Apothecary: Constructive Criticism & Suggestions

[Maephina]

+1 on this thread. Don't think anyone could have said it better or more constructively.

[Arianera]

GREAT post Fabulous ideas, really! *nudge nudge* Trion

[Gulch]

To the OP.
Very well written!
I agree 100%

[Kriddle]

I can agree and disagree with several of the things mentioned but one thing I do agree on is Apoth needs some serious work. Even with the recent changes to reduce the cost to make things like the cure snare/root with 4 second immunity it is still way to costly for such a small bonus. You can get the exact same affect minus the 4 second immunity for far less. Granted the 4 second immunity is great for PvP I could care less and I imagine most people wouldn't be willing to pay such a hefty price increase.

Another thing I was thinking was poisons. I know they exist as I have gotten them from quest rewards but why can't apoth make them? Some sort of blade poison which procs on hit would be fantastic. Some people may feel well that is for melee only so what about us ranged people? Well you could make something like potion of focused thought where on a successful spell cast you have a chance to add X damage because using the potion makes you more focused on what you are doing and therefore allowing you greater control of your spells.

[ShiningOne]

Another thing I was thinking was poisons. I know they exist as I have gotten them from quest rewards but why can't apoth make them? Some sort of blade poison which procs on hit would be fantastic. Some people may feel well that is for melee only so what about us ranged people? Well you could make something like potion of focused thought where on a successful spell cast you have a chance to add X damage because using the potion makes you more focused on what you are doing and therefore allowing you greater control of your spells.

Worth repeating! Thank you, Kriddle!

I'd also quickly mention that my suggestions were only suggestions. Some are more pressing than others. Some were more for 'fun' rather than functionality (like 2 of the dye ideas I had), but regardless, I feel most would at least help the class gain a more equal footing with the other skillsets. That was my only goal (and I'd hope, the goal of Trion).

Thank you again for your replies.

[wallweasels]

I agree entirely I will hack these forms and make a 6/5 star rating just so up vote this more

[Gshock]

Dyes:
One of the most irksome things about the Apothecary skill is the fact that most dyes can simply be purchased from… dye venders. Are the rare armour/weapon/jewellery recipes which are sold to players with those skillsets also sold pre-made via NPC venders? No.

I have had a few colours drop for me that are not available from dye vendors.. not a black yet though. I hope there is one as it was an excellent way to make money in GW if a black dye dropped, 60k armour with full black dye.. ahhh those were the days..
I agree apothecary does seem to have been an after thought trade.. I cant even find the trainer/vendor for apothecries in Meridian, I keep having to ride to kings retreat

[Adjana]

Nice post. here my remarks:

Salvaging Ability:
...

I'd start the change at foraging. All other gatheres have to prepare their materials to be usefull for crafting (ore->bar, timber/log->plank/lumber, hide->leather). Let the Apothecar use essences instead of the pure plants and give the forager (or apo) some recipes to get the essences out of the plants. The essences could be a salvaging result. Then we could also get a special salvage only essence like the other crafting professions.
This salvaged essences could be used for longtime (+1h) weapon/armor poisons or oils. To make them different from the items crafted by weapon- and armorsmiths they could be something with a proc chance.

More Varied General-Use Potions:
- Underwater Breathing. (The Amphibious Brew is one of the first pots we get in the game, yet we cannot make it ourselves.)

Agree with that one.

Better Ingredient Management:
Loading certain ingredients only in dungeons may have seemed like a good idea, but in reality you’ve created a seller’s market. Twilight Bloom Roots sell for 1p each. Most recipes which need them call for at least 2. For a skillset which is already hurting for money-making abilities, this turns gameplay into dungeon-crawling grind. (And god help you if there is more than one forager in the group.)

I think it's ok to have some plants mostly in instances (plus some rare world spawns) if they are needed for some rare epic recipes. They could even require max foraging. But not for plants that are needed to level or for dailies! I've already seen some more nodes in the open world after the patch but havn't searched enough to be able say if it's ok now.
Also the ingrdiants for our dailies are out of balance. 1 daily requires pristine distillate which is to rare and so to expensive to be used for dailies and the other two all needs a huge amount of drakefoot stems. More variety would be nice.

Cool Down Times:
I’ve been in an Expert T1 Dungeon and suffered a group wipe right at the end of a major boss battle because the healer drank a health pot instead of a mana pot.

Solution:
1) Keep the cool down timers but make them type-specific. Otherwise, there is no point in offering different types of pots. Why would I consume a HoT pot when I could down a surge pot instead? Typically, when you need Health/Mana, you need it now, not meted out over 20+ seconds.

2) At the very least, allow HoT pots and surge pots to stack like the spells do.

I disagree here. The over time tonics heal more mana/health than the direct potions. So it's a question of timing if potions or tonics are more usefull.

Do something with Krakenweed:
Krakenweed should be able to be combined/broken down into something; even if only Aqua Fortis or Aqua Regia. ‘Nuff said. I don’t care if it takes a stack of 10… give this stuff some other purpose than just a side-quest. It’s everywhere.

Maybe it could be the main ingredient in Amphibious Brew?

Agree

High Level, Craft-Only Potion Timers:
If you are going to maintain the rarity of the ingredients, than at least increase the time on some of the effects. Few people are willing to invest a Minor Catalyst or multiple Distillates into a pot that gives a ho-hum effect for all of 20-30 seconds.

If I can use the same ingredient on permanent upgraded equipment/weapons, than why would I invest them in a 30 sec pot? None of the pots are game-changers. Sadly, I do not even view them as necessary.

Solution:
If you ever want to see these pots used, than drop the requirements for the very rare ingredient and balance it by raising the number of the rare-but-not-insanely-so components.

Agree

Allow Temporary Stat Bonus Potions to Stack with Clerics/Bards/etc.:
‘Nuff said.

Agree

Reset Potion Timers After Death:
‘Nuff said.

Disagree, because that could lead to situations that someone wants to get killed just to be able to use some potions again.

[Maephina]

This thread need love bumped

[Mordithin]

I completely agree with everything you said. Thank you for posting this!

[Figgie]

/Agree 100% -- especially regarding dyes and stat potions.