Alchemizing with the Alchemist

[Gen Eric Gui]

Does anyone know what determines if you can make something with the Alchemist or not? Mine seems to have a very poor ability to actually make anything; he's level 9 but he can't make anything more complex then a Slingshot. Meanwhile, I have all the parts to make things like Chainmail and Power Slings/Bullets but he just can't seem to put them together, even when I have all the proper books and things. I'm thinking of changing his major at this point because he's not very combat-capable and since it seems like he can't make any actually useful items I might as well ditch him.

Anyone?

Edit: I just noticed that items have levels, and that most of them are pretty high. I guess you have to be at or exceed the level of the item to make it. Well, given how much EXP the Alchemist needs to go up levels, that seems kind of pointless. :/

[EdHavoc]

We should also mention the bug in the alchemist class ... accuracy is always stuck at 0. Makes me wonder if the bug is in the script or if the value is really 0 regardless of what you equip him with.

[Andrew_Fireborn]

We should also mention the bug in the alchemist class ... accuracy is always stuck at 0. Makes me wonder if the bug is in the script or if the value is really 0 regardless of what you equip him with. Mine doesn't seem to have any problems hitting, so I'm guessing it's just in the display script.

And yeah, Gui, it seems Alch level is compared to item level when ya synth. The advantage of using them being that they're free and you can use them in the dungeons. But that 200% XP modifier is just insane. (Accoding to the FAQ on GFAQs, they take 200% of the XP to level Warrior, the major with the least XP required/level. But Warrior's also the -only- class that takes that little XP.)

The same seems to hold true for Appraising items with the majors that can. Although they still have a decent success rate with stuff above their level, they seem to fail, and get intimidated, more on stuff above them.

[Gen Eric Gui]

Your Accuracy stat isn't actually a % number, it's a modifier. So having a 0 Accuracy doesn't mean you won't ever hit, it just means you aren't getting a bonus to your hit chance.

That said, the number can actually go negative, but it will still display as 0. Most classes get extremely low Accuracy mod numbers, and several actually start in the negatives, which is why the number never seems to go above 0(In addition to my Alchemist, my Erdgeist Wizard also had this problem). After getting to level 9 and equipping several pieces of Accuracy+ equipment, my Alchemist and Wizard both finally got above 0. So it's not a bug, it just means you have to work that much harder to get a hit bonus for them.

On a side note, I wonder if I can abuse the donations at the clinic to get my alchemist up in levels? I'm starting to really rake in cash now that I can go into the labyrinths, but I can't really do anything with the money until I start getting more junk drops.

[Andrew_Fireborn]

On a side note, I wonder if I can abuse the donations at the clinic to get my alchemist up in levels? I'm starting to really rake in cash now that I can go into the labyrinths, but I can't really do anything with the money until I start getting more junk drops. Probably, haven't tried it myself, but it's mentioned as a way to utilize Satori without as much grinding to get your party to a formidable level.

Edit: Just did it, it's a 1:1 conversion, so go for it.

[PFV]

Edit: I just noticed that items have levels, and that most of them are pretty high. I guess you have to be at or exceed the level of the item to make it. Well, given how much EXP the Alchemist needs to go up levels, that seems kind of pointless. :/
While I think there is some correspondence, it doesn't look like you have to meet or exceed the crafted item level (as I'm nearly positive I've made stuff that exceeds my Alchemist's level). My best guess is there is a minimum level to work with certain ranked materials.

I'm somewhat tempted to make a new alchemist and monitor when certain things open up. As far as I know, there could be a statistical variable in there too, which could explain crafting items above your level.

The advantage of using them being that they're free and you can use them in the dungeons.Also, since you can assemble/disassemble at will, you can also keep trying until you craft something with a bonus (though, I haven't seen anything higher than +1).

[Gen Eric Gui]

I can't confirm this, but after some fooling around it looks like the Alchemist can make anything that's at most 5 levels above his own. So if he's level 15, he can make items up to level 20.

[PFV]

I can't confirm this, but after some fooling around it looks like the Alchemist can make anything that's at most 5 levels above his own. So if he's level 15, he can make items up to level 20.
I messed around with this some over the weekend. I couldn't find an instance where this wasn't true. At least up to mid L30 items.

Also, happened to notice the item levels in a lot of cases tell you how much of a material you'll need. Items need higher ranked material for every 10 levels, and increment how many you need per level.

Examples:
Level 1 Item: 1x Rank 1 Material
Level 5 Item: 5x Rank 1 Material
Level 10 Item: 10x Rank 1 Material
Level 17 Item: 7x Rank 2 Material
Level 20 Item: 10x Rank 2 Material
Level 23 Item: 3x Rank 3 Material