Alchemy | Skyrim Wiki

How to do Alchemy in Skyrim

Alchemy allows players to interact with an Alchemy Lab to create poisons and potions. Bring alchemical ingredients to the Alchemy lab and select a few to attempt a creation. Depending on the shared effects of the chosen ingredients, positive effect potions or negative effect poisons will be created. Multi-effect potions can also be created when the chosen ingredients have multiple shared effects. The strength of the potions and poisons is based on the Alchemy level of the player as well as any Alchemy bonuses they have from abilities and enchantments.

When using the Alchemy lab players can create potions and poisons in 2 different ways. It is possible for players to find recipes in the world that show what effects some combination of ingredients will have, known recipes will be shown below the ingredients tab. After successfully combining ingredients to make new potion or poison effect, the recipe will be recorded in the same list.

Without an already known recipe players will have to combine alchemical ingredients with shared effects to successfully create potions or poisons. When an ingredient is selected, it will grey out all other ingredients where a combination has previously been attempted and failed. This can help with quickly sorting through lists of ingredients in game as well as help players keep track and remember the ingredient combinations that have failed when trying to find new potion recipes. After selecting the ingredients a potion of unknown effect will be created and the recipe will be updated and recorded if the potion or poison is successful.

Failing to craft a potion will use up the ingredients and also will not give any skill experience. 

Skyrim Alchemy Ingredients

Alchemical ingredients are required to make potions and poisons at the alchemy lab. Alchemical ingredients can be found all around the world as many things can have alchemical properties, from planted wheat to wild mushrooms, fish and even bees. Some ingredients can also be grown in a garden or greenhouse in the player's house, or simply purchased from the various vendors across Skyrim, while others may require some hunting.

All ingredients have 4 different alchemical effects that players can reveal by eating or by successfully creating a potion with the effect. Eating the ingredient will give the first effect that the ingredient possesses, levels in the Experimenter perk will increase the number of effects that the player will learn by eating and will reveal all 4 effects at the maximum level. Knowing the ingredient effect is not required or necessary for crafting potions successfully however can be of great help and assistance when attempting to make new potion or poison effects.

Mixing ingredients with shared effects will create potions of those effects, by carefully selecting the right ingredients players can create potions and poisons with effects that they wish even without prior recipe knowledge through finding and understanding the ingredient effects. Players may also choose to mix ingredients in a completely random way to find some number of recipes and use them as a starting point for their Alchemy journey.

Skyrim Alchemy Skill Leveling

The alchemy skill can be leveled up through crafting potions and poisons. Levels can also be increased through the use of Trainers or by finding and using Skill Books. There are also quests around Skyrim that can help with Alchemy. One such quest is A Return To Your Roots (Quest) where the reward gives the player an ability that grants a 25% chance to duplicate the potion being crafted.

The skill gain for Alchemy increases based on the value of the potion or poison that you craft. This is affected by Alchemy perks such as Physician and Benefactor or Poisoner. The Fortify Alchemy bonus from enchanted armor will also increase the skill gain.

Bring a large amount of alchemical ingredients to an Alchemy Lab and craft the expensive potions to quickly level Alchemy skill. 

Skyrim Alchemy Tips

Some tips for player looking to do some Alchemy

• Look around and pick up as many alchemical ingredients during your travels as possible, they usually are low in weight and can become a good starting point for Alchemy
• Look for similarities in Alchemy ingredients in where they are from, type of ingredient etc. to help with finding shared effects when creating potions by guessing ingredient mixtures
• Use equipment with Fortify Alchemy to increase the effect and value of potions and poisons will also increase the skill gained
• Some houses can be installed with an Alchemy Lab so players can both store alchemical ingredients as well as perform Alchemy in the same location