The Alchemist

[mpnorman10]

Originally posted by Horpner Sneed:

2. A Hobbit Alchemist. This has been eye-opening, because I'm developing her magic the way I develop hybrid alchemists, and she's really strong. I took Sleep and Itching Skin to start, with the aim of crushing things with Noxious Fumes and Whipping Rocks ASAP. At level 7 she can already cast both spells at PL3, which feels over-powered at this level. Taking Acid Splash is a dead end, though I did select it later because a strong single-target spell is necessary.

There is a lot of subtlety to designing an Alchemist for various parties. The reasons include that it is not a focused character throughout the game, but rather it has focus that varies throughout the game.

Having focused on specialist casters for a long time, which began decades ago in part because they were believed to be inherently weak by early players, there is a core principle that started as a hypothesis that I believe there is now strong evidence to support. That principle is that a Specialist Caster (referring specifically to Priest, Alchemist, Psionic and Mage but not Bishops which are not less, but are different) they can become fairly decent (or rather "mediocre" if you prefer) at one melee or range skill in addition to their awesome magic capabilities in one school... but not both. There are questions.

For the Alchemist the first question to ask, IMO, is about Element Shield. Is this party going to have a fast Element Shield Caster? If so, is that shield caster going to be this Alchemist? The next question to ask is whether this Alchemist is going to do all or almost all of any potion mixing to raise money? The next question is about how long this Alchemist is going to be around. If the player and party ascend at Level 19, for example, there is little or no reason to worry about Level 7 spells.

I agree with your assertion, HS, that casters are all about the realm skill management, but perhaps I come at that from a different angle. Once Level 7 spells are available, the Alchemist is all about the Water and Earth realms. The Earth realm is rather easy to develop since the Whipping Rocks spell is excellent early and well into the middle game. Higardi Rogues are unimpressed by Whipping Rocks, but Savant Troopers, and many other foes, are devastated by them.

Also for developing the Earth realm, for Earthquate (if the game is long enough for that to matter) there is the Chameleon buff if cast routinely with the other buffs. There is no point in giving that spell to a Psionic, who can also use it, because a highly developed Earth realm in the Psionic school is worthless. The Chameleon buff itself offers slightly greater choice about when and where to engage in battle. The impact is slight and difficult to use without considerable practice. The side effect of including it in the regular buffs, however, can really help an Alchemist. Even if its use is not mastered, it provides some benefit and does not hurt anything.

The Water realm is another matter. To say that Acid Splash is a dead end is a bit harsh, because Tsunami, if you have it on time for the Rapax areas and in other enclosed areas line the underwater channels for example, is devastating there (along with any Mage's Blizzard spell). The specialist Casters in my party designs, achieve very high skill levels in the relevant realms, but never using more than 3 points per level-up (always putting 6 into the chosen melee or range skill). If obtained at creation and just allowed to sit there, Acid Splash at Power Level 1 cannot impress a wet paper bag, but at Power Level 3, 4, 5..., can began to be powerful. Putting 3 points into the Water realm is often an early Alchemist choice for some designs.

The availability of even those 3 points is where the question about potion mixing becomes relevant for spell selection and skill point allocation at level-up. For the Alchemist, potion mixing can begin immediately, even while still in the Monastery for the first time. This means that the Alchemy School Skill does not have to get 3 points per level, at least not for very long. The goal is (typically) to have Alchemy powerful to be able to pick spells at the earliest level. Level 2 spells are automatic and prior to the bonus, at Level 5, Alchemy only needs to be at 24, at Level 8 it only needs 36, etc., which, if that Alchemist is mixing potions becomes easy without any need to put level-up points into the Alchemy school skill (or at least not many).

Originally posted by Zergs:

And HS--you don't care for Dracon Breath, correct?

I am one of those players that does not use Acid Breath because using it does not generate useful skill increases and my parties almost never seem to need it for survival. Nevertheless, I really like the Dracon race for the job, under the right circumstances. Those circumstances include whether the Alchemist needs to be a fast Element Shield caster or can instead be smoothly slow as molasses until urged into high speed by the Rousing Drums. If those conditions are met then I tend to prefer giving him or her a melee weapon, specifically (eventually) the Staff of Doom with its bonuses and extended reach. This supported by maxed Intelligence and Power Cast, maxed Strength and Power Strike and at least eventual maxed Dexterity. That weapon is cursed but since no attempt is made to also give the character a range skill, this is not a new limitation. The Dracon starting Strength allows it to be maxed quite rapidly.

For melee, accuracy provides a diminishing return so the Dracon's low Senses is a cost that does not matter much (IMO), however, at range it is a very different story and every bit of added accuracy matters.

Originally posted by Zergs:

6. What is the theory behind neglecting Strength on both the Rogue and the Fighter?

HS, when I read your intended development details for your party, and the lack of pushing Strength and the lack of the bonus damage from that it came into my mind spontaneously that with less strength bonus it will require more penetrating hits to kill enemies, which means more penetrating hits to kill specific enemies and achieve the next level. More penetrating hits means more skill increases. This is an aspect I have not previously considered in depth. The longer it takes to kill enemies, the greater chance of them killing the party first, but more penetrating hits and increases per level would tend to compensate, or would it. This gives me a lot to think about.

Fire Bomb is a great spell and potentially very powerful, but the Mage's Fireball is a Level 3 spell while the Alchemist's Fire Bomb is a Level 4 spell. Developing the Fire realm from scratch at that point (Level 8) feels too little, too late, but if the Alchemist takes the buff responsibility for the Light Spell, when other buffs are cast, that prepares the Alchemist nicely for a powerful Fire Bomb right out of the gate. It remains powerful for quite a while but not against Rapax or underwater, so hopefully the Alchemist has Level 7 spells by the time those areas are taken on. If there is also a Priest in the party which has or will have Power Cast, it is not too late to switch the Light buff responsibility over to the Priest when the Fire Bomb Spell is obtained by the Alchemist.

This just scratches the surface of a few examples of Alchemist design. While the ones I have designed have been powerful for me and as reported by those using the MDP party example I recommend that contains an Alchemist, I make no claim that any of those designs are the most powerful. There is just too many ways to... "tweak" Alchemist design and development.

[Horpner Sneed]

My Alchemist design was for years to take Acid Splash and Heal Wounds. You end up with strong Water and Divine Realms early, and consequently I came to the conclusion that Alchemists were late-bloomers. Water is not a dead end--you're right about that. But it takes a very long break from doing damage.

I agree that Alchemists get the most benefit from Light spam. it's so nice to have 13-18 Fire for virtually no investment when Fire Bomb becomes available.

When I first saw your advice to use Chameleon on the Alchemist (rather than the Psionic) I was aghast, but you're absolutely right.

Remember when you cast Dracon Breath the Alchemist still gains skill. Only the breather loses a turn. This is a fine trade-off if you're in need of the cone damage. So I say it's a strong tool in the box which a lot of party designs simply don't need.

The Alchemist I was speaking about is a Hobbit speed-caster, and will not bother with any kind of physical damage until very late in the game and probably not at all. The MDP strategy of building for melee damage from the beginning is good. I enjoy it! But my level 16 party (running simultaneously) is all spell-casters with great melee ability and I didn't want more of that, especially with two Samurai, a Fighter and a Rogue hanging about.

[mpnorman10]

Originally posted by Horpner Sneed:

The Alchemist I was speaking about is a Hobbit speed-caster, and will not bother with any kind of physical damage until very late in the game and probably not at all. The MDP strategy of building for melee damage from the beginning is good. I enjoy it! But my level 16 party (running simultaneously) is all spell-casters with great melee ability and I didn't want more of that, especially with two Samurai, a Fighter and a Rogue hanging about.

Yes. I came to the same conclusion about the Priest in my recommended new and returning player melee/range party. There he or she is designed for fast Soul Shield casting and support, not even bothering to go for Power Cast (because, IMO, it would slow down the Priest too much). There is no minimizing of Piety of the Priest to below the minimum requirement. In practice it requires focus on both Speed and Senses (and eventually Snake Speed) to make the Priest fast enough, which neglects Strength and Dexterity, at least for a long time, making the melee/range party support Priest tend to be an official back row "squishie".

For an MDP I am unlikely to take disabling or partially disabling spells like Sleep or Itching Skin, but for your party, especially if no Bard, yeah, Sleep makes sense. I still like Acid Splash and Heal for an Alchemist substituting for a Ranger in the new player party, if done, but the Acid Splash needs help in terms of Water realm skill points (so its power level makes it attractive to use it enough to improve it through use), IMO. Heal, after battle, provides not only Divine realm increases, without using up battle rounds, but provides also a significant number of increases to the school skill of Alchemy (or Psionics or Divinity).

The same goes for the impact of any buff on the school skill. For melee/range, Sleep (if no Bard) and Heal might be good choices (just off the top of my head, not sure). I have never been impressed by the Itching Skin Spell or the seven or eight battles it might be used in before Whipping Rocks is taken as a pick. If you wish to consider an alternative that helps get the Earth realm going, I have found Razor Cloak to be fun and occasionally useful (lightly offered as an alternative for your consideration). Is your experience with the Itching Skin spell different?

[Horpner Sneed]

On hybrids I do sometimes take Itching Skin and Razor Cloak both, yes. While Itching Skin and Sleep are fine (happily), they are taken solely to train Air and Earth respectively. Razor Cloak is often taken because Itching Skin is too cheap for very effective training. This Alchemist took Cure Light Conditions instead of Razor Cloak since the Bishop was going to hog the one early book. One Sleep & Blindness remover is often not enough.

If you're playing without a Priest or Bard, I commend Itching Skin to you as one of the few reasonable alternatives to Bless.

[mpnorman10]

I hope you know there is zero criticism in any of this, just a discussion. As a matter of fact I am very interested in how your choices work out for you, just as I am interested in how the instant death party Zergs is developing works out.

Does lower Strength result in more skill increases? Is it tougher to keep the party alive a bit longer to collect those?

[HOK1970]

How the value of a character class is assessed is certainly a matter of taste. For me, the Alchemist is my favorite character among the specialist casters. I prefer to play a low Piety Dracon Alchemist with Staff (SoD), who quickly maximizes the 3 required attribute values Strength, Intelligence and Dexterity for this build. In fact, I prefer to play him rather than Mage, who is certainly a very strong character for long stretches of the game.

From my point of view, the Alchemist is also not a late bloomer if he concentrates early on his strong realm skills Air, Earth and, to a lesser extent, Water.

I have to say that I often play with 3 AoE damage Bishops and the Alchemist is the welcome addition to the Bishops, as he can do things early on that my Bishops can't do so quickly.
First of all, there is the financial aspect, because 50 points in alchemy (for the Reneval Potions) is difficult for any character to achieve, while this is not a problem for the Alchemist and he hardly has to invest any points for his spellbook.

Then there are the support spells, which the Alchemist does best.
I would like to mention the spell Cure Poison as an example. Even on the first way to Arnika, the party often encounters monsters that can poison, such as Acidvines or poison darts-throwing Higadi. The poison can easily kill a wounded spellcaster, and using a Cure Poison Potion is relatively expensive, as it has a resale value of around 250 gold. However, healing poison usually doesn't work on PL 1, but an Alchemist is good at Air and can usually do it early on PL 2 or 3.
But I don't want to hide the fact that (IMO) the Alchemist's spells at spell levels 1 and 2 are bad compared to other spellbooks.

Since the strong AoE spells Noxious Fumes and Whipping Rocks are already available at level 5 (before leaving the monastery), I usually skip the level 1 and 2 spells in order to be able to draw from the full Level 3 spells.
My spell picks:
Level 1: Only Acid Splash
Level 2: none
Level 3: Sometimes Blinding Flash or Lesser Cond.
Level 4: none
Level 5: Noxious Fumes, Whipping Rocks, Chameleon, Knock Knock, sometimes Cure Poison

@Horpner Sneed: I've had bad experiences with the spell picks Sleep and Itching Skin, because IMO they don't bring many realm skill points training and the Alchemist can also cast Noxious Fumes and Whipping Rocks on a high PL independently. In addition, they are useless spells from level 5 onwards, as they only eat up the mana of the two strong AoE damage spells. On the other hand, I didn't experience a strong increase in realm skills, but I also have a low Piety Alchemist with the Dracon.
How many points in Air and Earth could you get up to level 5 by training of using Sleep and Itching Skin?

On the other hand, I think the idea of level 2 spell Dracon Breath could be strong, because it's an AoE cone.
I would do it too, but my Dracon can do that as a racial ability. I would try this with another race (a Hobbit for example).

@MPNorman: We've had this topic before, but why do you always want to give the Light Book to the Priest or Alchemist and not to the Mage? HS seems to be the same opinion, but I don't understand both of you. You both correctly say that a caster's strength lies in the realm skills and the Mage needs points in Fire from level 1 for his damage spells, while other characters still have to wait for it. In my experience, a low piety Mage often runs out of mana in Fire. Actually, this spell should always be used at the beginning of the game in combat., for a fast higher PL for Fireball!

I already know your arguments about the later development of Fire for the AoE damage spells Lightning or Fire Bomb, but it sounds to me as if a bank promises a young person a high return as soon as he reaches the age of 80.
Fire can also be trained by the Alchemist or Priest via the Light Book, which can be bought at Kunar, at a later date, as soon as the Mage has enough points for his strong damage spells (Energy Blast and Fireball).
It's not meant to be a criticism, but I don't understand both of you, because the Mage benefits immediately from the Light book and Priest and Alchemist only much later.

In my experience, 6 points in the realm skill are enough to get a spell to 100% security (status green). This means that only from the level increases to 7 and 8 (3+3) you have to invest in Fire for the Alchemist when it comes to Fire Bomb. At level 8, only Pl 1 is possible for Fire Bomb anyway and level-ups come less and less often, while the Mage could rise much faster in the PL due to faster level-ups at the beginning of the game.
As already mentioned, the Light Spell can be purchased from Kunar for more points in the Fire. A visit to the Umpani Camp is usually on party level 8-9. Is that later for you?

[Horpner Sneed]

Originally posted by HOK1970:

@Horpner Sneed: I've had bad experiences with the spell picks Sleep and Itching Skin, because IMO they don't bring many realm skill points training and the Alchemist can also cast Noxious Fumes and Whipping Rocks on a high PL independently. In addition, they are useless spells from level 5 onwards, as they only eat up the mana of the two strong AoE damage spells. On the other hand, I didn't experience a strong increase in realm skills, but I also have a low Piety Alchemist with the Dracon.
How many points in Air and Earth could you get up to level 5 by training of using Sleep and Itching Skin?

My current Alchemist has an in impressive (to me) over 20 in Air, Earth, and Water at level 7. Itching Skin is admittedly the weakest possible spell for training, but still useful. Sleep is fine for training. But I do agree neither spell has long-term potential other than building up the Air and Earth mana pools.

On giving Light to the Alchemist: A Mage has Energy Blast--she can already spend every scrap of fire mana between rests easily and productively without the need of Light. When my Mage has the free Light book (which can still happen in parties with no Alchemist or Priest), I can only cast light before resting when I haven't managed to spend all my fire, which is not often.

The Alchemist (who doesn't take Blinding Flash) has no other recourse for training fire. I do like Blinding Flash, but I hate investing the level-up points in Fire needed to make it safe for early play. How do you manage it?

I reach UBC around level 8 or 9, depending on how eventful the second trip to the Monastery is, but only one character can train with Light no matter how many have the spell (except for save/reload shenanigans to beat the timer).

There's no one way to play an Alchemist, but I'm honestly excited about my little Hobbit. Thanks for the stimulating discussion!

[HOK1970]

Originally posted by Horpner Sneed:

On giving Light to the Alchemist: A Mage has Energy Blast--she can already spend every scrap of fire mana between rests easily and productively without the need of Light. When my Mage has the free Light book (which can still happen in parties with no Alchemist or Priest), I can only cast light before resting when I haven't managed to spend all my fire, which is not often.

As a rule, you get mana in Fire just by reading the Light book. If you run out of points in Fire before a rest, then cast Light after the rest, as the cost is very low at 1SP per PL and you still have enough mana to cast Energy Blast. In relation to the 3 minute timer for buffs, this also increases the chances of improving the skill.

Originally posted by Horpner Sneed:

The Alchemist (who doesn't take Blinding Flash) has no other recourse for training fire. I do like Blinding Flash, but I hate investing the level-up points in Fire needed to make it safe for early play. How do you manage it?

If I use Blinding Flash with the Alchemist (which is not always the case), then I give points in Fire when creating the character and leveling up to level 2 and 3. With the 11 points in fire, Blinding Flash can be used in the upper monastery to train well indoors. For example, in the room where the key is or in the room with the 3 Higadis, because they can't escape.

Originally posted by Horpner Sneed:

I reach UBC around level 8 or 9, depending on how eventful the second trip to the Monastery is, but only one character can train with Light no matter how many have the spell (except for save/reload shenanigans to beat the timer).

You're leading an adventure group, not government employees working on the same task every day! Realm skills can be trained very well with buffs, but the higher the realm skill is, the lower the chance of improvement. Your Mage has earned enough points in Fire at level 8 from the Light Buff and no longer needs Buff training. It's time to train the next character in Fire through the Light buff. The way I always do this is that I change the responsibilities of my spellcasters in terms of buffs in order to improve them in each realm skill. Only 2 characters may not cast spells at the same time with the same buff.

[Horpner Sneed]

Thanks for the tips on Blinding Flash. 11 is a lot of points, but it's a very useful spell and Fire is a decent realm for Alchemy. I'll have to try that out. The games where I casually took Blinding Flash were disappointments because I was too chicken to cast it. But probably at PL1 it would be mostly survivable.

I can't justify spending Energy Blast mana on Light to myself. One PL8 Light spell is usually enough for one Fire skill, but it's also enough for four PL1 Energy Blasts, or two at PL2. I wonder how the math works out on which gains more skill, assuming you don't need the Energy Blast damage?

One of my spell-casting goals in the early game is to expend every scrap of mana before resting, though of course after a certain point this is no longer possible or reasonable.

Trading off who gets to skill up from Light is a nice idea. I that sort of thing when there are multiple Alchemy casters. The low-skill hybrids mix the Heavy Heal and pass them on to the Bishop, for more.

[mpnorman10]

As an argument goes, this is a funny one because we all seem to be on the same side of it, at least more than not.

For most race choices players like for this character maxing the Intelligence attribute and opening Power Cast seems to take about 10 levels. Maxing Strength and opening Power Strike happens two levels faster for the Dracon versus the Hobbit. My personal preference for the Dracon for this character is no more complicated than that.

Many of the players posting here have at least questioned my recommended builds that include maxing the Senses attribute and opening Eagle Eye. But there are players of this game that focus on range skills so showing a new player the potential power of that (and the costs) along with the power of melee and spells, is a laudable goal, IMO. When fighting at range, every bit of accuracy one can get is well utilized and still wanting more. For the Alchemist intended to use the Staff of Doom, which is a cursed weapon, only the accuracy related to melee matters, but for melee, once the character hits and penetrates almost every time, further increases in accuracy give little or no return.

I am not opposed to using Acid Breath even though it has the disadvantage that no skill increases come from its use (only for giving a non-Dracon the ability). Because of that disadvantage, however, it tends to be only in the case of emergency that it gets used by my parties, like maybe twice in the last ten runs.

The differing ideas about who gets the Light spell are interesting, but I have to say I am mostly aligned with HS on this one. In my experience the Mage's Fire realm is a raging Stallion threatening to run away from everyone. Even when I intentionally prioritize the use of Frost (taking it and Energy Blast at creation), the Fire realm takes off like a rocket. It is important to spread the casts out among the realms so that all thrive. The major limitation in the long run is that the increase in spell points due to increasing skill slow down as that skill approaches 100. Increases in spell points due to level continue.

In general for all specialist casters my experience for spell points even when minimizing Piety as much as possible is that there are more than enough at every stage. If the Fire realm runs out while there is still a lot of points in other attack realms then the Fire realm is being used too much. When not used too much the spell points rarely run out. Magic Nectar potions, without ever buying a single one, are more than sufficient for rare battles requiring more. Mana Stones are overkill except they give the useful ability for character A to give more mana back for character B.

Given those usage methodologies (or "styles" as you, HOK, called it) there are, IMO, already more than enough Fire realm spell points for the Mage and a more than satisfactory growth rate without ever casting the Light buff.

The Alchemist casting that buff does two things: 1) it really helps the casting of Fire Bomb when first obtained and, 2) It eliminates any need (IMO) for the Alchemist to boost the Fire realm at level-up.

When there is no Alchemist in the party and a Ranger instead (mainly for the Scouting that character provides), then giving the Light spell and Light buff responsibility to the Priest makes sense (to me). The Ranger cannot benefit from or even read the Light spellbook until Level 5. Actually, then, Light is not the first spell my Ranger takes. That, instead is Heal and at Level 6 Light. Why those spells? The reason is that they are used between battles, not during. Doing so not only achieves skill increases in both the Fire and Divine realms but, perhaps more importantly, give (with regular use) lots of increases in the Alchemy school skill. With the Ranger taking over the Light buff at Level 6 (just until Level 8) the Priest can handle it before and after that giving excellent Fire realm skill in all of the Priest, Ranger and Mage (if all three happen to be in the party).

All of those choices for the Alchemist, IMO, change drastically if the Alchemist is intended to be fast enough in terms of initiative. even before any Bard's Rousing Drums take effect, to always act first (when no surprise) before enemy spells or other attacks can disable characters in the party. Since this involves the Speed and Senses attributes and the Snake Speed expert skill, race choices like Felpurr can make sense, and there are generally few or no attribute points for Strength and Dexterity is lower in priority the attributes, Speed and Senses that increase initiative. For my parties, the melee Alchemist with the Staff of Doom is great if some other character in the party is responsible to get that Element Shield in place before enemies can act (like the Mage).

Following a recommendation from CC (Ceterum Censeo) giving an Alchemist a shield temporarily when putting him or her into the wide from line works temporarily until a decent staff comes along, like the Ebon staff or the Staff of Doom itself. Equipping the Alchemist in the wide front line with a round shield of some type and a Shillelah or better single-handed Staff seems to work out well, for whenever the character is not casting. That will result in some skill increases to the Staff and Wand and/or Close Combat.

So if the Fire realm is handled well for the Alchemist by use of the Light buff when other buffs are cast, and 6 skill points at level up go into either Throwing and Sling skill and ranged combat or melee weapon skill and close combat depending upon whether the character is to become a fast Element Shield caster or not, that still leaves 3 level-up skill points, when not needed for the Alchemy school skill, for placement in the realms.

The two candidates for placement of those bonus skill points are, IMO, the Air and Water realms. While Fire Bomb greatly benefits from a boost in the Fire realm skill, Noxious Fumes greatly benefits from boosts in the Air realm skill. If those Air realm skill points are low and the Noxious Fumes spell can only be cast at Power Level 1, it is frankly not very attractive to do so, too inefficient. The Acid Splash spell is similar in the sense that at Power Level 1 it is weak but at perhaps Power Level 3 it becomes useful. I sill have not worked out the best strategy between the three (Air realm, Water realm and Alchemy school) but somewhere in there is where I am currently focusing.

It is tempting to take more than 3 points for the realm skills, but the SOD, IMO, deserves the respect of six bonus level-up skill points for every level and provides an awesome return if that is done. In my parties the magic skills will probably become excellent in every realm (for the Alchemist) even without putting more than 3 level-up skill points maximum into the realms.

It is my experience that any realms that have a buff responsibility do not need further boosts from level up skills while that is the case. The Fire realm is discussed above but it is also true for the Earth realm if the Chameleon spell is obtained and used. Do not (IMO) worry about the skill points any buff takes because the increases from that buff, very quickly, more than compensate due to added spell points because of the skill increases it causes.

The Heal Wounds spell takes care of the Divine Realm and the Draining Cloud eventually is a great spell, however the main reason to give the Psionic (if any) and Alchemist Heal Wounds is for the early increases to the school skill that casting that spell (at Power Level 1, always) provides just after battles.

[Zergs]

Is there any good 1-handed weapon for an Alchemist?

[Horpner Sneed]

The only decent one-handed staff you're guaranteed to find is the Thunder Stick and its in a retro-dungeon and does a pedestrian 4-10 damage with +4 Initiative. You simply can't count on finding the Rod of Sprites (which would negate the shield anyway), Coil of the Serpent, or Stave of 12 Stars. I have found the Coil in a few games, but I've never used it.

[mpnorman10]

There is no good 1-handed staff (in addition to the above, Fuzzfas also usually has something), but to be fair there is no good 2-handed staff for a while, either. The Alchemist is one character for which the weapon type restrictions really do matter, at least for a while.

Just looked it up... Fuzzfas has the Wand of Static, 1-8 damage, +5 Init, +1 to hit. I would not assess that as being "good", however.

[Horpner Sneed]

The Wand of Static is an OK off-hand for a Faerie Ninja hoping for a Rod of Sprites, but otherwise no way! Personally I think the Cane of Corpus is so good it's a shame to pollute its effectiveness with a lousy off-hand.

[Zolaerla]

Personally, I like using the Winterwand on a Faerie Ninja before getting a Rod of Sprites, since it's set in Mt Wilderness and has Paralyze 15%.

Anyways, I am doing an all-magic team (no melee/ranged allowed unless I run out of SP), and I am also quite surprised at how darned good the Alchemist is. I did use them to experiment with levelling off of Light, and just by only Save/Load grinding it when I needed to rest (Cast light, save, reload, repeat), Fire Magic was 67 by the time I could learn Fire Bomb, and that just destroys things now.

[dwarner]

Alchemist starts with pts in T&S. Put pts in and use it once fights are under control and you’ve got spike damage in a can from Bombs.

Itching and Heal* are perfect to train for Crush and Draining Cloud and if you’re trying to get to RFS-81 early Acid Splash can be grabbed along the way in the Swamp. Was satisfying to pick up Energy Blast and Frost (for Sam) and Acid Splash for Alch by lvl 7 without having to spend any picks. Was excited to find empty bottles both to make Cherry Bombs and Noisemakers for Gadge.

Psi makes perfect fast Soul Shield caster since it already wants SEN for Psionics. Elemental is fast enough if keeping Camo and Detect Secrets up and Search off letting you initiate combat yourself surprising foes.

* - Priest had Make Wounds and Psi Mind Stab with Gadge Lightning Rod and Bard Amulet of Static that was enough single-target damage spells. Somebody’s gotta Heal. Psi was other Healer to train for Soul Shield.