Alchemy in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered is a game-changer. This Magic skill, tied to Intelligence, lets you whip up potions to heal, boost stats, or turn invisible, and poisons to mess up enemies. It’s a lifesaver for surviving tough fights, carrying more loot, or racking up gold by selling your brews. The Remastered version makes crafting smoother with a slick UI that sorts ingredients by effect, but the core mechanics are straight from the 2006 original.
Whether you’re a warrior needing health potions or a thief sneaking with invisibility, Alchemy’s got your back in Cyrodiil. Here’s how to master it.
1. Required Equipment
- Mortar and Pestle: Sets your potion’s base power.
- Alembic: Cuts down negative effects in potions.
- Calcinator: Boosts all effects, good or bad.
- Retort: Pumps up positive effects in potions.
Where to Grab Them:
- Novice: Snag a free Mortar and Pestle in the Imperial Prison Sewer during the tutorial. Buy others at The Main Ingredient (Imperial City, ~100 gold) or take them from Mages Guild halls (free if you’re a member, otherwise steal). Check Cloud Ruler Temple (Blades) or Vilverin Ayleid Ruin too.
- Apprentice: Loot a full set in Fathis Aren’s Tower (“Arrow of Extrication” quest) without fighting if you’re Mages Guild.
- Journeyman/Expert: Hunt in Conjurer or Necromancer dungeons, or buy from shops (Journeyman gear might be tough to find at level 15+ due to a vendor glitch).
- Master: Look in dungeons after level 17, like Necromancer spots. They reset every 72 in-game hours.
2. Gathering Ingredients
- Sources:
- Farms: Grab carrots, corn, or tomatoes in West Weald; they regrow every 3–4 days.
- Wild Plants: Pick Flax Seeds, Lavender, or mushrooms in fields and forests.
- Creature Drops: Get Crab Meat from mudcrabs, Bonemeal from skeletons, or Daedra Hearts from Daedra.
- Dungeons: Loot chests or barrels in mage hideouts.
- Shops: Stock up at The Main Ingredient or The Gilded Carafe. Buy cheap, craft, and sell for profit.
- Special Spots: Frostcrag Spire’s Alchemy Garden (~1500 gold) or Deepscorn Hollow’s poison garden (Vile Lair DLC) give renewable ingredients.
- Mages Guild Chest: Duplicates ingredients, making rare ones easier to get.
- Duplication Glitch: Get endless ingredients, but it kills achievements.
3. Crafting Potions and Poisons
- How to Do It:
- Pick up to four ingredients with shared effects (they glow blue).
- Check the right menu—more positive effects make a potion, more negative make a poison.
- Name it and hit “Create.”
- Potions: Helpful stuff like Restore Health. Drink them from your inventory.
- Poisons: Nasty effects like Damage Health. Slap them on a weapon for one hit.
- Wortcraft: Eating ingredients gives the first effect (weaker, 0.5 XP).
Leveling Alchemy
- Novice (0–24): See one effect per ingredient.
- Apprentice (25–49): Two effects; sometimes get an extra potion.
- Journeyman (50–74): Three effects; handle more effects at once.
- Expert (75–99): All four effects.
- Master (100): Make potions from one ingredient (first effect only); always get an extra potion.
Fast-Leveling Strategies
- Mass-Produce Potions: Mix cheap stuff like Apple + Beef (Restore Fatigue). 20 potions = 1 skill level.
- Build Smart: Start as a Bosmer (+10 Alchemy), pick Magic specialization (+5), make Alchemy a Major Skill (+20), or take Thief birthsign (+10 Luck) for up to 40 Alchemy at the start.
- Frostcrag Spire Altar: Gives +15 Fortify Alchemy for better potions.
- Skill Books: Find Alchemy books in Mages Guilds or dungeons for a free +1 level.
- Trainers: At Alchemy 70, take two Tamika Vintage 399 and Surilie Brothers Vintage 399 (upper-class drink containers) to Sinderion in Skingrad for advanced training.
Best Novice Alchemy Recipes
- Restore Health: Apple + Bread (inns or homes).
- Restore Fatigue: Apple + Beef (kitchens).
- Resist Poison: Crab Meat (mudcrabs) + Lavender (wild).
- Cure Disease: Clannfear Claws (Daedra) + Mandrake Root (farms or wild; stops vampirism).
Advanced Recipes and Strategies
- Poisons:
- Damage Health + Paralyze: Harrada + Clannfear Claws (wrecks enemies).
- Damage Health + Silence: Harrada + Vampire Dust (shuts down mages).
- Potions:
- Restore Health + Magicka: Flax Seeds + Void Salts (great for mages; wild or Daedra).
- Feather: Flax Seeds + Venison (carry more loot).
- Chameleon: Aloe Vera Leaves + Bloodgrass (sneak better with partial invisibility).
Other tips
- Check recipe books in Mages Guilds or dungeons for ideas.
- Get better apparatus for stronger potions.
- At Master, make single-ingredient potions to double your cash.
- Use the UI’s effect filter to find ingredients fast.
Practical Applications
- Fighting: Health or Magicka potions keep you going; poisons make weapons deadlier.
- Exploring: Feather potions let you haul more loot; Cure Disease stops vampirism (if you get infected, hit the Vile Lair’s Font of Renewal for a quick fix).
- Cash: Sell potions for gold and Mercantile XP.
- Role-Playing: Hand out potions for faction rep or use effects like Invisibility for clever quest solutions.
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