Why Reputation Matters
Alchemy factory reputation affects how your shop performs, but the available guidance describes two different systems. In the earlier shop model, reputation rises or falls with customer demand and stock availability. In the 1.0 model, Shop Recognition uses completed sales milestones and permanent rewards instead.
This distinction matters before you redesign shelves or commit production. If your game uses the earlier model, keeping important goods available helps protect reputation. If it uses the 1.0 Recognition model, an empty shelf costs sales but is not automatically a reputation crisis.
The Codex describes reputation as a star-icon value at the top of the screen. Higher reputation brings more customers to make purchases at the shop. Its stated range is 0 through 100.
| Customer outcome | Earlier reputation result |
|---|---|
| A customer finds the product they want | Reputation increases |
| A customer cannot find the product they want | Reputation decreases |
| Most items remain stocked | Helps keep reputation high |
| Reputation reaches its lower limit | 0 |
| Reputation reaches its upper limit | 100 |
The practical goal is not necessarily to sell every possible item at all times. Community discussion suggests that customers look for goods shown in the goods tab, while missing several jewelry, relic, and goods items can still allow reputation near 95 to 100. Potions were described as especially high-demand, so researching one before it can be automated may create supply pressure.
Earlier Shop Reputation and Customer Demand
Under the earlier system, customer satisfaction is directly connected to finding requested products. A stocked item a customer wants increases reputation; an unavailable requested item decreases it. That makes your shop inventory part of progression rather than a passive display.
The available discussion does not give a complete formula for which products customers request. Players offered differing observations: one said customers can ask for an item as soon as it is researched, while another reported customers asking for black powder before it was researched. A third player’s practical rule was that customers look for items listed in the goods tab.
Because these accounts do not fully agree, treat them as player reports rather than a confirmed demand formula. The shared takeaway is more useful: unlocks and available goods can expand what customers may expect, so research and storefront supply should be planned together.
| Reported observation | What it may mean for stocking |
|---|---|
| Customers can ask for items after research | Avoid researching many items before supply is ready |
| Contracts may ask for items the day after research | Keep production capacity available after research |
| Customers may request an item before research | Tier or overall progression may also affect demand |
| Goods-tab items are sought by customers | Review available goods when choosing shop stock |
| Potions are described as highly demanded | Automate a potion before researching it when possible |
A cautious approach is to research in manageable steps. Do not assume that unlocking an entire tier is harmless if your factory cannot immediately produce the newly relevant products. Community feedback specifically warns that researching everything in a tier at once can be detrimental.
Prioritize reliable supply over a broad but fragile assortment. A product that is researched, visible to demand, and repeatedly out of stock can undermine the benefit of unlocking it. Conversely, a focused group of consistently stocked goods may be enough to maintain a strong reputation.
Useful habits for the earlier system include:
- Check the star icon regularly to monitor shop reputation.
- Keep production for frequently requested goods stable.
- Expand research when you can support the resulting demand.
- Be particularly careful with newly researched potions.
- Leave room for contract production if research may trigger requests.
Relics present a separate production decision. One player noted that relics take a long time to make and may be more valuable as Upgrade Points than as shop inventory. That is not a universal rule, but it illustrates the tradeoff between selling an item and using it for another factory purpose.
Shop Recognition in Version 1.0
A separate 1.0 guide describes Shop Recognition rather than a constantly changing stock-based reputation score. In that system, you complete a specified customer-sales requirement, pay a claim fee, and receive a permanent shop bonus.
Recognition is explicitly based on shop sales to normal customers. Producing an item, storing it, or dispatching it does not advance the counter. If the counter does not move, the required item needs to go through the shop.
This changes how you can manage low-priority shelves. You can temporarily stop stocking a product while production is needed for sample requests, potion batches, rebuilding, construction, or another downstream purpose. You lose the sales from that shelf, but the guide says this does not destroy a reputation score merely because every unlocked item is not stocked.
| Recognition | Requirement | Permanent reward | Claim fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sundries I | Sell 30 Mortars | +8 Shop Reputation, +10% Sundries Profit | 400 |
| Sundries II | Sell 30 Linen | +8 Shop Reputation, +14% Sundries Profit | 1,600 |
| Sundries III | Sell 200 Wooden Pulleys | +8 Shop Reputation, +16% Sundries Profit | 3,600 |
The early Sundries milestones show the full loop clearly. A specific item has a sales target. Once the target is complete, the player pays the listed fee and gains the stated permanent reputation and profit bonuses.
The growing requirements also make production routing important. Thirty Mortars or Linen may fit naturally into early customer sales. Two hundred Wooden Pulleys require enough shop movement to sell the target quantity while the rest of the factory continues operating.
Planning Sales, Research, and Production
Whether you are working with earlier customer-feedback reputation or 1.0 Recognition, the shop competes with other factory needs. Goods sent to customers cannot simultaneously fill every internal demand, contract, or upgrade-related goal.
In the Recognition model, this leads to a useful burst-based workflow: direct a required item to the shop until the sales target is met, then return that production to its usual downstream purpose. This is especially useful for intermediate goods that normally stay inside the factory.
| Action | Earlier customer-feedback model | 1.0 Recognition model |
|---|---|---|
| Keep a product on shelves | Helps customers find wanted products | Generates normal sales if customers buy it |
| Let a shelf run empty | May decrease reputation if a customer wants it | Loses sales but does not automatically reduce reputation |
| Research a new item | May make demand harder to cover | Source does not state that it changes Recognition targets |
| Sell the required milestone item | Supports customer availability | Advances Recognition only through shop sales |
| Dispatch an item | Source does not define its reputation effect | Does not count toward Recognition |
Contracts are another reason to avoid overcommitting every product to storefront sales. The Codex says contracts unlock by completing sample request quests. To receive a sample request quest in the mailbox, you need a certain level and must have dispatched a stated number of items from the previous tier.
| Contract item | Units per contract | Daily maximum | Level needed | Previous-tier dispatch requirement |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bandage | 50 | 800 | 4 | None |
| Gloom Spores | 50 | 1,600 | 5 | 2,000 Bandage |
| Pocket Watch | 20 | 960 | 6 | 5,000 Gloom Spores |
| Fertile Catalyst | 20 | 1,200 | 7 | 3,000 Pocket Watch |
| Silver Amulet | 10 | 480 | 8 | 4,000 Fertile Catalyst |
| Moonlit Soap | 10 | 80 | 9 | 2,000 Silver Amulet |
Dispatch and shop sales therefore serve different purposes in the stated materials. Dispatch requirements matter for contract access, while Recognition requires normal customer sales through the shop. Keep those routes separate when a production chain must support both goals.
Daily quests can also influence where output goes. The Codex states that the mailbox receives another quest each day at 6:00. Random quests expire in 72 real-world minutes and pay 130% market price; Bulk quests expire in 120 real-world minutes and pay 160%; Urgent quests expire in 24 real-world minutes and pay 200%.
| Daily quest type | Expiration | Reward |
|---|---|---|
| Random Quest | 72 real-world minutes | 130% market price |
| Bulk Quest | 120 real-world minutes | 160% market price |
| Urgent Quest | 24 real-world minutes | 200% market price |
When a milestone, contract, or quest needs the same output, decide which immediate requirement matters most. The sources do not establish a universal best order. They do show that shop sales, dispatches, and quests are distinct destinations with different progression effects.
FAQ
What is alchemy factory reputation?
Alchemy factory reputation is the shop value associated with the star icon in the earlier mechanics description. It ranges from 0 to 100, rises when customers find products they want, and falls when they cannot find them.
Does an empty shelf lower reputation?
In the earlier customer-feedback model, an empty shelf can lower reputation if a customer is looking for that product. In the 1.0 Recognition model, an empty shelf loses sales but does not automatically reduce a reputation score.
Do I need to stock every unlocked item?
Not necessarily. A player report says several missing jewelry, relics, and goods items still allowed reputation around 95 to 100. However, keeping most items stocked is the Codex recommendation, and newly researched potions may be difficult to support because they are described as highly demanded.
How does Shop Recognition increase in 1.0?
Sell the specified quantity of the required item to normal shop customers, complete the counter, then pay the claim fee. Storage, production alone, and dispatch sales do not count toward the Recognition counter.
Do dispatches count for Recognition?
No. The 1.0 guide states that dispatch sales do not count. Dispatches are instead relevant to the contract unlock requirements listed in the Codex.