What's the point of those potions? How do I use Henchmen?

Artur Greenvault (nice name!) has a question:

I was wondering if you bought a potion to become something else, would you be able to use your mount with it.? I would also like to know the real point of potions. I don't quite understand them.

POTIONS! I love potions. I've been earning a ton of potions lately from wizardblox. here's my current stockpile of potions I need to redeem.



To answer your first question, can you use your mount with a transformation potion?


Professor Diapermancer says, "No." Sorry. That would be super cool though to be a clockwork with batwings or a gobbler riding a lion. Maybe in the future? /shrug

To answer your second question, there are some pretty awesome potions for sale. Here's my big chart of potions I just made for ya:



So what you do is purchase a potion outside of combat and then you get a little icon down in the lower left section of your screen that's like a "buff icon." Buffs is a gamer term that came out back in the Everquest days. In Role Playing games there are certain classes that can give you a buff spell that increases your character's abilities. Everybody loves to have a buffer around because they make your character more powerful.

In Wizard101 our main "buffs" are blades and accuracy . . . everybody loves having a balance wizard around because they make us more powerful, and I also give a giggle when my life wizard dumps the +10% accuracy buff on the party.

These potions are in essence blades and accuracy buffs that are hidden on your character. If I use a major death battle elixir, then for the next hour every battle I get into (outside of pvp), it will be like I have an invisible +15% damage blade swirling above my head and an invisible +10% accuracy buff swirling around my head as well and these are giving me this extra benefit at no pip cost and taking no rounds . . . all it costs is crowns.

My favorite out of the bunch is the experience potion. I have yet to achieve a high enough wizardblox score to get one of those experience potions, but they are amazing. I talk a little bit about using an experience potion on this post. To me, those are the most addicting potions out there. LOVE THEM!

So the real point of potions? Potions are a shortcut. Period. You can play the entire game without them and they are completely optional, but dropping a major health potion when you're level 1 is pretty sweet. You're pretty much as tough as they get when you do that. You will have no fear of ol' rattlebones with your extra 500 health. BRING IT ON!

We all like to hit for big numbers too, right? Every little bit counts when you're going for a big hit record. My half a million hit? I wasn't using a damage elixir, but I wish I would have been. Next time I will be using one. ;-)

Hope that answers your question.

While I'm on the crowns shop anyway, I have another question to answer from Donna Spellthorn:

Hi Friendly, it's Dona SpellThorn; I have a question and I figured if anyone would know the answer you would. I really want to buy a henchman at the crowns store but I have a few questions about them. Once you buy them do they keep coming to battle with you? When I go to buy them they have a little lock next to them so I can't buy them, what does this mean? PLease tell me soon.

Ok, think of a henchman as a potion that you can use one time in battle. Where a potion gives you a boost for 30 minutes or an hour, a henchman is a side kick you purchase for one battle. They won't be coming back with you for each fight. That's why their cost is significantly lower than potions. Let's take a look at the prices and the look of the henchmen in the crown shop:



Like you noticed, these all have a little lock symbol by them at the moment. The reason for that is because I'm not in battle. I can't buy a henchman until I need it. So once I enter the battle circle, THEN the locks disappear and I can buy a one-use henchman to come help me.

Say there's a particular boss that is just kicking your hiney and you have no friends on your friends list to come help you. All you need to do is open up the crowns shop, drop the crowns to buy a henchman and they appear by your side ready to help you out.

Now, are the henchman the smartest of beasts out there? Not really.

*STORY TIME KIDS!*

One time I was helping a friend fight through Briskbreeze tower in a group of three. This was working pretty good until she dropped out and our group went down to two, but we were right there at the floor before Orrick. I got the bright idea that I wanted to try the fight anyway and instead use henchmen to fill the slots of the missing people. 50th life henchmen! Awesome! They'll heal me right up and everything will rock!

Did everything rock for Friendly kids?


That is correct Professor Diapermancer, the life henchmen I summoned were using the most ridiculous spells at all the wrong times. There was just no strategy to them. They were casting unicorn and bladed seraphs and using traps that just don't work on Orrick. What? It was like a level 30 life wizard in a level 50 shell. A level 50 life wizard would be dropping the Rebirth bomb on me. Word!

Those silly henchmen got themselves killed off and I had to summon some more and . . . and . . . and I still didn't win.

It was a sad day in Briskbreeze tower that day, but it all ended in the commons where some girl was trading cards for codes and life was back to normal again.

the end.

*end of story time*

So to sum it all up, Potions and Henchman are shortcuts that cost crowns.

Hope that answers your questions!

Happy Dueling!