Leveling up alchemy is not a very difficult task. It might take a while the first time because you have to farm ingredients (or buy them in the guild stores) and figure out how to do it, which will be shown in this guide. However, once you understand the concept of leveling alchemy, it will take no more than 5-15 minutes if you already have all the necessary materials.
Inspiration
Inspiration is the experience you gain to level up all crafting skill lines in ESO. There are only a few ways to increase your actual inspiration experience.
- 10% "Inspiration Boost" from the ESO Plus Membership
- 30% “Inspiration Boost” Champion Point perk, acquired by spending 45 Points.
ESO Plus Inspiration Boost
ESO Plus is the subscription that Elder Scrolls Online offers. There are a lot of benefits to it, one of which is the 10% Inspiration boost that you get.
Champion Points Inspiration Boost
What about other Experience Boosters?
Experience boosters such as Ambrosia Drinks or Experience Scrolls don't have any effect on the inspiration experience gained.
Leveling Alchemy
Leveling up alchemy follows the same process as most crafting skill lines. You have to actually craft potions or poisons to advance your level. However, there are a few things you should be aware of. Otherwise you might waste materials.
Reagents
Always use reagents that are cheap or aren't used in any important combination for potions or poisons. That way you ensure you aren't wasting ingredients that you might be able to sell later or use to craft potions that you need.
You can decide for yourself whether you want to farm the ingredients or buy them in the store. As a new player, farming the ingredients will be the better option as you can use the gold for something else. I always recommend picking up plants that you see in the world.
You will need about 520 plants in total to get Alchemy Crafting from level 1 to level 50, without the Inspiration experience boost.
Solvents
The same principle applies the solvents (water/oil) that you need to craft potions or poisons with. Always pick up solvents in the world if you see any. Here you can see the amount of solvents needed to level up alchemy without any experience boost. If you actually have the extra 30% Inspiration boost that I mentioned above, you will need even fewer.You could also use oils to create poisons to level up.
- 22 Natural Water (Level 1-10)
- 43 Pristine Water (Level 10-20)
- 48 Cleansed Water (Level 20-30)
- 60 Filtered Water (Level 30-40)
- 66 Purified Water (Level Champion Points 10)
- 20 Cloud Mist (Level Champion Points 50)
- 0 Star Dew
- 0 Lorkhan’s Tears
How many Reagents per Potion?
To level up alchemy you just need two reagents (two plants). Yes, you could use three plants in the combination but it won't give you any extra Inspiration experience. Therefore, you would just be wasting reagents.
Which Passives Matter?
The only passive that you have to worry about to level up Alchemy Crafting is the passive called [Solvent: Proficiency]. This will allow you to increase the potion level so you can craft more powerful potions and gain more Inspiration experience per potion crafted.
Leveling Example
In this example (picture) I use Natural Water in combination with the plants White Cap and Wormwood, which I have plenty of. I can use the same plants for the whole leveling process. The only thing that has to be changed while leveling up is the solvent in order to increase the potion level and therefore the experience gained.
Leveling Steps
1. Get all the solvents that are listed above.
2. Get two reagents (plants) to craft a potion (in my example White Cap + Wormwood)
3. Craft potions until you can level up the passive [Solvent: Proficiency] in the Alchemy Crafting skill tree to be able to craft the next potion level.
4. Repeat the process until you reach the max level.
Conclusion
The leveling process of the Alchemy Crafting skill line doesn't really take long if you have the required materials. As a new player the hardest thing for you is to actually obtain the required materials. A veteran player will most likely have the materials and be able to immediately start crafting and be done in 5-15 minutes. Leveling up the skill line might be difficult the first time, but once you have done it, the next time will be a piece of cake!It is usually recommended to keep reagents (plants) instead of selling them. You never know when you need to craft potions or poisons or when you want to level up Alchemy Crafting on another character.
