Alchemy in Cataclysm: Transmutation, Potion or Elixir Mastery?!

[Aleksej89]

Which Alchemy mastery would you suggest to take in Cataclysm?

Potion mastery would yield extra procs of HP, Mana, Rejuvenation, Concentration, Tol'vir(agility) etc etc, which are all useful - especially since they are crafted a lot, so Potion mastery has a lot of opportunities for its proc to happen.

Elixir mastery would yield extra procs of Elixirs and Flasks, however i am not sure how does this mastery interact with the "Cauldron" system - as well as the fact that you can not use Flasks and Elixirs at the same time. Also Flasks/Elixirs are consumed/crafted a lot less then Potions, so the opportunity for Elixir mastery to proc is significantly lower.

Transmutation mastery affects gem and metal transmutations, however i THINK they all share a single long cooldown (24h or something) - meaning Transmutation mastery has very very few opportunities to proc, since it is crafted only once a day. However even a single proc from this mastery would be quite valuable.

Overall every mastery has its advantages and weaknesses - however, as a PvE/PvP Hunter, i just can decide which Mastery should i take.
Can any of you folks please give suggestions which Mastery to take, and why?

[Firecrest]

Potion or Elixir, IMO. The value of Transmuted items has decreased rapidly since the release of the expansion. And will only continue to do so as the expansion continues.

Between the two, Potion is probably your best bet. You're DPS, so you should be potting, or double potting, on every pull (as opposed to a Tank or Healer who may not need to pot more than a few times a night), which means you should be tearing through potions. Additionally, like you said, the existance of Cauldrons makes Elixir a little less desireable. Don't gimp your guild out of an Elixir Master though! Someone needs to make the flasks that go into the cauldrons!

Alchemy is a great profession choice. One of the best for every class and spec, IMO.

[Aleksej89]

Very nice answer, thank you for posting.

I hope more people will post detailed answers

[Mordredofmia]

Considering it only costs 150g and some flying through Outland to change mastery any option really works. You just have to look at what mats you need/have most frequently.

If you need lots of gems and volatiles while gearing up to craft gear and fill sockets then Transmutation Mastery is gonna be your best bet. After your need for volatiles cools down this becomes less great as the prices for rare gems are plummeting rapidly.

Being able to mass produce potions of the Tol'vir so that it's a consistent part of your DPS rotation will be a nice boon both to your personal DPS and your raid. Being able to proc extra of this frequently used item will in the long run save you lots of time farming mats. So that's a help.

As an Alchemist we need less Flasks then other players. So depending on how you look at it Elixir Mastery is not that effective for us personally. We need less Flasks so proccing extra isn't a HUGE boon for us personally. It'll help your guild/raid sure and maybe make you some gold on the AH.

Personally right now I run Potion Master. I like having a huge supply of Mana Pots for our raid's healers and I go through Tol'vir potions like candy. I stockpile my heartblossom and carnelians(Also a JC) and when I have a need or a lot of mats I switch to Transmutation Mastery for the procs. Or if I decide I need crafted gear for an alt.

[Latitude]

Which Alchemy mastery would you suggest to take in Cataclysm?

Potion mastery would yield extra procs of HP, Mana, Rejuvenation, Concentration, Tol'vir(agility) etc etc, which are all useful - especially since they are crafted a lot, so Potion mastery has a lot of opportunities for its proc to happen.

Elixir mastery would yield extra procs of Elixirs and Flasks, however i am not sure how does this mastery interact with the "Cauldron" system - as well as the fact that you can not use Flasks and Elixirs at the same time. Also Flasks/Elixirs are consumed/crafted a lot less then Potions, so the opportunity for Elixir mastery to proc is significantly lower.

Transmutation mastery affects gem and metal transmutations, however i THINK they all share a single long cooldown (24h or something) - meaning Transmutation mastery has very very few opportunities to proc, since it is crafted only once a day. However even a single proc from this mastery would be quite valuable.

Overall every mastery has its advantages and weaknesses - however, as a PvE/PvP Hunter, i just can decide which Mastery should i take.
Can any of you folks please give suggestions which Mastery to take, and why?

I have to disagree about transmute speccing. Currently transmutes for Truegold and Meta gems seem to be the only really worthwhile parts of the spec (cost/return ratio is really good comparatively). WE STILL DON'T HAVE EPIC GEMS - Those transmutes will be very profitable and we have several tiers to go before they lose their worth.

With that said however, being a PVE/PVP hunter I would say elixir spec fits what you need to do the best.

[razorshot]

Transmutation for sure, I've got nice income from transmuting truegold and primal might. I'm not sure about your server but primal might is selling at 500g on my server, which is like 400g net profit and doesn't have a cd.

[Dandy]

Transmutation for sure, I've got nice income from transmuting truegold and primal might. I'm not sure about your server but primal might is selling at 500g on my server, which is like 400g net profit and doesn't have a cd.

And you sell what, 1 a week?

Transmute is best for me atm, making me tons of gold from metas/rubies and even ember topaz. All flasks are atleast 30g less than mat cost, so elixir is pretty much dead, not to mention that flasks dont sell for shit. Blizz really gave cauldrons a second thought, didnt they.

[rikkken]

Very casual player here. But I do use my truegold cd daily. its proc'd a few times and its about 500 g a bar. Also an alt is a jc so gem transmutes make me a good amount of money as well (getting rid of excess carnelians).

The point is transmute, I believe, involves very little work for a large reward




In regards to transmute spec losing value over time. This is true until a new patch puts prices on mats back up.

[Unoriginal]

i went potion master, mats are lulz too get, i get about half a stack or so of two types of herbs while doing dailys, and then an hour of farming the other mats= alot of potions
i sell Stacks of 5 potions of each type for about 45 g a stack,i make alot of potions and procs are crazy, i actually made an entire stack and a half with just procs.

[Gat]

It varies from servrer economies, but on my server it seems as if Transmute master will make you the most gold over time, especially with the recent proc change. Although, I have a good supply of gold so im currently elixir master and I often create a stack of flasks and don't even see 1 extra proc, so I think its safe to say transmute is best all around.

[Soranis]

If you want alot of money go transmute. Why??
in 4.2 or 4.3 there will be new crafted items, Just as in WotLK go transmute and make 1 truegold a day it procs around 3 over a week for me atm so i end up with 10truegold a week.
Atm truegold is cheap so are the mats. but when those new epix from JC/BS hit live you can or sell em for like 1000g each raw or make rings/necklaces or BS items. and make TONS of cash.

[Deleted]

When epic gems come out then transmute, until then Pot is the way to go.

[Deleted]

Im Currently transmute master,not much profit to be honest,will prolly change sooner or later since pot masters are making shitloads of money.

[Delicious]

I was just coming here to post a question regarding Alchemy and transmutation mastery ... I decided to choose that for high hopes of lots of extra Truegold, boy was I wrong. I have done my Transmute every day for 18 days now, and not one Truegold proc. I've done Titanium transmute also everyday for 18 days, and have made 54 extra Titanium bars... so it kinda sucks. Was thinking about switching to Potion mastery

[Dandy]

I was just coming here to post a question regarding Alchemy and transmutation mastery ... I decided to choose that for high hopes of lots of extra Truegold, boy was I wrong. I have done my Transmute every day for 18 days now, and not one Truegold proc. I've done Titanium transmute also everyday for 18 days, and have made 54 extra Titanium bars... so it kinda sucks. Was thinking about switching to Potion mastery

Had that luck aswell, then I got a x2 and a x5 the next day, not gonna see a proc for about half a year again now hehe.
After reading this though, I lvled another alchemist to have as pot master. It seems to be about 4-10g profit per potion @ my server, which is decent enough to do it.

edit: made 60 of volcanic/tolvir/golemblood now, and got 9 extra on all of them. Seems to be less procs than when I was potionmaster in wrath.I can make 15-20 without a proc, this never happend in wrath as far as I remember.

[Aacid]

Been considering dropping transmute mastery to potions.. Especially as I dropped herb for tailoring.. For the first time in like 4 years I might add :P Kills me buying herbs

[Pollack]

Potion or Elixir, IMO. The value of Transmuted items has decreased rapidly since the release of the expansion. And will only continue to do so as the expansion continues.

Between the two, Potion is probably your best bet. You're DPS, so you should be potting, or double potting, on every pull (as opposed to a Tank or Healer who may not need to pot more than a few times a night), which means you should be tearing through potions. Additionally, like you said, the existance of Cauldrons makes Elixir a little less desireable. Don't gimp your guild out of an Elixir Master though! Someone needs to make the flasks that go into the cauldrons!

Alchemy is a great profession choice. One of the best for every class and spec, IMO.

This pretty much sums it up.

[Stevoman]

I've been thinking about this for a few days and I'm almost convinced that Potion is the way to go. Transmute has no bulk moneymaking potential, just a few daily cooldowns worth a few gold. Elixir is, at least on my realm, still completely unprofitable. Potion, on the other hand, has almost a 200% profit margin on my realm (make for 4g, sells for 7.5g), and has extremely high demand on raid nights. Move enough volume and you're sure to make a decent buck.

[Snowcharm]

Well I'm Transmutation specced. Only tried Transmute : Pyrium Bar so far.
1 Elementium Bar - 4g
1 Earth - 12 g
Yesterday it Procced 2 Bars (so 1 extra)
Today it Procced 4 Bars (3 extra)
1 Pyrium Bar - 20 g

So I made extra 60g today :P

Will try Potion next week though.

[Folc]

Transmutations affects the gems aswell. So you have a chance of doubbleing your gold made on gems. This is also a GREAT pluss if you're a JC.