I was thinking the other day about all those blinding, paralyzing, etc. potions that no longer have recipes post 1.19, due to no new items requiring them. Thing is, I always weapons that have a chance to deal status effects were kinda cool. However, on the flipside, it sucks that in order to get that status, you have to use that one specific weapon only available at that one specific level.

So, what if the potions were altered to be usable items. However, instead of inflicting the status ailment on yourself, like the equivalent potions did in XI, they grant a "poisoned weapon" status that enables strikes with your weapon to inflict status ailments.

In addition, I'd love to see potions and ethers modified (or maybe just new types added if people balk too much at this idea). As it is, both are kind of a "oh shit" button, something you're not going to rely on to keep yourself alive. Outside of that, they're not commonly used from what I've seen. What if these potions were modified to give regen and refresh effects instead, both of which stack with regen and refresh from other sources (Potions that give buffs would stay the same, and stack with mage spells if they don't already)? Such an effect is more likely to entice people to use them before they get in trouble, or to prevent them from getting in trouble in the first place, meaning they're more likely to be used in the first place. In addition, this doesn't invalidate mages, but instead works with them: You can't survive on potions alone that way, and having both a mage and a potion is better than neither.

Lastly, all such medicines and poisons should be cheap to make. If the person has to pay a king's ransom for the luxury of curing himself without using MP, nobody's going to do it. It needs to be balanced.

With these changes, I can see alchemy being a vital part of the economy, where every craft plays a role in your average adventurer's levelling, with the armor and weapons a given, food of all sorts to enhance stats (They've already made a small step towards making food as useful as it was in XI by letting it adjust your stats in the attribute menu and making stats more useful, and I've heard of more adjustments to food down the line), and potions, poisons, and medicines to keep everyone healthy and in fighting form.

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So, there it is. Just a random thought I had concerning alchemy in the game. Feel free to leave any constructive criticism, correct me if I'm wrong (hey, for all I know there's already large groups loading their inventory with potions), and offer any suggestions of your own.