Hey, I am working on an assassin character who is max going to be master archery and pretty good at dual wield daggers/swords when needed, but I cant decide between focusing on Alchemy so that my poisons will make up for my bit weaker melee combat to kill quicker, or to simply gimp out a bit on Alchemy and use Light Armor. How effective has Alchemy been for you guys playing stealth characters?

Thanks!

It's useful for some stuff at lower levels but honestly with the sneak multipliers and other perks you almost need to carry a crappy bow and arrows just to not kill things in one shot. But Paralyze can be a god sent for bosses.

Aw damn, I was really hoping poisons had a large impact on the stealth class. If things are going to die fast then I guess there is no reason to have it.

Well like I said, it still helps a lot for bosses. But for the trash stuff it doesn't matter.

Ah ok... Well, are there a good amount of types of poisons you can make and etc? I honestly do not mind weakening myself a bit if I can make use of perks for Alchemy if I can make good enough poisons. It is either that or I go light armor I guess. Using poison to kill victims just seems more like it makes sense but if its just going to be tedious and not help at all i wont bother.

I make and use poisons, mostly damage health and paralyze, on my bow and daggers and I find it effective. Alchemy is a useful skill even though I haven't perked it up much. It doesn't level up too fast either.

Also, you can't go wrong with the a few perk points in Light Armor.

Well the poisons you want to use are dependent on situation. Dealing with a mage you want to hit them with something that will drain their Magicka a ton so they can't use their good spells. A good combo for that would be:

Luna Moth Wing
Blue Butterfly Wing
Blue Mountain Flower

That will do a Damage Magicka and Damage Magicka Regeneration.

Alchemy is definitely the most complicated Crafting Skill. You need to go about it in a very smart way for maximum effect.

EDIT: Just a tip though, don't use a guide to see what are the best potions and poisons. Much more satisfying to learn it yourself. keep in mind you will have to travel to all parts of Skyrim.

There are quite a few poisons you can make that damage stamina, health, and magic. Paralyze is great, as are several others. Of course, the higher your skill and the more perks you put into alchemy, the more potent your poisons are. My assassin hasn't spent nearly enough time on alchemy, as he's comfortable buying potions when he can (and finds plenty of decent ones during quests). The Shrouded gear from the Dark Brotherhood also keeps his archery and sneak attack power pretty high. He does run into trouble in close-quarters fights, but the Marked for Death shout helps to weaken his enemies.

If you have the right perks you can make potions and poisons that will have a higher potency than the ones you will find in the alchemy shops around Skyrim. Most of your foes with be taken out in one strike from your dagger or bow so you won't need to use them that much, but they will come in handy while fighting a dragon or a boss at the end of a dungeon.