Updated for Mists of Pandaria beta

The Alchemist mixes herbs, gathered by Herbalism, and reagents in order to generate elixirs, potions, oils, flasks and cauldrons with a variety of effects. A player can create healing, invisibility, elemental resistance and mana potions; oils to coat weapons; and much more.

Contents

1. Intro
2. Leveling Alchemy, step by step
3. Alchemical specializations
4. Research and Discovery

Many Alchemical potions and flasks are considered a necessity when raiding and are also useful for a number of other occasions. Due to this, Alchemical products are constantly in demand on the Auction House and in guilds.

Alchemy is useful to all character classes. Melee fighters can use alchemy to create buff and healing potions. Spell casting classes can use alchemy to create mana potions and related buffs. You can create potions for yourself, sell them to others, or give them to your party members and friends. Alchemists are well loved when they hand out potions.

Alchemy also grants the ability to transmute items, such as turning lesser jewels into a rare jewel, another skill in constant demand.

Profession Perk: Mixology – this increases the effect and duration that you get from your own potions. It works out to +80 of your best stat at level 85 for potions similar to Flask of the Winds.

In addition to the profession perk of Mixology, Alchemist’s are able to craft a unique alchemical trinket for themselves.

• Lifebound Alchemist Stone
• Quicksilver Alchemist Stone
• Vibrant Alchemist Stone
• Volatile Alchemist Stone

Selling potions, elixirs and flasks that you create, as well as transmuted Jewelcrafting gems (or using them yourself if you have a Jewelcrafter) can provide you returns on your investment, making the costs of leveling the profession easier to bear.

A good profession to level alongside with Alchemy is Herbalism. Finding your own Herbs allows you to avoid paying a good deal of the sometimes exorbitant prices on herbs at the auction house.

Mists of Pandaria will bring in more potions and transmutes. See here for a beta list.

• Level cap will be 600, train up at 500. The new title is “Zen Master Alchemist.”
• Some of the recipes will award two skill points, the rest just one.
• See below for a possible leveling path in Mists.

Congratulations on your 600 Alchemy skill!

Level your crafting the easy way. This guide in an in-game guide to leveling all of your professions (and to getting all of those achievements.) Everything you need to do and get and everywhere you need to go, it’s all covered, get yours here.

Alchemical Specializations

Mixology isn’t a specialization, it’s a profession perk, and you get it from day 1.

The specializations are initially obtained by completing a quest that any Alchemy trainer can give you. Once the quest is complete then you have a bonus proficiency in the specialized area, which will result in creating a few extra potions/flasks/etc.  You can change specialization later by dropping your specialization in the Professions tab of your spellbook and accepting the quest for a new specialization. You will have to buy/create a few new potions when you do that.

• Flasks buff a stat or resistance for a period of time. Attack power, Resilience, Str, In, Spirit, etc. are all buffed by flasks. Flask effects generally persist through death, making them more useful (and cheaper) in PvP than Elixirs. Example
• Elixirs generally increase a secondary stat for a long time, but the effects do not last through death. Example
• Potions provide a large quick burst of something, such as healing, mana, Int, Str, etc. Generally you can use these only once per fight, though it’s possible to use, say, and Int buffing potion right before the fight starts, then another later on. Example
• Transmutations change a lesser something into a more rare something. Such as Elementium ore into Pyrite ore. Or lesser gems into superior gems. Click here for available Transmutations.

The specializations that you can learn are:

• Elixir Master
• Potion Master
• Transmutation Master

Research and Discovery

Northrend Alchemy Research allows you to discover new recipes, with a three day cooldown.

From WoWwiki: You have a small chance to discover a recipe from a specific list of discoverable recipes every time that you perform a transmutation or that you make a potion, elixir, or flask that was introduced in the Burning Crusade or Wrath of the Lich King. The discovered recipe is learned automatically. Non-factors include physical location, level, and skill level.

Cauldon recipes seem to have the highest chance of being discovered, and the discovered recipe will be in line with the recipes being created. IE: Creating Shadow potions might result in a Shadow cauldron recipe.

No special skill or character level, location, or recipe color (orange, etc.) is required for a discovery. There is a tiny chance that it will happen and that’s about it. Transmuting Titanium or using one of the epic gem transformations seems to have a higher chance of discovering a new transmutation recipe.

Good luck!

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