One thing I miss from the newest incarnation of TES is the loss of mortar/pestle for "field alchemy."
As a person who would love to just be in the wilderness alot (dont load up on loot very often) I used to love living off my environment and making my potions on the spot. I didnt take the whole 4 pieces of apparateus like oblivion offered, just the 1 weight mortar and pestle so I could whip up something when I needed it.

Now we are tied to the town, or a spot where a placed table is located to make our potions and poisons. I do wish we still had the option to be independent. The table could still exist, and maybe provide a bonus, but I crave my old ability.

Anyone else feel the same way?

The Alchemy table removes the need to carry around apparatus, and that's kind of nice. But, I miss the apparatus, even if it was just to have something on my Alchemy Table in my house. However, I think Alchemy should be accomplished in the field, maybe at a lower potion strength since it can't be purified as well. Or, perhaps only certain potions can be made in the field.

I didn't really bother with pestle and mortar alchemy in Oblivion but it should have been in Skyrim. And I'm confused on where they get these bottles from to make the potions, unless Dovahkiin have some sorta unlimited supply of bottles in his huge rucksack inventory

I'd like the mortar+pestle if it was available. However, my Nord sells most of the potions he makes, and so I don't mind having to haul an inventory of ingredients to Arcadia's Cauldron that much.

At lower levels, it would have been nice to be able to make health potions on the fly, but at lv 41 and 95 alchemy skill, my Nord makes far more health potions than he uses in battle.

Yes, where do our alchemists get all of those bottles? Since my Nord has an inventory loaded with potions, how do they not break? Ah yes....magic!

This.

We need bedrolls and such too. I don't want to rely on the trappings of civilization with my hunter.

I wouldn't mind if they brought back the mortar & pestle, so long as there was just one basic one you could haul around with you and not the 'Novice', 'Apprentice' etc leveled ones like Oblivion had. In general, though, I prefer Skyrim's alchemy system to Oblivion's, and many dungeons have alchemy or enchanting tables in them, so it doesn't seem like much of a hassle not having portable alchemy.

I also miss being able to do alchemy on the fly. In the other games I would carry around enough ingredients to make just about any potion. Then if I needed one, I would brew it up on the spot. Ingredients weigh less then potions, so it allowed me to carry more. I also liked being able to pick things up and make potions on the spot if I needed to. Like if I saw that I was going to clear out a cave with vampires, I'd make some cure disease potions, etc...

I'm still baffled as to why they took it out in the first place. If it was an attempt at "balance" (which didn't work anyway given how many people have recommended alchemy exploits to me for my issues with Destruction magic) it was poorly done. A simple requirement for empty bottles may have helped. There are plenty of empty wine bottles already in Skyrim.

I don't even bother with alchemy anymore. It's too much of a pain to have to run to a town to make potions.

that's the way the reality is! If you were the warrior, would you be able to make potion when you are outside just with a mortar?

I loved the thrill of being a low level character and stealing (or finding) something like an Expert Calcinator to add to your low level home chemistry set. Part of the problem with exploits in this game is that alchemy labs and enchanting altars are everywhere. In Oblivion, didn't you have to join the Mages Guild just to get access to enchanting? And the altars didn't look like they had been pulled straight out of WoW.

I agree. I want to be able to make potions without walking miles to the nearest town. It should have limitations though.

I mostly hang around the http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Skyrim:Alchemist with my hunter.

Field alchemy should have been kept, alongside alchemy stations. It just seems to odd to see people hauling around alchemy stations to unsettled areas were they only spend a few months at.

OR... wait for it...

the "purity" perk could do that!

maybe it would actually make it useful

you all dont know jack about chemistry or real life alchemical practice if you think its realistic to do that in the wild. Skyrims version is realistic. Mw/obs was not at all. You cant make a potion with simply a pestle. Thats not how it works in real lifw.

Yes, I agree! Alchemy is somehow related to my job. I have done that a lot. It's impossible to do such a thing!

I miss being able to carry it with me too. It's especially annoying before you get your own house, having to always use other people's alchemy tables.

Alchemy in real life doesn't even have anything to do with potions or medicine, but rather transforming base metals into gold. So the whole idea of "alchemy" in TES is not, never was, and does not claim to be representative of anything in real life....so I see no problem with doing it in the wild...

You're not allowed to miss anything.
Just one more choice gone.

How about alchemy tables and portable equipment? Naw- that's choice.

It isn't realistic to grind up a plant, add some water to it and drink it as a tea? That's really what I see "field alchemy" as. Many old healing salves and folk remedies consist pretty much of grinding an herb into a paste and either ingesting it or putting it directly on a wound.

The problem here, if you really want to be nitpicky, is calling it alchemy in the first place. Alchemy was the pursuit and study of transformation, turning lead into gold and the like, with the ultimate goal of creating the Philosopher's Stone, a mythical substance that could do that as well as grant immortality. Alchemy was NEVER about making "Restore Magicka" potions. It was NEVER used in making poisons. Alchemy was not, in any way, related to or used for the purpose it is in TES games.

...and I see someone beat me to that point. Would it make you feel better if it was changed to "Potion Making"?

Maybe a compromise would be only really simple and less powerful potions in the field and for the good stuff you need the station. I actually always used the "at home alchemy " mod for Oblivion and never carried more than a mortar and pestle. I'm not unhappy with the setup. It seems more immersive to me but my ideal would allow basic field alchemy . A semo portable setup would be nice also. Where you could travel with the apparatus but you had to set it up somewhere for use.

I dont miss all the alchemy equipment and usually left them at home to create potions so the alchemy lab was perfect for me...no more tracking down the best alchemy equipment, all i need is my lab in breezehome

Yeah it would be cool to be able to mix potions away from a table, but there would have to be some reason to use the tables - as someone said a lower strength would be good, maybe only half the strength is possible unless you are at a table. This would be good for experimenting with ingredients you've come across out in the wild and making recipes, then you can make the actual potions back at your table.

Would a warrior be able to make anything in a full fledged alchemy lab besides bad smells and smoke?

Yeah... we all know you cannot simply grind up Daedra Hearts, Wisp wrappings, and Hagraven claws in real life! how stupid are we?? herp herp derp derp...

Anyways- The argument is because you used to have that ability in the earlier games, and many people (judging by the responses) liked it. I wish they had kept it in, and now I will look for a mod to fill the stock games shortcomings.

Reduced field strength idea was a great one, I will look for something like that. Only fair that we couldn't make them as well in the field. But lets say you are near solitude- and don't want to go into town because of your bounty. You want to go into that ruin to the east, and you see the swamp is littered with deathbells, fungal pods, cannis root, and river betties are in the streams. Tell me it wouldn't be great to harvest that real quick for some low-quality-but-effective paralysis/damage potions!

Its a great choice to allow you to adapt better to situations. Especially for those who dislike fast travel.

OMG! I thought i was the only one, i hate that i have to go to a table to make alchemy potions, i wish they added both features instead. It's so annoying when i'm out gathering and then i have to return to my house or another city just to craft potions. -.-



@Skaal-Breaker

Really? in this game we fight dragons, cast spells, slay countless numbers of undead creatures...and you're talking about how carrying around alchemy equipment isn't realistic?

LOLZ

I agree.

I dislike the station-ized approach altogether, both in Alchemy and in Enchanting. I would much prefer a mixed system:
- Low level Alchemy/Enchanting can be performed anywhere with a simple Mortar&Pestle/ Portable Enchanting Device. 60% of all alchemy/enchanting can be performed this way.
- Mid level Alchemy/Enchanting can only be be performed in ALchemy/enchantng tables spread throughout the world.
- High Level item specific Alchemy/Enchanting can only be performed at specific locations.