by Cybie
I. Introduction and Guide Scope
The Alchemist is one of the possible 2nd job advancements for the Merchant class. Known for its ability to create and use various potions and catalysts in its arsenal, it excels in dishing out both offensive and supportive capabilities. These alongside the power to harness life in the form of their homunculus truly make it a one-of-a-kind class to play as. Should you decide to venture down the path of the Alchemist, this leveling guide will be a great supplement to give you an idea on how to begin your journey as one!
This guide will contain the basics of what you need to know about leveling an Alchemist – which stats to invest in, what monsters to target, what loot to look out for and some possible tips and tricks that you may find useful. Do note that this guide is not in absolution and is not required to follow by the letter. You as a young Alchemist have free range on how to traverse and explore the ups and downs of your characters, and may this guide at least provide you some options that you may deem beneficial with that.
II. Stat Breakdown
STR: Boosts ATK and increases max weight limit
AGI: Provides FLEE and ASPD, helpful for normal attacks or Cart Revo spam
VIT: Boosts HP, HP RECOVERY, DEF, resistance to STAT AILMENTS and increases healing amount of HP POTIONS
INT: Boosts SP, SP RECOVERY, MDEF, MATK (for those who use Fireblend or Ice Falchion) and increases healing amount of SP POTIONS; also slightly increases success rate of Prepare Potion
DEX: Provides HIT, minimal ATK/ASPD boost and decreases CAST TIME; also increases success rate of Prepare Potion
LUK: Increases CRIT and some ATK/MATK; also increases success rate of Prepare Potion
III. Possible Alchemist Stat Builds
A. Battle-AGI Type
High STR, moderately high AGI, mid DEX, mid to low VIT
This build is what some people may claim to be the generic battle Alchemist, utilizing high amounts of STR for power-packed hits from normal attacks and ATK-based skills. Unlike their Blacksmith counterparts, Alchemists naturally lack access to buffs which increase ASPD such as Adrenaline Rush, so they compensate by investing a great amount of AGI to increase attack speed, as well as increase flee rate for further survivability. A good amount of DEX and VIT is added, just enough for hits to land and for HP potions to heal more respectively.
B. Battle-VIT Type
High STR, moderately high VIT, mid to low DEX and AGI
VIT-type Battlechemists are similar to their AGI-focused brothers and sisters; the main difference is they are able to sponge up more damage from large groups of monsters due to their higher HP pool and DEF stat. This makes mobbing and killing monsters using Cart Revolution more viable, as you end up being thicc enough to take on multiple enemies. Since Cart Revolution also ignores accuracy checks, you may opt to have lower DEX than a Battle-AGI build and put the points into STR, VIT or even INT for a slight boost in SP. Expect to burn through more potions though as dodging with this build is impossible unless heavily reliant on gear and food buffs.
C. Brewer
High LUK, high to moderately high DEX, mid INT
Alchemists are known for making a variety of potions – from Condensed White Potions useful for guilds to consume, to Fire and Acid Bottles for other Alchemist classes to use. Whether you aim to use these potions for yourself or to sell for other players, one may opt to attain the highest possible success rate for brewing potions to make the most out of the ingredients you have. In terms of stats, both DEX and LUK contribute the most to Prepare Potion’s success rate, with INT being half as effective as either one. This in turn means that buffs which increase these stats like Gloria and Blessing will be beneficial to your success rate. If you or a friend owns a Minstrel or Gypsy with Marionette Control, you may adjust your stats to get the highest possible bonus for your build. Leveling this type of Alchemist will be difficult because you will rely on another entity to deal damage for you.
D. Hybrid
Varies
Flexibility runs through the Alchemist’s blood veins. Building one’s stat build all boils down to play style and preference. You may choose to mix and match the previous builds and see which works best for your style. You may opt to have higher AGI than STR for even faster ASPD, or be a Brewer-type with some STR investment for weight limit and a bit of ATK. You may choose to be an Autocast Alchemist, wherein you invest some points in INT and wear equipment which automatically casts magic spells. You can even choose to invest your stat points mostly on AGI and VIT to be a sort of dodgy tank with boosted potion healing. The possibilities are endless!
E. AFKmist
High AGI, moderately high VIT and/or LUK
Speaking of dodgy tank, a common early game stat build revolves around having high amounts of AGI and VIT, with some LUK as well for Perfect Dodge. The AFKmist build specializes on basically being unbothered by mobs most of the time while they level up their Homunculus while they are, you guessed it, away from keyboard. Besides the hits these Alchemists’ Homunculi deal, their damage towards enemies may not be as great as the other battle builds, but you’re guaranteed that you wouldn’t need to be on full guard when you just need to level up your Homunculus.
IV. Gear and KP Preparation (+F2P Options)
Before proceeding with your Merchant, one may opt to have some items prepared to help ease with leveling. Compared to other DPS classes like Hunters and Wizards, the Alchemist’s offensive powers are limited (unless you are willing to use up Zeny or some alchemist potion bottles). Getting the best amount of EXP possible will definitely be worth the investment. Below is a list of sample gear and consumables that you may consider acquiring beforehand to ease up the leveling process:
– Beginner (LV1-49), Rookie (Lv50-99) Shadow Sets and Experience Shadow Shield to increase EXP gained from defeating monsters
– Merchant Shadow Accessories to increase Mammonite and/or Cart Revolution damage, depending on which you will use for leveling
– Equipment which provide +% EXP such as Kafra Uniform/Kafra Staff Headband set, Blue Rear Ribbon, Marin Balloon, EXP Rings from Cash Shop, Footgear with EXP-Race Cards
– Premium Buff Box (Increased EXP/Drop Rate and Kafra Storage space for 30 days) + Battle Manual Box (10pcs)
– World Teleport Ticket Box (allows easy access to fields and dungeons without having to traverse long walks or teleports from town; done via World Map or Navigation System, and must be used outside a building)
– Rideword Hat / Vanargandr Helm / Catherina von Blood (HP/SP leeching headgear)
– Pecopeco Hairband for Movement Speed (movement speed bonus stacks while mounted)
– Overupgraded crimson weapons like Crimson Mace or Crimson Saber
– Chemical Glove, Physical Enhancer Ring or other accessories which increase damage via stats or skills like Cart Revolution
If you are a new player though with limited resources or just want to take the free-to-play (F2P) route, you may go for these viable options:
– New User Box (free potions/consumables)
– Time Keeper Equipment and Metal Weapons (also included in the Time Keeper Box from New User Box) which are enough to carry you in the early to mid-game
– Eden Equipment Quest (preferably those done within Lv50-59, 70-79 and Lv80-89 range for easy kill quests)
– Alice Mercenary Scrolls (via New User Box) summon an Alice companion to fight alongside you. She can use AoE skills such as Brandish Spear and Magnum Break that can kill multiple monsters at once, making early leveling effective. If you wish for Alice to automatically attack and use skills, consider downloading and setting up AzzyAI in the AI>USER_AI Folder.
– 5x [NFS] Battle Manuals via Jellopy Quest in Prontera (basically need to bring Jellopy to an NPC located at coordinates prontera 204, 53)
– Event consumables such as [NFS] Small Life/Mana Potion and [NFS] World Teleport Tickets (depending on which ones are available in the current patch)
V. Leveling Guide (Merchant)
[Lv1 – 10]: Criatura Academy Quest (until receiving Eden Group Mark), Prontera Field (Rocker, Fabre, Lunatic)
Loot Priority: Grasshopper’s Leg, Fluff
[Lv10 – 25]: Ambernite, Pecopeco, Muka, Payon Field (Spore, Boa, Wormtail), Payon Dungeon 1F
Loot Priority: Snail Shell, Crystal Blue, Bill of Bird, Cactus Needle, Strawberry, Venom Canine
[Lv25 – 40]: Bigfoot, Thara Frog, Ant Hell 1F, Payon Dungeon 2F
Loot Priority: Bear’s Footskin, Honey, Poopoo Hat, Jellopy, Iron Ore, Sticky Webfoot
[Lv40 – 55]: Wolf, Argos, Orc Village, Orc Dungeon 1F, Byalan Dungeon 3F/4F, Comodo Field (Grove, Flora, Alligator)
Loot Priority: Strawberry, Bug Leg, Cobweb, Orcish Voucher, Emperium, Mermaid’s Heart, Gill, Mystic Frozen, Crystal Blue, Maneater Blossom, Stem, Aloe Leaflet, Anolian Skin, Yggdrasil Seed
VI. Alchemist Job Change
Merchants with Job levels between 40 to 50 can proceed to change into an Alchemist. It is highly recommended (especially to new players) to level up to Job 50 to waive the entire quest requirement and instantly change your job. Once you’ve decided to change job, proceed to the Alchemist Guild located at the southwest building in Aldebaran.
VII. Acquiring Homunculus via Bioethics Quest
Congratulations! You have finally changed into an Alchemist! As you begin leveling, consider doing the Bioethics Quest in Lighthalzen. This will grant you the platinum skill ‘Bioethics’ which is a prerequisite to unlock the Homunculus tree in your Skills window. Homunculi can help aid you in leveling – from dealing damage to targets to tanking mobs for you. AzzyAI is a free custom AI that you may use to set these and other types of behaviors to your Homunculus. Simply search and download AzzyAI, create a new folder named “USER_AI ” in the AI folder inside your Ragnarok folder, extract AzzyAI inside the USER_AI folder and run the AzzyAIConfig to edit the settings to your preference.
VIII. Leveling Guide (Alchemist)
[Lv55 – 70]: Orc Dungeon 1F/2F, Pyramids 4F, Sphinx 3F, Mantis, Geographer
Loot Priority: Zenorc’s Fang, Orc Archer Bow, Shining Stone, Rough Elunium, Rough Oridecon, Panacea, Rotten Bandage, Memento, Scale Shell, 3carat Diamond, Pantie, Undershirt, Iron Ore, Old Blue Box, Flame Heart, Maneater Blossom, Maneater Root
[Lv70 – 85]: Juno Field (Goat, Grand Peco, Sleeper), Petites, Einbroch Field (Metaling, Porcellio, Noxious via party), Stem Worm, Bathory
Loot Priority: Antelope Skin, Peco Peco Feather, Wind of Verdure, Mastela Fruit, Gold, Great Nature, Sand Clump, Grit, Rough Oridecon, Elunium, Dragon Tail, Dragon Scale, Dragon Canine, Petti’s Tail, Iron Ore, Iron, Insect Feeler, Yggdrasil Seed, Maneater Root, Witch Starsand, White Herb, Old Broom
[Lv85 – 95]: Stapo (preferably in hitters party), Glast Heim Underground Prison, Turtle Dungeon, Magma Dungeon 1F, Ice Dungeon 1F, Desert Wolf (via party or solo)
Loot Priority: Jellopy, Green Live, Maneater Blossom, Maneater Root, Stem, Mandragora Flowerpot, Drosera Tentacle, Elunium, Oridecon, Rotten Bandage, Red Gemstone, Steel, Brigan, Cyfar, Izidor, White Herb, Turtle Shell, Lava, Mastela Fruit, Burning Heart, Glacial Heart, Ice Cubic, Crystal Blue, Wind of Verdure
[Lv95 – 99]: Magmaring, Kobold, Magma Dungeon 2F (via party)
Loot Priority: Burning Heart, Blue Hair, Burning Horseshoe, Dragon Tail, Dragon Scale, Dragon Canine, Dragon Skin, Little Evil Horn
IX. The World Bounty Repeatable Quests and Boong Boong Drinks
Introduced in the Sept 2023 patch, World Bounty is a set of repeatable quests the player can accept, turn-in and reset in order to speed up the leveling process than just normally grinding monsters or doing Eden’s Daily Mission Board Quests. In various cities and towns, the NPC Magical Boy will teleport you to maps with bounty boards available, depending on your current location, at the cost of Boong Boong Drinks. These can be bought at the fixed cost of 100z from the Boong Boong V. Machine nearby. It is advised to bring a couple of them if you wish to grind for a good amount of time in bounty maps (around 500-1000), or have them in your storage which you can access via Kafra Card or Kafra Bell.
These drinks can also be used to reset the quest cooldown of bounty boards when you have finished turning in your quests. Depending on the bounty, simply talk to the board and bring the correct number of Boong Boong Drinks to refresh the cooldown. Afterwards, you may accept the bounty quest and kill monsters once again. More details about the World Bounty System may be viewed through the link below:
X. Rebirth / Transcending via Escaped Book Quest
Once you have reached Base Lv99 and Job Lv50, proceed to Juno where you can rebirth or transcend into a High Novice. Make your way to the Sage’s castle (yuno 90, 318) and find Metheus Sylphe.
He will give you an option to either donate some Zeny or do a simple monster-hunting quest (Escaped Book) in order to transcend. More information may be viewed via the Free Transcending Guide:
Once finished, he will direct you to walk north towards the Book of Ymir which will teleport you to Valhalla.
Before speaking to the Valkyrie NPC who will change you into a High Novice, make sure that you are below 500 weight, have no remaining skill points, not riding a mount via Boarding Halter and have your cart off. Once you have transcended, it’s all a matter of following the leveling guide once again until you max out as Biochemist.
XI. Possible Biochemist Stat Builds
A. Standard STR-INT Bomber
High STR and INT, mid to low VIT and DEX
Build title says it all. This type of Biochemist is usually the cookie-cutter go-to build for players – investing on high STR and INT for Acid Bomb’s ATK and MATK computation respectively, as well as a bit of VIT and DEX for survivability and cast time. Solo leveling this Biochemist may be difficult due to the lack of AGI for flee, but some points of VIT should suffice for Aid Potion to heal a good amount of HP.
B. Glass Cannon Bomber
High STR and INT, mid to low DEX
This Biochemist build totally ignores VIT investment, giving more points to distribute among STR, INT and DEX parameters (as a means of setting up for future Genetic build for stronger and faster-casting Cart Cannon damage). Unless you compensate with HP and/or damage reduction equipment, you will find this type of Biochemist quite squishy, as well as prone to status ailments like Stun and Poison. It is recommended to have a Homunculus out or be in a party where a tank can soak up the damage while you deal your own.
C. No STR Caster
High INT and DEX, mid to low VIT
Reminiscent to Pre-Renewal Biochemists who mostly invest on INT and DEX, this build prioritizes faster cast time compared to its counterparts. Normal attacks and ATK-based skills like Mammonite and Cart Revolution may not show high numbers compared to builds spec’d with STR, but having a weapon with high Base ATK should be enough to compensate. Since some Genetic skills like Cart Cannon and Hell’s Plant rely on INT and DEX for both damage and cast time; early investing into these stats will definitely help you to attain these aspects sooner.
D. Brewer
Same as Above
Transcending a character rewards the players with additional stat points to allocate into parameters. Going for a Biochemist Brewer is more viable than an Alchemist due to the increased success rate coming from said additional stats, as well as increased Job level. Same points about Brewer builds discussed as Alchemist still take in effect, especially the Minstrel/Gypsy providing Marionette Control so you can move around your other points to other stats as well.
E. Battle-Brewer
High INT or LUK, moderately high DEX
This build is a unique take on a hybrid brewer, being able to use the materials the Biochemist produces for his/her arsenal. If one wishes to change job into Genetic, the high INT investment will still make skill damage like Hell’s Plant and Cart Cannon viable. You may not become as tanky or hard-hitting as the other pure-built Biochemists and Genetics are, but you can at least sustain yourself with your bottles so long as you have enough success rate to craft them.
XII. Dual Client Partymates (Optional)
Whether you’re leveling an Alchemist or a Biochemist, any way to ease the grinding process is definitely worth it. Ragnarok GGH allows the user to have two or more clients running, so you can potentially self-support yourself to help with leveling. Here are some suggested alt classes to aid you in grinding:
– Priest (for heals, buffs and warps)
– Blacksmith (for offensive buffs like Adrenaline Rush)
– Sage (for elemental endow skills)
– Soul Linker (for Alchemist Spirit, increasing Aid Potion effectiveness)
– Any Burst or DPS hyper carry (for leeching or doing BQ runs)
XIII. Additional Tips and Tricks
A. When you teleport using Fly Wing or Creamy Card or change map via portal, monsters will usually attack your Homunculus first if it decides to move or attack the monsters around it before you move or attack them. Keep that in mind when you need to divert damage away from you.
B. NPC Potions will be enough to carry you if a Priest is unavailable. In order to have enough resources to purchase said potions, keep a lookout on some important loot that you can sell at a fair price to players looking for them (refer to the items listed at the different leveling brackets above). These are either used by other classes as catalysts for their skills or as items for BQ turn-ins.
C. Cart Revolution by default pushes monsters towards the West. Keep that in mind when you want to position the mobs near walls or edges so you can continue to spam Cart Revolution at them.
D. Before transcending your Alchemist into a High Novice, hoard and do one run of Eden Mission BQ Lv70 to 90, and turn the quests in once you reach Lv70 as Biochemist. Unlike Word Bounty Repeatable Quests, you can interact with Eden Mission Board Quests at a much lower level requirement. Doing so will give you an insane amount of EXP (especially when increased with Battle Manuals and server’s EXP Boosts), raising your level to around Lv80+ and making you skip a whole lot of grinding.
E. Despite having Blue Herbs readily available via an NPC in Geffen, you may choose to exchange 2x Blue Herbs and 1x Empty Bottle for a Blue Potion via an NPC inside the Merchant Guild in Alberta. This way, you are able to cast Aid Potion Lv5 at yourself, your Homunculus or partymates, healing more SP compared to just using Blue Herbs.
XIV. Epilogue
Man’s curiosity and thirst for knowledge run deep in his veins. By acquiring this, one gains the potential and resources to become the best version of oneself. We hope this guide has become informative to you, and that you have become more knowledgeable on how to effectively progress with leveling your Alchemist or Biochemist. Should you have any questions, please leave a comment below or visit us over at the GGH Discord. Best wishes and happy leveling!
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