Homunculus

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Overview

Alchemists have long been tinkering with various substances and compounds, using their knowledge to create acids and potions, bombs and cannon balls. One of the harder creations for any Alchemist, however, is the Homunculus: life created from scientific processes. The Homunculus is an Alchemist's partner and ward; the Alchemist is responsible for taking care of their Homunculus, keeping it well-fed, healing it when it is injured, and generally nurturing it. In turn, the Homunculus fights with the Alchemist, providing support, defense, or extra damage in combat.

The concept of studying and creating Homunculi is, understandably, a topic of debate even among Alchemists themselves. Alchemists who are interested in pursuing the creation of Homunculi must travel to the famous city of scientific research: Lighthalzen. Some wouldn't be surprised that the Rekenber Corporation has had a hand in such research, with the Regenschrim Laboratory and its infamous incident. A certain scientist by the name of Kellasus will teach Alchemists about Bioethics and discuss the moral lines of creating artificial life.

Once the Alchemist has studied the principles of bioethics, they can attempt to create a Homunculus themselves. The Alchemist must have at least 1 level of Pharmacy and a Potion Creation Guide in order to make a Homunculus embryo. It requires the following items, which are consumed upon skill use:

  • 1 Medicine Bowl
  • 1 Glass Tube
  • 1 Morning Dew of Yggdrasil
  • 1 Seed of Life

The items can be purchased in Aldebaran at the Alchemist's Guild and can also be purchased from the Geneticist Tool merchant in the Item Mall. Alchemists should be warned that they may fail to create an embryo and it is suggested that they have multiple sets of the items needed in case they cannot create an embryo. As with other alchemical creations, creating an embryo depends on the Alchemist's INT, LUK, and DEX. Once successful, the Alchemist simply needs to call the Homunculus and the embryo will become a fully-grown Homunculus.

About the Homunculi

There are four types of Homunculi that can be created, each with different stats and skills. When summoning a Homunculus for the first time, there is a chance that the embryo will evolve into one of the four base types of Homunculi. In addition, each type has two different appearances, which are also determined by chance.

There is a popular myth that the Alchemist's own stats play a role in the type of Homunculus that they will receive when creating an embryo. It isn't proven yet, although it does seem to have some basis of truth.

Name Info Food Skills
LifBase.png
Lif
Race: Demi-Human
Element: Neutral
Role: Support
Pet Food Healing Hands
Urgent Escape
Brain Surgery
Mental Charge
AmistrBase.png
Amistr
Race: Brute
Element: Neutral
Role: Tank
Zargon Castling
Bulwark
Adamantium Skin
Blood Lust
FilirBase.png
Filir
Race: Brute
Element: Neutral
Role: Speed-based DPS
Garlet Moonlight
Flitting
Accelerated Flight
S.B.R.44
VanilmirthBase.png
Vanilmirth
Race: Formless
Element: Neutral
Role: Magic Caster
Scell Caprice
Chaotic Benediction
Instruction Change
Bio Explosion

Choosing a Homunculus

"Which Homunculus should I pick?" This is a common question amongst new Alchemists and future Geneticists.

Each Homunculus serves its own purpose that is custom tailored to the adventurer's individual needs. Despite general opinion, players should choose based on their exact situation and not what others tell them to do. This is because every player has different leveling methods and amount of time to invest, so one player might have enough time to invest into leveling an Amistr, while another is just looking for a quick pre-Homunculus S to get their needed support skills.

Comparisons

  • Lif - more of a novelty character. Its skills are fairly worthless and offer nothing to the player other than a walking speed boost that will be replaced anyways as a Geneticist with Cart Boost. Its attack is low, has no burst attacks, and its healing skill, Healing Hands, does not heal much and is generally not worth using. It is strongly advised NOT to use it as a base, as it generally has no practical use.
  • Amistr - generally the best base for a Homunculus S but also easily the slowest to level and feed due to the lack of offensive skills, and choosing to acquire Blood Lust would require feeding the Amistr to loyal twice. Its Bulwark skill is very valuable for MVPing later on as it boosts VIT and even offer some defense that can be useful for PvP. Players with A LOT of free time to level and feed a homunculus should go with Amistr, as the payoff in the end will be more than worth it. However, avoid it if spending a longer time leveling and all the extra feeding time does not sound like an ideal situation.
  • Filir - generally the fastest leveling Homunculus in most situations, and the most helpful for speed leveling a Homunculus S up to the required level for certain skills. The big downside is the lack of VIT, which carries over to Homunculus S, making it quite frustrating sometimes to level due to it dying too much. Another trade off is that depending on the Homunculus S chosen, it may not reach high enough VIT for stun immunity. For players with less time to level a Homunculus, Filir is definitely a good choice. Its loyal evolved skill, S.B.R.44, is usually skipped as it is not terribly useful.
  • Vanilmirth - the in-between solution to Amistr and Filir. It offers the high VIT and Max HP, has a decent offensive skill, but has lower burst attack compared to Filir, making it slower for leveling in some situations. Its Caprice skill can be unreliable, as it picks a random element to use. It is a solid choice though for all players to use as a base, and many players skip the loyal evolved skill, Bio Explosion, as it is not used very often. It is also desirable as a base for a Homunculus S, for players who plan on becoming pure brewers, because Instruction Change increases the brewing success rate.