WoW: Forever
Alchemy
Potions, elixirs, flasks and transmutes. The most substantially rewritten profession in Forever — 70 of its 179 recipes are new, including three whole consumable ladders and four new raid flasks.
Is Alchemy worth taking?
Yes — and of the crafting professions it has the strongest case. It is a money profession and a raid-utility profession, it earns Legacy Points at skill 150, 225 and 300, and it grants a title.
It suits every class, because the new consumable ladders cover spell healing, spell damage and attack power at every tier. Healers and casters get the most, since the Mender's, Cleric's and Mageblood lines are all new.
What it pairs with
Alchemy with Herbalism. Unchanged, and Alchemy has no other feed.
One thing a veteran should notice: the Herbalism half is more optional than it was. Merchant's Favor buys recipes, and the crates that earn it can be bought at the auction house.
What Forever added
Three new consumable ladders, spanning the whole level range:
| Ladder | What it gives | Skill range |
|---|---|---|
| Mender's Potion | Spell healing, +13 up to +88 | 30 → 280 |
| Spellblasting Potion | Spell damage, +7 up to +47 | 35 → 285 |
| Frenzy Potion | Attack power, +12 up to +80 | 40 → 290 |
Plus new Mageblood (mana per 5 seconds) and Cleric's (healing done) elixir ladders, and new Spirit and Intellect tiers.
Four new raid flasks — the biggest change in the profession. All at skill 300, all lasting 2 hours, all giving +60 Stamina, and all with a clause vanilla never had:
| Flask | Extra effect, in Mount Hyjal, Hyjal Summit and the Barrow Deeps only |
|---|---|
| Flask of Natural Accuracy | 5% hit chance |
| Flask of Natural Aggression | 4% critical strike |
| Flask of Natural Precision | 5% reduced chance to be dodged or parried |
| Flask of Natural Swiftness | 5% haste |
These are zone-scoped, which is a design pattern that does not exist in vanilla at all — and it is a strong hint about where Forever's first raid tier sits. Their reagents are the new herbs: Death Lotus, Demonsage and Marefoil, none of which has a published gathering node.
The five vanilla flasks are all present and unchanged.
Changes that will catch out a veteran
- Six oils now yield 2 per craft instead of 1 — Fire Oil, Shadow Oil, Frost Oil, Goblin Rocket Fuel, Ghost Dye and Stonescale Oil. If you are budgeting Stonescale for flasks off vanilla memory, you are buying twice what you need.
- Reagents changed on several low-level recipes. Minor Mana Potion now wants Peacebloom where it wanted Silverleaf; Elixir of Minor Defense wants one Silverleaf and one Peacebloom rather than two Silverleaf.
- A new drawback mechanic. The Discolored Healing Potion line became five tiers, and they read: "Restores X health instantly, however you also suffer 75% of that amount over time."
- Alchemy Laboratory at skill 300 is a workstation requirement — "needed for the most advanced Alchemy recipes." Nothing like it exists in vanilla.
- There is no specialisation system. Elixir, Potion and Transmute Mastery are Burning Crusade. Do not go looking for them.
- The Alchemists' Stone is unchanged from vanilla, and still substitutes for a Philosopher's Stone.
- No passive Alchemy bonus has been shown, and the claim that Forever makes elixirs and flasks last longer is false — the Legacy perk people cite,
Permanence, covers class abilities and camp rest, not consumables.
Camp objects
| Skill | Object | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | Mana Well | 29 mana every 5 seconds nearby — exclusive with Blessing of Wisdom |
| 140 | Fermenter | Blueprint, drops in Wailing Caverns and Ruins of Lordaeron. Makes four new reagents |
| 300 | Alchemy Laboratory | Blueprint. Required for the top recipes |
Levelling it
The published route, computed from recipe costs rather than tested:
- 1 → 64 — Elixir of Minor Defense, ~65 crafts
- 64 → 80 — Minor Mana Potion, ~21
- 80 → 96 — Blackmouth Oil, ~31. Keep them
- 96 → 100 — Elixir of Wisdom, ~4
- 100 → 130 — Swim Speed Potion, ~30
- 130 → 166 — Fire Oil, ~51. Keep them
- 166 → 175 — Elixir of Fire Power, ~11
- 175 → 190 — Greater Discolored Healing Potion, ~19
- 190 → 209 — Great Rage Potion, ~22. Vendor recipe
- 209 → 237 — Nature Protection Potion, ~46. Vendor recipe
- 237 → 250 — Draught of Detect Undead, ~14
- 250 → 260 — Stonescale Oil, ~30. Keep them
- 260 → 265 — Draught of Detect Demon, ~5
- 265 → 295 — Elixir of Greater Defense, ~34. Vendor recipe, and the expensive block
- 295 → 300 — Major Mana Potion, ~5
The beta wall lands mid-step 10, at skill 225. The longest single step is 209 to 237 and it needs a vendor recipe, so buy it before you get there.
Certification and title
New in Forever: an Alchemy Certification at skill 300 unlocks the title "the Alchemist". The title is account-wide, but only a character with 300 Alchemy can display it.
What is not known
Where Death Lotus, Demonsage and Marefoil are gathered — they are reagents in the new flasks and have no published node. Where Lich's Index Finger, the Alchemy Laboratory's reagent, comes from. Whether the Laboratory is needed to learn the top recipes or only to craft them. Whether transmute cooldowns changed. And whether the new flasks' Hyjal clause covers the raid tier opening December 9.