Guide Misha's Guide to the Potions Minigame

Misha

Site Founder
Ahoy folks, today I wanted to cover one of the most tedious level up processes in the game, involving the Potions Minigame.

Potions are widely regarded as the utmost tedious skillset in the game to master, and this can be amplified if the player is not able to consistently place the same parts together. Today, I want to teach you how to get better at potions so that this grind becomes less of a stress test, and more of a patience game.

Firstly, let's have a vocabulary quiz: Board Rule
Board rule
is the terminology used to describe a pattern used to brew specific potions that is utilized to avoid overcrowding, which can cause you to fail. Utilizing board space in the 8x10 playing space that the game gives you is imperative to completing potions, as you only gain EXP from completing the separate parts of the potion, and completing the full minigame at the end.



Board Rule - Port Royal

Port Royal, unlike the other three major brewing locations, does not have its own specific set-piece on the board. This means that doing potions on Port Royal allows you to utilize the RGB pieces to cover any of the nine available color combinations that appear.

The pattern utilized below is a 3/2/2/1, in the order RRR/BB/GG/R

1568374498832.png


NOTE: This is the only Port Royal board rule that I will be showing off in this guide, however, there are other patterns that work.



Board Rule - Padres, Tortuga & Cuba
Padres Del Fuego, Tortuga, and Cuba each gain a respective set piece in the form of Lava Essence, Gold Essence, and Cursed Essence, which can cause the board to fill up much more rapidly if you have no idea how to deal with the new pieces that are being mixed in.

I present to you the 1x8 board rule, utilizing mixed pieces and going in the following order: P/R/B/P/G/B/R/G

1568375101879.png


NOTE: This Board Rule works for all three of the aforementioned islands, just replace the Bone, or P with the respective essence.

At first glance, the glaring issue with this board rule to anyone who is familiar with how Potions work is the very distinct lack of two of the same color touching, which can lead to issues with stacking a different colored piece underneath or above one another. HOWEVER, after extended testing utilizing this board rule for beginner potions such as Ghastly Visage and Flatulent Fizz, I can note that this board rule is the most consistent method of clearing out the island-specific set pieces.




Level Up Process - Port Royal

This method of leveling potions is useful in that it can be done from 1-20 on Port Royal, eliminating travel times as you can knock out the entire process in one fell swoop. It should be noted that Levels 10 and above will take marginally more time due to the fact that you are not utilizing potions that are at your current level, and are instead opting in for Swift Foot, which utilizes the RGB pattern that Port Royal is well used for.

Level 1: Marksman Draught I or Swashbuckler Stew I
Level 2: Cannoneer Draft I
Level 3: Swift Foot I
Level 4: Swift Foot I
Level 5: Lively Bucko Brew I or Swift Foot I
Level 6: Marksman Draught II, Swashbuckler Stew II, or Swift Foot I
Level 7: Cannoneer Draft II
Level 8-11: Swift Foot II
Level 12: Cannoneer Draft III or Swift Foot II
Level 13-19: Swift Foot III
Level 16-19: Clap O'Thunder

Mastered!

Level Up Process - Alternative


Note: This version of the process utilizes teleporting between the different main islands, so having the teleport totems (or a friend) is best!

Level 1: Marksman Draught I
Level 2: Cannoneer Draft I
Level 3: Swift Foot I
Level 4: Swift Foot I
Level 5: Ghastly Visage
Level 6: Marksman Draught II or Swashbuckler Stew II
Level 7: Cannoneer Draft II
Level 8: Swift Foot II
Level 9: Puke Potion or Swift Foot II
Level 10: Lively Bucko Brew II or Swift Foot II
Level 11: Lively Bucko Brew II or Swift Foot II
Level 12: Cannoneer Draft III or Lively Bucko Brew II
Level 13: Swift Foot III or Phantom Spirits I
Level 14: Swift Foot III or Phantom Spirits I

Level 15: Hardy Matey I
Level 16: Clap O'Thunder or Hardy Matey I
Level 17-19: Lively Bucko Brew IV, Clap O'Thunder, or Hardy Matey I
Mastered!

NOTE:
Potions are now affected by sources of Double EXP, such as GM events, and the St. Patricks' Day, Father's Day, and Hollowed Woods quest rewards. They are however NOT affected by Crew Bonus or Crew Days.



Edits
v1.01 - Re-organized the text to have it centered and reworded confusing sentences. (HW 2018)
v1.02 - Added separate board rule and more streamlined level up process.
 
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I find it is easier when using those three ingredients (as mentioned above) to use a system where they line up in in the middle six spaces something like this (where G=green, B=blue, R=red): RGGBBRRG (or RBBGGRRB or BGGRRBBG or the reverse of any of these). It doesn't seem to matter which you use as long as the final product has three colors of the same difficulty/level.
Example using this scheme: RGGBBRRG. The double colors go above the double letters. The RG can be place on whichever end it is needed. The GB and BR on top between the doubled letters.

Most importantly, and I am always surprised when someone does not know this, remember you can flip the two colored pieces 180 degrees!!! Once you have completed one color of the final product you can use the former spaces as fill if needed.

Now if I needed the green to be a higher level/difficulty in the final product I could use this instead: BRRGGGBBR.

Hope this helps as well.
 
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I find it is easier when using those three ingredients (as mentioned above) to use a system where they line up in in the middle six spaces something like this (where G=green, B=blue, R=red): RGGBBRRG (or RBBGGRRB or BGGRRBBG or the reverse of any of these). It doesn't seem to matter which you use as long as the final product has three colors of the same difficulty/level.
Example using this scheme: RGGBBRRG. The double colors go above the double letters. The RG can be place on whichever end it is needed. The GB and BR on top between the doubled letters.

Most importantly, and I am always surprised when someone does not know this, remember you can flip the two colored pieces 180 degrees!!! Once you have completed one color of the final product you can use the former spaces as fill if needed.

Now if I needed the green to be a higher level/difficulty in the final product I could use this instead: BRRGGGBBR.

Hope this helps as well.
Thanks for your addition, this was definitely welcome and will help me as well on my grind as well as other players. Thanks again!
 
Nicely stated, I will use this since I am level 8 and dont really care for potions, never use the buff ones only the fart/burp/color change ones
 
I just found this post yesterday and I cannot thank you enough! You have saved my sanity in regards to making potions. I tried your method and now leveling is flying by! I despise making potions, so the sooner I can finish the better, LOL. Thanks!:D
 
I just found this post yesterday and I cannot thank you enough! You have saved my sanity in regards to making potions. I tried your method and now leveling is flying by! I despise making potions, so the sooner I can finish the better, LOL. Thanks!:D
I'm glad it helps! It's a pain, but we'll all get through it on our time! Keep going, you've got this. Cheers!
 
Only issue is recommending only swiftfoot 3 from levels 13 to 19. Hardy Matey 2 and Hardy Matey 1 can be made with the exact same strat in the exact same amount of time. Hardy Matey 2 also gives approximately 230 points every time. Swift Foot 3 may be easier to make, but it also doesn't give as much rep.
 
Only issue is recommending only swiftfoot 3 from levels 13 to 19. Hardy Matey 2 and Hardy Matey 1 can be made with the exact same strat in the exact same amount of time. Hardy Matey 2 also gives approximately 230 points every time. Swift Foot 3 may be easier to make, but it also doesn't give as much rep.
A very late response indeed, but that is a good point. I haven't personally messed with Hardy Matey, although I'll pop in game to look at any adjustments I can make to this guide now. Thanks!
 
A very late response indeed, but that is a good point. I haven't personally messed with Hardy Matey, although I'll pop in game to look at any adjustments I can make to this guide now. Thanks!

The strat for hardy matey is the same as any other potion that only needs a single ingredient type, such as Lively Bucko, build up two towers with exactly one empty column separating them, and then drop the base ingredients into the empty slot. Depending on if you need essences, gems, or even souls, as is the case with Staff Enchant 2, the required height does vary. A good setup for this sort of stuff can be found here:
View: https://youtu.be/9y9q1HJ8fSs


Just replace the crab parts with whatever you need.
 
The strat for hardy matey is the same as any other potion that only needs a single ingredient type, such as Lively Bucko, build up two towers with exactly one empty column separating them, and then drop the base ingredients into the empty slot. Depending on if you need essences, gems, or even souls, as is the case with Staff Enchant 2, the required height does vary. A good setup for this sort of stuff can be found here:
View: https://youtu.be/9y9q1HJ8fSs


Just replace the crab parts with whatever you need.
Thanks again! This is good information. When I get around to revamping my guides for this year of TLOPO, I'll get this tidbit of info in. Looks good!
 
Good morning ladies and gents, Misha back again with a guide on potions in The Legends of Pirates Online.
Potions in TLOPO are widely regarded as the utmost frustrating and tedious of all skills to master, and well, you'd be right, but here's a guide to hopefully make one of your final grinds simpler at the very least.

So first off, I want to talk with a couple terms I'll be referring to that'll really affect what potions you'll be making in order to level up.

First! Avoid "Multi-colours". Only do potions that use Alligator, Crab and Scorpion souls in them, thereby avoiding the confusion of adding more colors to potionmaking.

Second! I'll be referring to a term called "Board Rule" to explain how you want to play the pieces on your board to avoid overcrowding.

Here we go! So first, let me iterate more on Board Rule, and what I'm actually talking about. Board Rule is the placement of the tiles on the board to better organize and avoid losing due to an overcrowded mess. The order of the board on the Red-Blue-Green Set of potions such as Swift Foot are as follows.
3 Red, 2 Blue, 2 Green, 1 Red
ecd2d48a918ada5722d0168ec816bd07.png

So essentially, the board right now is setup so all pieces can be dropped in a certain spot and still be in their own tile space. Follow the image above if what I've said thus far is confusing.

So here's the pattern of potions you want to do in order to level up the most efficiently in potionmaking.

Level 1: Marksman Draught I
Level 2: Cannoneer Draft I
Level 3: Swift Foot I
Level 4: Swift Foot I
Level 5: Lively Bucko Brew I
Level 6: Marksman Draught II or Swashbuckler Stew II
Level 7: Cannoneer Draft II
Level 8-12: Swift Foot II
Level 13-19: Swift Foot III
Mastered!

Just remember, have something else to do like talking to friends or watching a show whilst doing potions, the grind gets much easier and goes alot faster over time as long as you don't stare intently into the screen. All these potions can be brewed from Port Royal, so there's no need to rotate islands when you've leveled up for a new potion.

I hope this updated potion guide helps you all out, and enjoy maxing! Don't rush it, you'll have it done in no time!

Im confused what about purple where do I put them
 
Updated guide in preparation for Hollowed Woods 2019, and added a separate board rule for the other three islands. Enjoy!
 
The rows method is pretty fail proof, but it's not the most efficient. To make the harder gems you actually don't want to combine them immediately, as 3 makes 1 of the next gem, but 4 together makes 2 of the next gem and so on.

[R][E][R]
[R][E][R]

R for Red and E for empty, dropping a double red in there makes a 6 combo skipping many steps.
 
First off, this guide is great.

Small note I've noticed... You can do Swift Foot II in under a minute consistently whereas Cannoneer Draft III takes 3 minutes and its only 20 more rep. You can crank out twice as much rep in the same time with Swift Foot II so I think including Cannoneer Draft II on the Port Royal Level 12 recommendations isn't helpful.
 
@Misha I think you should add to your guide two things for beginners: (1) you can flip the polarities of the pair of ingredients by right-clicking, I don't remember seeing that in the tutorial for brewing in game (2) you can sell any of the potions you make like any other item, you just left-click drag the potion over to the sell slots and select how many you want to sell ... this wasn't obvious to me when I first started leveling potions.
 
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