Dungeons and Dragons Online begins testing the Alchemist class, addresses balance concerns

With a penchant for potions and poisons, the Alchemist might not be welcome at most frat parties, but in Dungeons and Dragons Online parties? That’s going to happen, and soon.

On the test server, DDO began putting the game’s newest class through its paces. The devs said that the Alchemist is based on the D&D Alchemist Savant and will be inscribing recipes and mixing poisons for fights. What makes this class unique are the reactions that Alchemist spells cause, which the devs said are further altered by the enhancement trees (which are Bombardier, Vile Chemist, and Apothecary).

In a separate thread, Standing Stone Games assured players that balance changes being tested weren’t because of the permadeath server: “There has been some concern by players, based on the wording of some of our notes, that the Hardcore server is prompting us to make balance changes that we otherwise wouldn’t consider. All of our balance changes are aimed at the game as a whole.”