Before Skyrim came out, I had a pretty definite view of what my character was going to specialize in.

I planned to roll a Thief/Assassin with onehanded/sneak/lightarmor/lockpicking/alchemy and some in pickpocket.

I was really stoked for alchemy to be able to apply poisons to weapons and do some extra damage, but I just really don't see how alchemy benefits any race/class.


FIrst, I went WoodElf--already 50% resistance to poisons.
Second, I have found so many potions whether it be stamina/health/magicka--- in dungeons, quests, random.
Yes, there is invisibility potions, but my sneak is so high that I can stand right crouch right infront of someone and they won't see me.
I simply make potions just to get rid of the ingredients because I have so many.
I dont even use magicka so I sell them. Being a thief I dont hardly engage in direct combat, so health potions/stamina are very minimal in my gameplay.
Third, I joined the DarkBrotherhood and their armor gives me another 50% poison resist, so I am 100% resistant to poison right now.

EVEN IF someone didn't roll a Thief class, potions are abundant and with all the smithing/enchanting upgrades, poisons seem obsolete.

SO,

I went smithing and decided to upgrade my armor/weapons for permanant Damage/armor.

What do you guys think.

I think not everyone is playing wood elf members of the dark brotherhood with high sneak scores that never use magic and think frostbite venom is good enough.

It's a versatile utility skill. That's all it is. That's all any of them are.

Alchemy is good for improving damage. You can get potions that increase your 1 handed damage or whatnot. Other than that it's good for people who need health/sta/magicka during fights. If you're not fighting much, there isn't too much use from them for you. With perks you can use poisons to kill people though!

I haven't tried enchanting or smithing, so I can't compare, but I will say that I really liked the paralysis potions I've been able to brew. The 8 seconds of paralysis has really given me a chance to take down some tough baddies that I couldn't tackle otherwise. Other than that it hasn't been all that great, but it's not pointless from where I stand.

To some degree I think you are correct. In previous games I saw a benefit to alchemy much earlier in the skill, the potions worked different I loved the heal over time effects, the feather effects rocked etc. When I mastered it my potions were legendary. In this game I am up to 50ish in alchemy I've dumped perks into it and I'm lucky when I make a potion as good as the random crap I find. Maybe if it had been the first thing I had leveled it would look better, but maybe not. End game though if it is anything like the other crafts it will make really powerful potions.

if you dedicate yourself to it it can be one of the most powerful offensive skills in the game. high strength poisons FTW!

I like alchemy now i make healing potions and stuff to fight those dragons i need them.

Dude, your hot, whats your number

Then you should use alchemy to craft Fortify Smithing and Fortify Enchantment potions, and use enchantment to craft fortify alchemy and fortify smithing gear.

I have like 30 in alchemy and 2 perks, and Im already making better potions then 50% of the junk pots you find out there.
i can just imagine that with around 7 perks invested, 5/5 for potion strenght, 1/1 for heal/stamina and 1 more for another 25% strenght, and around 75 skill, the potions is going to be insane.
I tried with restoration for my warrior but realized that alchemy was just so much better.
Restoration is great for easy fights, but for very tough encounters, alchemy or a vast assortment of health and for me, stamina pots, is necessary.

this http://www.gamesas.com/index.php?/topic/1275179-2419-armor-6399-damage-using-smithing-alchemy-enchanting-only-33-perks-329k-backstabs/ explains.... tho kinda breaks the game.

OP, you seem confused about poison resistance. Your poison resistance is irrelevant, you poison your weapon and the poison works on your emeny when they are struck. Their poison resistance is relevant, not yours. I've not played Skyrim long enough to know, but if it works anything like oblivion then high end multiple effect poisons can be one of the most deadly things in the game.

I'm going to put some perk points into the Poison side of Alchemy only. For my stealth/archer.

WHAT? Alchemy can be extremely useful as a thief or archer!

I think that alchemy may well be pointless for you given how you have chosen to progress your character. The way I am playing smithing, two handed, block and armor is useless to me, but that doesn't mean it's useless to everyone. Just depends how one plays.

With the right ingredients you can make three- and four-effect Potions/Poisons which, when combined with the relevant Poison or Potion Perks can make for some pretty powerful concoctions.

You like Paralysis? How about Paralysis and damage Health in the one poison?

dude you're supposed to use the poisons on baddies, not on yourself :hubbahubba:

With my current build I can honestly say their is no way in hell I could get through certain areas of this game. It literly means the different between success and utter failure for me. The potions you find are great but you can't control it, you find what you find and buying them is outragously expensive compared to finding appropriate reagents and making your own. Im certain other builds like mages for example probobly have considerably less use for it, but for my warrior its an absolute mustl

Tell me how long does it take to raise it to 80? I made 150 potions (from 2 ingerdients) and got 4 skill ups, should I be making pots with 3 ingredients?

There is another thread expanding on the details but; what a lot of people haven't realized yet is the strength of your poison's is determined by what ingredients you put into it. The current known 'best' is troll-fat + river bell (sp?). It has a base power of over double other poisons' damage. Unlike in oblivion you really need to experiment extensively, and thoroughly; to use alchemy to its full effect.

I suppose this is true. I guess I'm being a little biased from my point of view.
I guess I should have engraved it in stone when they said " You play how you wan't to play" (and what works best for you)

Yeah, I've got no poison resistance and I've never run into a spot where I've really needed a "Cure Poison" potion. So the self-poison resistance thing..... meh.


Healing potions, though.... I'm a light-armor, sword & board ranger. Yeah, I use Stealth to scout around, and for the first arrow shot, but the rest of combat is stand-up fights. No "x6 sneak bonus! Dead!" here. Against stronger opponents I burn through potions furiously. So crafting my own, that are better than all those Weak potions I find? Useful.

Single effect user created potions are commonly 2-5 times stronger than those found. Multi-effect potions are infinitely better since they don't even exist in the wild.

Alchemy isn't useless, you just don't understand it yet.

Even better
Paralyze+Silence+Damage health+Damage magicka
I used such poisons in TES4
It was ultimate owning method
(Needed better alchemy chest mod for it though)

Paralysis poisons = awesome on master difficult playing 'dead is dead'.