Oblivion:Useful Potions

This article provides examples of useful potions that you can make at various Alchemy skill levels.  It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of potion possibilities.  The   provides a better way to explore all possible potion combinations; links to the calculator are included for each effect and each recipe where more details can be examined.

In general, two-effect potions and poisons are not listed in this article; any two available effects can always be combined, so the possible two-effect combinations are nearly unlimited.  For example, to create a Restore Health + Restore Magicka potion, combine the two ingredients for a Restore Health potion with the two ingredients for a Restore Magicka potion.  (Note that you may need to select the "Show All Ingredients" options when creating the potion in order to see the ingredients for the second effect).

Multiple-Effect Potions
The most powerful custom potions are those that combine multiple effects.  These potions are particularly important given that Oblivion limits potion consumption to four at a time: if a single potion combines four effects, you can drink it and still be free to drink three more potions.  Multi-effect potions can also decrease the combined weight of all the potions you want to carry around.

The number of possible potion combinations is nearly endless, so it is implausible to provide a comprehensive list of useful potion recipes, especially given that different players have different preferences and different available ingredients.  Therefore, this article instead focuses on highlighting effects that complement each other.  The recipes provided in each section are just examples not exhaustive lists.  You are free to combine effects from different groups together in whatever way suits your playing style.  The recipes in this section assume that you have at least expert-level alchemy skill, although many of the combinations are possible at journeyman level. 

Some tips when creating multiple-effect potions:
Try to combine effects that you are likely to need at the same time.
Be cautious about using long-duration effects.  Feather in particular has a very long duration, meaning that drinking a Feather potion will tie up one of your four potion slots for a long time. (See the last point about the benefit of a short-lived negative effect).
A significant limitation of custom potions is that Restore effects are not instantaneous (unlike the built-in potions, such as Potion of Healing).  One way to mimic the instantaneous healing effect is to add a Fortify effect, for example, Fortify Health + Restore Health.  However, the Fortify effect will last significantly longer than the Restore effect (see previous note).
If you do not see the ingredient you need in the potion-making menu, select "See All Ingredients".
Some powerful combinations are only possible with a negative side-effect.  If you have a high-quality alembic, the negative side-effect's magnitude can be reduced to 1 pt and generally ignored. However; normally, you can only consume 4 potions at a time, but when the shortest effect on a potion runs out, you can consume another potion. In this way, having a 1 second negative effect is in fact helpful.

Combat Potions
These potions combine effects that are specifically useful for melee fighters:
Fortify Health
Fortify Endurance, Fortify Strength, and Fortify Speed
Restore Health (and the other effects listed at Healing Potions)



Defense Potions
This section focuses on potions that will reduce the amount of damage that you take in combat; these effects can also be useful when combined with Combat and Healing effects.
Shield
Since Orange and Tomato share all of the same effects, many Shield potions with Detect Life and Restore Fatigue are possible (however, Burden is an inevitable side effect)
Fire Shield, Frost Shield, Shock Shield
Resist Fire, Resist Frost, Resist Shock
Reflect Damage
Reflect Spell
Resist Paralysis and Resist Poison



Feather Potions
Feather potions can have very large magnitudes and durations (maximum, 272 pts for 880 seconds), making potions more powerful than Feather spells in duration if only marginally better than high level in magnitude.  However, the long duration is also a liability, because any other effects will expire long before the Feather effect.
Fortify Strength further increases your encumbrance limit.  However, if you need this extra boost, you will end up immobilized when the Fortify Strength effect expires, and will need to drink a second potion.  Therefore, it frequently ends up being an ineffective addition.
Fortify Speed (although this is a rare effect that introduces a Damage Health effect)



Healing Potions
Healing potions are generally the most widely used type of potion, and most characters will want to carry an ample supply of such potions to survive combat.  The most obvious effects for healing potions are:
Restore Health, Restore Magicka, and Restore Fatigue
These three effects are the most common alchemy effects, so many combinations containing these effects are possible.  Other effects to consider combining with these are:
Cure Poison
Dispel (this will not cancel any of the other potion effects, only spell effects)
Fortify Health, Fortify Magicka, and Fortify Fatigue for an "instantaneous" healing effect
Many of the effects listed in the Combat and Defense sections.

It is also useful to carry a few healing potions to repair some of the less common types of damage.  You may not need these potions in the middle of combat, but if you notice after combat that some of your statistics are damaged, potions combining some of the following effects may be useful:
Cure Disease 
Any of the eight Restore Attribute effects.  Try to make sure that potions restoring each of the eight attributes are available.



Mage Potions
Mages will want a lot of Restore Magicka potions.  Several useful effects can be included to further enhance spellcasting capabilities:
Fortify Magicka
Fortify Luck and Fortify Willpower
Fortify Intelligence (however, this is a rare effect and only possible at expert-level with a Damage Endurance side effect)



Stealth Potions
Effects useful to thieves or characters who prefer to avoid combat are:
Chameleon or Invisibility
Detect Life and Night-Eye
Fortify Agility and Fortify Speed



Rare Effects
The following effects are only available from a very small number of ingredients, even at expert level. The possible combinations using these effects are rare, and as a result they generally have not been included in the previous sections.
Fortify Intelligence
The only two ingredients with this effect are Carrot and Clouded Funnel Cap.  At journeyman level, they can be combined without side effects.  However, at expert level, any Fortify Intelligence potion will always have a Damage Endurance side effect.  The potion listed below allows the damage to be counteracted.
Fortify Luck
The only three ingredients with this effect are Bonemeal, Green Stain Shelf Cap, and Primrose Leaves.  Using Bonemeal and Green Stain Shelf Cap leads to a Damage Fatigue side effect
Fortify Speed
The only two ingredients with this effect are Pear and Wisp Stalk Caps, which will always have a Damage Health side effect. Adding a third ingredient with Restore Fatigue and Restore Health such as Aloe Vera, and a fourth with Restore Health, will repair this damage.



Multiple-Effect Poisons



Triple Damage Poisons
The Triple Damage poisons are some of the most lethal objects. For example, one of these poisons made with a Master alchemy skill level and Apprentice level alchemy equipment and then used in conjunction with a normal arrow and sneak mode can do around 700 points of damage over 30 seconds from various elements. Using weapons with higher damage or damage enchantments can increase this as well. 

In order to create a triple effect poison, you must include at least two ingredients that have two damage effects. Therefore, two of the following ingredients are essential:
Damage Health + Fire Damage: Imp Gall, Spiddal Stick, Congealed Putrescence 
Damage Health + Frost Damage: Bone Marrow 
Damage Health + Shock Damage: Ectoplasm, Black Tar , Scalon Fin 
No ingredients exist with two elemental damage effects.  The possible combinations are also limited by the requirement that the  four ingredients must not have any shared positive effects (any single positive effect will turn the concoction into a potion, not a poison).  Nevertheless, numerous options are possible, some of which even add a fourth or fifth negative effect.


† Magnitudes calculated for alchemy=100, Luck=50, and a complete set of Master-level alchemy equipment

Four Effect Poisons
The most powerful four effect poisons combine Damage Health, two elemental damage effects and a fourth negative effect; these four effect poisons are all covered in the previous section.  Some additional combinations are also possible, however.



Five Effect Poisons 


Six Effect Poisons
These poisons all require the Shivering Isles ingredient Rot Scale


Availability by Level
Novice (0-24)
At Novice level, only a very limited number of alchemy effects are available.  Without Shivering Isles ingredients, only 15 potion effects and 8 poison effects are available; no Fortify effects are available, mainly just various Restore effects.  With Shivering Isles, Fortify Fatigue and Fortify Health become available.  By far the easiest potion to create is Restore Fatigue.  Many players may wish to quickly make a batch of Restore Fatigue potions just to advance to Apprentice level, at which point twice as many options become available.

Two-effect potions and poisons can be created at novice level.  However, no three-effect potions or poisons are possible.

The novice level effects are also available via wortcraft, i.e., by simply eating one of the ingredients instead of creating a potion.  A potion is generally much stronger than wortcraft (and also provides more Alchemy experience).  However, cure effects (Cure Disease and Cure Poison) have no magnitude or duration and therefore are equally effective using wortcraft or potions.  

Novice Effects


Novice Recipes




† Magnitudes calculated for alchemy=10, Luck=50, and a complete set of Novice-level alchemy equipment

Apprentice (25-49)
Apprentice Effects
The following effects are those that first become available at apprentice level; in addition, the novice level effects are all available.


Apprentice Recipes




† Magnitudes calculated for alchemy=35, Luck=50, and a complete set of Apprentice-level alchemy equipment

Journeyman (50-74)
Journeyman Effects
The following effects are those that first become available at journeyman level; in addition, the novice and apprentice level effects are all available.


Journeyman Recipes




Tip: If you want to make a lot of Fortify Intelligence potions, you should do it before you get 75 Alchemy skill, because after that, they will also Damage Endurance.  Since this is the only way to make these potions, it may be a good idea to stock up while you can.
If you already have 75 skill level you can make a Fortify Intelligence that corrects the damage such as the one listed under Rare Effects.
Fortify Health and Fortify Endurance provide an instantaneous boost to your health, much like the restore health potions you can buy.  Unfortunately, the boost expires when the fortify effect expires, but it is usually long enough to get you through a battle.  If your current health is less than the boost amount when the effect expires, you won't die, but you will be left with only one health, or negative health in the case of fortify endurance.  So if you use these, you should probably always use a regular restore health potion in conjunction.

(75-99)
Expert Effects
The following effects are those that first become available at expert level.


(100)
Master Effects
The following effects are those that first become available at master level.


Special Effects
There are up to seven script-effect ingredients available in Oblivion, which can be used to create unusual (although not necessarily useful) potions and poisons.  Without any mods, only two ingredients are available: Poisoned Apple and Rat Poison. The Vile Lair adds Chokeberries; Unearthing Mehrunes Razor adds the champion's Beating Heart; and Shivering Isles adds Felldew, Greenmote, and Hearts of Order.
Beating Heart (script effect: Cannibal Consumption) produces a potion.
Chokeberry (script effect: Poison Fruit) produces a potion.
Felldew (script effect: Felldew Effect) produces a potion.
Greenmote (script effect: Greenmote Rapture) produces a poison.
Heart of Order (script effect: Favor of Jyggalag) produces a potion.
Poisoned Apple (script effect: Deadly Poison) produces a potion.
Rat Poison (script effect: Rat Poison) produces a potion.
A Master of Alchemy can easily create the corresponding potion/poison using any single ingredient.  At lower levels, any two of these seven script effect ingredients can be combined to create a script effect potion/poison.  The potion's effect is determined by the first ingredient's effect. In other words, if you want a Greenmote Rapture potion, place Greenmote in the first ingredient slot and any of the other six ingredients in the second ingredient slot.

If you want to create a potion (rather than a poison) with the Greenmote Rapture effect, you must combine it with a second, positive effect (so that Greenmote Rapture is technically the negative side-effect of the potion).  You can use any two ordinary ingredients  (e.g., two with Restore Fatigue), then add Greenmote in the third ingredient slot, and an optional fourth slot). At high Alchemy skill level, a single ordinary ingredient, in the first slot, is sufficient.

There is no cure, or any way to reverse the effect of the Poisoned Apple/Deadly Poison, or the Chokeberry/Poison Fruit: no potion, spell, scroll, greater power, or altars of any kind.  It is not possible to create an actual poison using the Poison Fruit or Deadly Poison effects.  Any concoction containing either of these effects will always be a potion, meaning the only way to use it is to drink it.  It cannot be applied to weapons like standard poisons can.

Potions with Poison Fruit or Deadly Poison effects can be left in NPCs' houses, as can script-effect ingredients with a poison effect, such as the Poisoned Apple and the Chokeberry. If all the drink or food items (with regard to potions or ingredients, respectively) are removed from their house (or other cell they remain in when drinking or eating) and from their inventory, then the NPCs will drink the potion or eat the ingredient (respectively) if it's placed openly in the cell. This will lead to their death, without you incurring a bounty. This will not work on NPCs with a replenishing food supply, nor those that lack an AI package for drinking or eating, respectively.  The same effect may be accomplished more easily just using a raw ingredient:  Poisoned Apples in particular are zero-weight and can therefore be reverse-pickpocketed.