
than hoping from place to place, always selling as a stranger.
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| See also: Salesmanship |
[Table of Contents] |
| Why aren't potions stackable?
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The only things that ARE stackable in the game are objects
that are identical. The long version of that sentence goes
like this:
In order for an item to stack, there can be no information
that is stored about the item that can change from instance
to instance. For this reason you can not stack armor and weapons
even if they have the same graphics (because they have different
internal information, like the type of magic they possess
--if any) And even if you were talking about two weapons that
were EXACTLY the same, as far as powers and abilities go,
they still could not be made to stack because each COULD (it
does not matter if they do or not) have a different amount
of damage done to it.
This is the same reason that potions can not stack. Even potions
of the same type (Healing --the yellow ones). Even potions
of the same strength (Greater Healing). They STILL have some
information that can be different between potions. Do we know
what this information is? Not that I have heard from a reliable
source, but we all have out opinions.
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[Table of Contents] |
| What is a flask and how
do I use one? |
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A Flask is a bottle with a tall neck that is used to mix
different regents together to make potions. You can only find
flasks only on the test shards at this time. It is reported
you must ask a counselor to get on one the abyss shard, though
many also state that there are public ones available (locked
down) in various locations.
To use a flask you double click on the flask; this brings
up a target curser. Target (click on)the reagent that you
want to add to the flask. You can double click on the flack
as many times as you like (as far as we know) to add additional
reagents to your mixture. You must then apply heat to the
flask to complete the process. If you are successful, a new
potions will be made. Different combinations make different
potions or none at all. Remember that these flasks/potions
will not be on the regular shards until the alchemy patch
is finished.
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[Table of Contents] |
| My alchemy skill is stuck,
what can I do? |
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The official
word from OSI is that skills don't become "stuck."
Many players find that hard to believe, and offer the following
things you can try to "unstick" yourself. Do they
work? Some people say it's a bunch of bull, and some swear
by them.
- Get poisoned and let it wear off naturally.
- Get poisoned and get it cured at a shrine.
- Die and get ressurected at a shrine.
In reality, you have probably hit the point in your alchemy
gain when it simply takes much more time to increase your
skill and/or you've encountered a string of "bad luck"
with the random number generating deamon. Here are some hints
to try to get the most out of the potions you grind:
- Make sure you're making the right potions (see Training
section).
- Keep your hunger between stuffed and starving.
- Vary the potions that you grind (say 20 at a time).
- Play the game while you grind (ie, don't macro).
- Play on "subservers" that are not as crowded.
- Play at times when your shard is not as crowded.
- Once you get to the mid 90s just make potions as you need
them.
- Don't be so obsessed with skill gain.
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| See Also: OSI:
Stats & Skills and Training |
[Table of Contents] |
| Is there some way to empty
potions out? |
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Quick answer: No, there is no way to empty potions
out.
Flip answer: Why would you want to waste potions?
Useful answer: Right now the only way to get a potion
out of a bottle is to use the potion. OSI knows that there
are some alchemists who would like to be able to do so, but
there are also alchemists who are not in favor of that ability.
There are some things you can do to make getting bottles easier:
- Offer a discount when you sell potions to people who return
bottles.
- Give the potions away at the bank for the price of a bottle
(or in exchange for).
- Have your guildmates/friends collect bottles when they
adventure.
- Offer newbies 10 gold for each bottle they bring you.
- Just make enough potions for use or for sale.
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[Table of Contents] |
| Is there a way to grind
faster? |
Tarod, Nemesis Alchemist
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Yes. You don't have to actually pick the potion you want
to grind from the menu each time.Instead, follow these instructions:
First, brew the desired potion in the normal manner. Then,
to repeat the last brewed potion, double click on the mortar
again. The crosshairs will appear, waiting for you to select
the reagents. DONT select them! Instead, select the mortar
again. And a-grinding you will go! You are brewing the same
potion that you brewed the first time. This trick may be repeated
as often as you choose. The reagents will be deducted accordingly.
You may also log out of the game, and re-enter the next day.
You will be able to repeat the last potion as if you never
even logged out.
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[Table of Contents] |
| Is there an easier way to
put potions into bags? |
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Don't you hate having to transfer those potions you just
made to a separate container before you give them to a customer?
It's tedious and time consuming. But you can avoid that hassle
by placing the bottles that you intend to use into the container
before you begin to grind. It seems that the first
bottles that you use are the last bottles that you touched.
So put the bottles in a container and grind away. You'll still
have to arrange them nicely --you do arrange them nicely,
right? But at least they are in the right container.
Another benefit of this technique is that you can have more
items in your pack than are normally allowed. A stack of empty
bottles counts as one item, but as you make potions the bottles
will separate from the stack of empties. These potions are
not checked toward the maximum number of items in your pack.
Is it a bug? Well, maybe it's a feature. It depends on who
you ask.
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[Table of Contents] |
| Why aren't my potions identified
on my vendor? |
Alarialle
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Because the person who put the potion (or keg) on the vendor
has not identified the potion. As long as whoever puts the
potion on the vendor taste identifies it first, it will show
as identified to the customer. The person who puts the potion
on the vendor does NOT need to be the alchemist who created
the potion. If you are the alchemist who created the potion,
then it is already identified for you, and you need not use
taste id to identify it. This may vary by shard, but the above
technique seems to always work.
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[Table of Contents] |
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