ToME: the Tales of Maj'Eyal

So... the alchemist infusion sustains - which look at first like a nifty way to get a bit of an effect on your bombs in exchange for dropping a bit of damage - also hose down your fire damage from other sources. Among other things, this means that fire as a damage type on your staff is significantly worse than any other damage type that staff could have. If you're sustaining a 1 skill point infusion, you're doing less than 1/6th the damage with it. This may or may not be intentional, but it seems like it is wrong. Perhaps it was originally intended to transform 15-90% of the fire damage into acid damage (or whatever other type) and leave the rest there? That seems like it might have made rather more sense.

The infusions feel like an incomplete thought. They don't really work with anything other than regular bombs. The fire alchemy tree is only made worse, even at 5/5 with any infusion.

The alchemist bomb loses quite some damage too because it stops causing burning. More damage for less skillpoints, thats why I used the fire infusion with my last alchemist.
Letting the infusions reach 100% damage converted would still be a damage disadvantage while granting different afflictions / lower enemy resistances to make up for it.

The first time i saw that skill i thought that it converts a part of the damage in another type, but in fact it substitute all the damage, wich is terrible, who in the world will exchange 100% fire damage with 10% acid? is a pointless skill before the 5/5 state, i really don't like it.

Dekar wrote:The alchemist bomb loses quite some damage too because it stops causing burning. More damage for less skillpoints, thats why I used the fire infusion with my last alchemist.

With the bomb, don't underestimate how powerful status effects are. The blindness caused by an acid bomb is a very big deal.

Now, the way infusions work with everything that isn't your bomb sucks and should probably be fixed.

Dekar wrote:The alchemist bomb loses quite some damage too because it stops causing burning. More damage for less skillpoints, thats why I used the fire infusion with my last alchemist.

You do realize that the burning damage + the bomb damage actually adds up to the damage listed for the bomb?

Fireburn damage is half now, half over x seconds, which is why your instant damage output actually drastically increases when you use any of the other infusions. The only reason using an infusion does less damage is because fire infusion adds a larger % per skill point than the other infusions.

Sometimes I wish damage types would have coherent effects from all sources.

But even then it still has higher damage than the other infusions then. And the afterburn only lasts as long as the cooldown is, so it doesnt really matter.

I looked at the source to check how effective the other infusions are, as I remember them not working very well from earlier versions: They all only have a 25% chance to get a try to apply their effect. I personally think thats not worth it, as you have a golem taking the blows for you anyway.
Thats my experience from a roguelike Alchemist winner with the improved golem anyway.

Infusions need a complete revamp imo.
They probably should be more centered on the effects they cause than the damage type change.

Blinding is increadibly useful against casters/drakes/archers (sadly not undead). And the frontloaded damage might kill stuff that might otherwise live one or two turns longer. Totally worth it, makes Melinda's crypt a walkover.