I just finished Brewing (level 70 + 1 bonus level). Here is some feedback that I hope will be useful to devs and also other players.


Low level recipes have given me no problem at all. Finding the right NPC to obtain them, and getting the favor, follows the usual pattern. It was interesting to see who is involved in brewing, and finding the NPC or getting the favor up required some work.


Recipes require a lot of ingredients, and are a bit expensive (compared to other skills). I actually ran into trouble finding the low level stuff, like mandrake root or oregano. Fortunately for me, I already had a large stock so I didn't have to farm too much. But a new player would be in trouble trying to skill up regularly. Accumulating components consumes storage, and given the number of combines to do, you really want to get some crafting bonus before brewing beer and liquor in batches.


The most notable thing about brewing is, of course, the incredible amount of Barley you need to reach the top. I have been growing my own stuff, and used Beet Vodka at low level (and later, Rhum) rather than beer to skill up. Also, I've been using Huge Dragon statues (+10%) and "Hard Work" auguries (+16%) crafting bonus -dancing just doesn't happen in my time zone- to increase the XP I get per combine. Yet, with a somewhat optimized path, I had to grow 3380 barley to get there.


Three thousand and four hundred Barleys!


Definitions of a what a grind is may vary, but Brewing, I think, qualifies as grindy. It is a good thing that you need different fruits, mushrooms and mob loot at different levels, it adds some novelty and raise morale as you get the new recipes. But the Barley...


I was able to map all beers at level 60 (they share pattern with level 70) and liquors at level 1 (they share pattern at all levels), so hopefully I'm now able to make all beverages I could want. Most of them aren't terribly interesting, but there are some pearls and once I get a high alcohol tolerance, I should be able to get nice combat bonuses or miscellaneous effects (as well as other people: beer and bourbon can be shared).


As far as I'm concerned, this skill has 4 remaining issues:
. The "Check Alcohol Barrels" window doesn't tell you what's currently aging, only the remaining time. Mushroom boxes are more informative.
. Green Apple is not obtainable in game. For me it means I can't brew the +Max Health beer that works for elves.
. There are weird combinations of effects, already reported for liquor, that also exist in beers. For instance one beer gives +42 max health, another +62, and yet another +33. I can see why you would want that (vs +42 Max Armor instead of health), but I'm not sure it's the intent so that why I'm mentioning it.
. You better NOT do some combines. In particular, I skipped "Hegemony Lager Keg", because it takes 5.6 more Barley to make, but only gives 3.3 times the XP a single beer gives. The Barley-phobia was so bad at the time, that the trade-off of obtaining a good keg wasn't enough to make me waste Barley on that...