How often do you alchemetize for gold?

[PhilD]

Originally posted by NTJedi:
Alchemists are rarely worth the purchase unless it's a huge game. The alchemist stone is definitely a great jewel !

Depends on how the game is proceeding for how often alchemy is needed... at least in my experiences.

Are you talking about the Master Alchemist Ulm pretender, or the random site Alchemist?

A Master Alchemist is clearly a design choice (I like Rainbow pretenders, even though I don't play them well), and even though Ulm tends to have a use for all Earth and Fire gems it can get, the bonus isn't a small one.

Random Alchemists I've always thought were a great find. I tend to play nations with little access to Fire magic, while I like missile troops, so finding Fire mages is always nice; when not making money, they can be used as forgers or fill in a battle position.

An Alchemist has a Gold cost of 300, so an Upkeep cost of 20. If you're alchemizing about 4 Earth gems a turn, or 3 Fire, that pays for his upkeep. Not exactly early game, but I'd say that's easy to reach in a non "purely blitz" game, and definitely worth it in solo play (of course, you have to add in the 200 Gold for a Lab, and the 300 upfront cost of the Alchemist; but that's just 34 Fire gems before you get the Alchemist, or 23 after it).

[NTJedi]

[quote]Originally posted by PhilD:

Originally posted by NTJedi:
[qb]
An Alchemist has a Gold cost of 300, so an Upkeep cost of 20. If you're alchemizing about 4 Earth gems a turn, or 3 Fire, that pays for his upkeep. Not exactly early game, but I'd say that's easy to reach in a non "purely blitz" game, and definitely worth it in solo play (of course, you have to add in the 200 Gold for a Lab, and the 300 upfront cost of the Alchemist; but that's just 34 Fire gems before you get the Alchemist, or 23 after it).

Well your strategy sounds different then mine if you are alchemizing 4 earth gems every turn. Only when an emergency occurs will I sell my gems instead of using them for magic. The more troops I buy with gold... the more my upkeep. It's good to alchemize for that emergency 3 temples which need to go up tho.

[Cainehill]

Originally posted by PhilD:
An Alchemist has a Gold cost of 300, so an Upkeep cost of 20. If you're alchemizing about 4 Earth gems a turn, or 3 Fire, that pays for his upkeep. Not exactly early game, but I'd say that's easy to reach in a non "purely blitz" game, and definitely worth it in solo play (of course, you have to add in the 200 Gold for a Lab, and the 300 upfront cost of the Alchemist; but that's just 34 Fire gems before you get the Alchemist, or 23 after it).

And in addition to alchemizing for gold, he's forging items or doing research every turn he's at that lab. Or searching for magic sites, if you have a combination of pretender and nation that doesn't have much fire/earth/air. (Is air the third path on the Alchemist? I have several, but...)

In a large game, I always pop out 1 alchemist if I find that site. Usually no more than one, and I put bodyguards on him and move him to a fort with a lab soon as possible; I've moved one away from a fort with a lab (where I recruited him) simply because that was a border province.

[Norfleet]

Originally posted by Cainehill:
(Is air the third path on the Alchemist? I have several, but...)

Alchemists are FES.