Baldur's Gate 3 Alchemy Guide

BG3 Alchemy Introduction

You get introduced to alchemy almost as soon as you reach the beach at the start. The more you explore – including deep, dark caves, rotting tomes and obscure vendors – thegreater the range of potions, elixors etc you’ll have access to in a crunch.

Potions are one shot, with either immediate affect, or a buff (or debuff) generally lasting a few turns. Most are ten turns, but not all. Foor instance, ‘Potion of Swiftness’ only lasts 3 turns and has a debilitating debuff applied after the third turn. Conversely, one or two (e.g. Potion of Animal Speaking) – act like an elixir, lasting until long rest.

Elixirs nearly all last until your next long sleep, the exception being universal resistance, which only lasts 10 turns so should be considered a potion, really.
You can only have one elixir active as a time, so choose wisely!

Coatings are just that and generally applied to edged and stabbing weapons. Like potions they only last 10 turns.
In my opinion this is silly and they should (for instance) last 10 strikes, with diminishing returns, but it is what it is.
The countdown for the coating is on the weapon itself, not the character.

Grenades are just thrown, obvious, with the effect being either immediate or lasting 10 turns (or until cancelled).
In this respect a couple ofg other items act like a a grenade (e.g. grease, acid), but cannot be created, only found or bought.

As you might expect, some are a lot more useful that others and some – like healing potions – you should stock up on at every opportunity. They all cost an action if used in battle, so balance is required.

When crafting it will – for instance – use “any essence”, which could be a problem is if decides to use something ultra rare and exotic, something you want to hold onto, like ‘Essence of Planetar Feather’. As for as I can tell though, it default to the ingedient you have the most of. For this reason, if no other, it’s best to gather and even buy raw ingedients whenever you can.

Note also that, like grease, not all potions can be crafted, though some sources (erroniously, I believe) suggest they can. For instance, Angelic Reprieve appears to be a drop only, while the stronger and rarer Angelic Slumber can be crafted:

Angelic Reprieve (drop only?)
Drink to fall into a 2-turn slumber. Unless interrupted, you gain the benefits of a Short Rest and regain all 1st and 2nd Level spell slots.
If you are awoken before the duration expires, the effects will not apply.
(So for use out of battle)

Remedial Potion(drop only?)
Cures Blinded, Silenced, Paralyzed, and Poisoned creatures.
(Single use, in battle)

Darkvision [drop/purchase only?]
Drink to gain the ability to see in the dark up to 12m.
(Replaces effects from other elixirs when drunk)

Crafting:

Would have been more intesting to add levels of complexity and a lab to you camp with alembics and distillers etc, but one click is convenient.

Rule of three applies to most ingredients, so ‘salts of mugwort’ requires three mugwort.

Alchemy in BG3 is pretty much a “dash of this and a dash of that and we are done”! It takes the work of main ingredient + (any of ‘this’ type).
for instance:
Potion of healing is make ‘Salts of Rogue’s Morsel’ (using 3 of these) and combine with ‘any suspension’, (for instance 3 mergrass used to make ‘Suspension of Mergrass’)

I’ll not bother listing all the ingredients, but they can be broken down into:

Ashes (9)
Essences (9)
Salts (10 – or 11?)*
Sublimates (9)
Suspensions (13)
and Vitriols (7)

*Salts of Copper Shavings is not in my alchemy book, even though I’ve made them using broken machinery from the underdark tower. Bug?

Note also that sometimes the ingredients (e.g. acorn truffle) don’t automatically stack or combine, so something you have to go through your bags, see what there is, and manually combnie them, dragging them accross one at a time (rule of three applies)

Baldur's Gate 3 Alchemy Guide - Ackadia (1)

Baldur's Gate 3 Alchemy Guide - Ackadia (2)

Maxing out your buffs!

Strictly speaking, the maximum you can attain with potions etc is:

ONE weapon coating (10 turns)

TWO potions (up to 10 turns)

ONE elixir (until next long rest)

The exception to this is you can additionally have a potion of mindreading or speaking to animals (until next long rest). So (up to) four combat/turn-based buffs or up to five out of combat buffs.

Spells and abilities are not taken into account but will have similar caps.

Potions (13)

The main ingredient is in [brackets] after the name
(Details are subject to change as game update, errata aside.)

Unless stated, all potions are either instant (e.g. healing) or last 10 turns (e.g buffs like long jump).

Elixirs (23)

Unless stated, all elixirs last until next long sleep (or until replaced by another elixir).

Spell-related:

Elixir of Arcane Cultivation [weavemoss]
Gain an additional Level 1 spell slot

Greater Elixir of Arcane Cultivation[laculite]
Gain an additional Level 2 spell slot.

Superior Elixir of Arcane Cultivation [night orchid]
Gain an additional Level 3 spell slot.

Supreme Elixir of Arcane Cultivation [beholder eye]
Gain an additional Level 4 spell slot.

Battlemage’s Power [Gauth eye]
Drink to increase the effectiveness of your spells. You will gain 3 Arcane Acuity.
+1 to spell attack roll and to spell difficulty class per turn remaining.
I believe it stacks with other items and abilities, such as Spell Sniper (passive ability) and arcane synergy (passive ability and from enchanted items such as Diadem of Arcane Synergy)

Peerless Focus [belladonna]
Drink to gain Advantage on Concentration saves, and against being Charmed. Magic can’t put you to sleep.

Resistance to:

Fire[dragon egg mushrooms]
You gain Resistance to Fire damage, and can no longer Burn.

Lightning [copper shavings (from broken machinery)]
You gain Resistance to Lightning damage and can no longer be Shocked, Electrocuted, Jolted, or otherwise affected by lightning.
(Should work with the Light of Creation from Act 1, stopping overcharge stuns)

Necrotic [oleander]
Gain Resistance to Necrotic damage.

Poison [muddy goo (from mud mephit wings)]
You gain Resistance to Poison damage and can no longer be Poisoned.

Psychic[cerebrospinal fluid (from intellect devourer brains)]
Gain Resistance to Psychic damage.

Universal [Divine Miasma]
Gain resistance to all damage, including physical.
NOTE: this only lasts 10 turns!

Melee, stat and ability buffs:

Elixir of The Colossus[chasm creeper]
Drink to increase your size. Weapons deal an additional 1d4 damage. You gain Advantage on Strength checks and saves. Carrying capacity increased by 25%

Hill Giant Strength [hill giant fingernails]
Increase your Strength to 21 (+5)

Cloud Giant Strength[cloud giant fingernails]
Increase your Strength to 27 (+8)

Barkskin [tree bark]
Drink to increase Armour Class to 16.

Bloodlust[worg fang]
Drink to enter a bloodlust. Once per turn when you kill a foe, you gain 5 temporary hit points and an additional action.

Heroism [pegasus feathers]
Gain 10 temporary hit points and become Blessed.
(Bless is +1d4 to attack and saving throw rolls, as per spell.
It is also possible to get a permanent Bless for one of your characters in act 3)

Viciousness [shadowroot sac]
The number you need to roll to land Critical Hit is reduced by 1.
Note: (should) stack with other similar skills, such as the Spell Sniper passive feature

Movement, detection and other elixirs

Guileful Movement[ochre jelly]
Your movement speed can’t be reduced by difficult terrain, spells or magical effects. Cannot be restrained or paralysed..

See Invisibility [Nothic eye]
Drink this elixir to spot Invisible creatures.

Tadpole Elixir[tongue of madness]
Gain Psionic Weakening and Psionic Enrichment.
(More debuff than buff, don’t bother!)

Vigilance [Bloodstained Hook (from hook horrors)]
Drink to gain a +5 bonus to Initiative. In addition, you can’t be surprised.

Grenades (5)

It’s perhaps ironic that the only grenade you can’t make is a grenade (e.g. with gunpowder)!
There are rather a lot of premade explosives you can make use of in the game though!

Alchemist’s Fire [fire amber]
Hurl a flask of liquid fire that explodes on impact.
(1d4)

Fungal Bamboozler [timmask spores]
Lob this vaporous decoction to Befuddle nearby foes.

Hearthlight Bomb [nightlight]
Bathe a nearby target in light. Illuminates a 9m radius.

Noxious Spore Grenade[poison spores]
Explodes in a virulent cloud that can inflict Noxious Fumes upon creatures within.

Web Grenade[spider silk]
Explodes into a tangly mess that Enwebs creatures caught within.

Others (drop/purchase/reward only(?)) include:

Flashblinder
Blind a target. If it is a steel watcher or scrying eye, it is stunned, and suffers a -1d6 penalty to Attack Rolls.
Flashblinder is a curious one as it can be crafted using behir scales, but I only managed to find/buy 2 in my playthrough and you need 3 to make one flashband. You can however buy up to 4 (or maybe more>) of these from the Ironhand gnomes. Save them for the end fight in the Steel Watch Foundry!

Smokepowder bomb
Explodes on impact for 12-21 damage (3d4+9 force)

Acid vial
Explodes on impact for 2-12 (2d6) acid damage.

Weapon coatings (16)

Assume it’s going to be applies to your melee wepaon and that it will last 10 turns
(In early access I seem to recall it was applies to ranged weapons too).

Attack bonuses

Diluted Oil of Sharpness [viridian crystal]
Coat your weapon in oil. It gains a +1 bonus to Damage and Attack Rolls, and overcomes resistance to non-magical damage.

Oil of Accuracy [daggerroot]
Coat your weapon to receive a +2 bonus to Attack Rolls with the oiled weapon.

Oil of Bane [putrefied tumour]
Coat your weapon in oil. Targets failing a Charisma Saving Throw become Baned for 2 turns.

Oil of Combustion [mephit magma]
On hit, a coated weapon covers its target in oil for 2 turns. Oil-covered targets immolate upon taking fire damage, dealing 3d18 fire damage to everyone and everything nearby.

Oil of Diminution [Sylvan stone]
Coat your weapon in oil: it receives a -1 penalty to damage, but targets failing a Constitution save, suffer Disadvantage on Strength Checks and Saves. They also receive a -1d4 penalty to melee damage.

Oil of Freezing [frost salamander tongue]
Coat your weapon in oil. When you hit a foe, it inflicts Encrusted with Frost for 2 turns.

Wizardsbane Oil [gremishka tail]
Coat your weapon in oil. Its targets receive a -3 penalty to Spell Attack Rolls and Spell Save DC, and Disadvantage on Saving Throws for maintaining Concentration for 2 turns.

Poison

Basic Poison [bonecap]
Coat your active weapon with a poison that inflicts an additional 1d4 Poison damage.

Crawler Mucus[carrion crawler tentacle]
Coat your active weapon with poison.
Targets must succeed a Constitution Saving Throw or become Paralyzed and Poisoned.

Drow Poison [swarming toadstool]
Coat your active weapon with poison.
Targets must succeed a Constitution Saving Throw or become Poisoned and fall Asleep.

Malice [Lolth’s candle]
Coat your active weapon with poison.
Targets must succeed a Constitution Saving Throw or become Blinded and Poisoned.

Purple Worm Toxin [purple worm slime]
Coat your active weapon with toxin that deals an additional 1d10 poison damage.
On a successful Constitution Saving Throw, target still takes half damage.

Serpent Fang Toxin [snake venom]
Coat your active weapon with toxin that deals an additional 1d6 poison damage.
On a successful Constitution saving throw, target still takes half damage.

Simple Toxin [bullywug trumpet]
Coat your active weapon with toxin that deals an additional 1d4 poison damage.
On a successful Constitution saving throw, target still takes half damage.

Thisobald’s Brewed-Up Bellyglummer [corpse rose]
Coat your active weapon in poison.
Targets must succeed a DC 17 Constitution saving throw or become poisoned and take 1d6 Poison damge at the end of each of its turns.

Wyvern Toxin [wyvern stinger]
Coat your active weapon with toxin that deals an additional 1d8 Poison damage.
On a successful Constitution Saving Throw, target still takes half damage

Others: drop/purchase only

Arsonist’s Oil
Coat your weapon in an oil that transforms the target’s Fire Resistance to Fire Vulnerability. Targets that are immune to Fire Damage are unaffected.

Useful links

Ackadia: BG3 Act 1 Guide

Ackadia: BG3 Act 2 guide

Ackadia: BG3 Act 3 guide (to follow)

Gamerant: Baldur’s Gate 3: All Negative Combat Status Effects, Explained

Fextralife wiki: Baldur’s Gate 3 status effects

Baldur's Gate 3 Alchemy Guide - Ackadia (2024)