As an avid Little Alchemy player since the browser version launched in 2012, I‘ve derived hours of enjoyment mixing elements and uncovering new combinations. But no element I‘ve encountered has been more versatile and crucial to progression than the unassuming "tool."
Read on as I guide you step-by-step through crafting this vital element, share expert insights into unlocking its full potential, and help fast-track your Little Alchemy prowess.
Overview of the Little Alchemy Series
For the uninitiated, Little Alchemy is a casual resource-management game centered around combining elements to create new ones. The mechanics are simple but obsessively fun.
You start with four basic elements – fire, water, air and earth. By dragging and dropping them onto each other, you produce more complex elements. Mix water and earth to plant mud. Combine fire and earth to make lava. What about air and lava? Why it makes stone of course!
The delight is discovering surprising, inventive and even nonsensical combinations. As your element collection grows, so do the possible combinations. With over 700 items to unlock, the mystery stays alive for a long while.
The original Little Alchemy enchanted with its creativity and whimsical visuals. In 2017, Little Alchemy 2 supercharged the formula by adding 3D animations, new art styles and more elements. It continues to receive periodic content updates as well.
But regardless of which iteration you play, one element binds your quest for elemental mastery – the humble, yet mighty "tool."
Why is the "Tool" Element So Important?
With most elements, crafting capabilities plateau after making 4-5 derivations. But tools are a creative keystone to unlocking exponentially more elements.
Once created, tools can produce over 80 element combinations and counting – including dozens of other tool types like axe, needle, plow and umbrella critical for progression.
It transforms you from passive combiner to active creator manifesting objects through skill and will. Ultimately, tool allows shaping your Little Alchemy reality however you see fit.
Now that you grasp its significance in-game and for crafting mastery, let me guide you through reliably creating this invaluable element.
Crafting the "Tool" Element Step-by-Step
While seasoned Little Alchemists have many paths to "tool", the following 12-step method using "human" and "stone" is the most direct for beginners:
Step 1: Make "Mud"
This vital compound gets the ball rolling fast. Drag "earth" onto "water" to combine these basics into mud.
"A good craftsman selects the finest materials to shape their vision."
Step 2: Craft "Pressure"
Create your first atmospheric element by dropping two "air" elements atop one another to form "pressure."
Air proves itself a gift that keeps on giving!
Step 3: Produce "Stone"
Apply that pressure by merging it with "earth" to unlock the timeless "stone" element.
Persistent pressure transforms earth‘s latent potential into hardened stone!
Step 4: Progress to "Clay"
Stone‘s story continues by mixing it with "mud" to yield soft, malleable "clay" – shaper of civilizations!
Mud mingles with stone to birth clay – the canvas for creation myths worldwide!
Step 5: Craft "Puddle"
Progress halts without "water‘s" aqueous bounty. Drop two waters to form "puddle" – humility seeds future glory!
"The longest journey begins with a single step…or drop! Great oaks from tiny puddles grow."
Step 6: Make "Pond"
Embiggen that puddle by merging two into a humble "pond" – minor milestones accumulate major momentum!
"Jumping in puddles splashes us with insight – pools spawn ponds with patience and perspective."
Step 7: Unlock "Lake"
Our journey transcends terrestrial trappings by uniting "pond" twice over to unveil the elemental elegance of "lake"!
Nature‘s bounty truly reveals itself when experienced with childlike wonder!
I‘ll condense steps 8-11 focusing on vital milestones only to accelerate your toolmaking transformation!
Step 8: Discover Primordial "Sea"
Mix "lake" twice to unleash aquatic infinity as the ancestral "sea", font of creation!
Step 9: Craft Primordial "Soup"
Baptize emergent land by combining "earth" and "sea" to conjure primal "primordial soup" – organic origin of terrestrial life!
Step 10: Forge Flesh with "Clay"
Merge "soup" and "time" to fabricate fragile "life", then bind to steadfast "clay" molding humanity‘s mineral muse!
Step 11: Embrace your "Human" Potential
Revel in the wonder of "human" – aspiring avatar of Earth‘s aspirations! tools become possible through human ingenuity and vision.
We stand at the dawn of a creative Cambrian explosion! But destiny demands equal parts patience and participation.
Step 12: Unlock the "Tool" Element
With elementals aligning and materials manifest, synergize "human" and "stone" to finally forge that fabled instrument of will – the "tool"!
Our human-stone tools enabled toppling nature‘s immutable hierarchies! But wisdom guides might lest we become that which we conquered.
Harness the tool judiciously to unlock reality‘s underlying code – then masterfully orchestrate your own Little Alchemy mythos!
While long, this heroic 12-step journey conveys the epic scope of directed creativity. Having trod the path yourself, you grasp the significance of toolmaking.
Now let‘s refine the process and unlock alternative routes to this invaluable element!
Streamlined Toolmaking: Substitute "Time" with "Energy"
Eagle-eyed alchemists may have noticed "time" enters the mix at step 10. But that element only becomes accessible after discovering 100 combinations.
If you lack "time", create "energy" instead by combining two "fire" elements. Then insert "energy" at step 10 to produce "life." The rest flows as outlined above.
Master alchemists learn working with limitations, not just around them!
Alternative Roads Lead to "Tool"
While the human-stone method makes "tool" rapidly, many paths permeate its metaphorical mountain. Explore some alternate trails in the table below:
| Element 1 | Element 2 |
|---|---|
| Human | Metal |
| Human | Wood |
| Human | Rock |
| Human | Steel |
| Wood | Steel |
| Wood | Rock |
| Wood | Metal |
| Wood | Stone |
Testing combinations systematically builds knowledge and creativity intrinsically…that and you fill up your in-game encyclopedia faster!
Unlocking "Tool‘s" Creative Potential
Harvesting raw potential means nothing without application. Once created, "tool" combines with over 80 elements (and increases each update) so mastering it makes easier mastery of everything!
Scroll left and right to see some of "tool‘s" unlockable combinations:
| Base Element | Creates |
|---|---|
| Zeus/Aegis/Ankh/Baast/Cupid/Cyclops/Lightning/Maui‘s fishhook/Mjölnir/Omelette/Rainbow/Wand/Wine | Special Item (DLC exclusive) |
| Thread | Needle |
| Wood/Lumberjack/Paul Bunyan | Axe |
| Pressure/Steam | Boiler |
| Elf | Bow |
| Baba Yaga | Broom |
| Gunpowder | Bullet |
| Milk | Butter |
| Time/Sundial | Clock |
| Coconut | Coconut Milk |
| Hacker | Computer |
| Dog | Doge 🐶 |
| Paladin/Durendal | Epic Sword (DLC exclusive) |
| Light/Lightbulb/Lamp | Flashlight |
| Metal/Steel/Stone/Rock/Woodpecker | Hammer |
| Wall | House |
| Animal/Monkey | Human 👤 |
| Grass/Scythe | Lawn Mower |
| Cow/Pig/Sheep | Leather |
| Glass | Lens |
| Wheel/Chain/Engineer | Machine |
| Livestock/Chicken/Pig/Cow/Sheep/Fish/Shark/Frog | Meat |
| Ore | Metal |
| Microscope | Microscope |
| Goat/Cow | Milk 🥛 |
| Thor | Mjölnir ⚒️ |
| Hay/Demon | Pitchfork |
| Field | Plow 🌾 |
| Clay | Pottery |
| Wire/Boat/Sailboat/Pirate Ship | Rope 🪢 |
| Horse | Saddle 🐎 |
| Glasses | Safety Glasses 👓 |
| Gardener | Shovel |
| Sun/Day/Hospital | Specialized Tool |
| Doctor/Sound | Stethoscope 🩺 |
| Rain/Storm | Umbrella ☂️ |
| Motion/Water/Stream/River | Wheel ⚙️ |
| Tree/Forest | Wood 🪵 |
| Sheep | Wool 🐑 |
Once you begin combining "tool" with other elements, your item discovery rate snowballs rapidly. Memorize 5-10 combinations, craft them systematically, then reuse those new elements for even more novel item creations ad infinitum!
Live Your Alchemy Dream: Final Thoughts
As you journey through Little Alchemy 2 creating wondrous elements, remember the "tool" techniques shared today.
Though mastering the human-stone method takes time initially, society-altering power lies at your fingertips once a trusty tool manifests!
I still vividly recall the childlike awe of crafting my first tool and how it opened creative floodgates thereafter. That same wonder awaits you too!
Now open your Inventory, focus intent through tool, and actualize the impossible out of thin air! Then once you catch breath between bewildering discoveries, drop me a line about your favorite "tool" creation.
Happy alchemizing, my friend!
Alexander Jansson
Little Alchemy Legend