Potionomics just released on Steam and is already receiving very positive reviews. If you are one of the many people who want to get into this game but don't know where to start, then look no further. Here is our beginner's guide to Potionomics featuring various tips for beginners so that you can be on your way to crafting the strongest of potions. Beware of some very minor spoilers in this Potionomics guide.

Potionomics Guide – Beginner Tips

Always have potions cooking

As a potion maker, it's no surprise that you will be making potions in this game. Thankfully, potion-making is not an active job in this game. All you have to do is place ingredients inside the pot, and let it boil for some time. While your potion is boiling, you can do literally anything else, like selling the potions you already have. You can even go out to visit your friends and maybe do some errands. This is why you need to always make sure that there are potions brewing in your cauldron.

The potions you brew could just be some simple or common potions that you can use for your adventurer, or as a way to make some quick money. As long as there's something cooking in your cauldron, you should be good. These potions don't have to be the perfect potions.

A perfect ratio is not always the best

Speaking of perfect potions, the potions you make do not have to be the perfect ratio. Having the perfect ratio of magimins in your potion for those extra stars may sound tempting, but won't always happen. The ingredients you have on hand may not be enough to make the ratios perfect, or the ratios might be weird. In those cases, it's okay to settle for a stable balance, and just maximize the number of stars you can get on the ingredients alone.

This is one of the most important beginner tips in this Potionomics guide. This helps make potion-making simpler, as you won't be scrambling to get the right ingredients all the time.

Always expand the ingredient shop

If you do need the right ingredients for your potion, then the best way to get them is through Quinn's ingredient shop. Early in the game, Quinn just sells the most basic of basic ingredients. To increase their stock of ingredients, you must expand the shop. You do this by feeding Quinn the ingredient that you want to add to the shop. Once they have eaten it, that item will appear in the shop the next day.

This is another important Potionomics beginner tip. It's very important to expand the shop as this is the easiest and quickest way for you to get the ingredients you need. This is especially important when you receive rare ingredients, as feeding them to Quinn gives you a steady supply of them. Although you can get these ingredients from other sources, it's still good to have them in stock at Quinn's.

Send out your adventurers

One of the other sources you can get ingredients from are adventurers. Early on in the game, you will only have access to Mint. However, you will later meet another adventurer willing to get ingredients for you. Adventurers get you a variety of ingredients and fuel. Of course, they don't do this for free. Whenever you send adventurers out, you give them some money, as well as potions to overcome danger. The further their progress is in their adventures, the better the rewards they will get. More often than not, the value of the items you get is worth more than what you gave them.

Similar to always brewing potions, players must make sure to always send the adventurers out on adventures. Investing in them is an easy way to get the materials you need.

Invest carefully

Adventurers are not the only people you can invest in. The Adventurer's guild leader, Baptiste, offers the player investment opportunities in the form of expeditions. These investment opportunities guarantee that you receive a certain ingredient. Investing more increases the amount you get, as well as increases the chance of receiving a rare ingredient. Of course, this is not without its downsides. The more you invest in an expedition, the higher the chance of disrupting the ecosystem where the expedition is headed.

When a location is disrupted, you can expect negative trends to pop up that affect ingredient prices, as well as the rewards you get from adventurers.

Keep track of trends

There are trends in this game that update daily, and not all of them are positive. Much like in real life, trends come and go. One day, you're making a killing with health potions. The next, they're worth next to nothing. It's always important to keep track of the trends, as that is the easiest way to make sure you maximize your earnings. As mentioned above, trends don't just affect potion prices. They also affect the price of ingredients.

If you're planning on buying some minerals, but the current trend increases the price, it might not be a good idea. Just bide your time and wait for when it becomes cheaper.

Keep track of time

Time is important in this game, so you must make sure to manage it well. Each day in this game is sliced into six sections. Morning, afternoon, and evening get two slices each, and are divided into “early” and “late”. It's important to manage your time as almost everything you do in this game needs it. Opening your store takes up two time slots. Traveling takes up one time slot, and potentially more if you decide to hang out with other characters. Other than the time, you also only have ten days to prepare for each competition. As such, you must make sure to manage your time well.

This is why keeping track of time is important. You might find yourself spending so much time with one of the various characters in the game, that you forget about the potion cooking at home.

Befriend everyone

Making friends is important in this game. The easiest way to befriend them is by hanging out with them, which takes up some time. This increases your relationship with them, as well as lowers your stress. Not only that, you actually get cards from befriending the characters in this game. Although befriending everyone isn't all that necessary in the first week, it becomes more important down the line. Not only do you get cards, but you also receive discounts for their services. Who knows? You might even make some of them fall in love with you.

This is a beginner tip for Potionomics that I myself need to do more. Whether it's for getting new cards, or just securing another source of fuel, players must always befriend the characters in this game.

Fuel is your best friend 

Speeding up your potion completion time requires fuel. As you progress, you will find yourself using it a lot when you need to quickly pump out potions. There are different kinds of fuel, each lowering the completion time differently. The proper usage of fuel could mean the difference between having potions ready for the competition, and not being able to compete.

Do remember that some of the fuel items are also used to upgrade your equipment, so make sure you're not using those if you need to upgrade.

Store upgrades are important

As you progress through the game, you will need stronger potions, and more of them as well. This is where store upgrades come in. Saffron, one of the characters you meet early on, helps with your shop's expansion. She increases the number of cauldrons you can own, as well as the number of potions you can sell. Muktuk, on the other hand, sells shelves to display your potions on, as well as cauldrons to make them in. Cauldrons can only contain a certain amount of ingredients and magimins, so upgrading them is a must when creating stronger potions.

As long as players keep track of these basic Potionomics tips, they will be able to make it through a huge part of the game. This Potionomics guide is applicable throughout your playout, so if you want a refresher, feel free to read this again.

That's all for our guide and beginner tips for Potionomics. The game is currently on sale on Steam at 10% off until October 24, 2022. If you want to read our review of the game, then click here.