WoW Alchemy Guide

• NB! This is a WoW alchemy guide. If you are looking for a WoW leveling guide, visit these guides: Team Idemise Guide and Zygor Guides
• If you need a gold making guide, visit these pages: Warcraft Gold Secrets Guide and Warcraft Millionaire
• If you want to know all the little tips and tricks for each and every class, visit World of Warcraft Class Guides

In the World of Warcraft, an alchemist is capable of creating many different types of potions, flasks, and elixirs. They can also transmute different types of gems into other gems and change various eternal elements into other elements. Being able to make your own healing potions, buff potions, and other items is beneficial to everyone.

Many of these potions also sell really well on the auction house, so you can make a tidy sum of gold, too. Following this WoW alchemy guide will give you an idea of how to succeed in the world of alchemy.

Companion Professions
Nearly all alchemists also take herbalism. The herbs gathered via herbalism are the main ingredients in all of the alchemy potions. Without herbalism, an alchemist will have to buy their herbs or gather them on another character. Other than herbalism, there is no other profession that works well with alchemy.

Alchemist Tools
To create potions, flasks, and elixirs, you’ll need to purchase different levels of vials. These vials can be bought from just about any trade goods vender. Empty vials are used for lower level potions, while higher level potions require more expensive vials like the crystal imbued vial or the enchanted vial.

Once you become a high-level alchemist, you’ll need to create a Philosopher’s Stone. This item is required to transmutate elemental essences and eternal essences. Once you’ve journeyed to Outland, you can learn how to transmutate some gemstones to other gemstones. In Wrath of the Lich King, many new gemstone transmutations are available.

Becoming an Alchemist - WoW Alchemy Guide
To become an alchemist, all you need to do is visit a major city and talk to an alchemist trainer. For a small fee, the trainer will make you an apprentice alchemist. You can then create some basic, low level potions. These potions will first appear in your potions book in an orange color. This means each potion you make will give you a skill point. When you’ve earned a certain number of skill points, these orange potions will turn yellow. This means they won’t always give you a skill point. When they turn green, they will rarely provide a skill point. Eventually, they will become gray, which means they won’t provide any skill ups at all.

When you’ve reached skill level 75, you won’t be able to improve your skill level without training as a journeyman alchemist. You need to be level 10 and have at least 50 skill points to become a journeyman. As your character levels up and you gain more skill points, you’ll become an expert (level 20 and 125 skill), artisan (level 35, 225 skill), master (level 50, 300 skill), and grand master (level 65, 350 skill). To become a master, however, you’ll have to have the Burning Crusade expansion installed, and to become a grand master, you’ll need Wrath of the Lich King.

Specializing
Alchemy has three different specializations: potions, elixirs, and transmutations. To specialize, you must be level 68, have a skill of 325, and complete the correct quest. Unlike other profession’s specializations, an alchemy specialization does not give you access to new recipes. Instead, you have the chance to make multiple items each time you craft that type of item. For example, if you’ve specialized in potions and create a Runic Healing Potion, you might make anywhere from one to five of these potions. Even if you make five of these potions, you only need the materials for one.

You can change your specialization at any point by returning to the trainer who taught you the specialization. You’ll have to pay a 150 gold fee, but you won’t have to complete any other quest to change specializations.

Mixology
Mixology is a passive ability that alchemists with a skill level of 50 will learn. Once you’ve trained in Mixology, any elixir or flask you use will last for twice as long as normal (two hours instead of one). The effect of the elixir is also slightly increased.

Trinkets
In addition to the Philosopher’s Stone, which is required for doing transmutations, there are five other stones you can create. You can upgrade your Philosopher’s Stone to an Alchemist’s Stone when you have 350 alchemy skill. Then you can upgrade it again to one of four different trinkets. You can only have one of these trinkets at a time. Each provides a different bonus, but all four count as a Philosopher’s Stone, and all four increase the effects of healing and mana potions used by the alchemist by 40%. These include the Assassin’s Alchemist Stone (attack power bonus), Guardian’s Alchemist Stone (defense rating bonus), Redeemer’s Alchemist Stone (spell power), and the Sorcerer’s Alchemist Stone (also spell power).

When you reach Northrend in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, you can create one of three new Alchemist Stones: the Indestructible Alchemist Stone (plus stamina and dodge rating), the Mercurial Alchemist Stone (plus spell power and haste rating), and the Mighty Alchemist Stone (plus attack power and critical strike).

Alchemist-Only Potions
In Wrath of the Lich King, grand master alchemists can create several potions that only they can use. This includes the Crazy Alchemist’s Potion that restores a large amount of health and mana and sometimes provides an additional stat bonus. The Endless Healing Potion and Endless Mana Potion restore some health and mana and are not consumed when used, so alchemists can use them again and again (although each has a one-minute cooldown). Finally, the Flask of the North increased spell power, attack power, or strength, depending on which is the highest. It is not consumed with use, either, and its effect persists through death.

Discoveries
While performing transmutations or making high-level flasks, elixirs, or potions, you have a small chance of making a discovery. These discoveries are new recipes that can only be learned by discovering them. They include potions, flasks, transmutations, and cauldrons. Cauldrons are special items that provide 25 potions of a specific type to an alchemist and their party members. These potions increase protection against specific types of magic: arcane, fire, frost, nature, or shadow. I hope you found this WoW alchemy guide useful. Good luck.