Baldur’s Gate is a game that expects you to use potions. Using the right potion at the right time can be the difference between life and death of your party. In this guide I go over every alchemical consumable in the game, what it does and how to craft it.
Table of Contents
Alchemy Overview
There are 4 types of alchemical products – potions, elixirs, grenades, and coatings. To create any of them you need to combine two extracts. There are 5 categories of extracts, and each one is produced by combining 3 of the same type of ingredient. If this sounds confusing, don’t worry about it, the game interface is very intuitive, and you don’t need to do much to get the result you want.
You can access the crafting menu as soon as you can access your inventory. You can use the default shortcut (H) to get to it, or after opening your inventory select the little potion bottle on the top. From there you will be able to craft any potion you know and have the right ingredients for.
You discover a recipe the moment you have the available components for it (and sometimes from books). So make sure you Extract All Ingredients, by clicking the button in the Alchemy menu, from time to time.
Each potion is created by combining a specific extract with any extract from a specific category. For example a Potion of Healing is crafted from Salt of Rogue’s Morsel combined with any extract from the suspension category (e.g. Mergrass, Spider Silk, etc.).
Until you craft the potion, elixir, coating, or grenade, you will not know what it does. If you do not want to be spoilers on what all potions do, and want to find out for yourself, skip the next sections. I will try to spoiler tag mysterious potions that the game obviously wants you to try out. They will be in the ‘Others’ section.
Use the find function (CTRL + F) to find the potion you are interested in.
Potions
Potions are one-time use consumables that either give you an immediate effect, or a buff that lasts for a few turns. Some last until long rest, but unlike Elixirs, you can use multiplier Potions and they won’t override their continued effects. This is where you find how to craft those healing potions that you have been chugging since the beginning of the game.
| Name | Effect | Recipe |
| Antidote | Neutralises the effects of all poisons. | Salt of Mugwort + Any Suspension |
| Potion of Angelic Slumber | Drink to fall a 2-turn slumber. Unless interrupted, you gain the benefits of Long Rest. | Essence of Planetar Feather + Any Suspension |
| Potion of Animal Speaking | Gain the ability to comprehend and verbally communicate with beasts until your next Long Rest. (Note: Gives you Speak with Animals) | Essence of Acorn Truffle + Any Salt |
| Potion of Feather Fall | Drink to slow your rate of descent during falls and gain Immunity to Falling damage. (Note: Gives you Feather Fall for 10 turns. Drink before you jump.) | Autumn Crocus + Any Essence |
| Potion of Glorious Vaulting | Drink this to triple your Jump distance. (Note: Gives you Jump for 10 turns) | Sublimate of Wispweed + Any Ashes |
| Potion of Healing | Heals 2d4+2 (4~10) and removes Burning. | Salt of Rogue’s Morsel + Any Suspension |
| Potion of Healing: Greater | Heal 4d4+4 (8~20) and removes Burning. | Ashes of Balsam + Any Salt |
| Potion of Healing: Superior | Heals 8d4+8 (16~40) and removes Burning. | Salts of Musk Creeper + Any Suspension |
| Potion of Healing: Supreme | Heals 10d4+20 (30~60) and removes Burning. | Sublimate of Ki-Rin Hair + Any Ashes |
| Potion of Invisibility | Turns you Invisible. The condition ends early if you attack or cast a spell. (Note: Gives you Invisibility for 10 turns) | Ashes of Imp Patagium + Any Essence |
| Potion of Mind Reading | Drink to peer into the minds of those around you. You will be able to read the thoughts of certain creatures while speaking with them. (Note: Gives you Detect Thought until Long Rest) | Suspension of Mergrass + Any Sublimate |
| Potion of Speed | Gain an extra action, a +2 bonus to Armour Class, Advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws, and double your movement speed. When the condition ends, become Lethargic. (Note: Grants Hastened for 3 turns. Lethargic makes you skip a turn.) | Ashes of Hyena Ear + Any Salt |
| Remedial Potion | Cures Blinded, Silenced, Paralyzed, and Poisoned creatures. (Note: You can throw these at people to cure them, as they can’t drink while Paralyzed.) | Salts of Xorn Scales + Any Suspension |
Elixirs
Elixirs are, most of the time, effects that last until long rest. Unlike potions, you can have only one elixir active at a time.
| Elixir | Effect | Recipe |
| Elixir of Arcane Cultivation | Gain an additional Level 1 spell slot. | Vitriol of Weavemoss + Any Sublimate |
| Elixir of Arcane Cultivation: Greater | Gain an additional Level 2 spell slot. | Suspension of Luculite + Any Vitriol |
| Elixir of Arcane Cultivation: Superior | Gain an additional Level 3 spell slot. | Suspension of Sulution of Night Orchid + Any Vitriol |
| Elixir of Arcane Cultivation: Supreme | Gain an additional Level 4 spell slot. | Essence of Beholder Eye + Any Suspension |
| Elixir of Barkskin | Drink to increase your Armour Class to 16. | Salts of Tree Bark + Any Suspension |
| Elixir of Battlemage’s Power | Drink to increase the effectiveness of your spells. You will gain 3 Arcane Acuity. | Suspension of Gauth Eye + Any Sublimate |
| Elixir of Bloodlust | Once per turn when you kill a foe, you gain 5 temporary hit points and an additional action. | Ashes of Worg Fang + Any Salt |
| Elixir of Darkvision | Drink to gain the ability to see in the dark up to 12m. | Essence of Crystalline Lens + Any Salt |
| Elixir of Guileful Movement | Your movement speed can’t be reduced by Difficult Terrain or spell. You can’t be Paralysed or Restrained. | Suspension of Ochre Jelly + Any Sublimate |
| Elixir of Heroism | Gain 10 temporary hit points and become Blessed. | Sublimate of Pegasus Feathers + Any Ashes |
| Elixir of Peerless Focus | Drink to gain Advantage on Concentration saves, and against being Charmed. Magic can’t put you to sleep. | Sublimate of Belladonna + Any Ashes |
| Elixir of Resistance: Fire | You gain Resistance to Fire damage, and can no longer Burn. | Ashes of Dragon Egg Mushroom + Any Salt |
| Elixir of Resistance: Lightning | You gain Resistance to Lighting damage and can no longer be Shocked, Electrocuted, Jolted, or otherwise affected by lighting. | Salts of Copper Shavings + Any Suspension |
| Elixir of Resistance: Necrotic | Gain Resistance to Necrotic damage. | Vitriol of Oleander + Any Sublimate |
| Elixir of Resistance: Poison | You gain Resistance to Poison damage and can no longer be Poisoned. | Suspension of Muddy Goo + Any Sublimate |
| Elixir of Resistance: Psychic | Gain Resistance to Psychic damage. | Suspension of Cerebrospinal Fluid + Any Sublimate |
| Elixir of Resistance: Universal | Gain Resistance to all damage. (Note: Give you Invulnerability for 10 turns) | Vitriol of Divine Miasma + Any Sublimate |
| Elixir of See Invisibility | Drink this elixir to spot Invisible creatures. (Note: It doesn’t reveal invisible creatures immediately, it makes invisible creatures roll to keep their invisibility) | Suspension of Nothic Eye + Any Vitriol |
| Elixir of Strength: Cloud Giant | Increase your Strength to 27. | Salts of Cloud Giant Fingernails + Any Suspension |
| Elixir of Strength: Hill Giant | Increase your Strength to 21. | Salt of Hill Giant Fingernails + Any Suspension |
| Elixir of The Colossus | Drink to increase your size. Weapons deal an additional 1d4 damage. You gain advantage on Strength Checks and saves. | Salt of Chasm Creeper + Any Suspension |
| Elixir of Viciousness | The number you need to roll to land a Critical Hit is reduced by 1. This stacks with other similar effects. | Vitriol of Shadowroot Sac + Any Ashes |
| Elixir of Vigilance | Drink to gain a +5 bonus to Initiative. In addition, you can’t be Surprised. | Sublimate of Bloodstained Hook + Any Ashes |
| Tadpole Elixir | Gain Psionic Weakening (Affected entity has Disadvantage on Constitution, Wisdom and Intelligence Saving Throws.) and Psionic Enrichment (After using a tadpole power, affected entities against Advantage on attacks for 3 rounds.). | Sublimate of Tongue of Madness + Any Essence |
Grenades
| Name | Effect | Recipe |
| Alchemist’s Fire | Deal 1d4 (1~4) fire damage in an area, and set the area on fire. | Ashes of Fire Amber + Any Salt |
| Flashbender | Blind a target. If it’s a steel watcher or scrying eye, it is stunned, and suffers a 1d6 penalty on Attack Rolls. | Sublimate of Behir Scales + Any Ashes |
| Fungal Bamboozler | Lob this vaporous decoction to Befuddle (Affected entity can’t control its actions and wanders around without direction.) nearby foes. | Essence of Timmask Spores + Any Salt |
| Haste Spore Grenade | Explodes in a cloud of invigorating energy that Hastens creatures within. | Sublimate of Haste Spores + Any Essence |
| Hearthlight Bomb | Bathe a nearby area in light. Illuminate 9m radius. | Essence of Nightlight + Any Suspension. |
| Noxious Spore Grenade | Explodes into a virulent cloud that can inflict Noxious Fumes* upon creatures within. | Sublime of Poison Spores + Any Ashes |
| Web Grenade | Explodes into a tangly mess that Enwebs* creatures caught within. | Suspension of Spider Silk + Any Vitriol |
*Go to Conditions for more information
Coatings
When you use a Coating, the condition is applied to your active weapons. If you have two weapons equipped, such as two hand crossbows or two daggers, both will be coated, but only your active weapon set. Every time you attack and deal damage with a coated weapon, you also apply the condition. Most coatings last for 10 turns.
| Name | Effect | Recipe |
| Arsonist’s Oil | Coated weapon attacks transform the target’s Fire Resistance to Fire Vulnerability. Targets that are Immune to Fire damage are unaffected. | Sublimate of Frosted Ears + Any Ashes |
| Basic Poison | Target must succeed a Constitution Saving Throw or become Poisoned*. | Vitriol of Bonecap + Any Ashes |
| Diluted Oil of Sharpness | Your weapon gains a +1 bonus to Damage and Attack Rolls, and overcomes Resistance to non-magical damage. | Salts of Viridian Crystal + Any Vitriol |
| Drow Poison | Targets must succeed a Constitution Saving Throw or Become Poisoned and fall Asleep. | Essence of Swarming Toadstool + Any Salt |
| Malice | Target must succeed a Constitution Saving Throw or become Blinded and Poisoned | Vitriol of Lolth’s Candle + Any Ashes |
| Oil of Accuracy | Weapon has +2 bonus to Attack Rolls. | Ashe of Daggerroot + Any Salt |
| Oil of Bane | Targets failing a Charisma Saving Throw become Baned* for 2 turns. | Vetriol of Putrified Tumour + Any Sublimate |
| Oil of Combustion | On hit, a coated weapon covers its target in oil for 2 turns. Oil-covered targets immolate upon taking fire damage, dealing 3d6 (3~18) Fire damage to everyone and everything nearby. | Ashes of Mephit Magma + Any Essence |
| Oil of Diminution | Weapon 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. | Essence of Sylvan Stone + Any Suspension |
| Oil of Freezing | When you hit a foe, the weapon inflicts Encrusted with Frost for 2 turns. | Suspension of Frost Salamander Tongue + Any Sublimate |
| Purple Worm Toxin | Coats your active weapon with a toxin that deals an additional 1d10 (1~10) Poison damage. | Suspension of Purple Worm Slime + Any Vitriol |
| Serpent Fang Toxin | Coats your active weapon with a toxin that deals an additional 1d6 (1~6) Poison damage. | Suspension of Snake Venom + Any Vitriol |
| Simple Toxin | Coats your active weapon with a toxin that deals an additional 1d4 (1~4) Poison damage. | Suspension of Bullywug Trumpet + Any Sublimate |
| Thusobald’s Brewed-Up Bellyglummer | Target must succeed a DC 17 Constition Saving Throw or become Poisoned and take 1d6 (1~6) Poison damage at the end of each of its turns. | Salts of Corpse Rose + Any Suspension |
| Wizardsbane 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. | Essence of Gremishka Tail + Any Suspension |
*Go to Conditions for more information
Extracts
When you condensed materials they fall under 6 categories: sublimates, salts, essences, ashes, virtuous, suspensions. This is not that useful really. The second ingredient in any recipe is any of a specific type. This is probably when you will look at them and try to find out which will be the easiest to get and the least you use for other potions.
When it comes to obtaining them I will not list them here, because they are not farmable. Mobs don’t ‘respawn’ in Baldur’s Gate 3, like they do in other games, so ‘farming spots’ are not a thing. The best way to obtain any ingredient and stock up is through vendors.
Vendors
Here are some of the vendors and where to find them. Note that based on your choices not all of the vendors may be available to you. The vendors sell random stock every day (after long rest), so if you want to stock up you can make long rests (without using camp supplies) to refresh their stock. Note that this method may lock you out of quests or progress others, so use it when you have more experience with the game.
Underdark
- Blurg
- Derryth Bonecloak
Baldur’s Gate
- Popper – Location: Circus
- Stylin’s Horst – Location: Alchemy & Potion Shop
- Blurg – Location: Society of Brilliance (The Lodge) near Baldur’s Gate Waypoint
- Derryth Bonecloak – Location: Blonecloak Apothecary near Lower City Central Wall Waypoint
- Helsik – Location: Devil’s Fee
Beginner Tips
Have an alchemical pouch with every single character
This way when you pick up ingredients they will automatically go inside the pouch and not clog your inventory. On top of that, when you want to combine your ingredients, you can simply pick up all the pouches on one character, making it easier to manage. Note that ingredients you buy or give you characters do not go in the bag. (Hopefully they will change this soon).
Don’t sell ingredients
Do not sell any ingredients. They are not worth a lot and you might need them. Once you have a better understanding of what potions you want and need, feel free to ignore this tip.
Use Extract All Ingredients
Get into the habit after a long rest and shopping to extract all ingredients. It keeps your inventory light and compact, ready to brew the potions you need!
Visit your local ingredient NPC
After a long rest the NPC vendors restock. If you are looking for any particular ingredient or want to discover all the recipes as soon as possible.
Use Elixirs after Long Rest
Most elixirs last until Long Rest, so try to remember to use an Elixir after every long rest. Spellcasters can heavily benefit from Arcane Cultivation, while martial classes may want to use Elixir of Viciousness. Find the one that best fits your build and make sure to keep it in stock. But remember – only one elixir can be active at the same time!
Use coatings
If you feel like your damage is not high enough, want to avoid resistances, or it’s a long tough fight, make sure you use a bonus action to coat your active weapon. A well used Arsonist’s Oil or Diluted Oil of Sharpness can be the edge you need.
Conditions
Some potions give you conditions that you might not know what they are. Here is a little cheat-sheet. These are not all the conditions, just some you might find when using potions, grenades, elixirs, and coatings.
| Condtion | Effect |
| Baned | Reduces rolls by 1d4. |
| Befuddled | Affected entity can’t control its actions and wanders around without direction. |
| Blessed | Grants +1d4 to most rolls |
| Blinded | Has Disadvantage on Attack Rolls. Range of attacks and spells reduced by 3m. |
| Encrusted with Frost | Affected entity has Disadvantage on Dexterity Saving Throws. When they are 7 or more turns retaming, the entity must succeed a Constitution Saving Throw or take 1d4 (1~4) Cold damage and become Frozen. On a successful save, iot only takes half damage. Afterward, the frost sloughs away. Removed by Burning. |
| Enwebbed | Cannot move. Attack Rolls against this affected entity have Advantage, while its Attack Rolls have Disadvantage. It also has Disadvantage on Dexterity Saving Throws. |
| Hastened | Creature has an extra action, a +2 bonus to Armour Class, Advantage on Dexterity Saving Throws, and double your movement speed. When the condition ends, become Lethargic. |
| Invisibility | Has advantage on Attack Rolls and imposes Disadvantage on enemy Attack Rolls. |
| Invulnerability | Negates all damage. |
| Lethargic | Skip your turn. |
| Noxious Fumes | Affected entity takes 1d4 (1~4) poison damage each turn. IT must succeed a Constitution Saving Throw or take an additional 2d4 (2~8) poison damage, taking half damage on a success. |
| Paralysed | Skips the turn and causes all attacks made within short range to crit. |
| Resistance | Reduces damage by half to a specific damage type |
| Restrained | Prevents the victim from moving and gives all attackers advantage |
| Poisoned | Suffers Disadvantage on Attack Rolls and Ability Checks. |
| Psionic Weakening | Affected entity has Disadvantage on Constitution, Wisdom and Intelligence Saving Throws. |
| Psionic Enrichment | After using a tadpole power, affected entities against Advantage on attacks for 3 rounds. |
| See Invisible | Invisible creatures must succeed a Dexterity Saving throw or lose their invisibility. |
| Silenced | Prevents the target from casting spells with verbal components (which is most spells) |
| Stunned | Can’t move or take actions, bonus actions, and reactions. |
Mystery Potions
There are some potions are you will find in random places. You can’t craft them and you can’t buy them from your local vendor. All of the effects will be spoiler tagged, so click at your own risk.
| Potion | Effect |
| Karabasan Gift | After 1 turn the effected entity will become paralysed. (Note: Throw. The target must succeed on Consitution saving throw or be Paralyzed for a turn.) |
| Potion of Universal Resistance | Poison Resistance: Resistant to poison damage. Can no longer be Poisoned. Lasts until long rest. |
| Mysterious Elixir | Feigning Death (10 turns). Has sunk into a magical coma deep enough to imitate death. Resistant to all damage except psychic damage, and disease and poison no longer have any effect. Removed when Helped. |
| Broken Promises | Strength is increased by 2 until the next Long Rest. Upon resting Streetlight is indefinitely reduced by 1. |
| Lost Time | Armour class is reduced by 2. Can’t take reactions. Lasts 50 turns. |
| Faltering Will | Disadvantage on Wisdom Saving Throws until long rest. |
| Heart of Stone | Resistant to poison damage until Long rest. |
| Wilted Dreams | Something waits for the creature to sleep. It takes 3-18 Psychic damage during it’s next Long Rest. |
| Insanity’s Kiss | Hostile to all other creatures for the 5 turns. |
| Mother’s Loathing | Gains Bite until next Long Rest. |
| Missing Pets | Illusory spiders run up and down the creature’s body, imposing Disadvantage on Ability Checks and Attack Rolls. |
| Lover’s Avarice | Wisdom is indefinitely reduced by 1. (Note: Until long rest or remove curse) |
Be the first to comment