The '''Alchemist''' is mainly a [[caster]] hybrid class. He (much like his female counterpart) is an a student of alchemy, an apothecary, and a philosopher. The Alchemist can throw lethal potions to attack his enemies and inflict them with various [[debuff]]s, and manifest powerful spirits to fight for him, protect him, and even change his form.

His shape-shifting abilities allow him to vary his standing on the field; -making him elusive, deceptive, magic-mighty, or a pure tank. The new skill system includes runestone effects and traits designed specifically for the Alchemist.

With the destruction of [[Arreat]], the world's natural fields have shifted -coursing with greater, unleashed energy. The Alchemists have noticed this, and so two young students of Oruegia have set foward forward to study the strange occurences occurrences of the West. They are indeed are rare sight, as few in the world of Sanctuary have the natural ability and focus to be trained in the arts of the Oruegia, and only when they are young do they wander the world. After countless years of training and studying, the apprenticeships of the two have ended, and they set out to begin their own studies of the world. Though still inexperienced, the training of the youths guides them to understand and combat the darkness that has come upon us.

The Alchemist is considered to be primarily male, just as the [[Barbarian ]] is first seen male, the [[Witch Doctor ]] male, the [[Wizard ]] female, the [[Monk ]] male, and the [[Demon Hunter ]] female. The background for the male version of the Alchemist is further detailed:

Beginning as a lonely street urchin in [[Ureh]], this young boy survived on his resourcefulness and creativity from a young age. As he grew into a young adult, he began to work as an assistant to local apothecaries, where he found particular skill in potion work. Eventually, he set out on his own to [[Caldeum ]] in hopes of studying more alchemy and magical arts with the [[Vizjerei ]] but was rejected for not possessing suficient sufficient magical talent. He desperately attempted to survive by joining the military of the city as soldier and medic, being fairly decent with a blade, but was again refused by the elitist commanders. Distraught, he wandered in search of more instruction until he was forced to live as an urchin again in Caldeum, making meager potions to sell for his livelihood. It was then at his darkest time that he was discovered by a passing alchemist of the Orue Agea who took him to his homecity home city of Melatras.

There, he was amazed at the feeling of the scholars of various fields: many possessed little magical ability but were still masters of their arts. He apprenticed to a master alchemist and spend spent several years learning the precisd precise and delicate art of alchemy. Over time the young alchemist mastered not only potion-making but also the philosophical nature of existence and the spirits that dwell within the elements. In his pursuit of the Great Work, he mastered techniques that allowed him to alter fundamental matter and even shift his form. He was taught humility, patience, and bravery during his time with the Orue Agea. Although he never did have the traditional magical prowess necessary to study in other mage clans, he came to be adept in his own arts.

Now a man in his late twenties, he has finished his apprenticeship and learned all he can from his master. Curious of the apothecaries' techniques in the West, he set out on a journey across [[Khanduras ]] as far as [[Westmarch ]] to learn from fellow alchemists. Unfortunately, his expedition has been interrupted by the streaking fire falling from the sky. Filled with wonder over this event, he makes his way to [[New Tristram ]] to decipher the meaning of this strange occurenceoccurrence, for he senses an unnatural chaos in this fiery harbinger.

The Alchemist is a devoted scientist and student of the philosophical arts. Unlike the wizard, he is a patient scholar, who has learned his skills from years of dedicated research and practice -he is learned and experienced. Science is his faith, and he bases his beliefs on logic and knowledge of scholars passed. The alchemist is mainly a short-ranged [[caster]]/[[ranged]] class, with the ability to cast a wide variety of potions and call upon spirits to either attack enemies or give the Alchemist a boost in some way. However, he is a stronger physical fighter than the Wizard or Witch doctor and is quite skilled with a sword-a necessary ability as the Alchemist is typically very close to the fight to use his skills. Given such a wide variety, new players can handle the class with relative ease while more experienced players can focus on skills that complement each other for complex and interesting character builds. Along with a variety of caster builds, a player could choose to design a melee fighter build, a crowd-control/debuffing build for multiplayer, or a number of other possibilities.

Although the alchemist has some skills that require moving into melee range of an enemy, he typically tries to keep his enemies at a slight distance. To this end, he possesses several spells that work to manipulate enemies by weakening them, slowing them, repelling them, or keep them from casting magic. He can also boost his own skills and even shape-shift to grant him various enhancements and abilities. He is capable of inflicting damage in the forms of physical, elemental, and magical attacks.

Given that the [[resource ]] systems have yet to be finalized for canonical classes, the resource for the Alchemist cannot be determined at this time; however, it wil will no longer be mana. The general idea is to base it on the steps of the Great Work of alchemy, although it is not yet known how this will be done. More needs to be understood about the canonical resources in order to design an appropriate, unique system that encourages gameplay befitting an alchemist. The way of the Great Work can be seen in the symbol of the Orue Agea to the right, called the "Squared Circle".

Representing the whole philosphy philosophy of the Alchemists, the Squared Circle moves inward and carries multiple layers of meaning:

'''The Foundation Triangle'''– The three fundamental susbstances substances of the first matter that arise for the Chaos:

:*''Each magical element has its own patron in alchemic lore:''**::'''Vulken of Fire''' -The Forger**::'''Enquirre of Water''' -The Artist**::'''Hermothes of Air''' -The Traveler**::'''Agathaea of Earth''' -The Healer

'''The Inner Circle'''– The Order of existence, that which bonds all things together and gives rise to life. It is perfection.

The Alchemist does not rely on traditional [[magic]], as he is not the typical mage. His resource would be focused on using his connection to magical energy to manipulate the chaos that hides everywhere and use it to craft more complex sunstances substances and energies. The skills reflect this progression along the Great Work, as the first tier involves the fundamental substances, while the elemental skills appear mid-way through the list. The top tiers concerns dual natures and profound powes powers of order. My personal liking is for something akin to '''"Focus"''', as the Alchemist requires great focus to alter the chaos into useful substances. The mechanics of the system are still under development. For this reason the costs of the skills has not been listed yet.

'''<u>Brimstone</u>:''' No damage. The Alchemist throws a vial at his feet to release a billowing yellow cloud of sulphur that sulfur lingers for a few secondsto blind and drive enemies away. Good for escaping a tight situation.

'''<u>Noxious Miasma</u>:''' Poison damage. The Alchemist sends out a small, poisonous cloud that infects enemies in front of him with a deadly toxinthat lasts for a long time. The poisoned enemies can infect secondary enemies through contact, though secondary poisonings only last until the original poison duration ends. Most effective when in tight areas where enemies are close to each other to maximize the spread effect number of enemies affected by the poison.

'''<u>Wandering Wisp</u>:''' Cold damage. The Alchemist calls forth a gaseous spirit that circles him until an enemy approaches. It attacks to drain the warmth from his enemies, chilling them and leaving them less resistant to the elements. Definitely a good skill to focus on an enemy in order to lower its resistances and then follow up with a more damaging skill.

'''<u>Petrify</u>:''' Arcane damage. The Alchemist shoots a blast of shimmering sand that binds to an enemy and hardens its body, slowing it down at the cost of making it slightly more resilient to damage for a time. The Stone Curse from Diablo 1 returns in this skill, good for slowing an enemy down at the cost of making it take less damage from attacks. This slowing effect can be used on a single enemy up to three times and will completely immobilize it if slowed enough.

'''<u>Sacred Molecule</u>:''' -Arcane damage. The Alchemist crafts a glowing molecule of energy in his hands that he detonates in a brillant brilliant explosion of light. Magical particles radiate chaotically outward from the blast, penetrating enemies and obstacles. Has a long cooldown, but is great for annihilating all enemies in range with a chance to strike distant enemies with the particles.

Even though the [[trait ]] system is relatively new, I have thought of some alchemist-specific traits:

* Practiced Hand –Increases Attack by X% amount of Precision(under revision)

As the Alchemist gains in experience from his studies and travels, he learns the ways of infusing mundane objects with powerful alchemical abilities. The art of Transmutation is well-known to Alchemists; it is the nature of the inquisitive mind. While the exact effects of each occurence occurrence of [[leveling-up ]] have yet to be determined, There there is a special ability an Alchemist acquires after every five levels. Upon leveling up five times, the Alchemist is allowed the ability to imbue one non-magical item with random magical qualities -much like [[Charsi]] from Act I of Diablo 2. This occurs every five levels and is permittable for any kind of item.

July '09 -The Alchemist originally started as an experiment in designing a character for Diablo 2, but has been revamped to accomodate accommodate the new skill system of Diablo 3. One thing about Diablo 2 is that there were potions that could be equipped as weapons, yet these potions quickly became outclassed by other weapons. It seemed like a waste, but it was wondered if new, more lethal potions could be used on a more regular basis. The Alchemist is intended to take that step in using potions as his main weapon. However, the potions are a skill, so the Alchemist can still equip an actually weapon to suit his/her purposes. There are even Alchemist oriented item sets and Alchemist-specific helms already created; however, until more is revealed about items in Diablo 3, these sets and item ideas will not be posted. Many of the skills have connections to actual alchemical inventions or concepts.