Difficulty of ALC potions

[Mindy_Macready]

The yield of potion crafts has been discussed before by the GMs on the forums, but what about addressing the difficulty of each craft?

The reason x-pots worked so well in 2.x (and a large reason why they're still in use today) is because a sufficiently-geared ALC could macro 2-star items in 2.2, which is when x-pots were introduced.

This was at the same time 3-star crafts were introduced, so theoretically x-pots could've had the same problem we see with max-pots today, where they, for some reason, need to be as difficult to craft as 220 gear, even though you go many 15-second potions in a session of raiding.

This really needs to be addressed, especially since the specialist system was added, which makes max-potion-making ALCs even rarer than they currently are.

It really needs to be that a sufficiently-geared ALC can churn them out with a macro again, or otherwise people won't bother.

[FoxyAreku]

I feel they'd be worth it if they yielded 5 a craft, but yeah, this is terrible. I actually got rid of my alchemist specialty because of it. I just don't have the time to spend all day making potions.

[Sollux]

It really needs to be that a sufficiently-geared ALC can churn them out with a macro again, or otherwise people won't bother.

People can and will still Craft HQ Max Potions. The inherent difficulty/timesink that they are at the moment is reflected in their current price (and they DO sell), making the effort vs reward more appealing for a merchant. For a raider Crafting for their static it's still a pain, but given sufficient gear + stats it IS possible to macro 3-Star Crafts with a decent success rate even going from 0-100% (I macro 3-Star mats/gear because lazy) and an average of 80% or more if starting with a single HQ mat.

I agree that yields should be increased, but as you said this has already been addressed.

[Mindy_Macready]

Tell that to my server. Not a lot of action on the Max-potions of <main stat> history. Not a lot of purchases.

X-pots still sell well, sell more, and can be churned out like a factory. With mats that aren't ridiculously priced, meaning the profit margins are much better as well. Not to mention buyers can actually afford them, meaning you sell more by volume.

Compare that with the initial investment in ALC gear, followed by the heavy time commitment for each commission (because at least I'm never crafting these without an agreement beforehand due to the time required), and the reward is actually very unappealing as a merchant, given the effort.

They need to do something about this type of ALC recipes (i.e. not follow this pattern in the future), because it's honestly ridiculous they've let it go this far.

[Sollux]

Compare that with the initial investment in ALC gear, followed by the heavy time commitment for each commission (because at least I'm never crafting these without an agreement beforehand due to the time required), and the reward is actually very unappealing as a merchant, given the effort.

The more difficult something is to make the less competition you're likely to have and the more someone will be willing to pay for it. Sales might be slow now due to the lull in-between raid tiers but a slow sale is still a sale, and profit margins can be increased by gathering the items yourself or buying the mats when they're low. I'm not saying there isn't an issue with the effort vs reward, but the easier something is to make the more competition there's going to be and the smaller your profit margin becomes.

[Mindy_Macready]

Considering my server is still looking for its first A8S clear, there's not really a lull in raiding atm, especially for those who'd be in the market for max-pots. There's only so much gating SE can do on making a craft viable before people just ignore the recipes entirely.

While it's true that difficulty = less competition, in my opinion the difficulty in crafting ALC pots should not lie in the crafting, but in the actual gear investment. Requiring high stats to make macro-crafting feasible is also a way of lowering competition, and would save a lot of sanity as well.

You know what else lowers competition? The fact that these are gated by specialist requirements. That, plus the gear investment, should make reaching the goal difficult enough to lower competition, while increasing actual reward vs the work of crafting these potions.

[keyburz]

Im currently selling all 5 of the hq max stat potions at 40k each. Intelligence sells well (only 1 buyer though). There are only a couple other sales in all other types. Specialist isnt whats harming sales on my server, its the fact that theyre 40k each, and im unable to get the price any lower. I need to sell them at 30k each to break even (assuming I buy all mats from mb)

[Mindy_Macready]

Im currently selling all 5 of the hq max stat potions at 40k each. Intelligence sells well (only 1 buyer though). There are only a couple other sales in all other types. Specialist isnt whats harming sales on my server, its the fact that theyre 40k each, and im unable to get the price any lower. I need to sell them at 30k each to break even (assuming I buy all mats from mb)

I never argued that specialist harmed sales.

[keyburz]

I never argued that specialist harmed sales.

Well its certainly not the reason why these potions arent being crafted/sold much.

[Mindy_Macready]

Well its certainly not the reason why these potions arent being crafted/sold much.

It actually is one of the reasons, because of the very nature of specialists means there are less ALCs who could craft these, compared to x-pots, which were just general recipes.