Sidetracks: Alchemy
Alchemy for beginners
Alchemy is one of the few trade skills that is genuinely useful in several different ways. It has a personal benefit, in making Skinspikes potions to improve your personal dps; and Vials of Prismatic Dye can be sold in the Bazaar, as well as used to prevent the horrible mix of Defiant armor colors. Use Allakhazam to track down the correct color for old school Hate or PoP Ornate armor for your class. Hint: use 254 when you want to get 0; it’s funny that way.
For all tradeskills, always refer to the master guide on EQTraders.
Objective: Skinspikes (level 25) and Prismatic Dye. Needs a level 25 shaman to start, which takes about ten hours, including Crescent Reach trade skill quests to hit skill 54. The target is to exceed skill 178, which is the trivial for Skinspikes VI, which is the highest rank that can be made using storebought ingredients.
Skill up to 79 on Skinspikes III, as the byproduct is useful, even though there are more efficient/cheaper ways to get that skill.
Prismatic Dye uses a mix of pottery and alchemy, so do the basic skill up quest for pottery as well. You can also use brewing in place of alchemy, which you can skill up using very cheap fishing grubs to over 100, but we’re going to be skilling up alchemy anyhow, so that’s the way I’m going to show it.
Prismatic Dye (alchemy, 54):
- Glaze Lacquer 8p 4g
- Prism Shard 10p 5g
Dye Vial (pottery, 54):
- Unfired Dye Vial 10p 5g
- Quality Firing Sheet 2s
Vial of Prismatic Dye (alchemy, 68):
- Prismatic Dye
- Dye Vial
Assuming 10% failures, one vial costs 32p 7g to make (at higher skill levels 5% is the best failure rate you can get). Although with Alchemy at 77, from one stack of 20 combines, costing 589pp, I got 9 vials - 65p 3g 8s per vial for that run. Most of the fails were on the Alchemy combines, which is therefore worth getting much higher before starting.
It is also a good idea to make a Beginner Alchemy Trophy, from the Beginner Alchemy Test - see Baublie Diggs in the newbie yard of West Freeport. Ingredients required are:
Crude Friable Potion Vial (2) - also requires pottery skill 18 to make.
All from Alchemist Mensah:
- Acaana Leaf (2)
- Comfrey Leaf (2)
- Crude Potion Vial (18)
- Eyebright Leaf (8)
- Flamewort Leaf (4)
- Fragment of Seathorn (2)
- Fragment of Suranie (4)
- Fragment of Yellow Rheum (2)
- Grain of Hemlock Powder (4)
- Lucerne Leaf (8)
- Mullein Leaf (8)
- Pinch of Allspice (8)
- Pinch of Burdock Root (8)
- Pinch of Mandrake Root (12)
- Single Sage Leaf (8)
Alchemist Zahra:
- Sticklewort (2)
- Vox’s Dust (18)
Ignoring failures, of course.
Now the pottery recipe:
Crude Friable Potion Vial requires:
- Block of Clay (1)
- Simple Friable Potion Vial Sketch (1)
- Small Block of Clay (3)
- Firing Sheet (1)
To make Skinspikes III, trivial 79:
Alchemist Mensah:
- Acaana Leaf (1)
- Comfrey Leaf (1)
- Flamewort Leaf (2)
- Rough Potion Vial (1)
Alchemist Zahra:
- Violet Tri-Tube Sap (1)
So far, 3 stacks of ingredients (20) to skill 68 (from 54), then 2 more stacks to 77. Cost under 60pp, and made 48 potions.
Skinspikes IV, trivial 106:
Alchemist Pili:
- Makeshift Potion Vial (1)
- Sprig of Acaana (1)
- Sprig of Comfrey (1)
- Sprig of Flamewort (2)
Alchemist Zahra:
- Blue Vervain Bulb (1)
73pp for 2 stacks. 4.5 stacks to 106; just over 150pp. 60 potions made.
Skinspikes V, trivial 142:
Betherium Bark (1)
Alchemist Pili:
- Simple Potion Vial (1)
- Sprig of Acaana (1)
- Sprig of Comfrey (1)
- Sprig of Flamewort (2)
Alchemist Zahra:
- Betherium Bark (1)
2 stacks 94pp. And only 2 skill ups, to 108. 25 potions made.
Antidote V is the recommended way to 148 (148pp for 2 stacks), then it may be worth switching back to Skinspikes.
Recipe for Distillate of Antidote V:
Alchemist Zahra:
- Arnworth (1)
Alchemist Pili:
- Simple Potion Vial (1)
- Sprig of Night Shade (3)
- Sprig of Sage Leaves (1)
Which gave me 7 skill ups for 148pp.