Potion Identification

Overview

Put those random potion descriptors to use and learn exactly how you can identify potions with minimal waste!

Potion Identification

Catacomb Kids uses a neat little potion system: every type of potion has a unique combination of three traits. It is possible, then, to create a kind of psuedo-Venn diagram relating potions to each other via their traits.

You can always identify potions by drinking them, but if you drink Flames, you’re pretty much dead. You can also throw potions at enemies, but if you throw Might at a Grumbul, that could also be bad news. The game’s system of potion traits is here to help.

The Basics

To identify the traits of a potion, hold it. It can be in either your active slot or your stowed slot. Eventually, the first trait will be revealed. The amount of time this takes depends on your INT stat(see Appendix II), but you must have at least 3 INT to identify a second trait and at least 7 to identify a third. It’s worth noting that the first trait is ALWAYS either Warm or Cool, and these two traits are mutually exclusive.

In a few cases, the third trait is unnecessary. There are four situations where a combination of two traits will identify a potion:

• Cool + Light = Invis
• Cool + Swirling = Might
• Warm + Thick = Health
• Warm + Swirling = Flames

This doesn’t mean that, e.g., Health will always be Warm + Thick, because it can also be Warm + Cloudy, which could be either Health or Flames.

Identification by Throwing

Throwing potions at foes is often the safest way to identify them. In many cases, this will identify the potion immediately and saves you the risk of drinking death. I recommend targeting weak foes such as goo and slime, so that if the effects are positive, it won’t be too much of an issue.

Usually, identification by use as a weapon will explain itself, but there are a few cases where the potion’s type may not be clear:

• You are too close to the target. Although the potion still works, the game does not recognize this identification (likely a bug). Note that a thrown potion also splashes, which will affect the thrower if they are too close.
• Thrown potions ordinarily only do 1 direct damage. If it does more, it’s most likely Mana – one of the possible effects of a thrown Mana potion is additional direct damage.
• If the potion does no damage, then it was health and the target was already at full health.
• If the potion inflicts a single status effect such as Flames, but the target was already afflicted with this status, the potion may not identify.
• If the target is immune to the potion, it may not identify – for instance, skeletons are immune to poison.

One other side note – if a Grumbul is carrying a potion, there’s a very high chance the potion is beneficial. Might and Health seem to be the most common, but Invisibility and Regeneration are also possible.

Implicit Identification

It helps to keep track of what you’ve identified. Doing so eliminates possibilities from the diagram and makes future identifications even easier. Consider the following examples, but for reasons I’ll explain later, Gold, Silver and Layered potions do NOT follow these rules.

• You know that the Potion of Poison is Blue. Since Cool + Smelly can be either Might or Poison, if you come across an unidentified Crimson potion that is Cool and Smelly, it has to be Might. (The colors in this example are arbitrary; it only matters that they are different.)
• You’ve already identified Poison, Might and Ice. The only remaining Cool potion is Invisibility, so if you find another unidentified potion, you won’t even have to wait for the second trait if the first is Cool. (Slow is also Cool, but don’t worry about this – I’ll explain later.)
• You find a Cool + Thick potion. This has to be Ice or Poison, so it’s generally safe to throw it at a Grumbul.
• You find a Warm + Prismatic potion. This has to be Regen or Mana, so it’s safe to drink it yourself.
• You’ve identified Lightning, Flames, Ice and Poison. The only remaining common potions are all safe to drink.

There are some other specific situations where traits can be a dead giveaway due to what you’ve identified already – just pay attention to the diagram.

“Rare” Potions and Alchemy

The above rules apply to the ten common potion colors and the nine common potion types (see the image at right). There are two situations where these guidelines do not apply, however: “rare” potions and alchemized potions.

The three potion types Haste, Slow and Acid are always either Gold, Silver or Layered potions. They don’t appear until floor 3 at the earliest, and only if you’re really lucky. I have not yet discovered all the traits of these potions, but I do know that Slow is Cool + Thick + Fizzy, Haste is Warm, and Acid always shows up as [?, ?, ?]. This actually makes them easier to identify, because they don’t share potion types with the common potions, and thus only the first trait(Warm/Cool/?) is necessary to identify them.

Alchemy is another way to violate these rules, but it is extremely rare (if even possible) for such potions to be naturally generated. Instead, there are three ways to obtain alchemized potions:

Intelligent alchemy. The second tier INT trait “Alchemy” is the most convenient way to alchemize potions. Once you have the trait, you can mix two potions by dropping one on the ground, standing over it, having the other potion in hand, then holding Crouch and Use for about a second. Not too long, though – you might accidentally drink the potion!

Purchased alchemy. Often, it is possible to grab an alchemized potion from a kid peddling his wares. However, the potion’s nature will be indeterminate unless you have identified the two potions of which it consists.

Campfire alchemy. Any substantial source of heat (lava, the Infernus spell, a tipped lamp, or a Grumbul campfire) can be used by any character to perform alchemy. It goes like this:

• Drop one of the potions on the flame until the bottle completely empties. Be aware that the fumes work very much like mushroom spores. Bad Swimmer will make this even more dangerous.
• Grab the now-empty bottle and throw it through the fumes. Don’t throw it somewhere it may break or fall into water or lava. You should now have a Bottle of Fog.
• Once the fumes have dispersed, drop the other potion on the flame and allow it to empty.
• Throw your bottle of fog through these fumes.
• Dip the bottle of fog in water.

This method is obviously very dangerous for offensive mixtures, and should be paired with a backup plan if possible. It is also highly time-sensitive and requires attention, so it’s best to clear the area of obstacles and enemies that may interrupt.

Regardless of the method you come across, you will now have an alchemized potion. These potions do not have traits and cannot assist with identifying without being used, either as a weapon or as a drink. For the most part, alchemizing two unlike potions just combines their effects so that they can be activated at the same time, although there are a few combinations which do create a unique potion. Alchemizing two of the same potion appears to always produce a unique “superpotion.”

It is also possible to use jellies (goo, slime or mucus) to create a jelly grenade, although this appears to require the INT trait.

• Stand over a ball of jelly with an empty bottle in hand and press Use to bottle the jelly. You should have Ball of foo in a bottle.
• Drop the bottle momentarily onto a substantial source of heat. You should have Bottle of foo.
• Alchemize it with any other potion.

Jelly grenades essentially combine the potion effect with the effect of the jelly. When the grenade is thrown, it throws the jelly everywhere, very much like a potion of Scorching or a jelly being killed by a smasher trap. In most circumstances, touching this jelly imparts the effect of the potion (although this appears to not include Health). The type of jelly used also dictates a secondary effect:

• Green goo bounces anything that touches it, usually directly away from the surface it is coating. In tight spaces, it is possible to get temporarily trapped by repeated bounces and in this way obtain ridiculous velocity.
• Purple slime (Oog) severely impedes movement. Exceptionally deadly when mixed with Ice.
• Blue mucus (Ogo) also impedes movement(?). Additionally, it will explode if set on fire, dealing extreme damage.

See Appendix I for specific information on Alchemy combinations.

Credits and Notes

Special thanks to OceanPuddles and ArchPanda for some of the alchemy results and effects.

If you made it this far, thanks for taking the time to read this! If you see any errors or know of anything to be added, let me know!

Things to do – these are reminders to myself, but some of these can be done by anyone who’s willing:

• Test the remaining superpotions:
  • Acid + Acid
  • Haste + Haste
  • Slow + Slow
• Test the remaining unlike common potion combinations:
  • Health + Ice
  • Ice + Poison
  • Might + Poison
• Test the unlike rare potion combinations
• Test Slime/Goo/Mucus potions
• Figure out the names of Flames + Lightning and Flames + Ice
• Double-check combinations represented by yellow cells
  • Or determine the answer to the question the causes the yellow cells. I noticed that Flames + Ice showed up as a “Frozen Muddy and Pale Potion,” so if the potion does actually have a unique name, then the Frozen prefix would answer the question. Tried again with Health + Regeneration and verified that it has no prefix. However, instead of saying “Muddy and Pale Potion,” it said “Muddy Potion of Pale.” Still trying to figure this out.
• Determine Haste’s properties
• Figure out the point of Extra Regeneration and Cure

This guide’s contents were last updated for Catacomb Kids version 0.0.13b. Version number shows up in the top-right of the screen in-game. If the versions don’t match, take this guide with a grain of salt.

Appendix I: Potion Effects and Superpotions

Several combinations of unlike potions have been verified to produce a unique effect:

(There should be an image between this text and the last table showing what combinations of potions have been tested thus far. Click to enlarge, or click here[docs.google.com] for the Google Sheet.)

Appendix II: Identification Time

The time it takes to identify a potion’s traits is approximately
T = 103 / I for one trait,
T = 210 / I for two traits, and
T = 420 / I for three traits,

where T is the time in seconds and I is your INT value. This table gives the results of this equation:

3 INT is necessary to identify a second trait and 7 INT to identify a third. At 9 INT, the potion can also be directly identified – that is, the game stops reporting traits and shows the actual name of the potion. This happens shortly after the third trait is identified.