NPCs & Enemies New NPC: Alchemist

Xylia

Terrarian
While reading threads and thinkin' about stuff, an idea came to me.

Why not an Alchemist NPC?

NPC: Alchemist
Spawned by: Alchemy Table held in inventory
Weapon: Poison Flask (similar to the Toxic Flask dropped by Man Fly but obviously weaker)

Sells:

Always: Bottled Water
Day: Lesser Healing Potion
Night: Lesser Mana Potion
Hardmode Day: Healing Potion
Hardmode Night: Mana Potion

This NPC's main purpose (aside from not having to scrounge up all your sand for potions) would be the random daily quests. Very similar to the Angler, the NPC would give you 1 quest per day in which he will ask for 3-5 plants of one type (one type per biome per layer). These plants only drop their items when they are blooming, and they only bloom while the quest is active. Attempting to harvest the plants while they are not blooming (even with the Staff of Regrowth!) will result in simply breaking the plant; no item will be given.

Rewards would be 3-5x Random Buff Potion (some of the better ones would be locked behind Hardmode) 75% of the time, OR, 25% of the time, 2-3 Herb Bags + a small money reward (similar to the Angler's).
 
Usually when people make alchemist suggestions they usually have it sell all the potions. This is a much better way of doing things. It makes sense for them to send you to get ingredients and in return give you some extra potions.

I would prefer exploration to farming herbs, and I really prefer anything to mandatory fishing for ingredients for a consumable.

Some references could be made to plague knight from shovel knight, of course I'm not too familiar with it so I can't think of any items off the top of my head.
 
Usually when people make alchemist suggestions they usually have it sell all the potions. This is a much better way of doing things. It makes sense for them to send you to get ingredients and in return give you some extra potions.

I would prefer exploration to farming herbs, and I really prefer anything to mandatory fishing for ingredients for a consumable.

Some references could be made to plague knight from shovel knight, of course I'm not too familiar with it so I can't think of any items off the top of my head.

The problem with selling potions, is that IIRC, there's no way to make an NPC only sell a limited number of items (at least AFAIK, that does not currently exist in Terraria), so I don't think that letting people buy unlimited numbers of potions is a good idea, and I wanted to stay away from that at the start.

But yet at the same time I wanted an alternate source of Bottled Water, AND, some more daily content to do, even if it's just a simple fetch quest. AND, you might get lucky and get something awesome when you do.
 
The problem with selling potions, is that IIRC, there's no way to make an NPC only sell a limited number of items (at least AFAIK, that does not currently exist in Terraria), so I don't think that letting people buy unlimited numbers of potions is a good idea, and I wanted to stay away from that at the start.
That's why I said this is a better way.
 
Hmmm, yes, I like the idea of an Alchemist and more daily quests, but on the other hand, on Hardmode I suggest giving a Greater healing potion. As for spawning, just an Alchemy table in inventory is a bit meh in my opinion. How about finding him underground with an Alchemy set? Collecting all types of alchemy-related plants?
[doublepost=1477056585,1477056534][/doublepost]Also, question, do the game developers actually see this?
 
>trash was a suggestion.
Well, they must be some fantastic Suggs, because Irarely ever see em say it.

That's just it, they won't SAY anything in suggestion threads, because they don't want to drum up hype. If they see a good suggestion, they'll talk about it internally and if they decide to go ahead with it, it'll just show up in the game.
 
Fantastic. Well, on making the Alchemist, how about he sells different potions depending on time, date, and event?

No, because anything he sells you need to be prepared for him to sell an infinite number of them and I do not think that him selling an infinite number of buff potions is in any way balanced. You could go in there with a plat or two and buy hundreds of a specific buff potion.

Buff Potions were meant to be worked for; you're supposed to collect ingredients and craft these. What good is that entire mechanic if you can just buy everything you need?

And the reason I picked Healing instead of Greater Healing for Hardmode, is because again... why go through all the trouble of collecting pixie dust and crystal shards if you can just pop on over to the Alchemist and buy a whole stack as soon as Hardmode begins?

If you notice, I said that to spawn him you need an Alchemist Table. This is from the Dungeon. I said he'd sell LESSER Healing Potions, which is 1 tier behind (dunno anybody who is still using those in the dungeon). So, when Hardmode comes, he'll sell the "One Tier Behind" healing potion.

That's why I went with the quest idea -- you can get buff potions off of him, but only 3-5 per day and after you've done the work to go out and collect them. Yes, it's random, and yes, a lot of times you will probably get potions you probably could have just simply made... but yet, especially once you reach Hardmode, you could potentially get potions that are not exactly easy to get the materials for, such as Teleport Potions, Inferno Potions, the DPS Potion opposite of your world, etc.
 
It's all about balance, I see, and hard work and fair gains and whatnot, from your perspective. So, realism and logic? Because, if I'm not mistaken, you're implying he needs items to craft said potions, and only 4 a day. He only sells lesser healing potions? Seems 'fair', but at least let him sell lesser mana potions as well.

So, it's random which potion he'll tell you to get ingredients? Okay....I think in Hard Mode, or as I call it, Hell Mode, he should sell the potions which are more 'efficient', ex: Teleportation, Gravity, etc, potions you can only find in chests.

Either way, clever idea. Probably the best Alchemist idea that I've seen so far. 8/10.
 
Support. This is a creative way to make it so I don't have to tear down deserts when I need bottles and encourages exploration in exchange for extra buff potions.
 
Maybe you aren't tearing down deserts, but you're going 'round the world looking for multiple ingredients to help craft ONE potion which could be just found a treasure anyways, and then you still have to pay for it.
 
Maybe you aren't tearing down deserts, but you're going 'round the world looking for multiple ingredients to help craft ONE potion which could be just found a treasure anyways, and then you still have to pay for it.

Nobody is saying you must do the daily quests, and with my proposal you only need 3-5 plants from one biome at a time, and with my proposal you'd get 3-5 of a buff potion (or herb bags) as a reward.

He'd still sell the bottled water, and you could make all of your potions the old fashioned way if you were so inclined to do so. The purpose of the quests is two-fold:

1). To give you something to DO aside from your normal stuff (kinda like the Angler; I enjoy doing his quests just because it gives me more stuff to do during that 24 minutes per game-day)

2). To give you an alternate method of acquiring some potions that are difficult to get, because its ingredients are either annoying to get or just aren't very plenteous in general. Yes, it's a random potion reward but yet there's that random chance thing, kinda like opening a Christmas present, you don't know what you're gonna get and it could be awesome. Or maybe it's just some more gills potions, lol. Different players might enjoy different potions, and sooner or later you're going to turn in the rewards and see something awesome come up, like 5 Inferno Potions and be "Sweet!"

But even if you didn't do the quests... he still sells the bottled water either way.
 
I see. Bottled Water is a thing?
What are Inferno Potions? (I'm guessing fire resistance.)
Is it possible that you could get any and every potion after receiving his ingredients?
Does he give you a 'special' quest after unlocking all potions? If that's even possible.
You can be getting items from every biome?
 
I see. Bottled Water is a thing?
What are Inferno Potions? (I'm guessing fire resistance.)
Is it possible that you could get any and every potion after receiving his ingredients?
Does he give you a 'special' quest after unlocking all potions? If that's even possible.
You can be getting items from every biome?

.......have you PLAYED Terraria? *blinks confusedly*

Some of these questions sound like they come from a player who barely knows anything about the game. No offense meant by this, but I'm confused by some of the questions.

I get that Inferno Potions are so rare and difficult to obtain that many players have never seen one (though you can sometimes find them in shadow chests), but Bottled Water? Have you never crafted a potion in Terraria? Almost every single potion in the game requires a Bottled Water to craft.

As far as getting "any and every potion" after "receiving his ingredients"... I said that he'd give you 3-5 potions when you turn his quest in, OR, receive ingredients to make some of your own. These random buff potions, I assume, could pick from all buff potions (though some of them would be "locked" behind Hardmode).

"Unlocking" Potions? You don't "unlock" potions in Terraria at all.

And as stated in the OP, these new quest plants only give their items if you harvest them while blooming. If they are not blooming, you will not get items from these new quest plants. And they only bloom while the quest for them is active. For example, if the current quest is, say, Jungle Surface... ONLY the Jungle Surface quest plants will be blooming, and no other quest plant will bloom during that time.

So yeah, not sure what to make of your questions, my apologies if I'm misunderstanding somehow.
 
I never craft potions, I choose to take my sword and go find them myself. And btw, I've played Hardmode and was playing mobile before Hardmode was a thing. :/

As for the 'special quest, what I mean is this: After you've completed all potions from him (I.E. You've done every potion quest he could give you?) Does he give a reward?

Sorry, I'm too dumb. Back then, I was terrified of the desert, and I never craft potions.
 
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