Potionmaking

Potion Making requires the use of a "Still" (Tool), and a "Consumable Potion Recipe" for the appropriate type of potion being made and all components that the Consumable Recipe calls for. The Consumable Potion Recipe may be made with a master Recipe (aquired by disasembling a potion) and the writing tool (quill Pen), and the materials listed in the Master Recipe.

The only town in which a Still may be purchased from a store is Reydor, so entrepreneurial would-be low-and-mid-level potion-makers will either need to enlist the aid of a much higher-level character -- to buy and retrieve the tool for them -- or else purchase one from the auction house. For this reason, the Still commands a fairly high markup on the AH from its store price of 3,000 gp.

Requirements for Quaffing a Potion[]

Beyond a certain level, quaffing a potion requires a minimum skill level in potion-making, beginning with Tier-4 potions. Thus, anyone can quaff a potion of Tier 1-3, and thus, these tiers have the broadest customer base (and the mildest benefits, of course).

Potion-Making Skill[]

In addition to the Still and the needed reagents, crafting a potion also requires a minimum level of potion-making skill. That skill level varies, depending on the type and tier of potion to be crafted, but is (roughly) a little higher than four times the Potion Tier.

Aspiring potion-makers, or any craftsman, might well make use of a clan’s rune vault to effectively boost their crafting skill level while leveling up their own skill level. This can aid in the related skills of dyeing and cloth-making too.

“Up-Tiering” Potions and their Cost[]

As with most game items, potions may be up-tiered (“or up-chanted”) at a 1:2 ratio, using the enchanting rod.

Initially, only Tier-1 potions were available (in the various stores). Higher level potions are presumed to be the result of up-Tiering the Tier-1 potions. Later versions are being made from master recipes, obtained by dismantling the up-tiered potions.

The basic cost of higher tier potions tends to roughly follow the 2:1 ratio for their Tier-1 ancestors, albeit slightly lower, since the reagent cost to make the higher tier potions directly is somewhat lower that up-chanting to the desired Tier from Tier-1

Ingredients[]

As noted above, producing a potion requires a consumable recipe (CR), but also requires, generally, a distribution of:

- resins (purchased from a store), of Tier-1 and Tier-N

- dyes, of Tier-1 and Tier-N and

- bones of Tier-1 and Tier-M.

Where N, M = some higher level Tiers, depending on the type and Tier of the potion.

M (the highest needed bone Tier) is generally less than N (the highest needed dye Tier)

For the lowest level potions (Tier-1 and some Tier 2’s) no Tier N or M reagents are needed. (It is not even that N=1 – which would imply needing additional tier-1 dyes).

Ultimately the ingredients for each potion look like this:

The final potion = The CR list + the CR

The CR = 1 dye + 1 cloth (each of Tier N)

The cloth = 2 Thread + 1 dye (each of Tier N).

Each Thread = 2 silks of Tier N

Note that higher level items always require Tier-1 dyes and bones, creating increased demand for those resources.

Some examples[]

STR-2: CR, Dyes: 1 T-1; Bones: 1 T-1; Resins: 4 Stone Ice, 6 Waste (N=1)

AC-2: CR, Dyes: 1 T-1, 1 T-2 ; Bones: 1 T-1; Resins: 4 Stone Ice, 6 Waste (N=2)

Venom-2: Dyes: 2 T-1, 1 T-2, Bones: 1 T-1, Resins: 5 Tethered Ice, 1 Waste (N=2)

AC-3: CR, Dyes: 3 T-1, 1 T-2, Bones: 3 T-1, 1-T-2; Resins: 5 Tethered Ice, 1 Waste (N=3)

Venom 5: CR, Dyes: 4 T-1, 1 T-7, Bones: 4 T-1, 1-T-5; Resins: 20 Tethered Ice, 1 Waste (N=7)

As noted, crafting the needed CR requires 4 silks and 2 dyes of Tier N.

A Practitioner’s Notes[]

Potion-making tends to be a bit of a 'quantity' business, since the absolute profit on potions is modest, but the profit margin is reasonable. It is, however, a very time consuming practice, and one that is to be avoided by players who are not willing to spend a large amount of time managing their inventory of reagents. In this area it is likely similar to crafting other items, except that potions must be produced in some quantity to realize a meaningful profit.

It is helpful, and increasingly profitable, to acquire as many of the needed reagents by foraging, dye-pressing, thread-making, etc. Thus, while it is possible to become a potion-maker by simply buying a still and all of the ingredients from the auction house (and leveling up one’s potion-making skill), entering the art and business of potions is a fairly natural follow-up to those who have spent time developing their practice of webs, cloths, and / or dyes – or perhaps hunting.

Different game areas provide the opportunity to gather different resources, and only certain areas support foraging or hunting. It is, therefore, also fairly natural to develop basic or mid-level skills in any undeveloped resource areas required by the potions. So a forager/dyer is likely to take up some cloth-making or hunting, etc. In this manner, the artisan reduces their costs of reagents, as well as improving their ability to obtain needed resources in more areas.

The quantity and depth of reagents needed as the level of potions increase, along with the level-20 soft-cap on resource / crafting skills, means that the ‘generalist’ will, in any case, still find themselves needing to purchase ingredients in the auction house in order to both produce their product in any quantity, and also to balance their stock of reagents. It also leads to a fair bit of interaction with players out of your clan or game area, as one try to negotiate with resrouce sellers. That said, the reagents needed for Tier 5 potions are all within the reach of skill-20 practitioners in the associated skills.

As with other end product crafting, the breadth of reagents needed puts a severe drain on one’s storage. Be prepared to spend considerable effort leveling storage, and, even then careful choices for storage-slot management will be needed.