Is Blood Alchemy a viable choice for Warlocks in Destiny 2? How does this exotic chest piece perform in PvE and PvP? Can this Exotic be recommended?
With the Warmind expansion, many new exotic armor pieces found their way into the game on May 8, 2018 – including Blood Alchemy. This is an exotic chest piece for the Warlock class.
When the perks of Blood Alchemy were revealed, the chest piece was immediately dismissed as useless by many fans.
But is it really? What can this exotic armor piece do? And how does Blood Alchemy perform in practice?
Blood Alchemy – How to get the Exotic
There are several possible sources for this exotic chest piece:
- You can receive it as a random drop from any sources that can drop exotic engrams.
- Xur: Sometimes the Agent of the Nine has this chest piece available
What makes Blood Alchemy special in Destiny 2
The chest piece features the following intrinsic perk:
- Sharpened Senses: While in the Rift, it provides better radar and marks high-value targets for you and your allies.
Additionally, you can choose between increased mobility and improved health regeneration.
Sharpened Senses – the details of the intrinsic perk
Benefit 1: While in the Rift, it provides better radar.
What does that mean? Specifically, this improves the basic version of the radar display in Destiny 2, giving you a better overview of which direction to expect enemies from.
In some situations, this advantage can indeed prove useful, but it is not the main strength of Blood Alchemy.
Benefit 2: While in the Rift, it marks high-value targets for you and your allies. This feature is the true heart of the exotic chest piece. Both the wearer and all team members benefit as long as they are within the Rift.
What are high-value targets? In PvE, these are essentially all yellow bars – enemies with yellow health bars and their own names, as well as mini-bosses and bosses. In PvP, on the other hand, all opposing Guardians.
How does marking work? As long as you are in the Rift, Blood Alchemy marks all high-value targets within a radius of 30 meters. Enemies outside of the 30 meters are only marked when they come into range of the exotic chest piece.
Already marked high-value targets remain marked as long as the Rift is active and you are within it. It doesn’t matter how far the already marked enemies move away from you – neither in PvP nor in PvE. You can also see the markings through walls and other obstacles.
How often can this perk be used? That depends on how long the Rift takes to cool down. The standard cooldown is 1 minute and 23 seconds.
If you use mods to reduce the cooldown of the abilities, this time can be further decreased:
- With one mod to 1 minute and 10 seconds
- With two mods to 56 seconds
- With three mods to 42 seconds
The Rift itself remains active for 15 seconds.
Good to know:
- Enemies in PvP receive no notification that they have been marked.
- If you leave the Rift, all markings are immediately canceled.
What can the chest piece do in PvE and PvP?
In PvE, the advantages of this exotic chest piece do not really come into play. Neither the improved radar display nor the marking of enemies can provide a real benefit in PvE. However, that is not what Blood Alchemy is designed for.
In PvP, however, this Exotic proves to be one of the strongest options currently available to Warlocks. Especially in the competitive playlist, Blood Alchemy can really shine.
The benefits are clear: Knowing where the enemy is provides a clear advantage in battle, especially when there is no radar. Marking enemies can provide the entire team with a significant advantage at the right moment.
While this advantage is very situational, when played at the right time, it can have a massive impact on the progression and outcome of the match. If you are in a group with multiple Blood Alchemy users, you can take advantage of this God-vision even more often.
Who benefits from Blood Alchemy?
In principle, all three focuses of the Warlock benefit equally from Blood Alchemy. Anyone who likes to play as a Warlock in the Crucible will definitely find this chest piece worthwhile.
Especially when part of a fixed, well-coordinated team in the competitive playlist or in the Trials of the Nine, this chest piece can unleash its true potential and demonstrate its full strength – especially with multiple users. This way, you can more often secure an invaluable advantage in crucial moments or at least ensure parity if the opposing group has the same setup.
In short: With the enemy marking, Blood Alchemy surpasses most Warlock exotics in PvP. In no time, the community’s opinion of this Exotic has shifted from completely useless to overpowered. A clear recommendation for all competitive Warlock players in the Crucible.
What do you think about this Warlock Exotic? Feel free to share your opinion in the comments.
