Alether in Flight from the Dark

[montano]

I was flicking through Flight from the Dark today, and I saw that it's possible to pick up a potion of Alether. Has anyone ever legitimately picked it up?

Montano

[Zipp]

What page number? I think that I have picked that up before.

[Peregrine]

It's found here. This is right before you come to the three-way choice outside Holmgard, though, so it won't get you past the Gourgaz.

[prdwong]

I made the mistake of trying to go for that potion. Not only do you have to first get through the Gourgaz and a subsequent Vordak (sec. 29), the only way to get to the potion is through sec. 21, where the following occurs:

36% death
64% to sec. 189 (no Alether)
4% to sec. 312 (Alether!)

So in my opinion, it's not worth trying to get it -- especially considering the fact that you will lose it come 02fotw sec. 337/194.

[columbob]

prdwong said:

36% death
64% to sec. 189 (no Alether)
4% to sec. 312 (Alether!)

Gotta love having a choice between 104%!

[prdwong]

Whooops!

That should be:
36% Death
4% Alether
60% no Alether

[Peregrine]

Ahh, yes, s.21--I remember looking that up for someone once before. And I was rather wondering about losing it in the next book when I wrote the Gourgaz remark... was a bit pressed for time, I think, so I didn't look into it, but given only several minor combats and several other avoidable (equally minor?) ones, is there any respectable use at all for the Alether?

[Sol]

Well, no major use in Book 1... however, I have found that Alether is relatively rare. For example, I don't think it is possible to receive it as standard equipment at the start of any book. You must always find it.

Alether I have known:

There is one in:
Book 1
Book 3 (is this the GOOD one?)
Book 6 (berries)

That's all I can recall! There must be more however.

[Black Cat]

Sol said:

Alether I have known:

There is one in:
Book 1
Book 3 (is this the GOOD one?)
Book 6 (berries)

That's all I can recall! There must be more however.

You can get some in book 8. It is very useful for the Chaosmaster in book 11.

[Thomas Wolmer]

Sol said:

Well, no major use in Book 1... however, I have found that Alether is relatively rare. For example, I don't think it is possible to receive it as standard equipment at the start of any book. You must always find it.

Alether I have known:

There is one in:
Book 1
Book 3 (is this the GOOD one?)
Book 6 (berries)

That's all I can recall! There must be more however.

Yes, the one in Book 3 is the Kalte Special Reserve.

Without revealing too much, I hope....

• Then there is one in Book 4, in another of those locations every adventurer should visit.
• Book 5 has it both for plunder (but most people will not have the chance to pick it up, I believe) and for sale (but it requires a certain path choice many will avoid).
• Book 6 has the berries, but also a potion for sale.
• You can get them as a gift in Book 8, as Black Cat said.

Then you'll have to wait until the Grand Master books to find more. So they unevenly distributed, and you need to save them for quite some time for the nasty battles.

[Zipp]

Well, there goes my chances of beating the Chaos Master.

[montano]

I think it's interesting that Joe had a normal Alether potion in book one, even though most people wouldn't encounter a standard +2CS potion again until book 4/5. The potion in book one is shockingly hard to get without trying, and yet is certainly not worth going for, thanks to fotw sec. 337/194.

The Kalte "special reserve" has to be kept for the Chaos master, IMHO.

[Black Cat]

montano said:

The Kalte "special reserve" has to be kept for the Chaos master, IMHO.

Then you should do some safekeeping in book 7 to avoid losing all that stuff along with your backpack.

[Dusk Fox]

I tend to use the special reserve Alether on Zakhan Kimah, and pull out the Adagana for the Chaos Master. I will risk addiction in the face of certain death.

It's funny, but I actually don't use Alether very often at all. I keep lugging it around with me in my backpack because it might come in handy, but it's rare enough that I'm always hesitant to use it (even though I have like eight back at the Monastery). It's sort of like how I'm hesitant to use the major healing potions, because I can always just use Healing and those potions are rare, but I'm hesitant to use Laumspur or Larnuma Oil because I'll heal up equivalent Endurance in a few flips of the page.

[Ofecks]

duskfox said:

and pull out the Adagana for the Chaos Master.

May I ask how? You can't finish book 7 (the only place to find Adagna before book 12) without (spoiler): your backpack being ripped from your shoulders by the zombie horde.

Cheater!!!! ;D