So, I'm starting a new character and I need help in deciding what route to take for in game healing. I've invested into restoration a few times in previous characters and wasn't amazed by it, and I lightly dabbled in Alchemy and thought it was a blast. My question is: "Is Alchemy and equal substitute for Restoration when it comes to in game healing?" With Restoration I have a near infinite source of healing, coupled with Mana potions and health potions I find lying around I've had no problem relying strictly on magic for my healing needs, but healing yourself with magic takes time. With Alchemy I get poisons, stamina and magicka potions, crafting potions, the possibilities are endless!!! I've heard that when you invest in the Alchemy tree however that your potions get INSANE, making restoration near useless (unless you use wards and want that 50% mana regen boost) This new character is an Orc Death Knight who duel wields and uses Destruction magic. I have a lore conflict with using Restoration magic with such a build, but if Alchemy wont get me by I have no problem overlooking that. If I can drop Restoration as my main source of healing for Alchemy I'll do it in a heart beat. Any experienced Alchemists out there want to give me some in site please?

Alchemy would be more of a challenge, and hence more fun. Go with that.

Alchemy is all around more effective in several different areas. Restoration is just a healing school that is good for mages and paladins and the like. Just pick whatever fits your characters roleplaying style.

Alchemy is practically an exploit.

Only reason to take restoration is for the respite perk which is nice just for running around.

Thank you guys for the quick responses! I was worried this post would get buried underneath every discussing GOTY.

i just buy potions but restoration helps save money i would only recommend it if your character is partly or fully a mage

Restoration serves a better purpose IMO

Cheers

I'd pick Restoration because that will save you health potions that you can use against Bosses/Dragons. Alchemy in my opinion got nerfed big time.

Restoration with all the 0-50 perks except dual casting (6 total) works very well.

Alchemy is a money making thing :wink_smile:

What's the strongest healing potion someone has ever made? I mean, I don't want to be in combat, take a break every 10sec to go to the loading screen and drink 4 healing pots and use them all up really quick.

Restoration is good for after battle health recover, its difficulty to use during combat unless you are very invested in it

Where as alchemy is good for in battle "save your life" type healing


I invested some in both

I mostly use Restoration unless I'm in a big fight and then I'm using my Magicka for dual-cast Fireballs so I have to use my potions for my health when a dragon is strafing me....so both.

:tes:

Restoration can be used on your followers, or people you are escorting.

Alchemy is nice, but you can run out of potions and will have to farm herbs to restock.

Honestly, I'd do both. You don't need to invest many points in alchemy to be competitive with it, and respite is just way too good to pass up if you are a melee character. I had a lot of success in the early levels just shield bashing and healing myself to regain stamina/health (although shield bash damage doesn't keep up at higher levels when you have exploited weapons)

I kind of disagree. As a Mage, Alchemy works great because I don't lose chunks of health consistantly and when I do, I have the Oh SH!! capability. I also would have trouble seeing how I would find the spare Mana for Restoration.

On the other hand, I use Resto on my Sword and Board warrior and it works extremely well. I don't label him a Paladin but rather an unwavering Soldier.

Have you tried Alchemy?
It's great you can make all the health potions that you ever need.
That said it only works for your charactor,pick the skill that suites him or her the best.

My character is a Hunter type, so Alchemy fits him..

I also enjoy Alchemy, studying the ingredientsa and stuff like that... IMO Restoration is for mages, not Hunters, Archers, Warriors etc..

I find Alchemy really enjoyable.


Go with fits more your playstyle and fun. try both and see which one you had more fun.


I don't enjoy making healing potions.. but i LOVE making Poisons... it is really cool, make paralysis poisons and much more.. My enemeis shall fall with a touch of my arrow ! muahaha

Alchemy hands down. The resto school is only useful for a few levels, then it gets pointless as alchemical potions are easy to make, they cost no mana, you can take multiple potions at one time, reagents are abundant and there are loads of effects to create and combine. Where as resto spells need mana, require equipping AND casting, can be countered by interupting you while your charging to cast, and have a limited window of usage. So resto is a poor second fiddle to alchemy on all fronts.

I'll use the basic healing spell to top off my health between battles, to conserve potions, but if I'm in the middle of a fight and about to die, popping a bunch of potions happens instantly (it's practically an exploit) so it's clear which one I'm going to choose. Restoration also can't provide poisons or resistance potions. You can't heal people in the middle of a battle with alchemy, but you can give them a bunch of potions beforehand and they'll heal themselves.

I've used both, and I've got a lot to say about both (though I've gotten farther in Alchemy).

For one thing, it depends largely--almost entirely--on what attributes you're investing in.

If you've got the magic to spare, use Restoration. It's not just free healing any time you please, but also free stamina, extra magic regen, ally healing (if you're into that sort of thing or playing the game on higher difficulties), and lets you own undead like you wouldn't believe; they won't stand a chance. And, most importantly, when it comes to healing, Restoration heals a whole crapload, more than Alchemy could ever hope to. Let's put it this way: once you get your Restoration up to 20, you can get three highly important perks: dual casting, novice Restoration, and regeneration, which makes healing spells heal 50% more. That means that, with only a skill of 20 in Restoration, a spell that you start the game with can heal you for 36 points per second (and cheaply!), which, if you didn't know, is incredible--good self-made potions won't heal you for 36 points per drink until your Alchemy skill grows a lot higher than 20 (not to mention the fact that it's a chore just to get the ingredients, especially since some ingredients have better magnitudes than others). It's essentially both free and infinite healing, as well as stamina regen with the proper perks (36 per second, again), and the spells get a whole lot stronger than that. In fact, the first apprentice-level spell you get (basically low level, only higher than the most basic healing spell), called Fast Healing, will heal you for 180 points per cast given the right perks, which is much more than any one potion will do even well into higher levels of Alchemy skill--if a potion that strong can be made (one that doesn't have a negative effect, as well!), it can't be made until well after your skill reaches level 80, even with perks and Krosis. Also, you'll never run out resources like you will with Alchemy, since it's only magicka you'll use, and Restoration does more than just heal you.

That said, Alchemy has some selling points, the fact that it can sell being one of them (it's a big money maker). The skill can be a lot of fun since the entire world will feel like a gold mine full of ingredients, but that can get emotionally tiring sometimes. It can even get cumbersome: by the time your Alchemy skill reaches 40, I'll bet you can lose 100 pounds of equipment just by dropping all the potions and ingredients you have. Stamina is really important here, because you'll have more potions and ingredients than you know what to do with real soon--and I say more than you know what to do with since you won't know most of the available effects. Unfortunately, a lot of the effects you'll discover early on may be very useless to you, like fortifying skills that you don't use or giving you a weakness to fire on the potion that you use to restore stamina when fighting dragons.

Poisons can be useful, but mostly only damage health and paralysis poisons. Magicka and stamina damage makes very little difference on the battlefield, and "weakness to" poisons are only useful if you have an enchanted weapon or use Destruction in the other hand.

The biggest problem is that potions (and therefore, likely poisons) do not stack; fortifying your Two-Handed skill by 20% and then using another potion that fortifies it by 30% will not grant you a 50% boost, but only a 30% boost--and not because 30>20, but because the 30% boost is used secondly in this case. That means that a great many of your potions and poisons are obviated as soon as your skill increases or you discover a new effect, which I find endlessly annoying. In fact, after writing this, I don't know why I loved Alchemy so much more than Restoration for so long; I should switch (especially since it takes up so much damn inventory space).

One final piece of advice: if you're going to use Alchemy and plan on making poisons, go fishing. River Betties have a greater magnitude of damage health than anything I've seen, by far. They're almost five times more powerful than other ingredients!

Edit: You can run out of potions. Remember that.

Edit: Avoid Death perk. 'Nuff said.

I'm an alchemist and thus biased. I have healing for when I have no potions, like when I was caught with my pants down (figuratively) by a dragon. But potions are quick...you can chug them mid-battle.

Alchemy is far more useful and doesn't require putting points into mana.

Necromage and ward absorb are just to good, and restoration is alot easier to level up and use in battle(if you have it hotkeyed).

It takes 0.4 seconds to hit the the hot key I assigned.

RTFM?

My skill is 60ish and I kick out heal pots around 70.

In my opinion both can heal lots of health quickly....but restoration is just good all the time while alchemy takes a little more work to level. If sampling gave more points i would be using it over restoration.