Ultimate Homunculus Guide

I came across RO Writings and read about Homunculus stuff. It's a super info for you guys who plans to become an alchemist and level up using those wonderful creatures called Homunculus.

This review/guide is not mine it's from Rhino_Man.

This guide is written under the assumption that you already have an alchemist. I warn you now, this guide is quite long.

Table of Contents:

1. What is a homunculus/type of homunculus
2. How to create/get a homunculus
3. Leveling mechanics
4. Hunger and Intimacy
5. How to control them
6. AI
7. Management, life and death of a homunculus.
8. Notes on homunculus
9. Frequently asked questions

1. What is a homunculus/type of homunculus.
A homunculus is a monster under the control of an alchemist. The skill to create them is a rather long and involved quest (see section 2).
Now here’s the catch. While the homunculus looks and often acts just like a pet, it is not a pet. It will (depending on the AI script, see the AI section) be able to attack, use it’s own tree of skills on the player or on target monsters and often act on it’s own. A homunculus has it’s own set of stats, hp, sp, etc. and can (yes CAN, see section 6) die.
There are 4 types of homunculus and each one has two different sprites.
Filr/Filir:
Version 1: http://write.ratemyserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/baby_filir_v1 .gif
Evolved: http://write.ratemyserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/adult_filir.p ng
Version 2: http://write.ratemyserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/baby_filir_v2 .gif
Evolved: http://write.ratemyserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/adult_filir_v 2.png
Amistr:
Version 1: http://write.ratemyserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/baby_amistr_v 1.gif
Evolved: http://write.ratemyserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/evolved_amist r.png
Version 2: http://write.ratemyserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/baby_amistr_v 2.gif
Evolved: http://write.ratemyserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/evolved_amist r_alt.png
Vanilmirth/Vanilmorph:
Version 1: http://write.ratemyserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/baby_vanilmir th_v1.gif
Evolved: http://write.ratemyserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/evolved_vanil .png
Version 2: http://write.ratemyserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/van_alt.png
Evolved: http://write.ratemyserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/evolved_vani_ alt.png
Lif/Liif:
Version 1: http://write.ratemyserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/baby_lif.png
Evolved: http://write.ratemyserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/adult_lif.png
Version 2: http://write.ratemyserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/lif_alt.png
Evolved: http://write.ratemyserver.net/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/evolved_lif_a lt.png
Filr/Filir is best explained as an agi killer. It’s high points are flee boosting skills and high attack speed. It’s damage output is considerable, especially after it evolves. It closest resembles an aspd sinx.
Amistr is a vit tanker. It has high hp, a lot of defense boosting skills and tends to live longest out of all the homunculus. It closest resembles a shield paladin.
Vanilbirth/Vanilmorph is the magic caster. It has high sp and high magic attack and a skill that casts random elemental bolt spells making it capable of the highest damage output of the 4 homunculus types. The downside is that it is also the largest of the homunculus types and the softest. It will die the fastest but go out in a blaze of glory. It closest resembles a Bolt Professor.
Lif/Liif is a little strange. Physically speaking it is the weakest of the 4, but it has some of the most useful abilities out of all of them. It can heal the alchemist, increase both movement speed and flee of the alchemist and the homunculus simultaniously and once evolved has the capability of stacking it’s considerable magic attack onto it’s atk as well as it’s SP onto it’s hp. It’s basically like a battle priest. Strong, hard to kill and has a tendancy to hit like the kick of a mule when it wants to. It closest resembles a battle priest.
For the skills, please explore them on your own. For a homunculus’ evolved skills, please view section 8 before doing so.

2. How to create/get a homunculus
First, you must be an alchemist or a biochemist/creator. No other class has access to a homunculus. Then you must do the quest for the skill (it is the alchemist’s second quest skill and is shown here, scroll down, it’s called Bioethics). This passive skill will allow you to unlocks the homunculus skills (Call Homunculus, Rest/Dissolve Homunculus, Ressurect Homunculus).
In order to create a homunculus you must purchase one of each of the items sold by the npc in the alchemist guild in Aldebaron. You must have a potion creation guide and you must have learned pharmacy. Yes you must brew your homunculus.
The result is an item called an embryo. Ordinarily this item will do nothing, but when an alchemist who has no homunculus uses the skill “call homunculus” with one in their inventory, it is consumed and a new homunculus is created at lvl 1. The type of homunculus (outlined above) is totally random, as well as type. If you do not get the homunculus you want, you can delete your current homunculus (cruel), and try again.
When creating a homunculus, your stats effect your chances of getting a particular homunculus as follows:
if your STR is 99:
Success Rate: 47.9%
Chance to get Amistr: 36.3%
Chance to get Filir: 38.8%
Chance to get Vanilmirth: 13.6%
Chance to get Lif: 11.1%
if your INT is 99:
Success Rate: 52.8%
Chance to get Amistr: 5%
Chance to get Filir: 7.6%
Chance to get Vanilmirth: 44.9%
Chance to get Lif: 42.3%
if your AGI is 99:
Success Rate: 47.9%
Chance to get Amistr: 36.3%
Chance to get Filir: 38.8%
Chance to get Vanilmirth: 13.6%
Chance to get Lif: 11.1%
if your DEX is 99:
Success Rate: 57.7%
Chance to get Amistr: 5%
Chance to get Filir: 7.6%
Chance to get Vanilmirth: 44.9%
Chance to get Lif: 42.3%
Vit is 99:
Success Rate: 47.9%
Chance to get Amistr: 36.3%
Chance to get Filir: 7.6%
Chance to get Vanilmirth: 13.6%
Chance to get Lif: 42.3%
Luck is 99:
Success Rate: 57.7%
Chance to get Amistr: 5%
Chance to get Filir: 38.8%
Chance to get Vanilmirth: 44.9%
Chance to get Lif: 11.1%
INT and DEX 99:
Success Rate: 62.59%
Chance to get Amistr: 3.1%
Chance to get Filir: 4.7%
Chance to get Vanilmirth: 46.8%
Chance to get Lif: 45.2%
STR and AGI 99:
Success Rate: 47.9%
Chance to get Amistr: 41.5%
Chance to get Filir: 43.1%
Chance to get Vanilmirth: 8.4%
Chance to get Lif: 6.8%
Therefore, if I wanted a lif, for example, I would get my vit and dex to 99 each as that would create an approximatley 80% chance of a lif. This chart is useful as it can save you the effort of many re-creations.

3. Leveling Mechanics
Ok this may sound a little strange at first but here’s how it works. A homunculus gains exp and levels just like player characters do. The only exception is that they only use jexp. They cannot be included in parties or shared exp and can only gain exp if they actually strike the target monster.
Here’s the catch. The percent of the monster’s hp that they do in damage translates directly into the quantity of the monster’s jexp they steal from you. That’s right, they STEAL your jexp. They give you all the exp but if a homunculus does 100% of the damage to a monster, it will give you exactly 0 jexp as a reward. This is not a bug, this is how they were programmed. I have recently discovered that a homunculus actually gains exp based on BOTH the jexp and the bexp. It takes a percentage of the jexp away from you as described above, HOWEVER, gains exp as if it had just gained it’s base exp. This is more obvious when fighting monsters with high bexp but low jexp (like monster in odin’s temple)
After reaching a certain amount of exp, just like you, it will level up, made obvious by the fanfare and it’s own level up angel. It’s stats are increased AUTOMATICALLY. You have absolutely no control over it. If your homunculus develops badly, it’s just bad luck, no more then that.
After each 3 levels your homunculus gains a skill point, which can be used to learn one of it’s skills. There is no way to reset your homunculus stats or it’s skills but don’t worry, the worst they get is good.
Also note that a homunculus will still get more skill points then it has skills to learn, so you will NEVER have to skip or ignore skills.

4. Hunger and Intimacy
Ok, so you’ve all had a pet or known someone who has one right? These work almost the same way with a few tiny little differences.
Just like with pets you can view your pet statistics by opening up the pet window (alt-r) or additionally, by typing @hominfo, which is more detailed.
Unlike pets, a homunculus has a “hunger” bar, which will indicate how hungry your homunculus is at any given time. Each time you feed your pet it’s food, the hunger bar will go up by 10 points, to a maximum of 100. Each minute that passes by while your homunculus is out (not dissolved/rested) it loses 1 hunger. It’s fairly easy to understand. Keep it’s hunger out of the red and it won’t run away.
Intimacy is also similar to a pet intimacy, but on a slightly larger scale. For a homunculus, intimacy ranges from 0 to 1000. If a homunculus is left at 0 intimacy for too long it will run away. To increase intimacy it is just like with a pet. Feed it when it’s hungry. Oh, and for the record, intimacy follows this scale:
0-3 = Hate with a passion
4-10 = Hate
11 - 100 = Awkward
101-250 = Shy
251-750 = Neutral
751-910 = Cordial
911-1000 = Loyal
You can also view your current intimacy rating by typing @hominfo.
You are more likely to gain intimacy if you feed your homunculus when it is at the correct hunger. Feeding it at the wrong time, involves a lower chance of increasing intimacy by 1 point. Yes 1 point per feeding max. As such:
1-10 50%
11-25 100%
26-75 75%
76-90 -5%
91-100 -50%
Yes, that’s right, if you feed it past 75 you have a chance of losing intimacy with each feeding. This is not a mistake. Your homunculus will also lose 1 intimacy when it reaches 10 hunger (and the game will start shouting at you to feed it) and then will lose 1 every 3 minutes afterwards. This means, don’t let it’s hunger get below 10.
Once a homunculus gets intimacy of 911 or higher (yes, loyal) you can use an item called a stone of sage/philosopher’s stone/stone of intelligence to evolve it into it’s higher form. Doing this boosts it’s hp/sp and it’s stats slightly, and unlocks the final evolved skill.

5. How to control them
Controls for a homunculus are relatively simple. Most of the time, the AI (see section 6) will control the homunculus for you. However, if you wish to use more specific commands or specify which target it will attack the commands are as follows.
Alt-right click - move there
Alt-double-right click - move there and stay there
Alt-right click monster - that’s the target
Alt-double-right click monster - attack that target
Please note that these commands are not 100%! Gravity got lazy and about half the time, the commands DO NOT WORK PROPERLY. It has nothing to do with the server administrators or the lag, or the way the homunculus AI is running, they just do not work that well.
Alternatively, if you do not want your homunculus to attack anything, right click it and put it into passive mode. In that mode it will only attack monsters that attack you.

6. AI
this is perhaps the most difficult part to explain. Do not be afraid of homunculus AI. It is legal under most RO servers. Homunculus AI utilizes bot programming to control the homunculus internally. Leaving you free to control everything else for your character.
The original Default AI is (to put it blundly) a piece of utter dog doodoo. Do not use it. It will kill steal, it will run after the wrong targets and using it, lif and Vanilmirph will never actively seek out targets.
It is highly reccomended that you use customized AI at all times. For those who aren’t coding gurus, you can download premade custom AI programs so you don’t have to worry about that. I would reccomend that you use MirAI as it is fairly complete, doesn’t KS, and has a handy dandy little control panel thing to change the settings without having to dig into the code.
While I say that MirAI is quite a good custom AI, it is by far not the only one. If you are unsatisfied with it, do not complain to me, go find another one. (I’m using one I made myself)
Please keep up to date on all homunculus and various AI related rules on your server. I am NOT, repeat, NOT responsible for any discipline gained by this lack of research.

7. Management, life and death of a homunculus.
since homunculus are external characters that have their own hp and sp, they, too can die. Instead of leaving the body behind, a homunculus will just vanish on the spot, but no worry! They can be returned to life by the use of the skill ressurect homunculus.
Homunculus in the way? Want to autotrade all night? use Rest/Dissolve on them and they will be handily put away into a pocket dimension while you go afk.
Need it back? Bad? Call it and it will come!
oh and just so you know, homunculus cannot lose intimacy or exp by repeatedly dying or being rested and re-called many times in succession.

8. Notes on Homunculus

• Rest/Dissolve cannot be used when the homunculus has less then 85% of it’s hp.
• Homunculus AI fails and stops working once the homunculus is out of the alchemist’s sight range. You have to go retrieve it.
• Teleporting/using fly wings/using butterfly wings/walking through a portal will usually make the homunculus appear on the same cell as you are on. If it does not, see section 9.
• Ressurect homunculus will not state this, but ressurect homunculus will ressurect the homunculus at (skilllvl*20)% hp. At lvl 5 it will restore to 99% hp.
• it is very difficult to force homunculus to attack a specific player that isn’t closest to you as the alt-right click still brings up the trade/etc menu.
• you can not hit a homunculus with an AoE of any type. Sorry, but wizards can’t really hurt homunculus unless they focus fire on one. They’re immune to traps too. They still count as standing on the cell when placing traps though.
• you can still cause status ailments to homunculus! They can still be frozen, poisoned, bleeded, etc. It’s just very difficult when it’s high level.
• you can not cast any single target priest spells on a homunculus! You cannot use HEAL on them. you CAN however heal a homunculus using potion pitcher, slim potion pitcher, gospel, bard/dancer skills or sanctuary.
• when you evolve your homunculus your intimacy is wasted. Yes, you heard me, wasted. it’s gone, you gotta get it all back again.
• you don’t need to be loyal to make it use evolved skills. Lif and Amistr can use theirs once they hit awkward (50 intimacy), vanilmirth can use theirs once they reach 450 intimacy (half) and filr can use theirs with only 2 intimacy (but it does crap damage)
• the lif and the amistr do not use intimacy to activate. In this case they just have very long cooldowns, 15 minutes for lif and 10 minutes for amistr
• vanilmirth and filr’s evolved skills will return intimacy to 1.
• filr’s evolved skill damage is based on intimacy level, and can deal a higher damage then asura
• vanilmirth evolved skill will deal 5×5 aoe damage based on it’s hp

9. Frequently asked questions
a. My homunculus is gone!
it happens from time to time. If you haven’t left it out long enough for it to run away (intimacy drops to 0), Follow the list of instructions below:
1. Rest/Call your homunculus
2. Ressurect your homunculus
3. Re-log
4. Re-start RO
5. Re-start computer
6. Contact a GM
if you reach step 6, it is likely that your homunculus has been destroyed through a glitch in the game. Sorry, I can’t help you there.
b. what happens when I trancend?
the homunculus goes back into it’s pocket dimension and waits for you to hit biochemist/creator. When you do you can call it again once you get the homunculus skills back. don’t worry, it’ll be at exactly the same intimacy/hunger/exp/level as from before you trancend.
c. how does leveling up work? I can’t set my homun’s stats!
you don’t. The homunculus automatically gains a point in each stat based on a percentage. Each one is different and has a different chance of gaining a point in any given stat on each level up. If you are personally very unlucky you might end up with a very weak homunculus, but the way the stats are scaled, you are increasingly likely to hit middle of the road to over powered.
d. is my homunculus weak? over powered? middle of the road?
use the command @homstats. it should display your stats and the range of each stat as it could possibly have gained as it lvls up. I.E. if I use @homstats with my lif and it says 109 (35 ~ 209) it means my hom has 109 of that stat and it’s minimum possible was 35 while the maximum possible was 209.
There are also several homunculus calculators on the internet, though some of them do not work all too well.
A great majority of this guide came from many different RO information sites including but not limited to iRO Wiki (irowiki.org), Rate my server (ratemyserver.net) and the RO Empire forums (link forgotton). Any similarity between this guide and guides found on those sites are purely coincidental and unintentional.