NOTE: Alchemy Lab has been updated as of June 2020
Please see new thread here: 🎲 [v2] Alchemy Lab FAQ & Discussion
Please post questions and discussion down below, and see the Calculator at the end of this first post!
What is Alchemy Lab?
Alchemy Lab is a new Advanced Building that unlocks with Stronghold 23.
It allows Transmuting some items into some other items. It also produces Alkashards, which can be combined into an item of your choice from a selection of random items.
Can I Transmute items to other items of the same rarity, e.g. 1* Crafting Ingredients to other 1* Crafting Ingredients, or Training Manuals to Rugged Clothes?
No, you generally can’t Transmute items into other items of the same rarity.
Alchemy Lab only Transmutes from lower to higher rarity, with the exception of:
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Level 9, which Transmutes farmable 3* Ascension Materials into Unfarmable Ascension Materials, along with a 5% chance of producing a 4* Ascension Mat instead
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Level 10, which Transmutes 4* Ascension Materials into a random different 4* Ascension Material
Are Gems required to use Alchemy Lab?
Yes, Levels 6 through 10 require Gems to use.
These cover Transmutations of Epic Crafting and Battle Items, as well as Rare and Epic Ascension Materials.
Lower levels covering farmable items and 2*/3* Battle Items don’t require Gems.
Can I rush Transmutation times using Gems?
No. Unlike Training Camps, Forges, and Hunter’s Lodge, the long durations for Transmutations can’t be accelerated or skipped.
Can I run more than one type of Transmutation at a time?
Yes, as Alchemy Lab is upgraded, it allows for up to 3 different Levels to be run at the same time in parallel.
Items queued in the same Level run sequentially, however. There’s nothing you can do to accelerate the Transmutations of a particular Level.
Thanks to @MAGS661 for documenting the Alchemy Lab Levels that unlock the ability to run additional Transmutations simultaneously:
Thanks to @Scarecrow for confirming that Level 8 actually does not unlock 3 Transmutations at a time. We’ve since confirmed that Level 10 is required to unlock 3 simultaneous Transmutations.
Can I queue and dequeue Transmutations like in a Training Camp or Forge?
No, not exactly.
You can queue up multiple Transmutations for a given Level, but once queued, you cannot remove or reduce the queue.
Because it’s also impossible to accelerate Transmutations, players should be mindful of what they queue into Alchemy Lab, as it’s currently impossible to undo those decisions, or do anything to accelerate them. So you can effectively tie up Alchemy Lab for extended periods of time.
@Mariamne’s Guide to Alchemy Lab Upgrades & Research
Alchemy Lab Levels
What are Alkashards, and how do they work?
@MAGS661’s Alkashard & Alchemy Calculator
If you make a copy of this Google Sheet, you can calculate how many Alkashards and items you can produce, along with the time, gem, and food costs.
@Vikingblood80’s Spreadsheet
A static spreadsheet similar to the one above, showing costs and calculations for reaching 10000 Alkashards.
Beta Information and Discussion
From what I’ve seen, the last version of Alchemy Lab seen in Beta matches what was released to the live game, but please keep an eye out for the possibility of things having been changed.