The alchemy section to the game. I know I may sound useless and daft but I honestly can't wrap my head around it. I've spent a lot of time on the game but not really done much story - wise. Just spoke to the bloody baron and searched ciri's room. Is there a separate tutorial coming up that explains it a little better?
Apologies if this has caused a lot of people here to roll their eyes in bemusement.
Fantastic game though.
You need certain ingredients to certain potions, bombs, and concoctions. You find the ingredients throughout the world or you can buy them from certain herbalists, witches, or mages. I've only crafted a few and I've been doing alright to be honest. My character is around level 11. I really only have been using swallow potion, grapeshot bombs, sameem bombs, and thunderbolt potion. I've not come across an enemy yet that I felt I needed to use an oil for. For werewolves I've been OK using swallow potion while I fight them and my IGNI.
You won't start off with every recipe you have to find these throughout the game. Maybe as I progress further into the game I will need to craft more as I fight bigger enemies.
I started playing the game a week ago and still have a bit of trouble understanding the alchemy and weapons screens. Currently up to lvl 11 and getting more in sync with things, but I too had no idea what to make of the alchemy section of the game.
Don't put the devil in the picture, cause' the religious groups won't wanna see it.
[deleted]
Probably too late, but here are some tips for other noobs or those playing through again and want to make better use of alchemy.
The alchemy screen -- on the left are all the things you have discovered a "recipe" for. The right side shows what ingredients are required and how many of each you have. Green means you have enough of that ingredient, red means you need more of that ingredient. (4/5 means you have 4 of that ingredient and you need 5 to craft the thing you're trying to make)
The first step in making something is to discover the recipe. You can buy these or find these throughout the world as loot.
There are three statuses an item can have -- you have all the ingrediants and can craft, you don't have all the ingrediants and can't craft yet, or you already crafted it. Once you craft something, you have it forever. You never need to craft it again. When you run out, you can take any type of alcohol but beer and it will refill. Meditating refills everything automatically.
There are several type of things to craft:
Mutagens: You use these to give bonuses to attach (red), signs (Blue) or alchemy (Green). There is no yellow mutagen. You use mutagens on the "Character" screen by adding them on the right hand side. The bigger the mutagen, the better the effect. It is best to have three slots the same color as the mutagen when possible. You can craft as many mutagens as you want but you can only "load" 4 at a time.
Bombs: You load a bomb on the inventory screen and select them by pressing the left bumper, selecting them, and throwing them with the right bumper (like the crossbow).
Oils: used to enhance your combat abilities. Different oils are effective against different monsters. The bestiary screen shows the monsters you've discovered what oils are effective against them. When you use an oil on the inventory screen, it is active on your weapon for a short period of time. Oils provide a major advantage against the boss monsters, especially when you're playing quests above your level.
If you need a specific ingredient it is probably better to hit all the herbalists you've discovered rather than randomly searching for it. Unless there is a guide on the internet that shows where everything is.
Hope that helps. I didn't get the hang of it until I was about 1/2 way through the game. I still don't get adrenaline -- I've never had all three bars red.