This is just a simple guide on the pro's and con's of recovery items/gears and +recovery bonus from cards in case anyone has ever wondered what to use for healing items.
*Note on Recovery Items - all recovery items receive a +2% bonus healing per point of VIT for HP items and +1% per point of INT for SP Items. The following skills will also give bonuses to all recovery items.
Increase Spiritual Recovery
This skill is only availble for Mage and Priest classes. It increases natural SP recovery and also the effectiveness of SP recovery items by +2% per level.
Increase HP Recovery
This Swordsman exclusive skill increases your natural HP recover rate and it also increases the effectiveness of HP healing items by +10%. So at level 10 it would increase the effectiveness of a healing item by 100% or double.
I. Basic Potions
Basic Potions are the basic healing items of Ragnarok. They can be bought easily through NPC vendors with the exception of Blue Potions which must be brewed with a the Alchemist skill Pharmacy. They can also be brewed using the Alchemist skill Pharmacy. Potions made by "ranked" Alchemists get a +50% effectiveness boost.
Pro's - Very practical and easy to obtain. Can be bought for fairly cheap from NPC vendors except for Blue Potions. Good healing value. Lots of skills that boost basic potion effectiveness.
Con's - Fairly heavy and higher level potions can cost quite a bit even with Level 10 Discount.
Red Potion
Heal Value - 45~65 Points of HP
Weight - 7
Orange Potion
Heal Value - 105~145 Points of HP
Weight - 10
Yellow Potion
Heal Value - 175~235 Points of HP
Weight - 13
White Potion
Heal Value - 325~405 of HP
Weight - 15
Blue Potion
Heal Value - 40~60 Points of SP
Weight - 15
Skills/Items that Boost Basic Potions
Fricco's Shoes
Effect - Increases effectiveness of Red, Yellow, Orange and White Potions by 20%. These are very nice shoes to use with basic potions. the +20% from healing is huge and the +2 Agility bonus is nice too. However, there are better footgears out there that offer better bonuses like Kauvra Boots or Tidal Shoes so these shoes kind of get overshadowed.
Sprint Mail[1]
Effect - This one is a little confusing because on Ratemyserver.net (RMS) it states that it "increases the effectiveness of skills Potion Pitcher and Heal by 3%" but in-game description actually reads "Increases the effectiveness of Red, Yellow and White Potions by 3%." Either way the 3% bonus from this armor is going to be hardly noticable and there are better armors like Valk Armor or Odin's Blessing that makes this armor kind of a 2nd hand armor.
Potion Pitch
An Alchemist exclusive skill. It allows the Alchemist to "pitch" potions to allies to heal them. It also gives a +10% bonus per level to the healing done by the potion pitch. This also stacks with any VIT bonuses and also the Swordsman skill Increase SP recovery that the target may have. Being soul-linked will also increase the effectiveness of this skill even more allowing you to heal for huge amounts of damage even more than a Priest!
II. Condensed Potions
Condensed Potions or "Slim" potions as they are often referred to lighter versions of the basic potions. They can be obtained through consumable boxes, GM Blank Card rewards, monster drops or through creation with the Alchemist skill "Pharmacy." Slim potions also get the +50% "ranked" bonus if they are created by a ranked Alchemist.
Pro's - Extremely light. Much lighter than basic potions. Good healing value. Bonus from skills and "ranked" brewer.
Con's - Can only be obtained through monster/box drops or Pharmacy skill. Requires materials from monsters to be brewed.
Condensed Red Potion
Heal Value - 45~65 Points of HP
Weight - 2
Condensed Yellow Potion
Heal Value - 175~235 Points of HP
Weight - 3
Condensed White Potion
Heal Value - 325~405 Points of HP
Weight - 5
Skills/Items that Boost Condensed Potions
Condensed Potion Pitcher
Effect - This skill is exclusive only to Creators. This skill works like the Alchemist skill Potion Pitch except with slim potions. Each level increases the effectiveness of the healing by +10%. Vit and skill bonuses of the target also stack with this skill as well as the bonus from being soul linked.
III. Fish
Fish are custom healing items exclusive to this server only. They can be obtained through the custom
fishing system.
Pro's - Good recovery items. Most fish recover HP and SP all together in one. Higher level fishes recover same as Ygg Berries and Seeds. Fairly easy to get if you have high enough fishing skill. Can make decent profit selling fish.
Con's - Extremely heavy. Requires high fishing skill to get higher tier fish. Very time consuming. Cannot be used in WOE or BG settings.
Guppy - Heals the same as a red potion
Effect - Heals 45~65 Points of HP
Weight - 5
Trout - Heals the same as an Orange Potion and Grape.
Effect - Heals 105~145 Points of HP and 10~15 Points of SP
Weight - 15
Bass - Heals the same as a Yellow Potion and Grape Juice.
Effect - Heals 175~235 points of HP and 15~25 points of SP.
Weight - 20
Salmon - Heals the same as a White Potion and a Blue Potion. 6% chance to cause blind status for 10 seconds.
Effect - Heals 325~405 points of HP and 40~60 points of SP
Weight - 25
Mutant Fish - Heals the same as a White Potion and a Blue Potion
Effect - Heals for 325~405 Points of HP and 40~60 points of SP
Weight - 25
Angel Fish - Heals for 700-1000 HP and 100-130 SP. 6% chance to freeze yourself for 10 seconds.
Effect - Heals for 700-1000 points of HP and 100-130 points of SP
Weight - 30
Dory - Heals 50% of max HP and SP. 5% chance to cause bleeding status for 10 seconds and 6% chance to cause silence status for 20 seconds.
Effect - Heals for 50% of max HP and SP
Weight - 35
Nemo - Fully heals HP and SP. 5% chance to cause bleeding status for 10 seconds and 6% chance to cause silence status for 20 seconds.
Effect - Fully Heals HP and SP
Weight - 40
Skills/Items that Boost Fish
Fish in Mouth
Effect - Increases effectiveness of Bass and Trout by 50%. Increases effectiveness of Salmon and Mutant Fish by 20%. Increases effectiveness of Angel fish by 10%. *Note that the extra bonus recovery is only for HP and NOT SP as described by GM's. Unconfirmed.
Pitch Fish
Effect - Throws a smelly fish at an ally. LOL J/K this is not a real RO skill.
IV. Meat + Hell Poodle Card
Meat can be bought from various NPC vendors. It is an easily obtained HP healing item. Combined with the Hell Poodle Card it can be a highly effective healing item.
Pro's - Good HP healing amount. Way better if combined with 1 or 2 Hell Poodle Cards. Dirt Cheap!
Con's - Extremely Heavy. Requires 1-2 Hell Poodle Accessories to be competitive with Potions and other healing items.
Meat
Effect - Heals for 70~100 Points of HP
Weight - 15
Skills/Items that Boost Meat
Hell Poodle Card
Effect - Increases Effectiveness of meat by 100%. A must have if you are going to use Meat as a healing item. You can use up to 2 of these in your accessory slots for a +200% bonus healing from meat (210~300 Points of Healing). Of course you have to sacrifice 2 accessory slots that can be used for other things.
V. Ice Cream + Snowier Card
Ice Cream is an HP healing item that can only be bought in Jawaii so yes you have to be married to buy them. Combined with Snower card they can be a light and cheap healing item. The drawback is of course it takes 1-2 Accessory spots and Ice Cream also has a 25% of freezing you.
Pro's - Extremely cheap and light.
Con's - Can only be bought in Jawaii so requires marriage. Has a chance of freezing you so Marc armor is a must. Also requires 1-2 Snowier Cards to be effective which take up accessory slots.
Ice Cream
Effect - Recovers 105-145 Points of HP. Has a 25% to freeze you.
Weight - 8
Skills/Items that Boost Ice Cream
Snowier Card
Effect - Increases the effectiveness of Ice Cream by +100%. These are basically what Hell Poodles cards are to Meat. The increase Ice Cream recovery rate by 100% and can be slotted in accessory slots.
VI. Other Notable Recovery Items
Ygg Berry
Effect - Fully recovers HP and SP
Pro's - Best healing item. Can be used in WOE/BG/PVP settings.
Con's - Hard to obtain. Can only be obtained through boxes, MVP drops or blank card rewards.
Ygg Seed
Effect - Recovers 50% of max HP and SP
Pro's - Good healing item. Can be used in WOE/BG/PVP settings.
Con's Hard to obtain. Can only be obtained through??boxes, MVP drops or blank card rewards.
War Potions
Effect - Heals same as basic potions but can only be used in WOE/BG settings. Can be obtained by spending War Points at WOE Agents.
Pro's - Same healing values as basic potions.
Con's - Can only be used durig WOE/BG settings. Can only be obtained by spending War Points.
Juices
Effect - Heals for carious amounts of HP and SP.
Pro's - Very easy to make via the Juice Quest. Grape juice can also be obtained through the Miracle Man (Holy Water into Grape Juice) quest.
Con's - Somewhat heavy for how much they heal. Not very popular as healing items. Need to gather materials to make juices.
Strawberry
Effect - Heals for 16~28 Points of SP. A very common SP recovery item. It can be easily obtained from several monsters.
Pro's - Good SP healing item. Drops at a fairly high rate from monsters. Light.
Con's - None really.
Aloe Leaflet
Effect - Heals 325~405 Points of HP. Same as a White Potion.
Pro's - High healing amount. Same as a White Potion. Very light only 2 weight.
Con's - Can only be obtained from monsters.
VII. Comparison and Conclusion
So which is the best healing item? This really depends on your situation and preference. If you want optimal WOE/PVP healing items then Ygg Berries/Seeds and condensed potions are the best healing per weight items but they are more difficult to obtain. However, if you just want practical/cheap recovery items for PVM/MVP then it's better to just load up on Ice Creams or Meats with their respective cards. If you like having your equipment slots free for other items then Basic Potions might be the way to go for you at the cost of more weight.
I personally like to use 2x Snowier Clips, Ice Creams and Marc armor for luring. If it's in a place that requires something other than Marc armor I will switch to Meats + 2x Hell Poodle cards or just Basic Potions. Keep in mind that pets can be used to carry Healing items too so weight becomes less of a problem if you don't mind a little bit of item micro-managing. I use fish and strawberries for characters that need SP.
Well that's all for this guide. Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did typing it (not really /gg ). Any constructive questions/comments are welcome.
Just @who2 Menace ingame. You should find me if I'm on. thanks!