It's so nice having a profession which expands your combat options instead of just being a passive stat booster like smithing and enchanting. But I also find it fun to go to a specific area when I'm short on a certain poison to stock up on ingredients (hjaalmarch marsh is my favorite go to place for poisons).

Only problem I have with alchemy is the weight of the ingredients and potions which adds up really fast. Oh, and healing / magicka / stamina potions need to have a cooldown, or better yet, work over time (and not stack). And finally, they need to get rid of the "Are you sure you want to poison your weapon?" prompt or make it an option.

p.s. skooma recipe beth, please.

My mage likes to mix potions and sell them to fund his purchase of all the expensive magic stuff Probably because he svcks at mixing potions, lol. But he'll improve with time.

I usually store the bulk of my potions and ingredients in my house, which works great, I have a limited number on me all the time (no more than 3 of each)

and you dont have to use potions all the time if you think it gives you an unfair advantage

but yeah, the question about wanting to poison your weapon is really annoying, I'd rather waste one and pretend I did it on purpose than be asked every time.
it is kind of ironic though, since I constantly ask myself what I'm suposed to be doing

My dunmer assassin basically makes potions and poisons for living-- when he's not assassinating, of course. (well, some of the poisons are kept but only the strong ones) It's so nice to sometimes just wander around and finding interesting ingredients. It also makes me observe and appreciate the environment much more than just running straight towards a quest. It's a nice relaxing skill really.

Every character I make needs to have Alchemy, it is a law in my Skyrim.
I do like the idea of finding ingredients and discovering their different effects. And the fact that there's a vast number of ingredients makes it more fun.

Agreed. Also, one of the main motivations for me to explore new areas is the possibility of finding new alchemy ingredients. After doing most of the miscellaneous quests in Whiterun, one main motivation for exploring more of Skyrim was to find more alchemy ingredients.

And having to experiment with ingredients to find combinations is also enjoyable. I find the Experimenter perk to be a total waste for two reasons: one, it takes the fun out of finding the combinations; two, it's a waste in the endgame, since it adds no power to your character.


I do the same. I'll pick up every ingredient I can when I go out questing or whatever, and then I'll add them to my collection in my house when I return.

I don't mind carrying a whole lot of potions around, however. With a lightly armoured archer/dual-wielder, even with a large stack of restore health/stamina potions, resist potions, and poisons, I rarely get over 120 encumbrance.

I find this true for not just Skyrim but pretty much any game I've played. If Alchemy was a part of it, I've taken the time to master it. Bah, maybe I should've been a chemist IRL.

Love love love alchemy. All my characters that I roleplay are alchemists.

Dope! sign me up.

My two handed sneak warrior NEEDS alchemy. She doesn't use magic at all (other than shouts ... but that's not magic in her opinion) so alchemy is a must to survive or get the edge in many a brutal battle. Personally though she doesn't find the experimentation fun and it doesn't make sense. Why would she ingest some unknown ingredient, and most often poison herself, to find out what it does? With all the books in Skyrim you think there'd be an Alchemy for Dummies guide.

My assassin has a myriad of Paralyzing and damaging poisons as well as invisibility potions and waaay too many health and stamina potions.

I agree that the weight really adds up.

I like the kind of variety it gives. I can make magicka potions, or health, or even stamina. Sometimes health with stamina. I also enjoy the invisibility potion that makes it so the player can't see himself but everyone else can.

I have loved using alchemy from Morrowind to Oblivion and now Skyrim, even though i mainly always play a warrior i can never stop my self making a few potions.

To be honest I find myself using Alchemy more in Skyrim than I ever have in past games, I'm always making poisons.

Alchemy is wonderful. It's a great way to make septims and also a good reason to explore new areas. My character loves to use paralyze and damage health poisons on her arrows. There are some interesting combo effects when combining ingredients.

And I agree, the weight of those ingredients and potions definitely adds up!

Love Alchemy in Skyrim. A huge improvement from Oblivion, but I think Bethesda was a little lazy on the effects of Skooma. Restore 25 Stamina. Really, that's it? How about rauaging magicka (to represent intelligence damage) or some other downside?

I'd say my favorite potions to make are invisibility potions because the ingredients are easy to find.

My characters are always alchemists, to one degree or another. I love picking the flowers.

I did dl a mod to lighten potion weight. In Oblivion I used to work not to create heavy potions, so it's annoying that they're all heavy now. Encumbrance svcks, it's usually the first bit of realism I fiddle with.

Yeah, what's up with Skooma? It is supposed to be bad for you, but it just restores stamina? I found that odd and out of place. They should have done something more interesting with it, like the addiction they did on Fallout.

I've always loved Alchemy and I'm OCD when it comes to ingredients! LOL I can't pass any bush, flower, butterfly, mushroom, Nirnroot... I must collect it ALL

OMG I agree about the weight though! How did they calculate 0.5 lbs for EVERY Potion? o.0 How BIG are these bottles? I should be able to drink like 3 times from these bottles! I remember they had different weights, depending on the ingredient in Oblivion. Most of my potions weighed only 0.1 lbs.

And yes, they do add up fast. I used to be a potion horder. I carried some potions around with me for weeks and never used them (or forgot to use them during an intense battle). The only pots I use are HP and Stam on a regular basis LOL So now, I make sure I sell all my left over potions (with lower values) before I make new ones. I also told myself I will only create potions I will actually use! (Fort Marksman, One-Handed, Invisible, Fort Sneak, Smithing, Health, Stam, Paralyze and Slow LOL)

I was also wondering why Skooma had no negative effects!

I love alchemy and it forces you to really explore the wilderness, shooting deer, diving into the river to catch fish, snatching butterflies dragonflies and torchbugs, getting to know all the flora and so on.
The way it forces you to experiment with different ingredient combinations is great as well, as there is a sense of accomplishment when you find some really useful combo.

i hate alchemy, it was broken in Morrowing and it seems it is broken in Skyrim. Alchemy = free money out of nothing and god mode through not capped(within no reason) multipliers. Why cant they get it right for once.

I love foraging for ingredients and mixing potions.

Alchemy has always been one of my favorite skills, but I always carry around way too many ingredients, and it weighs me down. I just wish you didnt have to find a lab to make things.

I don't generally even use much of any of the potions I make via alchemy, but they sure do make for a good source of income.

I'm nearly to level 40 on my current character, a Khajiiti thief, and I've only been to Whiterun and Markarth, with meandering paths taken here and there elsewhere. I've taken to mainly just starting off from Whiterun, and following one of the roads leading away, and then seeing where I end up, searching especially for ingredients. I've found myself sticking largely to the roads, because in many areas, there is an abundance of some ingredients you can accumulate along the roads, kinda makes me think of some guys being a regular Johnny Appleseed. In the warmer climes about Whiterun, I've found lots of the three kinds of mountain flowers, lavender, and tundra cotton more in the tundra region.

Get up into the snowier areas, and it becomes snowberries that are very dominant.

I've found that down in the Rift region, dragon's tongue is especially prominent all about those deadlands areas.

Salt pile is easily found in abundance in barrels everywhere that contain food, always guaranteed with fish barrels like ones in Riften.

Various kinds of mushrooms in caves and barrows.

I think I'll keep a notepad handy for jotting down some others as I traipse about the lands.

Love me some alchemy. Every time I discover a new effect for an ingredient through experimentation, I get a little giddy.