Recently started my 3rd playthrough and having a blast as a wood elf specialising in sneak, archery and alchemy.

To help with my alchemy i've taken to, when in town, breaking into the alchemy store and stealing any ingredients they've left lying about. Anything i've not come across gets eaten to discover its properties.

My question is this...lets say i find an ingredient that has 'fortify health' as an effect...will this then be automatically added under the fortify health tab when usinpng a plab or do i have to make a potion with it first?


Oh and any stand out perks to invest in?

I'm pretty sure you need to use it first to add it to the ingredients list for fortify health

Ingredients are listed under the effect if you have only eaten them.

One of those skills were you can't go wrong with 5 levels of the first perk.

If you do a quest for an alchemist, you can just take the cheaper ingredients out of their shop without stealing.

You learn the effects of an ingredient by eating it or successfully making a potion with it. As you increase your Alchemy, you will see more of the effects before you make a potion.

There are some recipes floating around in the game, but me, I just mash things together and see what happens. If you pick two ingredients have the same effect, then you will almost always be successful in making a potion and then you will usually uncover other effects from the ingredients.

Just to note, I have never stolen from an Alchemist (I don't steal from shops, it is just one of my personal rules) and I have amassed quite a large amount of ingredients just by exploring the world. Now, I do grab every ingredient I can from dungeons and of course plants and such.

You have to have 2 ingredients and know the fortify health effect for it to be added to the fortify health tab.

The first 5 alchemist perks are well worth it plus physician,benefactor and poisoner are good if you really get into alchemy,anything else isn't relly needed.

Once you know it (eat/mix) then you have to also have the ingredient for it to show up.

I'm like you, I rob every alchemy shop blind (with my thief character)