Alchemy

Introduction

Alchemy is widely considered one of the two most powerful professions in HC. Between easy to manage crafting materials, strong items locked behind quest chains, and a constant stream of stat-increasing potions, Alchemy is a great profession for shoring up a class’s weaknesses.

Notable potions and elixers

The benefits of running Alchemy are long-lasting elixirs and pots. These pots provide attribute, armor, regen, and speed bonuses, which increases levelling efficiency. While only a handful of classes can make use of all the potions available, the ones you can use are still beneficial enough to matter. Most potions are sold by vendors, but some are drop-only or locked behind quests.

Notable potions and elixirs

Elixirs

Potions

Quest Items

Crafting Materials

The crafting materials for potions are herbs and vials. There are a few odd pots here and there that require materials like ores, fish, or other potions, but for the most part every Alchemy item you need will be easily accessible with just Herbalism as your secondary profession. Vials are found at Alchemy, Herbalism, General, and Trade Goods vendors.

See Herbalism 1-300 Guide at Wow-Professions.com

Bottleneck Herbs

These are the most important herbs to look out for, as they are crucial components of the potions and elixirs that you’ll need to mass craft in order to level your Alchemy skill smoothly.

Exclusive Items

Nifty Stopwatch

The real reason we are taking Alchemy in HC is for the Nifty Stopwatch. This trinket increases your movement speed by a whopping 40% for 10 seconds (30 min cd). For classes without movement abilities, this item is incredibly powerful at keeping you alive. The NPC you get it from is located in the [Badlands]. This questline is very convoluted, and requires you to turn in items in a particular order. If you don’t care about the Lesser Stoneshield Potion or the experience from Stone Is Better than Cloth, then you’ll only need Frost Oil and a Gyrochronatom. The recipe for [Frost Oil] is bought from [Bro’kin] in the [Alterac Mountains]. [Gyrochronatom] can be purchased from Engineering vendors or looted from Venture Co. mobs in [Stranglethorn Vale].

Route

1. Before arriving at the [Badlands], acquire one of each of the following items; Frost Oil, [Gyrochronatom], [Healing Potion], and [Lesser Invisibility Potion]. If you have a Blacksmith duo who can make [Patterned Bronze Bracers], then grab two of those as well as one more of each of the previous items. Talk to [Lotwil Veriatus], and accept [Coolant Heads Prevail] and [Study of the Elementals: Rock].
2. Do the rock elemental questline, and turn in the Frost Oil. Accept Gyro... What?. Turn in the Gyrochronatom.
3. Once both of these questlines are completed, Lucien Tosslewrench (right next to Lotwil) will offer you two more quests; Liquid Stone, Stone Is Better than Cloth. Lotwil will offer you This Is Going to Be Hard.
4. Turn in Healing Potion and Lesser Invisibility Potion to complete Liquid Stone.
5. Turn in Patterned Bronze Bracers to complete Stone Is Better than Cloth.
6. Talk to Lotwil, who sends to you speak to Lucien, who gives you a quest item, then talk to Lotwil again. He will summon a level 45 Fam’retor Guardian. Kill it, loot the item.
7. Talk to Lotwil, and he will give you the Nifty Stopwatch.

Recommended Classes

Druid

Alchemy is great for Druids as they utilize every single stat well. When going Feral you get access to the incredibly strong Elixir of the Mongoose. While Druids don’t really need the movespeed from Nifty Stopwatch, they are nonetheless the single best user of Alchemy due to their hybrid nature.

Rogue

Alchemy is required in order to craft Thistle Tea and Blinding Powder. Furthermore, as an agility based class with no way to heal, the stat, armor, and regen pots pull a lot of weight.

Shaman

Very similar to the Druid in terms of being able to use every stat well. The stat benefits are lower if going Elemental spec, but the movespeed from Nifty Stopwatch is still clutch.

Warlock

While Warlock already have bonuses to armor and health regen, they nonetheless benefit immensely from the stats since their entire theme is resource control. Anything that increases health, mana, regen, armor, and spellpower is hugely beneficial. In addition, the only weakness that Warlocks have is mobility, which the Nifty Stopwatch addresses wonderfully.

Warrior

Warriors benefit a lot from the armor, regen, and stat potions. While Engineering can help with running dungeons and cc’ing mobs during tough pulls, Alchemy is still better for open world content as it gives you access to in-combat movespeed with Nifty Stopwatch and [Free Action Potions].