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SeaWolf
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Seawolf
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This was posted by aikachan89 on the IGG forum. There is something similar on www.wlodb.com too.

http://forum.wl.igg.com/viewthread.php?tid=2917...

Detailed guide to Primary, Junior & Superior Alchemy
Hi all, this is aika's first time writing a guide ~ hope you like it ~

Presenting to you ~ the long awaited guide: Difference between the 3 Alchemy stages. Pretty sure there isn't one yet ~
Warning: Guide may drag for waaay too long ~ so bear with aika pwease. Or you might want to just skimp through the mass of words, since I have highlighted the main points :3

Assumptions made: Readers are assumed to have some prior knowledge about Alchemy ~
____________________________________________________________

Primary Alchemy

1. May Increase rank of <Lowest Ranked Ingredient> by a maximum of +4.
2. May Decrease rank by a maximum of -All (?)
3. Compounded item's base type follows the 1st ingredient, in all cases (with just a handful of exceptions).

1&2's Example: R(Rank)25 Black Jade + R25 Black Jade = R28 Dragon Wand, but may give junks like Red or White Jade if fail >x<
3's Example: R16 Wolf Bracer (Titanium) + R20 Wolf Tooth (Bone) = Dark Helmet (Titanium, which is the 1st ingredient's type)
____________________________________________________________

Junior Alchemy

1. May Increase rank of <Lowest Ranked Ingredient> by a maximum of +4.
2. May Decrease rank by a maximum of -8.
3. Compounded item's base type always follows the type of ingredients with highest composition.
3b. BUT if all ingredients' ranks are equal, base type follows 1st ingredient.

Bonus: And of course, rate of success for all compounds increase by quite a fair amount ~ ^-^

Confused? :] Examples ~
1&2s Example: R(Rank)25 Black Jade + R25 Black Jade = R28 Dragon Wand. Worst item possible: R18 Water Necklace.
Reasoning: R25 - 8 = R17. Since there is no R17 Jade, the next lowest ranking item = R18 Water Necklace ^^
Purple Jade is R16, so you will never get it if you use Junior Alchemy.

3's Example: Rank R18 Sea Armor (Steel) + R20 Wolf Tooth (Bone) = ???... Ans: Bone based item =(
Reasoning: Composition of Bone is higher than Steel (20 as compared to 18).

3's Second Example: R18 Sea Armor + R20 Wolf Tooth + R18 Sea Armor = Skeleton Steel Sword (R21 Steel)
Question: 'Huh? Shouldn't the base type follow Wolf Tooth, which has the highest rank? ><'
Ans: Nope ~ the above formula effectively means R36 (18+18) Steel + R18 Bones. Since the composition of Steel is greatest, the base type will always be Steel.

(Does R20 Tooth + R18 Armor + R18 Armor work? YES ~ For such out-of-the-ordinary compounds, the order does not matter. Do NOT however, try the same for ingredients with same ranks +_+)

Next, we shall explore deeper ~
The possible range of Increase & Decrease is +4 & -8.
Substitute that into the <Lowest Rank Ingredient, R18>, and we will realize that the formula can give items ranging from Rank 10 to Rank 22.
And their types? Ans: Steel/Bone (80% of success rate) OR Steel/None (20% of success rate)

* How did I know we'll get Steel/Bone 80% of the time? Well, it just works that way, for both Primary and Junior Alchemy :]

Question ~ so how in the world did we get Common Stone from that formula?
Ans: Because the compound happened to land within the 80% Steel/Bone type. Unfortunately, the Rank failed to climb from R18 to R21 ~ then we shall look for the next lowest ranking Steel/Bone item...there happens to be none. Oh well, so that is how we get a stone as compensation. Yay x_x

Conclusion for Junior Alchemy:
Never try compounds like R24 Steel + R25 Black Jade, because that will give you Jade based items.
Do that with Primary Alchemy.
R24 Steel + R25 Black Jade + R24 Steel does work fine though =)
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Superior Alchemy

*Drums roll* Finally, we arrive at ~ the Superior Alchemy! *_*

1 to 3b: Please refer to 'Junior Alchemy' ~ they are almost exactly the same! =)
Bonus: Rate of success for all compounds increase ~... by ALOT ~ :3

So...where is the difference?
Ans:
Difference 1: Range changes to -7 to +5 (? Doubt so ~ seems to remain at +4, or perhaps +5 is extremely, extremely rare x_x)
Difference 2: Base type concept follows Junior Alchemy, yep. BUT sub type does not! Instead of the 80:20 ratio as mentioned in the Skeleton Steel Sword example (Please glance through if you haven't), the ratio is now ~ 100:0

What do we mean by that? Example 1:

Skeleton Steel Sword (Steel) + Vertical Wing (Wood) = Thorn Pestle (Steel/Wood), Invisible Knife (Steel/Wood), Long Knight Boots (Steel/None)...NOT ><
The above applies ONLY to Primary and Junior Alchemy.

In Superior Alchemy's case, Skeleton Steel Sword + Vertical Wing = Steel/Wood, 100% of the time. Period.

And...that about sums it all ~ ^-^?

Wait. Final WARNING ~
Amongst the pile of goodies ~ there is, of course, a catch.

Superior Alchemy compounds without books tend to produce Common Stones more easily than Primary and Junior.
Reasoning: Primary & Junior have a small 20% chance of transforming the sub type into 'None'. For example, Steel + Wood = Stee/None.
Superior Alchemy users are not entitled to this luxury ~ the result is either success, or fail. Here's a fairly good example to explain with:

R22 Titanium Sword (Titanium) + R22 Red Jade Necklace (Jade) = R26 Jade Helmet (Titanium/Jade)

If we were to use Superior, then the results would be: Either Jade Helmet, or Common Stones. Nothing else ~
However for Junior, there is a 20% chance of getting items like R24 Gray Steel Bracers (Titanium/None) and R20 Dark Helmet (Titanium/None)

Q: What if we are compounding really expensive ingredients? It's no fun to get Common Stones =( ~
Ans: Simply use a Book, be it 1 or 4. As long as a Book is added, you simply get back the 1st ingredient if you were to fail (May or may not occur 100% of the time).

Example: R29 Black Wand + R29 Blue Steel Armor + R29 Bronze Armor + Book 3 = R36 Cross Pike
Say, luck wasn't on aika's side, and the compound failed to climb 7 ranks. Aika will get back a R29 Black Wand =)
____________________________________________________________

Advantages/Uses of each Alchemy modes

Primary Alchemy

Ordinary compound formulas, such as R25+R25 - Use Junior or Superior. Erase Primary Alchemy from your memory ><
Special compound: R18 Steel + R20 Tooth + R18 Steel - As explained earlier, you can safely use Junior & Senior for this =)

Special compound Type 2:
R22 Titanium Sword (Titanium) + R25 Black Jade (Jade) = R24 Gray Steel Bracer (Titanium)
R23 Metal Gown (Flower) + R25 Black Jade (Jade) + Book 3 = R27 Blue Qi Pao (Flower)

Yes! Such compounds are the only time where you will ever need Primary Alchemy again.
Seldom used, but nevertheless handy at times ^^

Junior Alchemy

Advantage: Higher rate of success than Primary.

For those who do not have Superior Alchemy - Simple ~ Always use Junior Alchemy (Except when ~ refer to the example directly above).

Superior Alchemy

Advantage: Higher rate of success than both Junior and Primary.

As for players with all 3 Alchemy modes, chances are, you will ditch Junior Alchemy forever.
Why? Because Superior = Improved Junior, whereas Primary has its unique capabilities ~ x3

Here is a convincing example of why we should use Superior Alchemy:

R29 Blue Steel Armor (Steel) + R29 Black Wand (Titanium) + Book 3 = R34 Sharp Pike (Steel/Titanium) ^^

Junior Alchemy Scenario: Remember the 80:20 rule? Apply the concept here. Out of 10 successful compounds, we will probably get:
8 X (Steel/Titanium)
2 X (Steel/None), for example... R33 Steel Roman Helmet (Steel)

Owie. We *could* have gotten 2 more Sharp Pikes ~ stupid helmets =[ ~

Superior Alchemy Scenario: 100:0. Out of 10 successful compounds, all we get is:
10 X (Steel/Titanium)

Yippy ~ =)

Some may argue: 'When using Junior Alchemy, I can get Long Knight Boots from Skeleton Steel Sword + Vertical Wings! I can't do the same with Superior =('
And... the solution is ~ whenever you need a Long Knight Boots, simply compound Skeleton Steel Sword + Skeleton Steel Sword =)


Spoiler:

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Level 156 fire
T4
90% of the laws are made because of 10% of the people.

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