The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Character Building Guide: Alchemy

With so many customization option given by the game, creating your character is not going to be too hard. We have taken a good look at each of the races available and understood that each one of them comes with its own strengths and weaknesses: some are better suited at being warriors while others are better at magic or stealth.

In creating your character and getting him or her ready for battle and adventure you’ll probably need some good understanding on how skills work. Skills determine your proficiency at everything that can be done in the world of Skyrim. Unlike previous The Elder Scrolls game, skills aren’t determined by the character class: the specialization of skills comes with the Perks system.

All Skills improve depending on the action you do: improving some of them can be somewhat tedious. There are other ways to improve skills without having to repeat some actions over and over: you can improve them by getting your hand on a Skill Book or find some Trainers who will help you improve specific skills.

Trainers can only train you five times per level: to get them to train you again you will have to raise you level. This limit doesn’t apply to a single trainer but to all: if you have already trained three times with a single trainer, you can only train two more times with another trainer. To start training again you will have to level up.

Some followers will also be able to train you: this actually comes with an advantage since you can get your money back by going through their inventory.

There’s also another trick to earn some good XP if you have the horse Shadowmere: this horse cannot be damaged by magic, direct and ranged attacks. Keep attacking him to earn some easy XP.

Alchemy

With so many basic ingredients available, becoming an alchemist in Skyrim is not so hard: you can create a lot of different potions with unique effects. The materials used in alchemy require a common trait, which will determine the resulting potion; adding a third ingredient into the mix will modify the potion slightly, adding both beneficial but also negative effects. Alchemy is also very useful to earn some money since the better the efficacy of the potion, the higher the selling value.

Alchemy Perks

• Alchemist
• LV1

Potions and poisons you make are 20% stronger.

• Physician
• LV20

Potions you mix that restore Health, Magicka or Stamina are 25% more powerful.

• Poisoner
• LV30

Poisons you mix are 25% more effective.

• Concentrated Poison
• LV60

Poisons applied to weapons last for twice as many hits.

• Green Thumb
• LV70

Two ingredients are gathered from plants.

• Benefactor
• LV30

Potions you mix with beneficial effects have an additional 25% greater magnitude.

• Experimenter
• LV50

Eating an ingredient reveals first two effects.

• Snakeblood
• LV80

50% resistance to all poisons.

• Purity
• LV100

All negative effects are removed from created potions, and all positive effects are removed from created poisons.