Ups and downs, both nerfs and rework-buffs for Alchs. They have been one of the strongest guilds for some time now though, and balance always goes both ways.
Disclaimer: In all my 4.7 posts, I am very much open to that I might be wrong!
That’s part of the beauty of this game after all, and in general just in sharing any kind of hobby – to discuss all our thoughts about it.
Also, some that I have written may very well be coloured heavily by stuff that other great people have already discussed elsewhere, and in all such cases I can only bow and thank them for their wisdom. 😀
Soma / Pneuma
Card 4.7 above and 4.6 below, click to enlarge
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Soma, and in particular Pneuma, has been under a watchful eye for a long while. Some changes were needed, and here they come.
For example, the KD is moved higher in Pneuma’s playbook, and some over-the-top efficiency is taken care of. Their dmg output is slightly adjusted since it’s long been deemed very high.
The use of Backdraft is also changed a lot, and I think it’s a really good change. I mean I didn’t mind the way it worked before, but some really disliked the fiddling with tokens and keeping track, which is nice to take care of – and this is just so much cleaner regardless.
Kami
Card 4.7 above and 4.6 below, click to enlarge
Not much to discuss here really. Small nerf, but a justified and relevant one.
Shortening the range on Chemical Ordnance from 6 to 4 shifts her reliability down a small notch without changing the way she plays.
She’s been an autoinclude in any Alchemist lineup for a while, and now hopefully she’ll still be the same “bouncy ball” in play style but also maybe let some of her guildmates shine some more.
vCalculus
Card 4.7 above and 4.6 below, click to enlarge
Now we’re talking bigger changes though! So much to go through here.
In her previous veteran version, she’s been barely played due to the fact that oCalculus is so good at what she does. Hopefully in this new buffed version, vCalc will get more playtime and an interesting new role on the pitch.
She still has a good threat range on goal, but she isn’t a linear striker in this version. On the other hand, Alchemists have plenty of interesting ways to score goals, so “another de”just another striker” wouldn’t be of any use really.
One thing that Alchemists don’t have plenty of, is ways of dealing with conditions from the opponent, only to dish out their own poison and burning. So Transmute here is a really interesting play.
Getting to throw Sticky Bomb from playbook is great as well, and overall her playbook is a little more efficient.
She will also often be positioned agressively now I think, with her new traits Toxicity and Noxious Death. It’s like she wants to be like the big guys, she’s like a Mini-Katalyst-Compound now, and it can really hurt to try to deal with her or manage to take her out.
So now she’s got lots of utility go along with her baller skills, so that she can float around and be annoying bringing disruption and condition-clearing, and then suddenly have an easy score within reach.
Mercury
Card 4.7 above and 4.6 below, click to enlarge
Mercury too, gets a bigger change. Most of his card is the same as before, but his two new traits make a big difference, and will likely make him stand his ground better against his brother Phosphor in Lamplighters as well.
Fusion feels simple enough, and always good to dive deeper into the theme for Alchs and Lamps to utilise conditions to achieve their ends.
Fission is a lot more interesting from a design perspective I think, even though a circular scatter isn’t always what you want and so on. Really innovative trait, I really like it.
Throw a few Fire Balls and dislodge the ball, go fetch it and pass it on to one of the strikers. Simple but still kinda awesome.
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