Updated Alchemist Guide: the beginner friendly class

[Chronosplit]

Another thing worth mentioning is that provided you unlocked it, Tinkers does really well with an Alchemist. You can use Gem Portal on the wall to avoid the enemies and grab it at Level 10 provided you have the money (but your Golem my rush out to hit them anyway). You have the Generics to spare, and stuff like the Mana Coil and rightly named Alchemist's Helper may provide a good benefit to certain builds with the right Cat point juggling. The only disadvantage to this is that you won't be extracting gems as often, but gems+tinkers can still rack up bonuses pretty nicely.

These trees are also big deals for Skeletons, as salves provide healing among other things. Healing Salves aren't as good as infusions in some way, but they're better than nothing when Re-Assemble is on cooldown and come from common materials. There's also the allmighty Unstoppable Force Salve.

[GlassGo]

You can use Gem Portal on the wall to avoid the enemies and grab it at Level 10 provided you have the money (but your Golem my rush out to hit them anyway).

Ah, that was QUITE good point, thanks!
Yeah, Tinker tree rocks, Alchemist + that tree is super good, can recommend to all.

[GlassGo]

Since it's the only active Alchmist thread, I'm going to ask it here.
I came to ask, if there is a creative way to use your golem?

What about https://te4.org/wiki/Arcane_amplificati ... t_(talent) - how it useful for Alchemist?
160% damage sound useful, but as arcane? How common this resistance?
Also, Alchemist doesn't have that mach spells to throw in these 3 turns.
Wht do you say?

My current Alchemist run using Tinker tree, but when I tried to teach my golem Shoot talent, I couldn't.

And an useless one in a thread called "Updated Alchemist Guide: the beginner friendly class"

Hi! Can you clarify if you will give more love to good old golem and for example we will have the way(s) to teach golem Shoot talent?
You know - "make the golems great again" and all that?
Maybe Blighted Summoning can add Shoot talent to golem?
I definitely can see my golem with a trusty Shotgonne, randomly using Explosive Shell sometimes...

[Aeolius]

What about https://te4.org/wiki/Arcane_amplificati ... t_(talent) - how it useful for Alchemist?

I was wondering about this, too. Namely: If the drone is "friendly," does Alchemist Protection interfere with its use?

Edit: This very recent thread seems to suggest it does, but I've also found at least one winner alchemist with AAD. (Maybe for exclusive use with Shockwave Bomb? But then why is it only 2/5...? Then again, there's a lot of add-ons on that one.)

[Aeolius]

Just checking in with a bump to say I hit 30 as an alchemist and got AAD.

Now, the thread I linked above notes: "On the other side of the spectrum you have Alchemist, for whom 90% of talents don’t work with AAD (and Alch could really have used that damage boost)." This is incorrect. In fact, it may be that 100% of Alchemist talents do not work with AAD.

Shockwave bomb I guess no longer has that note about not being subject to the Alchemist Protection talent, so it does exactly nothing. Normal bombs, nothing. Firestorm specifically doesn't harm friendlies. Item-based spells... well, they damage the AAD slightly, but I see no ripple of arcane damage on anything in the area. In other words, AAD is completely nonfunctional to an alchemist.

Basically I just spent a prodigy point on a million-HP box i can toss into a hallway to block it for three turns. Very disappointing.

[Cathbald]

Dissolving acid works with it, but dissolving acid is great for the sustain/buff removal so using it on AAD is bad

[Chronosplit]

Would your Golem's Eye Beams be able to pop an AAD? What about the Drolem's breath?

[Cathbald]

I would think no since they're not from you but from the golem.
and it wouldn't be worth it anyway, damage is too low

[PaintItBeige]

Suppose a unique way to use the golem is as storage. The alchemist has no encumbrance issues but the golem gets stuck in place. A terrible idea if you invest into it but that causes it to wait at the entrance without having to tell it anything. Golem portal can be a very dependable means to teleport to the stairs, and invoke allows moving it to other convenient places. Use it as a road block or keep it safe for life taps.

[Chronosplit]

I just had a thought. Has anyone tried putting only 4 points in Alchemist Protection, grabbing Harmony, and self-inflicting fire damage with your bombs? It sounds like it'd hurt, but it just might be crazy enough to work for the global speed buff?

[Cathbald]

1. Don't
2. why would you harm yourself for more global when your 1 "spammy" attack has 4 cd

[Chronosplit]

1. Don't
2. why would you harm yourself for more global when your 1 "spammy" attack has 4 cd

Good point there. Spell CD reduction/Timeless wouldn't facilitate backing that up either. If you wanted to do something like crit yourself for Eye of the Tiger or waste a Drem's Frenzy on it, both are better served elsewhere (outside of the former putting you in a really bad situation if not dead, obviously).

[Mckertis]

I just noticed golem resilience might have been nerfed on this latest update (1.5.1). It gives stat decreases at talent level one now. Not a big change but it's a bit annoying.

I dont quite remember how it was, and i havent tested every combination, but what you can do RIGHT NOW, is go create a doomelf alchemist, and at the first level it gives +6 to golem armor. Not only that, but this character would have three rune slots for the golem, as the Runic Golem talent suggests.
BUT, you can also go create, say, a drem alchemist, which at the first level will have a negative golem armor from Resilience talent, AND only two rune slots. There are probably other differences as well, not so obvious ones. Basically some races are gimped with certain talents. I wonder if it is only this way for the alchemist, or other classes have the same...issues.

[GlassGo]

I just noticed golem resilience might have been nerfed on this latest update (1.5.1). It gives stat decreases at talent level one now. Not a big change but it's a bit annoying.

I dont quite remember how it was, and i havent tested every combination, but what you can do RIGHT NOW, is go create a doomelf alchemist, and at the first level it gives +6 to golem armor. Not only that, but this character would have three rune slots for the golem, as the Runic Golem talent suggests.
BUT, you can also go create, say, a drem alchemist, which at the first level will have a negative golem armor from Resilience talent, AND only two rune slots. There are probably other differences as well, not so obvious ones. Basically some races are gimped with certain talents. I wonder if it is only this way for the alchemist, or other classes have the same...issues.

Wait what? Depending on race you get 3d rune slot for golem for free?

[Sines]

Trying to decide on a Prodigy for myself. I'm playing what I suspect is an atypical Shalore Alchemist. This is my first game (Normal / Adventurer), and while I went in with some information, there's a lot of winging it going on.

Build uses Heavy Armor and lots of points into Constitution, with 2 Escort ranks of Chant of Fortress and Ice Form. All this personal toughness lets me stay in Fire Storm range. And so Fire Infusion is pumped up to 5, with Ice Infusion as a backup against fire resistant things. I already qualify for Magic and Constitution prodigies, and with my gear and stats, I could reasonably afford Strength or Willpower ones as well. Unfortunately, my first pick was one that I assume got added with the Tinker expansion, the one that boosts all your stats by half your strength on a crit.

I've heard Temporal Form is good... but the reasons why are for penetrating defenses. I have Ice Infusion as backup, and long term I plan to increase that as well. And there's always turning off the infusions to hit physical. And I really don't have room on my bar for Anomolies...

Cauterize was suggested to me by my more experienced friend, but I suspect all of that hiding behind a golem has stopped me getting the requisite fire damage. The two that do stand out, are Irresistable Sun (Pull people into fire storm, generate another AoE, and reduce their damage) and Meteoric Crash, which adds more damage, some stuns, and gives an all-round boost to my fire damage, by letting it scale off my highest form of damage bonus... which admittedly I now realize, would work better if I had 5 points in Cold Infusion instead (I have 4 locked into Fire Infusion, so it wouldn't be a TOTAL loss...), and share the highest resistance penetration.

There's also Corrupted Shell, but I don't know about the quest requirement for that, and who knows if I've taken that much Blight damage.