Does Alchemy even matter for most players?

ArchMikem · May 24

I tried to get into Alchemy to make my own potions.

But when I realized I acquire Alliance Points MUCH faster than I do Gold or Crafting Mats, I started just buying Alliance Potions and never looked back. I have about 11 Million AP in the bank and every so often I'll withdraw about 300,000 and buy hundreds of potions for one of my characters and I'll be good for months.

One or two of my Characters rely more on TriPots or regular Health Potions, and the Alliance Health potion includes Invisibility which I really don't want to bother with every time I chug one, so those I'm forced to craft myself which I'm incredibly short on mats for.

TaSheen · May 24

Only reason I level it is for writs, daily and the occasional master.

tincanman · May 24

Use alchemy and passives for crafting dailies for master writ generation (passives increase number created per ingredient(s) used). Passives to extend duration of potions, too, are essential.

Craft tripots and heroism pots for vet content and pvp but used to use crafted tripots from 10th lvl onwards and had ones crafted for differing levels; too expensive in mats now.

With all the dlc added to the game, there's a lot of skill points so it's relatively trivial to max out all craft skills, including alchemy. Even with base game, including cyrodiil (skyshards and pvp 'levelling'), there's enough skill points to do so although there may be less wiggle-room for filling out secondary skill lines but that can be offset somewhat by the armoury system.

So in short: yes, alchemy is generally a useful skill to develop and retain for all aspects of the game.

Amottica · May 24

disky wrote: »

Amottica wrote: »

sarahthes wrote: »

disky wrote: »

I know that utilizing certain potions can make a big difference in high-level play, but I'm curious about this because it has never mattered to me in my years of playing the game...does the average player actually spend time crafting or spend money purchasing potions/poisons? I have a trove of Crown Store potions and poisons stashed away, and I'm frequently given more so I never have to worry about running out. They're good enough that I'm unconcerned with Alchemy as a profession, and anything I loot is destroyed or sold to merchants.

So for most players...is there even a point? Like I said, I've been playing for years and I haven't found one, but I'd love to know what other players think. Perhaps even more important, I'd love to be given a reason to actually consider it in gameplay.

I spent millions a week on potions, or on mats for making my own potions, and hours per week on farming for mats to make potions.

I raid at a pretty high level and I pvp too (although how good I am at pvp is debatable). I'm probably not typical.

It is really no different than anything else. While a top player can equip purple gear and still out-DPS, most players in the game are more likely to use gold and benefit more from it than most players would. This type of player pushes the limits and can benefit from it.

I think there is a difference, though. The difference is that you're literally given potions for free by the game, while you still have to actually go out and do something to get the gear you want.

@disky

It is the same. Very much the same.

The game literally gives us gear for free. Gear drops in Oveland, quest rewards, and instanced content. The only difference is that we get some potions free for logging in, but if that is all someone is doing, then gear and potions are irrelevant and rather moot.

So yes, it's the same unless we want to split a very small hair.

LaintalAy · May 25

It was hinted at earlier, but there is another point to leveling Alchemy: unlocking the the Medicinal Use skill passive.

Level 8: Medicinal Use I: When using potions, resulting effects last 10% longer.
Level 35: Medicinal Use II: When using potions, resulting effects last 20% longer.
Level 50 Medicinal Use III: When using potions, resulting effects last 30% longer.

The higher version of Essence of Health has 30% Health Recovery for 52.8 seconds.
The level III passive adds 15.9 seconds to that, so 68.7 seconds in total.

So yes, Alchemy does matter if you're using pots regularly.

Check the Gourmand and Connoisseur skill passives in Provisioning for similar benefits for food and drink buffs.

barney2525 · May 25

Czeri wrote: »

In normal dungeons and normal trials the tri-pots from daily rewards serve me well enough, and there is so much of them I never run out. So no, I can't say I use alchemy in my gameplay. I do occasionally sell potions, though. It's a great way of making gold.

wouldn't that be Provisions and not Alchemy ?

C_Inside · May 25

For my daily random dungeon and overland I don't use potions at all. Things just die way before my brain can give the signal to my hand to press the "use potion" button.

For both normal and vet trials I do use weapon/spell power pots or heroism ones. Even when that's not necessary I still do because what else am I going to spend my money on? I've got tens of millions of gold, I'm not into housing, and I've got every crafting motif I want. So potions (or their materials in the case of heroism pots) are the only worthwhile things I have to spend my money on.

Besides, seeing big numbers makes my monkey brain do the happy chemicals.

JustLovely · May 25

If alchemy doesn't matter to you, you aren't running any challenging content. For most of us alchemy is one of the most important crafting skills in the game.

ThelerisTelvanni · May 25

Well I use Alchemy to make potions that I use in vet dungeons and raids. And housing furniture of cause.

Lance_Caugheyb14_ESO · May 25

I can't be the only one who thought that this thread was going to be about Alchemy the character. Still I personally haven't gotten into alchemy or provisioning because finding recipes is a chore.

LaintalAy · May 25

Lance_Caugheyb14_ESO wrote: »

I can't be the only one who thought that this thread was going to be about Alchemy the character. Still I personally haven't gotten into alchemy or provisioning because finding recipes is a chore.

I don't know who this 'Alchemy' character is.

Alchemy (the skill) doesn't need recipes; just some work at the bench.

Before I took the time to understand both crafts, I died a lot.

TaSheen · May 25

You first meet Alchemy and troupe in Summerset (Rellinthil) for a quest line. You find her and the troupe again in Blackwood, for another (for me, much niftier) quest line.

Sakiri · May 26

I use crown tripots mostly on my oakensorc, mostly as "oh crud" HP heals. I don't really need the magicka recovery, but stam restore is nice sometimes.

I use heroism potions when parsing. I also make those. I have some spell/phys resist pots for IA. Also made those.

I could probably make some to sell too, but I'm lazy. And cheap.

I tried to sell some columbine a while ago, it didn't move so I pulled it off and am just gonna hoard it.

katanagirl1 · May 27

Until recently I never used potions, just doing mostly overland stuff and slotting a skill that kept me from using weapon damage potions.

Now I’m doing vet prog trials and have to get used to making heroism potions. Oof.

barney2525 · May 27

Just Alchemy 2 - so I can see plants quick and easy.

SilverBride · May 27

It only matters to me for doing daily writs and selling alchemy mats.

DoofusMax · May 27

disky wrote: »

So for most players...is there even a point? Like I said, I've been playing for years and I haven't found one, but I'd love to know what other players think. Perhaps even more important, I'd love to be given a reason to actually consider it in gameplay.

I think I mostly agree with the reasoning. Most ESO players tend more toward the casual side of the spectrum. Those Crown tri-pots are probably all they ever use and the daily writ stuff is all they'll ever make. The only exceptions to this that come to mind are Psijic Ambrosia in its various versions and crafted tri-pots for PvP'ers. For those who are more casual and don't PvP, the stacks of Crown pots mostly clog up inventory, but even casual PvP'ers use them like crazy.

On the unaddressed side of Alchemy, there are furnishings specific to Alchemy. For those you need the formula plus the Alchemy skill, the crafting station, and a serious bunch of mats to make them.

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Furnishing_Formulae

logan68 · May 27

i get so many free health potions i have no need to use alchemy except for the dailies. They killed it with the cash shop

vsrs_au · May 27

barney2525 wrote: »

Just Alchemy 2 - so I can see plants quick and easy.

That lets you see them from 20m away, but if you rank up to alchemy 17, you can upgrade the 'keen eye' passive 2 more times, and see plants from 40m away, that's even better!

DoofusMax · May 28

logan68 wrote: »

i get so many free health potions i have no need to use alchemy except for the dailies. They killed it with the cash shop

I think I'd disagree with that assessment. What probably killed Alchemy was tri-pot login rewards and the overland difficulty (or lack thereof). With most players tending toward the casual side of the spectrum, the login rewards are more than sufficient for their needs. Login rewards so far this year have given 1100 tri-pots. I've maybe used a dozen or two across seven characters in that same time and a lot of that was by sheer accident (thought I had something else quickslotted or missed the W key). I don't know anyone who spends crowns for tri-pots except maybe complete newbies who don't know any better.

Muizer · May 28

DenverRalphy wrote: »

I'm surprised at how many people seem to be using Health/Tri Pots in PvE content .... Any vet PvE is easy to get away with a simple self heal skill to lessen the burden of the healer in the group, and keeping the potion slot/cooldown open for Mag/Stam boosts and a boost to damage output.

Yeah, I've come to the same conclusion. Even more for solo PvE btw. For a stamina damage dealer or all-rounder, essence of weapon power gives high up time on Major Brutality and Savagery and sustain while saving skill slots. For health, a burst heal need to be slotted anyway, because you won't get away with having a heal with a cooldown.
I've used tri-stat potions in the past, but found I was using them as 'last resort' mostly, which in fact is just another way of saying I was under-utilizing the potential of alchemy.

Aurielle · May 28

It sure does! I have no access to Major Sorcery on my Warden healer because the netch just doesn’t work for Cyrodiil (thanks to Plaguebreak), and Degeneration feels like a waste of a skill slot. Magicka drain poisons are also very helpful on that character. All my other characters get by just fine without poisons and with the free crown tri-pots or Alliance health/immovable pots. That Warden, though… high maintenance.

I used to need crafted potions for my Necro too, but then my Necro got relegated to being little more than a revive bot, so I just focus on building ult and don’t care about the lack of Major Sorcery/Brutality.

AnduinTryggva · May 28

The answer is simple and out there to find by anybody: Check the price of columbine...

Necrotech_Master · May 28

Lance_Caugheyb14_ESO wrote: »

I can't be the only one who thought that this thread was going to be about Alchemy the character. Still I personally haven't gotten into alchemy or provisioning because finding recipes is a chore.

alchemy doesnt require learning recipes

all of the potions are just combinations of alchemy ingredients, though its actually more annoying to make the pots you want unless your making them all the time and know which ingredients are used for each pot (though at this point in the games life there are both lists online (for console) and addons (for PC) that can help finding the potion you want

the main reason i dont level alchemy is mostly because the mats are so valuable i would rather sell them instead of burning them on junk pots to lvl the skill line (and i refuse to "buy" skill lines from the crown store too)

MJallday · May 28

Yes for the duration of potions and also crafting