How unpopular is speed eating?

[Noel]

I just tried SnS wide range today and noticed how slow everyone else's potion healing speed is in almost every SoS quest, is this skill outclassed by mushroomancer? (some of them instantly heals themselves either by max potion or mandragora)

[Anoyun?]

that depends. i use speed eating on most of my build.

[Mythily]

I never use it cuz max potions exist.
Mushroomancer? I think that skill sucks even more. You need 3 pts while max potions and ingredients to craft more need 0. Maybe it's good for a wide range build? Never tried that myself.

[Jereweeb]

Let's first establish that both Mushroomancer and Speed Eating are paired with the exact same armor skills in +4 decos: Constitution, Evade Window, Attack Boost, Critical Eye, Free Elem/Ammo Up, and Handicraft. Both also only needs 3 levels to maximize, so building cost is relatively the same.

...except it isn't. The only purpose for you to take mushroomancer is most likely the mandragora max potion effect, maybe devil's blight dash juice effect too. The other effects such as immunizer, demondrug and armorskin are also nice, but they're not very different to their real counterparts, the main point is still mandragora max potion mid-combat.

So what's the benefit of mushroomancer? Being cheap, I guess. It really is cheap to just eat a mandragora per heal. You won't win in speed, because speed eating 3 will make eating max potions way faster than mandragoras, and even mega potions are just as fast.

Now why did I say the building cost isn't the same? That's because IMO, speed eating 3 is overkill. 2 is more than enough, as it makes even mega potions ever so slightly behind max potions drinking speed. With mushroomancer 3, you're being cheap. With speed eating 2, you make mega potions as quick as max potions, cut time for hot/cold drinks. rations, nulberries, and mega demondrug/armorskins, and even make max/ancient potions even quicker than before. In terms of max carry, ancient potion's crafting mats are pretty generous, with Immunizer (10) + Kelbi Horns (99), or if you're an oil baron, Nourishing Extract (20) + Kelbi Horns (99). So you virtually have 11-21 Ancient Potions at any time, which is overkill.

Tl;dr, speed eating isn't weak at all, imo. Speed eating 2 is enough for everything, and is a general big survival and QoL improvement, while Mushroomancer is just a cheap option that also needs 1 more deco slot.

I always go with speed eating 2 in all my builds before, prioritizing it above atk boost even. The only reason I don't use it anymore is because I'm confident in never needing to heal often and rely my survival on dodging and health augment. If you think you need to drink healing, go with speed eating.

[Noel]

Originally posted by Mythily:

I never use it cuz max potions exist.
Mushroomancer? I think that skill sucks even more. You need 3 pts while max potions and ingredients to craft more need 0. Maybe it's good for a wide range build? Never tried that myself.

mushroomancer sucks even more with wide range lol, I tested and its mandragora doesn't work on teammate.

[Jereweeb]

Also sidenote for Wide Range, Mandragora + wide range will not proc the max potion healing for your party, only for yourself. Max Potions and Ancient Potions will also not work with wide range. It's a fun idea to be a cheap support that buffs your team with immunizer/demondrug/armorskin/dash juice and cheap heals with mushroomancer, but in terms of true optimization, it's still behind speed eating.

Now, speed eating a mega potion will make your own healing very quick, but afaik (CMIIW) this sped up consumption speed will not affect your teammates with wide range, meaning if you insta-drink a mega potion with speed eating, your friends will heal normally as if they're drinking a mega potion without speed eating. This makes the argument where eating blue mushrooms a bit more viable in extreme emergency situations, as blue mushrooms are instantaneous 35hp heals, equivalent to a normal potion, but without the delayed effect for teammates.

I don't think it matters much though, wide-range + speed eating is a bit better imo because you can use it offensively by eating might seeds / might pill at the right opportune moments. A might pill right before the entire team slam dunks a stunned monster can be gigantic.

[AlphaLeaf]

For me personally, I don't use Speed Eating because I don't have the room to slot it in.

But if I did have the space for it, that highly depends. Skills like Stun Resistance and Health Boost are there in case you need it, but depending how you play, you may not need it. If I need to heal, I make sure I can get myself into a safe position to drink - this might just be muscle memory from the old games, healing involved temporary rigor mortis.

I do make use of Evade Window and I have a Jewel 4 that provides it and Speed Eating, so if I did ever slot it in because I had the chance, I could. Not that it's a bad skill to have, far from it, but it's also something that can be worked around.

[FuyuNoSora]

I use Wide Range + Speed Eating 3 and Mushroomancer 3 with blue Mushrooms to easily heal everyone. I also give everyone Immunizer for faster healing and D. Blight mushrooms so they don't lose stamina. A might pill when the monster is immobilized works wonders in terms of damage. This approach can turn the tables in a team where people are constantly fainting.

As of unpopular: it is very unpopular, I myself rarely used it, because I thought it is a useless skill and not much is explained in MH games.

[Anoyun?]

i just use speed eating coz its a common drop and skill a quick heal to get back to action.

[Feto]

The only time I use Speed Eating is when i'm using Wide-Range (and I've used it like... 5 times?). I don't see much use for it considering how fast you eat Max Potions, Berries, Dusts and whatever you may need to use during a fight.

[Bobucles]

Jereweeb pretty much nailed it. Mushroomancer is for hobo maxing, and every hunter had a small inventory at some point. Do try to upgrade the ancient tree asap, so you can start stockpiling items from missions. The combination of level 4 tree and steamworks will give anyone more than enough items forever.

Speed eater is a goldilocks perk. Level 1 is roughly as good as nothing at all, level 3 is so insanely fast that you'll never need it (it's still excellent for wide range heroes), level 2 hits a sweet spot of saving your life in nearly every situation for 2 points.

mushroomancer sucks even more with wide range lol, I tested and its mandragora doesn't work on teammate.

Yes. Mandragoras are the same as max potions, which do not benefit from wide range. Wide range works for most other items below that tier.

[Frog Spy]

Speed Eating, Free meal Secret and other perks like it are so much fun and add a lot of safety while going through master rank and getting into guiding lands. afterwards Speed eating can honestly be nice to have just through Jewels if your willing to lose a little bit of damage. to answer the question. even while solo i Run speed eating when i can as ive simply goten used to the timings. only run mushroommancer wide range and such in multiplayer hunts i think speed eating is still better tho.

[ᔑᓭ∴ᔑリ⊣]

i love speed eating, it's my favourite QoL skill in the whole game. dont need a max pot when you can gulp down 1 or 2 mega pots in the same speed. i can't handle not having this skill with me at all times lol. just lvl1 feels like such a big difference if you prefer normal pots over max and ancient ones.
and it is useful in multiplayer with wide range too, because you can just drink it and forget, and you're already back to hitting the monster while your mates are still healing just enough that they aren't in danger anymore. i literally removed health boost in lieu of speed eating on some of my builds, that's how addicted i am to it