im just curious since i have never used alchemy in skyrim before is it really worth it? considering i can just use healing spells or just buy/find healing stamina and magika potions. I know you can make poisons and fortify potions as well but i mean i dont really see a need, maybe some fire, shock, magic resist potions seem useful but other than those i really dont see an use..maybe im wrong and im missing something?

I hate the fact that all the potions/poisons come in the same bottles, but I think the skill is worth it, particularly for the poisons.

Edit: Paralysis is in particular a boon to me. For one thing, a paralyzed victim ensures a 100% success rate in pickpocketing, regardless of what the game tells you. It's also quite a laugh to super power a paralysis poison and use it on Rolf Stone-Fist and leave him frozen in the Gray Quarter for 7 days.

I like it for a blacksmith. The Fortify Smithing potions are a nice boost. The Regenerate/Restore potions are also useful, especially early on in a character's development.

It's an excellent role play feature. A character leveled and perked in sneak, pickpocket, and alchemy can lethally poison enemies with no weapons.

It's an excellent tool to make a weak, but favored, item viable. Fur, hide, leather, long bows or iron daggers can can be smithed as good as their daedric counter parts.

I haven't shopped for potions in a long time, but as I recall, I couldn't find everything I wanted so I started making my own. Once you get good with alchemy, I know for sure you can make some potions better than it is possible to find in loot or from vendors. For example, paralysis, invisibility, and waterbreathing all have much longer duration when you perk alchemy and brew your own. I think this holds true for fortify potions as well.

The healing/restore potions are a different story. I don't think you can ever brew an ultimate potion; these restore their respective attribute - magicka, health, stamina ,to 100%.

It is a commitment - you have to track/find recipes, ingredients, etc. If you get a Hearthfire house you can use the garden and greenhouse to grow tons of ingredients. Winstad Mano also provides a fishery where you can stock alchemically important fish like the River Betty (an amazingly powerful component for poisons). A good resource for recipes: http://www.endoftheweb.se/skyrim/index.php

I guess profitability would be a pretty good excuse to use it as well, idk i just figured id try it with a new character cause i have never used it before (perk invest wise) so id figured id give it a go.

I only used alchemy in one of my characters, and I didnt like it much. never did in fact.

It is worth it, especially if you use it on an evil/chaotic assassin character.

I love alchemy. I enjoy gathering all the ingredients and making my own potions. Especially healing potions, for they end up being better than the game ones, except the one that restore all your health. Plus if one uses poison then that is even better.

I always use Achemy. In my opinion, quite worth it. I usually get the speech perks that allow you to sell anything to any merchant, then make potions for profit. No more lugging every steel sword out of every dungeon.

Fortify One-Hand (or any other damage dealing skills including destruction, marksman, etc.) can up the damage significantly in tough battles. Very helpful.

Fortify magicka so you can cast a spell that you don't have the pool for yet.

Fortify health, so you have a larger amount of health to get through tougher battles without getting one-shot by that pesky draugr death-lord archer.

Fortify - pop a few pots right at the start of battle. FTW.

Slow, combined with poison damage, very useful. Cause your foes to slow down whilst they die!

If you have a magic user as a follower, say Onmund for example. You can hit a target with an arrow poisoned with weakness to shock, this makes Onmund's attacks much more effective.

If you like smithing and enchanting you can use potions that increase both of those, allowing for better items.

Plus, it makes finding certain ingredients more rewarding, and choosing what to put in your garden more interesting.

I love it.

Yea im thinking of making an all out warrior class mainly one handed and block mixed in with some Archery, as well as Smithing,Speech, lockpicking and Enchanting. So no sneak or any type of assassin type of playstyle so poisons won't do me any good but everything else sounds like fun.

Do you still have the "research facility" in one of your houses that we discussed a while back?

Poisons work just as good coated on a blade getting up close and personal as they do from sneaky-sneak.

Several times over !!!! I never stop researching. lol

I'm pleased to hear this, I would hate for the alchemy wing of your house to be going to waste!

I use it a lot, combined with a 5 piece set of apparel with fortify alchemy enchants to make potions 125% stronger, which comes in very handy, whether its for making money or to help you get through those tougher battles. I especially like to make sure I've always got a number of fortify archery potions for those pesky dragons that never seem to want to land, or for taking out draugr deathlords/overlords without having to get too close.

I sometimes think that there are things I am not doing or do not know how to do in the game. How can you use a potion without using it as a weapon? I've always wondered what use there was to have a frenzy effect on a potion, if you use it as a poison the enemy would almost always still just come after you.

You need the Poisoned perk from the pickpocket tree. With it you can poison someone by reverse pickpocketing a poison into their inventory.

And with frenzy, I'd think it best to use ranged - with a bow. Although, perhaps if you successfully sneak and reverse pickpocket the poison they are likely to go after who they know to be in the room, not you.

This.

With the right potions and equipment buffing your abilities, I made a Potion of Invisibility that lasted all the way from Windhelm to Riften to Whiterun.

Overpowered? Absolutely.

Did it prove that I could? Oh yes. lol

I always use alchemy for any build that i wind up using. Even my 2 hander is an alchemy buff.

It adds a HUGE roleplay element and just perusing the wilderness for ingredients to poitions you may be lacking. I think that's why I always gravitate to it...really adds an immersive layer to the game if you take the time to learn it and appreciate what it can do. I even hop in my roughspun tunic and go swimming in the white river to catch salmon and their roe.

The paralysis potions you can craft early on really help out with tough bandit chiefs or other baddies you may encounter. The weak paralysis poisons give you 6-7 seconds to just wail on your enemy while they're helpless. It's not OP, but it give you justthat slightest edge you'll need for some encounters.

Plus, when traveling to towns, I ALWAYS check out the local Alchemy shop for ingredients. The ususals like Blisterwort, Wheat, Giant's Tow, Imp Stool, Cannis Root, nightshade, nordic barnacle and deathbell...the most convenient poison/ healing ingredients the game doesn't throw at you in the wilderness in your normal travels (i'm looking at you Blue/ Purple mountain flower, thistle and Snowberries).

I honestly cannot fathom the game without it and the great things it offers.

This.

And this. Slow, Paralysis, Damage Health, Damage Stamina/Stamina Regen (or Magicka/Magicka Regen), Weakness to [Element]: the possibilities are endless, especially considering you can combine effects. And, once you pass a certain level of skill, you can brew potions or poisons that are far stronger/more effective than anything you can buy or find. Not to mention, you can make a wagonload of money with Alchemy whether you intend to ever use the stuff you make or not.

I didn't use it with my sword and board character at all. He found plenty of potions lying around in dungeons and only used the healing ones anyway.

My mage character on the other hand really needed them, because (1) she kept running out of mana and (2) she needed a little help via the weakness to magic potions and poisons. And invisibility potions to make a fast getaway. Especially at the squishy beginning, which for a mage is like, the first 20 levels. She also didn't have a while lotta cash and it turns out that vendors only usually have one or two useful potions at a time, so I leveled her alchemy.

Alchemy is a lot of fun. The only "problem" with it is that you can easily become stupid rich by selling potions that are easy to create, such as mixing simple blue mountain flowers and blue butterfly wings.

Ive tried it on several characters and didnt really care for it. Potions i find all the time so for me theres no real need to create them. I get one shot sneak kills with my bow so i dont really have the need to make poisons.
But i will say that you can benefit from it if youre playing on master or especially legendary. Youll need all the help you can get.

Yes to all the above. But take

canis root and imp stool, or imp stool and swamp fungal, and you got a potion that can paralyze someone while you beat on them.

Blue mountain flower and blisterwort for restoring health

creep cluster and red mountain flower for restoring magicka

histcarp and purple mountain flower for restoring stamina

nirnroot and chaurus egg for invisibility

blisterwort and glowing mushroom for fortifying smithing

falmer ear and river betty for damage health

jazby graqes and skeever tail for ravage health

deathbell and salt pile for slowing someone down

blue dartwing and orange dartwing for fortifying pickpocket

In the list above, only the nirnroot really has to be purchased, as the rest can be easily found anywhere in Skyrim. At first one will get low numbers, but as you raise your alchemy level, you will be surprised what you can get. I only use 3 points in alchemist, with physican and benefactor. Later on, when my alchemy gets way up there, I will add poisoner, concentrated poison and green thumb.

The best part about alchemy, besides gathering ingredients, and making potions, is that it is free to get ingredients except for the nirnroot. Basically, alchemy cost nothing but some perks and gathering.