The Elixir of Peerless Focus provides a significant but highly specific buff, making its value heavily dependent on your character build and strategy.
The Elixir Effect
Consuming this elixir grants the Brainstorm status:
- Advantage on Intelligence Saving Throws and Ability Checks. Situationally useful for resisting specific control effects (e.g., Intellect Devourers) or passing rare INT checks.
- Advantage on Saving Throws to maintain Concentration. The primary and most valuable benefit.
- Duration: 5 Long Rests (until Long Rest). Stacks with other Advantage sources.
Benefits Analysis by Build
- Concentration-Dependent Casters (Cleric, Druid, Wizard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Ranger):
- High Value: Crucial for builds relying on powerful, long-duration spells requiring Concentration (e.g., Haste, Spirit Guardians, Hunter's Mark, Hex, Bless/Bane, Call Lightning). Advantage drastically reduces the chance of losing concentration when taking damage.
- Moderate Value: For builds using short-duration or less critical Concentration spells, or those often positioned safely away from damage.
- Low Value: Casters focusing on instant-damage spells (Fireball, Magic Missile) or non-Concentration buffs (Mage Armor).
- Non-Concentration Casters / Martials (Fighter, Barbarian, Rogue, Monk, Paladin Smites):
- Low/No Value: The main benefit (Concentration saves) is irrelevant. Advantage on INT checks is too niche to justify over alternatives.
- Action Point: Paladins concentrating on Smite spells (e.g., Searing Smite) gain value, though they often use slots for immediate smites.
Comparison to Key Alternatives
Why you might choose Peerless Focus:
- Action Point: For a Concentration-dependent build facing high-damage or multi-attack enemies where losing a key spell (like Haste) would be devastating. Superior to the War Caster feat for pure Concentration defense.
- Action Point: If INT saving throws are a frequent and dangerous threat in your current encounters.
Why other Elixirs are often better:
- Elixir of Hill/Cloud Giant Strength (STR Martials): Provides massive, consistent damage and hit chance boosts. Universally superior for Strength-based attackers (Fighter, Barbarian, some Paladins).
- Elixir of Bloodlust (Martials/Damage Casters): Grants an extra Action per turn after a kill, enabling huge burst potential and action economy.
- Elixir of Viciousness (Crit Builds): Lowers crit threshold, synergistic with specific gear/classes.
- Elixir of Heroism (Tanking): Temporary HP and Bless are strong defensive options.
Verdict: Is It Worth It?
- Worth It: If you are a Concentration-dependent spellcaster playing on higher difficulties (Tactician/Honor Mode) and maintaining a critical spell like Haste is paramount to your strategy and you face frequent concentration-breaking attacks. It provides unparalleled security for key spells.
- Not Worth It: For nearly any martial character, non-Concentration caster, or in situations where the powerful offensive/defensive boosts of Hill Giant Strength, Bloodlust, or Heroism elixirs provide more consistent, round-to-round value. The Advantage on INT checks alone is insufficient justification.
Action Point: Prioritize crafting Hill Giant/Bloodlust for martials. Reserve Peerless Focus for your primary Concentration caster in challenging encounters where spell maintenance is critical. It is a powerful niche tool, not universally worth the alchemy ingredient investment.
