TMP - The Great Brewer War: Rise and Fall of Potion-Makers

The Midgardian Post East Pronteran Perspective on Midgardian News

-

SUNDAY, JANUARY 26TH 2020

THE GREAT BREWER WAR RISE AND FALL OF POTION MAKERS

By : Luthiel The Creator we saw in Ayothaya was not one familiar to us. Surrounded by lush green trees and enveloped in warm weather, he successfully brewed another Blue Potion with a hand that shows mastery and experience, something that was often not expected for such a newly ranked brewer. Around him, music and dances and the Priests praising Gloria, Gloria to Odin in the Highest.

Mesmerized we watched him, as he twirled the glass bottle containing clear blue liquid, the colour of the Ayothayan sea on a clear sunny day.

Beside us, our guide Noi whispered quietly that the Creator’s name was game assassin needs thi (all written without caps lock), a new local brewer that lately gained popularity,

rising toward the top of the server’s Alchemist rank.

While this traditional simple brewing scene may be a daily bread for those who make their living brewing potions, the rapid pace of changes of Alchemist rank is a phenomenon that only start recently. Until only a few weeks ago, the rank of Alchemist had stayed stable for a long period of time, with most established ones being dedicated brewers for guilds participating in Midgardian War of Emperium (WOE) effort, with only a handful of independent brewers entering the competition of the best Potion Masters in the continent.

With new players and old established guilds from another server came to make Origins RO their home, the server’s WOE scene had recently

seen a surge in new challengers. And with these new guilds entering the scene, new brewers are trained to supply potions for war effort in an unprecedented speed. For the last few days, the server’s Alchemist rank change daily, with new brewer gaining ground and old established brewer losing their rank.

Back in Ayothaya, as we watched game assassin showing his skill in brewing a batch of sparkling Condensed White Potions, we were approached by a High Priest dressed in red and white who called himself Heffer. He offered us a cup of freshly brewed Blue Potion, before explaining to us that game assassin is appointed and trained to be the new brewer for Mighty Duck, his guild.

The Midgardian Post East Pronteran Perspective on Midgardian News

-

SUNDAY, JANUARY 26TH 2020

THE GREAT BREWER WAR RISE AND FALL OF POTION MAKERS “Sadly, we lose our old Potionmaker,” Heffer said quietly as the three of us sipped the latte.

“Hence we have to trained game assassin as our main brewer as quick as we can. He has to learn from scratch really fast to be able to proof himself worthy to be ranked, competing with established ones who had years of experience and fame in the pocket.”

As the battle for ranking intensify, it was not without huge casualties.

Many independent Potion Maker had given up their effort to stay ranked due to the difficulties of maintaining ranks in competition to Guild Brewers who has thousand orders per week ensured for Guild members’ consumption during WOE. “I am not far from giving up,” said an independent Potion Maker who refused to give his full name, referring himself only as Pace. “I will have to think about it though. Trying to compete with them is very hard on my own. It is too expensive to maintain.” As he said that, he quietly closed his potion making kit, mentioning that he would be back to trading instead.

Many brewers also renounced their rank for health reason, as the profession often took toll in the form

of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. The syndrome was often suspected to develop due thousands repetitive movement often required to push the button needed to brew sufficient amounts of blue potions in short period of time. While some brewers had decided to only brew white potion in bulk as their strategy, this was often not possible for many Guild Brewers that do not have the choice to refuse large orders from their guilds’ Champions.

One notably notorious case is the theft of Sandstorm Guild storage, where at least 10 000 white herbs and other precious brewing material were stolen. Sandstorm Guild Leader Xellie had issued an official statement denouncing this illegal and unfair attempt to sabotage the effort of her guild to come back to WOE after a period of hiatus, and that this theft had seriously undermined Sandstorm’s effort to rank their new guild’s brewer.

“This situation is preoccupying,” said Dr Liesl of Pronteran General Hospital. “Often brewers stretch themselves so thin by orders and due to the difficulties of putting into place perfect setting with Marionette Control and Gospel and what not, many of them tend to brew large batches in a time. The repetitive movements are very dangerous since it may cause damages to the muscle and nerve systems that require intensive healing and more than often, quitting the profession.”

While the matter was still under investigation by the Pronteran Chivalry, this only show the extent of how far many parties were ready to go to win at all price, including by cheating and sabotage.

The very tight competition for rank also cause many parties to desperately employ every mean, often resorting to sabotage and other illegal means to giving disadvantage to their adversaries.

Back in Ayothaya that late afternoon, we watched game assassin brew the last batch of potions for the day. As he twirled the bottles to mix them, he stood alone in the center of the chant and music and dance, forming a striking contrast of a lone figure in the midst of the crowd surrounding him.

The day’s order was nearly completed, but the battle for ranking was not over. That last batch was just a start.

Editor’s Note: Special thanks to Hefferwolf for his contribution for this article.