So it's time to reach level 3 and as a Battlemage I decided it was best to raise my intelligence early, Then I realized the one skill I really didn't want to use, Alchemy, is pretty much my best shot at raising my intelligence >.> since Conj. is one of my majors. Security seems pretty useless to me and Enchant... No, not yet at least I don't think. So I'm trying to figure out how to get my Alchemy from 5 to 15 which is svcking because I can't make or use potions to raise the skill. So now I'm eating ingredients, but I'm confused. It seems that I do get a skill boost sometimes, but 99% of the time it says the ingredient has no effect. Is that just because I svck at the skill? Anyone have any tips? I really want to raise it by 10 points before I level up or increase any more of my majors and minors.

Huh, why can′t you make potions,any roleplaying reasons for that ?
That is one fast way to raise alchemy otherwise.

To eat ingredients or making potions you need a lot of materials=ingredients anyway since you will fail often at that skill,so maybe pay for training up to some higher level of alchemy skill ? say in the 20′s or so,you will fail less frequently and alchemy gets more useful.

Usually, the best option to increase any skill from a very low level is to go to a trainer, as you have a very low chance of using the skill, which means less skill increases. If you're in the mages guild, and you've done Ajira's quests, she should be at a 100 disposition, train with her. At you're alchemy level, it should be dirt cheap.

I don't think I can use potions because I tried potions given to me and did not see any increase, and the effects of the potions are all question marks just like ingredients. Am I wrong? I guess it would make sense if I had to drink my own potions, which I haven't really tried but just assumed I wouldn't be able to do it because everything is a question mark.

I think I will try training then, although I'm having a tough time with money atm (balancing mod with a fair bit of economy tweaks) and am not in the Mage's guild. Can anyone tell me if the Mage's guild will interfere with the Temple? I know they really don't like each other, but 1. I'm not sure if they have conflicting quests 2. I don't want to do a bunch of Mage's Guild quests and come back to fine everyone in Temple trying to kill me.

Edit: According to the Wiki, all my planned factions would come out as 0 for Temple including the Temple itself. Is that all right? Do factions dislike you more as you rank higher in their enemy factions?

That would be my recommendation to, while you CAN make potions at low levels, since you'll fail a lot until you have a decent alchemy skill, it's easier to train the skill instead.

Though, just because you can't see the effect of a potion doesn't mean you can't use it. If you drink a potion, it effects you regardless of whether you have enough alchemy skill to use it or not, it's just that you won't be able to tell what effect the potion has, though you can usually judge from the name, like a cheap restore health potion has a restore health effect that's weaker than a standard restore health potion, also, drinking potions has no chance to fail, though I'm pretty sure it can't request your alchemy skill. With just eating ingredients directly, on the other hand, though it can increase your skill, it's unlikely to have any effect on you at low skill levels, a strange design choice, I must, since in real life you don't need to know the nutritional facts of a specific food item to absorb whatever is in it, but hey, that's the way the game is designed. You can also still make potions if you can't see the effects, as you can sill combine ingredients with the same effects, you'll be able to tell that you'll be able to make a potion if at least one question mark appaears in the effects list and there is a potion name. The main problem is that since you can't see the effects of your potions, you can only try random combinations of ingredients until you find ones that will work, unless you remember some of the effects a specific ingredient has. You'll also fail a lot, and since in Morrowind, skills only improve from using them successfully, that means your skill may level slowly. You're potions also won't be very good, but that's not much of a problem if you just want to increase the skill to raise intelligence, it's only a problem if you actually want to use your potions or make a profit selling them.

Anyway, as far as I understand, none of the available factions have any actual quest conflicts with the temple, except maybe the Imperial Cult, logically, they should conflict, but since I've never really tried to join both with the same character as I figure it makes little sense to do so anyway, I'm not actually sure. But in any case, there are some factions that the temple might not be fond of, but I don't think joining any of them will keep you from joining the Temple, it might just make people in the Temple not like you that much.

Now, there is a certain point in the main quest which will cause people in the Temple to not let you join, advance or recieve new quests, but after a certain point, I think they accept you again, I won't say more on that here.

about mages guild, a good start is ajira′s initial quests at balmora mages guild,more or less pretty safe compared to other quests in the mages guild,besides your fellow mages guild members will like you better=better deals with their service providers.As a guild member you will also get free stuff (potions,scrolls,soulgems,books)from their slowly restocking equipment-chests.

faction-wise there is potential conflicts with thieves guild and mages guild if you get caught that is,and a very late game optional conflict between telvanni and mages guild=you don′t need to do that quest,won′t say more here in the general section.

As new it can be wise to check out caius cosades and the other blade members in balmora,one offer some magical training,sells potions and minor ingredients and spells.
The temple in balmora aint a bad idea,they have good ingredients for you,and spells,you need to buy it though,no free stuff as in the mages guild.

"I can't make potions because I don't see any effects with alchemy lower than 15!"

This seems to be a common mistake. The OP has it, my pal had it, and another pal had it too.

Here's what you do: Equip your mortar and pestle, and start to drag your ingredients into it. In most cases, you'll see the line "insert a name for the potion here" and no "?" as effect of your potion. In these cases, drag other ingredients into your mortar and pestle, until you see as suggestion for the potion's name something like "Drain Luck" or "Drain Fatigue", as well as at least one "?" as the potion's effect.

Then get to brewing.


I'll supply you with some cheap and readily available ingredients for this as well:
- Luminous Russula, Violet something, Spore Pods, Cormberry, Hypha Phacia, Bone Meal. (Drain Fatigue)
- Bungler's Bane, Heather. (Drain Speed)

After you've raided the mushroom supplies near Seyda Neen and the plants on the road between Seyda Neen and Balmora, you should have more than enough ingredients to finally see the first of the alchemical effects of your potions.

Alchemy is just about my favorite skill. I had the same misgivings that you seem to have about it when I first started playing. It seemed overly complicated to me but after a bit of tinkering I managed to discover it's true potential. I took a bit of experimenting but it didn't take long to realize that it's a lot simpler than it first appears. Now I never make a character that doesn't have alchemy as a major. Heres some notes for you:

1. Drinking potion does not give experience.
2. Eating potion ingredient will give experience but only if you succeed in recieving the affects. I believe you have a better chance of seccess trying to make potions.
3. You only recieve experience from creating potions successfuly. Failing renders no experience.
4. Just because you can't see the affects that an ingredient has doesn't mean that you can't use those affects to create a potion (unlike in Oblivion.)
5. Niether level 5 nor 15 are sufficient. 30 is a more realistic number. If your level is too low you will fail quite regularly and it will take a very long time to reach the next level. Once it gets to a respectable level it will increase very quickly.
6 .At level 5 it is recomended that you use trainers to increase levels rather than train yourself. As mentioned, you will fail a lot in the low levels and you'll end up wasting a lot of ingredients. A few thousand gold now are nothing compaired to the potential benefits of properly used alchemy.
7. In future games you may want to make alchemy at least a minor so you have a head start for when you decide to use it (whatever your reason might be.)

Here are two of my favorite potions and a list of very common ingredients that you can make them with.

Restore Fatigue - I never have much use for fatigue restoration, especially at high levels soI mostly use these for leveling and making money because the ingredients are extremely common pretty much where-ever you go.
1. Saltrice - Looks like wheat and is commonly seen on farms. It's sold in many stores and is very commonly found in containers. It's also extremely abundant in the grazelands.
2. Crabmeat - Found on dead mudcrabs which as you must know are very common all along the bitter coast and the ascadian isles.
3. Kwama Egg - These come in both small and large varieties. The large eggs have some other affect that I don't remember but they both restore fatigue. These are some of the most common items in the game. If you find an egg mine you can raid the egg sacks.
4. Hound meat - Found on dead Nix Hounds. They're somewhat rare when you first start a game but after leveling up a few times they will become rather common.

Restore Health - The potion that I use more than any other. With high quality aparatisis and a modest alchemy level you will be able to make these far better than anything you can buy in a store.
1. Saltrice - Not only good for restore fatigue potions but it can ber used to make restore health potions as well.
2. Corkbulb Root - These plants look like giant brown turnips with green leaves coming out of the top. They are very commonly seen by the side of the road all throughout the ascadian isles reagion.
3. Marshmerrow - Tall, green, thin, vinelike plants that grow near water. Most common in ascadian isles and along the eastern shores of Vvardenfell.

There are others as well but these are the most common one.

I find that Alchemy is probably the most useful skill in my toolbag. I usually make potions that I need to use (Levitation, Restore Health etc.) At a low skill level they tend not to be very useful. Who needs Levitation 5 points for 8 seconds? I sell these to Creeper because I don't want them cluttering up the inventories of Alchemists I normally deal with like Nalcarya or Ajira, not for economic gain. I don't buy potions from Creeper.
The first potions I make are usually Cure Poison, Paralysis Disease or whatever. These either work when used or they don't and it's always good to have a few around.
If my char has a bonus for Alchemy I may make it a minor skill, otherwise a major. (I always use it.) I don't steal the chem lab from the Caldera Mages Guild because it's easy to get to and always available.
My chars are big eaters. Once a day at least, a helping of Crab Meat, HackelHo leaf and a loaf of Bread (a jug of wine and thou beside me.) What more do I need?
Skill level 30 seems to begin a really usable skill. If you don't want to train just keep blundering through.You'll get there eventually. Otherwise Ajira and Galbedir at the Balmora MG train Alchemy and they're both neat people.
Don't use expensive or hard to find ingredients like Diamonds for your first potions. They are better used to make some money with.
Also I shy away from heavy ingredients like Ebony, The potions may weigh more than commercial potions and my chars like to travel light.
Some of my own advice about Alchemy and I hope that I haven't gotten into Spoiler territory.

Wow thanks guys, really helpful advice for a really frustrating skill >.> I decided to train all the way to 15 through Ajira, alchemy will probably be in my M/M next time to avoid this. I mean I like figuring out stuff and finding things, but it goes a bit beyond annoying me when I lose over 100 ingredients for one level. anais, you didn't spoil anything. I've already met Creeper and everyone you mentioned, although my balance mod (BTB's) takes barter away from Creeper. I will definitely try the potion combinations everyone has suggested but for now I think I will focus on training through Ajira to the high 20s since it's just too frustrating as is. Definitely going to have to disable my mod and sell some junk to do that but I think I'll turn up OK, better than wasting 1,000 ingredients at least. Again, you're a really great bunch. Thanks.

You really wouldn't waste thousands of mushrooms if you'd just use them for these Drain Fatigue potions. My own newbie character started out with Alchemy at 10 this time. I needed less than 100 ingredients to arrive at skill level 15.

Luminous Russula, Violet something, Hypha Facia, Bungler's Bane and Heather are so extremely commonplace and aside of their use for training alchemy quite useless, so I really don't get it why people suggest that you should waste thousands of gold for training the skill instead of earning some small amounts of cash while using up your piles of ingredients.

Generally agree with Lytha.

Also, make a custom spell that drains your skill 100 for 1-2 secs, then click on the trainer. That will greatly reduce your training expenses.

If you are pressed for money, brewing is more cost effective than trainers and eating ingredients. Use the tricks already described.

Here's another one. Use vendors with some respawning ingredients. If you sell such ingredients back to them, they will respawn even more ingredients. This isn't really an exploit-- more of a time-saver-- that permits you to buy batches of 100 ingredients without going clicky-clicky all night. So just buy some big batches of ingredients and brew them all off. Sell the potions and buy more ingredients. Your alchemy will shoot up fast.

Every Budding Alchemist needs to go to Darlinder's

http://morrowind.melian.cc/

If you want to avoid spending money on ingredients, Marshmerrow and Saltrice can be gathered in large quantities along the southern and eastern coastal areas, and Wickwheat in the Grazelands. All of these have the Restore Health effect, and weigh next to nothing. You'll want an Herbalism mod so the process of gathering hundreds of ingredients doesn't drive you nuts.

Good advice about the ingredients for Restore Health. My one character made an expedition just for that purpose to the eastern coastline below Vos and returned to Seyda Neen (via a Recall Amulet) with over 200 each of Marshmerrow (found all along the coast) and Wickwheat (found just inland), plus a healthy supply of Saltrice. With Alchemy already in the 20+ range (Minor skill, plus some paid training), the skill went up fairly quickly. Anything under 20 and I'd definitely pay for training. I found that selling home-made potions quickly floods the game with far too much gold, and avoid doing that ever since.

Enchanting is another skill that's difficult to raise at the beginning, but becomes amazingly powerful with a bit of effort. Raising Intelligence via your Security skill is also easy with a little boost from Enchanting, because you can self-enchant a basic "Lock" spell (such as a random 1-5 points, on Touch, on Use) onto an item, then use it to keep relocking a chest or door to practice your picking skills. Incidentally, you also get a tiny boost to your Enchanting skill whenever you use that "Lock" item.

I'm curious after all these years. What level Enchantment do you recommend (skill level and Soul gem) to recharge weapons and armor? I've played MW for years and still can't count on a recharge when I'm out in the boonies.

I have read too many Alchemy threads in my life, you say you are level 5 in alchemy, shouldn't battlemages have more then 5? hmmm.