Alchemy | Skills TES V: Skyrim Guide
Last update: 11 December 2019
This TES V: Skyrim World Atlas page describes Alchemy. These skills are related to the magician archetype. Our tutorial in addition to describing the skills will tell you how to develop them, and what related best features are worth unlocking.
How to increase skill: This skill can be increased by interacting with alchemy labs (screen above) to create potions and poisons. The skill growth also takes place if you've discovered a new effect of one of the alchemy ingredients.
Main purpose of developing this skill: Improving the quality (strength, duration etc) or the created potions and poisons.
Available perks: 15.
Best perks: Alchemist, Physician, Green Thumb.
Comments:
- Alchemy experiments can only be performed if you have a sufficient number of ingredients needed to create potions and poisons. Most of the ingredients can be found while exploring Skyrim and they may appear in various forms (as a plant, as an item found on the monster's body etc). If you have problems finding certain ingredients you can visit alchemy shops in hopes of finding them (more on the subject in the Crafting chapter of the guide). The good news is that most of the ingredients are very light so you can have them with you at all time without risking carrying too much weight.
- Alchemy is about learning the effects of the ingredients and then mixing them properly. You can find out the effects of each ingredient by yourself (it's done by consuming an ingredient) or by skipping to the chapter named Crafting.
- All the items you've created thanks to alchemy appear in your inventory and it's entirely up to you what do with them. Generally you must choose between using them for your own benefits or selling them. The second option isn't a good idea, because you won't get good prices for most of them (smithing is better if you want to get rich using crafting).
ALCHEMIST
This perk has five ranks and each time you unlock a new rank it gets better.
Requirements (rank 1): None.
Requirements (rank 2): Alchemy skill increased to at least 20 points.
Requirements (rank 3): Alchemy skill increased to at least 40 points.
Requirements (rank 4): Alchemy skill increased to at least 60 points.
Requirements (rank 5): Alchemy skill increased to at least 80 points.
Description (rank 1): Created potions and poisons are stronger by 20%.
Description (rank 2): Created potions and poisons are stronger by a total of 40%.
Description (rank 3): Created potions and poisons are stronger by a total of 60%.
Description (rank 4): Created potions and poisons are stronger by a total of 80%.
Description (rank 5): Created potions and poisons are stronger by a total of 100%.
Comments: Unlocking all perks from this group should be important to you if you're seriously thinking about alchemy. You can craft twice as good items when you reach the fifth rank and you'll notice the biggest difference when creating more powerful potions and poisons.
PHYSICIAN
Requirements: Alchemy skill increased to at least 20 points. Unlocked Alchemist perk (rank 1).
Description: Created health, mana and stamina restoration potions are 25% stronger.
Comments: This is a very useful perk and the best thing about it is that you can unlock it early in the game. An important thing to know is that the bonuses granted by this perk are cumulated with the bonuses from the Alchemist group and this of course can result in creating very strong restoration potions.
POISONER
Requirements: Alchemy skill increased to at least 30 points. Unlocked Physician perk.
Description: Created poisons are 25% stronger.
Comments: The basic idea of this perk is the same to the one described above, only in this case the bonus is about poisons. If your intention is to go in that direction with alchemy, then this is definitely something you should purchase, especially since bonuses granted by this perk are cumulated with the bonuses from the Alchemist group.
CONCENTRATED POISON
Requirements: Alchemy skill increased to at least 60 points. Unlocked Poisoner perk.
Description: Poisons applied to weapons last twice as long.
Comments: This is a useful perk, because the easiest use of poisons is to mix them with melee weapons or ranged weapons.
GREEN THUMB
Requirements: Alchemy skill increased to at least 70 points. Unlocked Concentrated Poison perk.
Description: Ability to collect two alchemy ingredients from a single plant.
Comments: You should unlock this perk if you plan on exploring Skyrim in hopes of finding alchemy ingredients instead of just buying them at alchemy stores. Green Thumb becomes available after unlocking at least one perk connected with poisons and this can be a problem if you're into that kind of thing, because you must spend additional skill points on something you don't necessarily want.
BENEFACTOR
Requirements: Alchemy skill increased to at least 30 points. Unlocked Physician perk.
Description: Created potions with benefitial effects (positive results) are 25% stronger.
Comments: Benefactor is tied directly to Physician perk, however it extends its range to all substances which grant beneficial effects (to simply put it - to all of your creations which aren't poisons). I definitely recommend considering this one, because the bonus is cumulated with bonuses from the Physican and Alchemist perks.
EXPERIMENTER
This perk has three ranks and each time you unlock a new rank it gets better.
Requirements (rank 1): Alchemy skill increased to at least 50 points. Unlocked Benefactor perk.
Requirements (rank 2): Alchemy skill increased to at least 70 points.
Requirements (rank 3): Alchemy skill increased to at least 90 points.
Description (rank 1): Ability to learn first two effects of an alchemy ingredient after consuming it.
Description (rank 2): Ability to learn the third effect of an alchemy ingredient after consuming it.
Description (rank 3): Ability to learn the final fourth effect of an alchemy ingredient after consuming it.
Comments: The only purpose of all three perks from this group is to be able to learn effects of collected alchemy ingredients. You can avoid that by skipping to the last chapter of this guide, because it lists all the ingredients and their effects.
SNAKEBLOOD
Requirements: Alchemy skill increased to at least 80 points. Unlocked Concentrated Poison perk or Experimenter perk (rank 1).
Description: 50% less likely to get poisoned.
Comments: This perk isn't that useful, because even if you get poisoned as a result of a bite or triggering a trap you can easily (and using cheap methods) heal yourself.
PURITY
Requirements: Alchemy skill increased to 100 points. Unlocked Snakeblood perk.
Description: Ability to neutralize all negative effects from potions and all positive effects from poisons.
Comments: This isn't something spectacular, because the only thing this perk does is that it helps in preparing "perfect" potions and poisons which are free of any side effects. I would recommend spending skill points on perks which help to increase the overall strength of potions and poisons. Besides you can avoid the unwanted side effects entirely if you mix correct ingredients and you should read the final chapter of this guide to find out more.