An additional system: Alchemy craft

Feedback and Suggestions
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Hello! I was having this idea in my mind and decide to post it, what I want from this idea is to all of you give your opinions and improve it with your suggestions. I think the “Alchemy” thing can fit well in this game as a theme, so I’ll start it.

Introduction

From wikipedia: “Alchemy is an ancient branch of natural philosophy, a philosophical and protoscientific tradition that was historically practiced in China, India, the Muslim world, and Europe.
Alchemists attempted to purify, mature, and perfect certain materials. Common aims were chrysopoeia, the transmutation of “base metals” (e.g., lead) into “noble metals” (particularly gold); the creation of an elixir of immortality; and the creation of panaceas able to cure any disease. The perfection of the human body and soul was thought to result from the alchemical magnum opus (“Great Work”). The concept of creating the philosophers’ stone was variously connected with all of these projects.”

I’ll explain. Since we don’t need to transform base metals to gold in the game, I will tweak the “function” of Alchemy here, so I’ll keep with the part: “Alchemists attempted to purify, mature, and perfect certain materials”. What I suggest is the following: Enhanced affixes through alchemy.

How I have access to alchemy?

My idea is simple: an NPC with a stylish like Merlin to introduce and explain it together with a crafting station for Alchemy (maybe reusing the Forge that exist in every town?).

How will work this Enhanced thing?

Uses the following materials:

  • Gold as a fuel (a considerable amount)
  • Affix shards of the desired Affix to Enhance (x3 or x5)
  • A base material like a bottle, dropped from endgame monsters or sold by the “Merlin NPC”

It will result in a bottle with a magic liquid containing the colour of the shard used. This should be created on the Alchemy crafting station. To Enhance an item you need too the Alchemy crafting station. The idea of the bottle can be discarded and replaced with something of preference.

And these are the rules:

  • Can enhance a T5 affix from an Exalted item to T6-T7 levels* BUT, this alchemy process is a bit unstable so will always come with a downside.
  • The downside CAN be a negative affix, for example: If you “Enhance” a T5 Cold Resistance, it will come with -1% to -3% to maximum Cold Resistance close to it, being both the same affix and NOT an additional one. This is a big part to discuss because my example maybe make this upgrade to not worth it and the idea is to be something reasonable.
  • An Exalted item can have only 1 Enhanced affix IF have a T5 affix and FP.
  • It doesn’t consume FP but the item need to have FP (like Rune of Discovery)
  • Can be used to craft a Legendary item.

´* What I refer to T6-T7 levels, means that the item can be upgraded to the minimum value possible of his T6 affix equivalent up to the maximum value of his T7 affix version. This is the RNG part.

What is the purpose of this?

First, the purpose is introduce a way to make the Gold valuable. Let’s think that you “melt” the gold as a fuel to create different types of magic. My first suggestion is this, but I think the Alchemy can have more uses in the future that I’m still not sure, that’s why I suggest an “Alchemy theme” with NPC and all instead of another Rune or a Glyph, because would be good that will bring 2 or 3 functions instead of only “Enhance” items, all of them consuming Gold.
Besides the “Gold sink” thing, it will make the crafting process further in the endgame to try to get the BiS possible but without making the players too powerful, that’s why it will come with a downside. If you want it without downside, then maybe better luck trying to get that T6-T7 Affix from a monster, so that way these affixes don’t lose his essence of being “Monster drop only”. This doesn’t mean you can’t suggest alternative ways of implement this, ALL is open to discuss, that’s the purpose of my post too.

What do you think guys? I expect replies about what do you like and what you don’t (and specially why), while at the same time if you have something in mind to suggest relationed with this (but trying to foccused on the topic).
Thank you!

3 Likes
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A complement for the Alchemy System

I’m not playing the game at the moment, but I want to add this to complement the original idea of my topic that I would like to see in a future: The Alchemy System. You can disagree with the topic about the “Enhanced affix” idea, but I’m more interested to know if you would like an Alchemy System like I suggest (It’s my personal taste in this kind of games).

Alchemy System: Potions

What I’m suggesting now? A potion system. I know, a game like Path of Exile show us how horrible is the potion system and how people do the called “piano flask” pressing constantly the number 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 keys (before the introduction of specialized orbs to avoid this).

I would hate this system here. I’m fine to having health potions pressing 1 when necessary, but personally what I would like is to have a second slot potion. Yes, add only 1 more slot, not 2 or 3, just 1 more potion slot. EDIT: Read the EDIT - NOTE below.

WHY 1 MORE POTION SLOT?

The idea of your first potion slot (Health flask) is to use it when you have low health to avoid dead, obviously (duhh). So, the second slot will be for a crafted flask that will be used when your character needs it: in a boss fight, in an area with too many strong enemies on the screen, etc.

This was always the idea of the potions in Path of Exile if I’m not wrong, using them WHEN your character needs them, but many people know why at the end this was a mess. That’s why I suggest only 1 additional potion slot and press it only when you need it, no piano flask thing.

  • EDIT - NOTE: Another thing that come to my mind, is that if we have too many flask options to craft and only we can use 1 could be a waste of variations, so maybe we could instead have a third (and maybe a fourth) potion slot to carry more options BUT to avoid the “piano flask” thing, when you use a crafted potion, the cooldown is shared between the rest of the crafted potions. This way you could carry more options to a battle and not abuse them constantly. Just a thought to cover any doubt you may have or feel about having 1 extra slot only.

Crafted potions? How I get them?

This is where the alchemy system comes in. The potions can be created on the “Alchemy crafting station”.

It will require as I suggest before an empty bottle (probably sold by the Alchemy NPC), gold as a fuel and … To be honest I don’t want to repeat what I suggest in the topic (using the shards), but I don’t see a better idea (and doesn’t make sense create +10 new items just to make potions only), so, yeah, we will use affix shards (can be needed more than 1 and can be needed a combination of them).

What type of potions can be crafted?

This will depend of the developers and/or what people prefer, but, I have 2 ways of seeing this. I 100% prefer the Way 2, but to the point:

Way 1:
Potions who each one will add for a few seconds (I think of 5 to 10 seconds depends of what potion is) a % to attack damage, spell damage, % or flat armour/dodge, movement speed (I disagree with this one, I think all people will just use speed), attack/cast speed, etc.

This is the classic one but personally I don’t like it. Normally people want to boost dmg (because boosting defenses normally doesn’t avoid dead if you don’t kill fast) or movement/attack/cast speed to kill fast (movement to escape).

This is my point of view. Personally I like more the way 2, so let’s go:

Way 2:
Potions who each one will add for a few seconds (3 to 6 seconds depends of what potion) an effect who:

  • Can help to escape the player in a death-only situation. Example:

    • “Smoke Potion” who creates a smoke cloud who blind and avoid to receive damage from monsters -for 3 or 4 seconds- (a shame that this already exist as a skill, but it’s an example).
    • “Barrier Potion” who creates a barrier (not a physical one) who slow enemies when they cross it (if devs/people want it, this barrier can damage the enemies with DoT dmg if they pass it or they’re too close).
    • “Unbreakable Potion” who makes you to be transformed into a “stone” who protects from all damage received. While you have this stone-form, you can’t move or attack until the effect is gone OR you need to make a few clicks to cancel this form and move again BUT you will receive damage in the instant you move, logically. Can be useful for an incoming big hit or a DoT damage on the floor.
    • Etc. of course. Any creative idea is welcomed.

  • Can help the player to kill his enemy. Example:

    • “Self-harm Potion” who creates in a small area a “poison” who confuses the enemies and makes to reflect his own attacks for 100% of their dmg that you could receive, and, making you at the same time to receive 0% damage when hitted (I don’t know if it’s very useful, but can be more than 100% of their damage for balance purpose). Only a limited amount of monsters can be poisoned this way per potion, so when the maximun amount of monsters affected reachs, the poisoned area dissapears (this can be applicable to all potions with limited amount of affected monsters).
    • “Freeze Potion” who creates in a small area a cold-smoke/rain who freeze all enemies for 4 seconds who pass through it. If it’s a boss who pass through it, instead it will be chilled/slowed (the enemies frozen can be damaged, of course).
    • Out of ideas at the moment xD, any creative idea is welcomed.

Of Course, with the Way 2 the potions will need a cooldown between each use to avoid abusing them and maybe limiting the amount of enemies that can be affected at the same time/since the beggining of the potion effect to avoid being too powerful (like the self-harm potion example).

And of course, in this case, to craft them you could need a combination of “X” shard, “Y” shard, etc. The freeze potion can use “Freeze Rate Multiplier” shard, “Chance to chill attackers” and/or “Chance to Slow attackers” shard (along with the empty bottle and gold). I’m not sure If I made the best shard choices for the example, but you get the idea.

Any thoughts? :slight_smile:

1 Like
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Both of your ideas sounds very interesting, tbh I would love it to have something similar.
Flask idea, I gotta say, I really do prefer your ‘Way 2’, rather than just some passive buffs, it can be situational skills, which can create various effects, like ‘OH SHIT’ button, Debuffs/status effects to enemies/self, another I would add will be some kind of powerful attack like flask, which will do damage based on its effect, not too OP, but supplementary kind of way.
With addition to flask system, you will be able to have even more diverse builds incorporating flasks, so for classes, which don’t have certain things like ‘OH shit’ skill, they will make flask for it. or for classes with many support skills, they will be able to have damage related flask(which may have added bonus damage from stats the class have, or just flat damage).

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In the ofensive part, I don’t see the flasks as a way to directly attack the enemy, it can cause people to carry dmg potions only making the rest useless. But I agree with builds that lack of damage would like a dmg reinforcement with the potion system.

So, I think this can be solved with potions who gives effects like a status or a “mark” who makes vulnerable your enemy for a few seconds (I don’t remember if this exist here, but will be the equivalent of PoE “cold/fire/lightning exposure” or -% resistances to “X” dmg), so these tough enemies/bosses that give you a bad time facing them, with the potions could make your build worth it after all. At least I would like to imagine this can happen with my suggestion.

Edit: To clarify, the balance to not make them too much OP will be in the cooldown the potion have, the number of monsters that can be affected and the duration.

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Like, if the pure damage based flasks, they are not as powerful as skills, or can provide near similar level of damage to abilities, I doubt given the option people will carry damage flasks compared to life saving ones, or other utility based ones, if they are already using ability that is doing damage without even cooldown, then damage flask is just another damage skill but with cooldown, it will just better to use the abilities you have specced rather than waste time using flasks. I doubt it will be taken as much, if you can have some better abilities, which will be able to replace the class’s utility or ‘oh shit’ skills, leading to people more likely to take the flask for saving themselves or have complementary status effects.

I would consider that as more of utility flask, it is going to be kind of meta in multiplayer imo, if we add flasks like that, since rather buffing our damage it will increase the damage for whole party. Though I can see it being one of the options given that it has been tweaked accordingly, not leading to making people to have to that specific flask be the meta.

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I think if this can be balanced enough with the points I mention (cooldown, amount of monsters affected, duration, something else) then yes, you’re right. I agree with you.

I don’t consider multiplayer, that’s a big fault of my part. Maybe the flask should affect to the damage of the player who use the potion, and not the rest of the group. If multiple-people party spam effect potions to a boss, could be melted in a second.

I really think about having 3 slots to carry to battle each type of crafted potions (example: “2” button for attack potions, “3” for defense and “4” for utility potions) with shared cooldowns but knowing multiplayer is close, Idk, maybe 1 slot is just fine. I imagine all can be tweaked to make it work well here.

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Thx but no thx! I get instant PoE flask ptsd when I read this.

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I understand and forgive me, but, you read carefully what I suggest?

Besides, when you use this potion you will have a maybe 20-30 second cooldown (or more), the problem that occurs on PoE will never happen.

That’s why I like the “Way 2”, the potions acts like a “skill” life-saver whenever you’re in danger. If the damage potions can create a problem, this system could be designed to have defensive-utility potions only, but I don’t really see how the PoE problem can occur considering these points.

EDIT: Or don’t imagine it as a potion, imagine it as an extra small skill that can be crafted so every build can use it whenever they need it.

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