:P When people put "Alchemist" and "PvP" together in a sentence, it usually ends with a word like "fails". However, this really isn't the case, if you can manage to use Alchemist correctly; unlike, say, first job mage, or AR, it's difficult to just spam keys in a repetitive fashion (as most people do) and still manage to win the game. Alchemist is one of those classes that depends highly on your skill. Although it's hard to use in the beginning, it compensates for being a "hax" class once played correctly. So, although an unskilled, new player would perform badly, it has the kick-back of being one of the more pure-own classes in the game in the hands of a highly skilled person. The key is to stick with it, like you would for Aegis Knight; a common issue amongst players is that it's too hard to play at the outset, they give it up, and they never realize the full potential - but for select players, they'll dominate the entire game.
A few precautionaries about playing with Alchemist, though: although it's extremely strong in some cases, mage should still be used against 3rd and 1st Lire forms; unlike mage, Alchemist has virtually no ranged attacks extending beyond the range of a Dragon Knight; in addition, unlike a Dragon Knight, an Alchemist has no arrow defense. Therefore, it's a smart idea to avoid playing Alchy with Lire.
Onto the tips, now! (Note, a lot of this has already been covered by players such as Fuiko or Zhon; I'll only cover the stuff that I think they could be more elaborate on, or have missed)
Tip: Set Bombs Fast
A key component of Alchemist's lethality is that it can attack without any, or much delay in movement. Hardly any class can mimick this; for example, a lire or a mage shooting out a projectile as he/she dashes will pause at the end of a dash; an Alchemist setting a bomb will continue to move. Therefore, you're able to damage your opponent without reducing your dodging skill. However, as bombs are easy to predict, the only way to really hit (unless your opponent's an idiot) is to overwhelm them with bombs; this is actually fairly easy once you get the hang of it (I know an Alchemist who can, literally, set six bombs a second).
Try the following to set your bombs up really fast:
Tip: Use the Stun period of Bombs.
Aerial Bombs do no damage upon impact, but if you've noticed, they still add to your combo bar and your opponent is still stunned. What does this mean? When setting an aerial attack, and it hits, try to use this stun period to grab or dash attack. For this reason, aerial bombs are almost always better than ground-based bombs, since ground based bombs cannot stun. There are two different types of stuns, based on how you aim your bomb: the first one if the "bounce-off" stun, which hits once and stuns for about a second. The second one, the more deadly one, is the multiple bounce stun- if you aim your bomb so it hits exactly center, the bomb will bounce on and off of your opponent, hitting 4-8 times. This stuns for a very long time, and is quite easily exploitable. In addition, there is a high probability that your opponent will not escape before the bomb detonates.
In addition, you've noticed that bombs tend to have very low damage; Alchemists compensate for having the most insane damage of a dash attack for any character; one hits is enough to do damage equal to two grabs. When your opponent is stunned by a bomb, quickly run in and dash attack. If your opponent is aerialed by a bomb, they are still targets as long as they remain in the air; try to dash attack them while they're still up. Setting a booby trap, then camping it for this purpose, is quite lethal.
Tip: "Camping"
Withdrawing from a battle, particularly when your opponents are far away, is highly feasible and advantageous to an alchemist for the sole reason of being able to make items with your MP while charging away. The longer an opponent drags it out, the more likely your chances of winning. As an alchemist, you have several advantages for "camping" (as some people call it) - first, the booby trap. Place one ahead of you on a frequented route as a safety tool, so, when your opponent rushes in, you can make a hasty escape. Second, you also have poison cloud; I find that using this as a defensive tactic (eg. when your opponent is attacking you) is more likely to hit than as an offensive tactic (chasing them and trying to nail them down with it). Never make the first move unless your opponent is a) ranged and b) capable of hitting you with ranged attacks. As stated, the longer you drag it out, the longer your chances; in addition, luring them into attempting to corner you also enables you to poison gas them.
Tip: Big Bomb as an Aoe
Contary to popular belief, Big Bomb hits on BOTH sides, rather than just one; the first side, the side of the bomb is AoE, and the second side, the side without the bombs, is single target. Although the damage level of Big Bomb is low compared to other 3rd bars, it's one of the few 3rd bars with a useable freeze frame, that is, one that is long enough to outlast the animation and into the period in which you can move. For this reason, it's a highly desirable tactic to use when you're surrounded on both sides. The bombs will knock out the people on the side of the bomb, and you can utilize the freeze frame to grab people.
It's also for this reason that Big Bomb is one of the "safer" 3rd bars; unlike many other 3rd bars, which leave you open to attack if it doesn't hit, if Big Bomb doesn't hit, you have a freeze frame to exploit to either escape or grab. I can't count the number of times that I've dashed through someone, missed with this skill - yet still managed to do fairly decent damage with a grab by using the freeze frame! Worth the epic luls.
(More to be added soon.)
Blehnewish:(I know an Alchemist who can, literally, set six bombs a second).
(I know an Alchemist who can, literally, set six bombs a second).
How on earth? Any chance of a video or some other demonstration? If they'd be willing to take the time to do that. o.o
Blehnewish: Finally, a kinda-of-a-tip, although you'll hardly ever use it. If your opponent is standing by the edge of a platform, you can "bump" into them and back onto the platform again; if you set bombs during this period, you'll set a blurringly high number of bombs (think, dozens).
I hope you do continue this. Alchemist is my favorite class, and I always thought I was good with it in PvP, but as I've been getting to higher and higher levels, I've noticed that EVERYONE knows to Counter in order to escape my gas clouds, and I can just never damage them fast enough to get anywhere, whereas they can take me down in a few hits.
:P I can ask for a video, but I think an in-game demonstration would probably be more appropiate. Ask for Zhon, I'm sure he'll oblige if you ask nicely.
For your second question, it's a rare scenario. Have you ever noticed, that when you knock down someone on the edge of a platform, then stand there, they'll repeat a very quick falling animation over and over again until you move? If you do it without being knocked down, you get to set bombs really, REALLY fast, because you're moving on and off the platform so fast.
Poison Gas is a really useful tool, but it's not the only method in which you can damage people. It's impossible to counter out of a poison gas alone; you have to hit them with a bomb for them to counter, while they're in the gas. Therefore, if you notice that someone has a habit of countering out of poison gas, just grab them or dash attack them before they manage to escape, instead of bomb stunning them and hoping to keep them inside. I'll be adding more tips soon, after school, so, just wait.
Oh, Zhon? I have him on my friends list. :P Can't remember if I added him or if he added me, but I'd have to assume the latter since I never add people myself. Though I suppose I may have been the instigator out of idolization. XD
Yeah, I've noticed the falling animation thing. Doubt I could pull it off in a real match, but just because I want to see it, what's a good setup in Practice Mode to try it out? :P
From what I know, Alchemist's two main sources of damage are Poison Cloud and Dash Attack, right? Which one is generally the best to use?
Ooo. I didn't get that last bit too but I have seen that once. My Arme was like, going falling-not falling again and again on the ledge.
I'm pretty sure it's Poison Cloud. Though Dash Attacking people while in they're in the cloud is a bad idea (I just learnt it later on) since the dash attack will knock them down. Using a cash skill works well with this though but you'd have to use it at least twice to make a difference, since the attack will still throw them off.
Oh and I noticed too that Dash Attack has erm, some invulnerability frames? I'm not entirely sure though. Cus I've noticed sometimes, when they're spinning, Stone Curse don't hit them. =o Must be lag?
I haven't played Alchemist in forever. >< This is inspiring me to play it again. :D
~Ryugen™ Creation~
I'll write an alchemist guide too, my style is less bomb more poison cloud.
I been using her a good 5 hours a day lately.
Should provide a good alternative to the clouders as opposed to the bombers.
Visit my Grand Chase Blog!
Oh, another question.
Is the Cash Skill, the mega-fist, good for anything other than throwing people far, far away?
JebinZedalu: Oh, another question.Is the Cash Skill, the mega-fist, good for anything other than throwing people far, far away?
Yes. It's also good for giving you a reason to laugh at your opponent for being sucker-punched by a little girl with purple hair.
© Lunaset
The "megafist" does fairly decent damage, as I've seen. Additionally, you can use it for a pretty nifty combo - if you set up a gas EXACTLY at where a corner is, then use the cash skill to knock them into the gas, then they're hasted and take damage for the entire time they're in the gas (it's important to set it up at the corner, because otherwise, they fly past the gas.)
Also, I forgot to note: Clouding an Arme is highly ineffective, even if you do get him/her trapped in the center; by timing the keys to the haste, an Arme can easily achieve a teledash (which surpasses both the cloud and the haste), meaning, two ->->s with the right interval in between, and they escape.
xD haha That and it's actually pretty strong. o_o
Try it on Practice. Cloud Kill then Giant Punch Twice.
D< Haha, it's Poison Cloud. I have a tendancy to name the skills whatever I want.
(I used to call Big Bomb "Bazooka")
JebinZedalu:Oh, another question.Is the Cash Skill, the mega-fist, good for anything other than throwing people far, far away?
I love the first bar alchemist cash.
I'll explain it later in my post, it's an AWESOME skill and I can't imagine supplimenting without it again.
There were a lot of things in your original post that were off ever so slightly, you may want to consider revising when you get home.
>.> And I timed it, it's just barely over a second for 6 bombs.
Also, in my opinion it's good to find a balance between skills and normal attacks. If you rely too much on cloud kill you'll be limited to how often you can effectively attack, while if you rely too much on bombs and dash attacks you'll never get that one-shot-kill effect that Alchemists are so good for. Unless of course you can bomb juggle... ;)
Seems like everyone's writing Alchemist guides these days. I'm too lazy to explain all my stuff in text, so maybe I'll make another video...
Anyways, nice start to it so far Cons, hope to see more.
I'm just an artist passing by...
You have the best combo ender ever.
I use it all the time.
:D