I could be chasing bandits across the map but if I see a butterfly I will stop chasing them and run after the butterfly. Every time I come through a town to do a quest or sell something I buy everything in the alchemy shop.

I do that!

I don't buy alot. But I grab everything I see. Then I usually store all of it right next to the alchemy station. Then when I need to make something just grab it all, make what I need and then put it back.

I hate those butterflies tbh...my girlfriend had a great laugh when skyrim came out. Instead of doing any quests, MQ or SQ, i just chased those damn butterflies...i could chase one forever since it would fly over my head and my nord ain't a great jumper .

The biggest issue i had with chasing a butterfly is that i would spot another one, i'd just get confused since i can't decide which one to catch (seriously).
Guess who got really really really happy when he found a.....click on the spoiler tag below.

I wouldn't quite call it an addiction, but I do look for ingredients while traveling, because I know that I can use those for my potions.

No butterfly is safe when my Nord is near, and its funny to think that my warrior, who loves raiding dungeons and slaying bandits/dragons, also likes to pick flowers/catch butterflies.

At first, I would buy ingredients from merchants just to be able to complete what is needed for a potion, but now I buy from merchants, as to give them more money to buy my potions back from me.

Investing in alchemy has made a noticeable difference when traveling, because I'm no longer just sprinting to the next destination. Instead, I'm always on the lookout for plants near the side of the road or butterflies that aren't too out of the way. This makes me travel slower, and it gives me more opportunity to admire the beautiful Skyrim landscape. It adds to the immersion factor as I'm frequently interacting with the environment, and not just ignoring everything that's not a dungeon or bandit.

guilty

Hell Yeah! I especially love catching Monarch Butterflies

Reminds me of Red Dead Redemption. "I'm Mr. Rough Tough Cowboy Man....Oh look a Daisy!"


But yes, I am totally guilty of this. Especially on my current character, a Bosmer Archer named Belladonna.

I do this too, I even pick flowers in the middle of a dragon fight.

Worst thing is: I DON'T EVEN USE ALCHEMY!

I haven't since my first character :/

I have to forcibly stop myself from wandering off the road to pick more ingredients. Then, while I'm off the road, I see a few more off in the distance. While I'm picking those, I see a few more a little further off in the distance.

Before I know it, I've meandered halfway across Skyrim.

Dragonflies. Those dragonflies are a real bugger. But yea I do the same. I'm always filling my bag with alchemy reagents. I have a ton to dump off every time I get home.

not me, for the most part at least. i will go faaaaar out of my way for some extra deathbells or nightshade or any other really rare reagents (void salts, void salts, my entire kingdom for some void salts!!)

The bad part is when you make potions with all those ingredients. All potions way 0.5 each, and you can easily sell out a merchant fast. I am currently carrying aroun over 150 potions, most worth 400 gold plus... I can only sell a few to each merchant.

Ice storm = picking dragonflies downstream instead of chasing them across tamriel.

+1

Alchemy isn't even a skill I focus on yet I always have near 300 mountain flowers.

Dragonflies,i go into sneak at 100 and wait in a pool for one to buzz up close then snatch,got him! but the others fly off,i used to shout them down but retrieving them was a hit n miss unless it was deep water i shout them over.

i did shoot one with an arrow but i think it was a one off

Yes because alchemy is really hard to level and you cannot help but pick every single thing you see.

But it is a good incentive for you to get out into the world instead of using fast travel.

I collect everything i see but i dont go out of my way to collect a specific ingredient.

I have also been known to fast travel from city to city to clear out shops of ingredients and do a little theiving whilst im there.

Found myself miles off course chasing glowing Nirnroots at night or Swamp Fungal pods.
I tend to just use the crappy poison potions I create with the Pickpocket poisoning perk to get rid of them, can't be bothered selling them off and they just sit and rot in one of the containers back at home if I don't.
Frenzy potions are always good for the lolz.

My first character was picking flowers more than killing stuff and had so many potions I couldnt shift i was jsut dropping them off of High Hrothgar!

This time around I am trying to fight that instinct, but Ill pick up stuff which I know to be quest items

The hardest thing is trying to break the habit of grabbing every ingredient I see when I'm playing a character that doesn't use Alchemy.

I am starting to believe that this is what Dragons do aswell...

Oh yes I tend to pick up a lot as I move around and was really chuffed to find a little spot South of Solitude that as the sun set had butterflies, Torchbugs and Luna Moths all in the same area.

When I pick up my reagent stash in Breezhome to mix some potions it's just as well the alchemy lab is 6 feet away when the weight goes from 110 to over 1000

Reuters reports that the butterfly population is nearing dangerously low levels in Skyrim in the last year. Unknown immigrants are being blamed for their dwindling numbers. More reports to follow.