With knowledge comes understanding, and with understanding comes mastery. The Biochemist's unyielding dedication to research and experimentation have raised them to the summit of scientific knowledge. Now that their proficiency with potions and chemicals is unmatched, they are on the verge of manipulating the very laws of nature!
Biochemists (Alt: Creator) are a much stronger class than the Alchemists, provided there are sufficient funds and SP for the new skill Acid Bomb (often abbreviated to "AB" or "AD" as it is known as Acid Demonstration on some other official servers.). While Alchemists were more of a melee class, Biochemists have the option to level with a skill other than Cart Revolution and Mammonite. Many invest a great amount of their stat points into INT instead of AGI, and level with Acid Bomb or magic attacks from weapons (i.e. Fire Bolt through the weapon Fireblend) and Homunculi instead.
Biochemists are a popular class in iRO because of the amount of damage they can deal to MVPs in particular, as well as because their third job class Geneticist is a handy and capable character in War of Emperium.
Job Change Guide
To become a Biochemist, you must find a book called 'the Book of Ymir' in 'Sage Castle', Juno. The book will lead you to Valhalla so you can change your job through the Biochemist Job NPC. Also you must reach Job Level 50 as a Transcendent 1st class character.
1. 'Sage Castle' is located at 11 o'clock direction juno88320 in Juno.
2. 'Book of Ymir' is located inside a room behind an NPC called 'Metheus Sylphe' juno_in0288164.
3. 'Book of Ymir' juno_in0294206 will teleport you to Valhalla.
4. Find and talk to the Job NPC suited to your 2nd class.
Note: After becoming a Biochemist, if the player knew Bioethics in their prior life, they can regain it by speaking to the Job Change NPC in Valhalla a second time.
Builds
MVP Killer Build
STR: 70-90
AGI: 1
VIT: 1-50
INT: 30-70
DEX: 30-50
LUK: 1
See Geneticist Builds for build strategies to work towards. See Alchemist Builds for leveling strategies for just the Biochemist leveling stages. Leveling a Biochemist is similar to a regular pre-trans Alchemist, but with a few new skill additions.
New Skills Overview:
Acid Bomb is one of the best (if not the best) MVP killing skills in the game, even when compared with third class skills. Biochemists can use this skill to kill MVPs even at a low level for high EXP reward without penalty, provided the player has enough damage resistance gear or a friend to tank the MVPs with.
Full Chemical Protection is extremely useful in all areas of gameplay, and can be used to protect both the Biochemist's equipment as well as any party mate's.
Tactics
Leveling
Acid Bomb while expensive yields good exp-rates against MVP monsters. Try to get a Priest to cast Lex Aeterna on the MVP first, though, to save some money on the consumable items required for the skill.
An AGI build can solo maps such as Juno field 4, which has a lot of the low HP Harpy monster. Veins Field 3 for Magmarings is also a good spot.
A more supportive Biochemist might find a place in a party with other players using the Aid Potion skill.
MVP
The cost of Acid Bomb is overcome by the zeny gained from MVPing while solo or in small parties. A Biochemist will usually beat the competition on almost any MVP. It is highly recommended to pair up with a Priest or preferably an Arch Bishop when working on MVP monsters, as most MVP monsters are balanced for combat with third job characters in mind. Arch Bishops are particularly helpful, as their skill Sacrament will significantly improve the cast time of Acid Bomb. Having a dedicated tanker (usually a Sura) will help a lot as well, and the Biochemist may opt for more DPS equipment rather than damage reduction equipment.
PvP
Acid Bomb will deal a lot of damage to some players in PvP, particularly those not wearing a lot of demi-human or ranged reduction. A player fully geared with a "WoE Set" will often take very low damage from acid bomb, however. It is not recommended to PVP on a character below 3rd job, as much of your competition will likewise be 3rd job characters.
Most transcendent characters will have already completed some Eden Equipment quests already and can reuse the equipment. If the character has not done the quest yet, they can do it as a transcendent character as well. The One Handed Sword is a good weapon and generally a good choice for an Alchemist and their future classes' use.
It is recommended to look at the Equipment recommendations for the Third Class job to see what equipment to strive for, rather than to spend a lot of money on a piece of equipment that will not be used in the future as a third class. However, some equipment may have a high level requirement, or are transcendent only.
Weapons
After considering what requirement skills have (some skills can only be used with certain weapon types), the Weapon Search tool within the iRO Wiki DB site is very helpful. Generally, for physical classes (both melee and ranged), something with high ATK is best. For magic classes, something with high MATK is best.
A Biochemist built for Acid Bomb should aim for equipment that adds ranged Damage icnreases, but failing that anything that adds MATK/INT or ATK/STR. Defensive equipment versus MVP monsters is also vital.
Consume 1 Bottle Grenade and 1 Acid Bottle to hurl the contents of both items at a targeted enemy to inflict an amount of damage affected by this skill's level, the caster's ATK, and the target's VIT.
Uses a condensed potion to heal all of the caster's party members, guild, or an allied guild within a 7x7 cell area around a targeted spot. Level affects color of potion used.
