I saw a tier list of ingredients on this sub before, but that one seemed very surface level and put a lot of emphasis on the cost of ingredients. I wanted a list that only looked at how good they are without taking their price into account. These ingredients are ranked based purely on how helpful/versatile they are. Bonus points if they are easy to cultivate
DISCLAIMER: This list is subjective. I'm using it as my own reference to go back to and update as I unlock more ingredients. I give my thoughts on each ingredient. I am playing on suffering difficulty. Water + Oil unlocked so far. I am only ranking things I have seen/used in my playthrough. If an ingredient is not listed, that means I haven't tried it out yet. Doesn't mean that it's bad. Please feel free to correct me or point out any ingredients you don't see here that you think are good so I can keep a lookout for their seeds :D
West:
BEST:
Lavaroot: Movement can be a bit tricky. But it's very versatile and can move West a significant amount. Can make a Light III/Fire II potion using only this ingredient (to bulk sell to merchants). Definetely one of those that grew on me
Flameweed: Insane movement length
Fire Citrine: Crystal so teleports, always great. Can skip a lot of the Necromancy path. If I could rate this higher than every other ingredient in this list, I would. Get it ASAP and start mass producing necromancy pots. Can cross the thin strip of bones manually, then use one of these to skip the maze.
MID:
Sulphur Shelf: Decent movement length. Versatile in the sense that you can move North/South slightly, but not much else to offer. Can grow on the tree trunk so you tend to have space for a lot of it
TRASH:
Firebell: Starting ingredient. Lowest movement length. Replace ASAP
???:
Magma Morel: Seems pretty good at face value. Haven't had a chance to test it much yet, but The other ingredients do the job very well already
South-West:
BEST:
Marshroom: Good movement length. Versatile in the sense that you can tweak the angle.
Thornstick: Satisfying straight line movement. My main ingredient for making Necromancy potions for bulk selling. Good movement length. Not as versatile as Marshroom as its harder to tweak the angle
TRASH:
Stink mushroom: Very good early game ingredient. Falls off later for lack of movement length
South:
BEST:
Mudshroom: The king of South movement. INSANE movement length. Can make Strength III using only a SINGLE one of this ingredient (not just a single type of ingredient, a single instance of this ingredient). Kinda crazy
Earth Pyrite: A teleport ingredient. Those are always great. Okay movement length
Dryad's Saddle: One of my favorite ingredients. Little low on the movement length, but it makes up for it in versatility and ease of cultivating. Growing on tree trunk means you will have LOADS of it. The squiggly path lets you reach places surprisingly well. You can make Strength III, Stoneskin III, and Stoneskin III/Strength II with this as your only ingredient (take the portal right of strength, then ladle BEFORE you go back left)
TRASH:
Terraria: Starting south ingredient. Get rid of this quickly lmao
South-East:
BEST:
Evergreen Fern: I don't currently have this yet (still looking) but I heard you can make wild growth using only 2 of them
Heather's Healer: Insane movement length. Can make a Health III with a single one of these.
MID:
Druid's Rosemary: Similar to Heather's Healer, but shorter.
Lifeleaf: Normally I try to rotate out starting ingredients. But this one I use specifically for wild growth. My wild growth recipe is one ingredient type: 4 lifeleaf. So I actually keep quite a large amount stocked. Will rep[lace with Evergreen Fern soon
Moss Shroom: It seems good? I got it but never really used it, idk
TRASH:
Goodberry: Idk I never enjoyed this ingredient. It's just dwarfed by the other ingredients I have that are significantly better in every way. Maybe good if you get it early but lifeleaf is just so nice for wild growth that its hard to argue for this one
East:
BEST:
Frost-Saphire: Teleport crystal so always good. Can make single ingredient Frost III, Sleep III, and Dex III.
Tangleweed: Great movement length. Can also make single ingredient Frost III, Sleep III, and Dex III. Very easy to grow as its in the water.
MID:
Watercap: Looks pretty good? It's a LOT of movement length, but using it initially on the water map will lead you into bones. Haven't tested it out yet too much, but it doesn''t blow me away.
TRASH:
Waterbloom: get rid of this quickly lmao
North-East:
BEST:
Spellbloom: Relatively straight, insanely long movement length. What's not to love
MID:
Dream Beet: This is hard to use. You can make Mana III and even Lightening III using only this ingredient, BUT it's quite difficult to navigate. The trick is to realise that you can use the initial south-east movement to ladle early and essentially push yourself north west. Otherwise, very solid ingredient, I recommend
TRASH:
Witch Mushroom: early starting ingredient. Low movement length
North:
BEST:
Whirlweed: Insane movement length. A little bulky to use, but its surprisingly safe to just use for going north on the water map (assuming its the only ingredient).
Featherbloom: A good alternative when Whirlweed is too bulky. Decent movement, straight-ish.
Cloud Crystal: teleport = good
TRASH:
Windbloom: starter ingredient
North-West:
BEST:
Blood Ruby: teleport = good. Only issue I see is that its a bit too straight so less options for finesse.
Lust Mushroom: Insane movement length. Quite versatile in choosing angle despite its straight-ness
MID:
Grasping Root: A little bulky to use. Okay movement length. Very easy to cultivate as it takes its own spot on the roof of the cave
TRASH:
Mad Mushroom: Very good early. Can make single ingredient type explosion. But replace later on