Drinking potions – this is from the last decade. Real professionals in World of Warcraft will soon throw their potions on allies – at least healers will probably do that.
Potions are a pretty classic thing in MMORPGs. You throw them in when your health or mana points are running low, or when you need a little boost to get through a particularly difficult phase of a fight. That’s how it’s always been in World of Warcraft.
But with the new expansion “The War Within” there is a new type of potion that uses a different concept: you throw them at your fellow combatants’ heads.
WoW: The War Within – All the big features of the new expansion
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Where does the idea come from? Even though the system already existed in a few other RPGs, Baldur’s Gate 3 really made it famous. Especially on higher difficulty levels, it is common that you don’t just drink healing potions, but instead place them on the ground and smash them or simply throw them at allies so that more characters benefit from the effect at the same time.
What kind of potions are these? In The War Within, engineers can create these special potions. These “Potion Bombs” are placed like other AoE effects and then thrown at the target area. Enemies in the targeted area take a bit of damage, but the real benefit comes from the buffs. Because up to 5 allies receive a buff – depending on the potion bomb:
Even though engineers create these potions, they can be used by anyone else.
Who are the potions intended for? Since the potions affect a total of 5 allies, the effect is only 1/5 as strong as a personal potion. DPS characters will probably continue to use their personal potion to give themselves a boost exactly when they need it.
However, the potion is a real alternative for healers and other support characters (such as reinforcement callers). If they don’t need a mana potion in combat, they can use their potion cooldown instead to give the damage dealers a little help and increase their performance.
The potions are primarily used by supporters who want to do something good for their fellow players. What do you think of this type of “potions”? A cool new addition to The War Within? Or is that niche or awkward?