-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Witcher Enhanced Edition
Alchemy / Recipe list FAQ
Written by: AdVenon
Uploaded: 04/23/2011
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CONTENTS:
1. Purpose of this guide.
2. Intro to abbreviations / layout / etc.
3. Potion recipe list.
4. Mutagenic potion recipe list.
5. Oil recipe list
6. Bomb recipe list.
7. Ingredient locations FAQ.
8. Journal entries FAQ.
9. Hints/tips/miscellanious stuff.
10. Credits.
11. Legal / copyright info.
12. Printer friendly version.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Purpose of this guide.
I suppose the first question anyone writing a guide for this game would be:
"Why write a guide when the game itself comes with its own paperback one, that
explains everything you need to know anyway?"
Well, the answer's pretty simple: It does go over the main story and all the
side-quests in good detail, but it's not all that brilliant when you want
specific gameplay-related information. Alchemy, in particular, is hardly
mentioned at all. That's where this comes in: Not to be a replacement for the
guide you already have, but as a handy little add-on to it. So, without further
ado: here's a little guide to making any and every alchemical item in the
game, exactly the way you want to, and where / how to get all the ingredients
necessary for them.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Introductory bits.
There are 6 main alchemy components in The Witcher, as well as 3 additional
substances that generate extra effects in potions when used properly. For the
sake of brevity, the names of said substances will be shortened to the
following:
Vitriol = Vt
Rebis = Rb
Aether = Ae
Quebirth = Qb
Hydragenum = Hg
Vermillion = Vm
Albedo = -A
Rubedo = -R
Nigredo = -N
These will be combined to describe ingredients with more than one substance in
them. For example: Vitriol+Albedo ingredients will have the tag 'Vt-A' on
them; Quebirth+Nigredo ingredients will be referred to as 'Qb-N', and so on.
You get the idea.
Special substances will be denoted as 'Sp=[name]', with the exact name of each
ingredient in the [name] box (e.g: Sp=[Frightener's Eye] for the Frightener's
Eye special ingredient).
All of the 'lists' are in A-Z format; the FAQs are not (it only made the
layout worse, so wasn't worth it). If you know the name of the alchemy product
you're after (there's a list of them in the game's manual, by the way), simply
hit Ctrl+F while viewing this and type it in. it should come up on hitting the
'enter' button. Same goes for alchemy ingredients, via the abbreviations
listed above, and for monster parts / monsters using their plain English
spellings. Simple as that.
Also, since I'm on the subject of introducing things, here's a little info on
what the point of the 'additional substances' are, for those of you who
haven't yet got the journal entry about them:
If all of the ingredients in a potion have the same additional substance, the
potion will also give one of the following extra effects when drank, depending
on which is the 'dominant' substance (i.e. which substance was additionally
present in all of the normal ingredients).
DOMINANT ALBEDO.
Effect: Reduces the toxicity of both the potion it's in AND all other potions
drank shortly afterward by 20%.
Duration: 1 hour.
Comments: Basically, it allows you to consume roughly 25% as many potions as
normal without maxing out the toxicity bar and killing yourself. It's good to
have at least one Albedo-dominant potion in your collection for those times
when taking lots of potions at once is advisable (read: just before
boss-battles / hard fights etc.). The only downside is its very brief duration.
DOMINANT RUBEDO.
Effect: Accelerates the regeneration of health to about half of what a Swallow
potion does.
Duration: 4 hours.
Comments: Overall, this is my favourite additional benefit. It only works
about half as well as a Swallow potion, but it lasts twice as long, so it
actually balances out quite well, and can be used as a fairly good substitute
should you run out of Swallows. Better yet, the effect can stack with that of
said Swallow potion, making for a very impressive health regeneration rate if
combined.
DOMINANT NIGREDO.
Effect: Increases physical damage done by 20%
Duration: 4 hours.
Comments: Always handy whenever you're out in the wild and expecting enemies,
this simply allows you to kill things easier. Especially useful when you're up
against bosses and the like, because the ability will stack with those of any
other damage-increasing potions / oils / etc. too.
OK, with all that in mind, it's time to make some potions!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Potion recipe list.
These are your everyday potions. They can all have one of the three additional
effects added to them, and can usually be made at any time in the game,
provided you've got a good enough base to make them with.
Bindweed: Ae/Qb/Vm
Effect: Acid resistance increased by 70%.
Duration: 8 hours.
Toxicity: Medium.
Notes: In-and-of-itself, Bindweed isn't the most useful potion in the world.
Its primary use is fending off exploding Bloedzuigers... which is just as
easily accomplished by running away from them before they explode. Still, if
you've got the ingredients spare and haven't yet got the hang of dodging
Bloedzuiger guts, it can save you from a fair bit of damage, so why not?
If I had to choose, I'd make this as a Rubedo-dominant potion. That way, what
damage it doesn't prevent will be restored by the Rubedo, effectively giving
you temporary immunity from acid.
Black Blood: Vt/Vt/Vt/Rb/Ae
Effect: Causes vampires to die from drinking Geralt's blood.
Duration: 8 hours.
Toxicity: High.
Notes: I have never once found a good use for this. The toxicity is simply too
high to use this whenever you encounter vampires, and most of the time said
vampires don't even get the chance to feed on you when you're swinging away at
them with a sword anyway. I think I've seen a vampire feeding on me twice...
maybe. Out of a total of dozens if not hundreds of the damn things being dealt
with through less suicidal measures (read "stop waiting for it to bite you and
stab the hell out of it").
I'd find something better to do with your top-quality potion base if I were
you, to be honest.
Blizzard: Vt/Vt/Rb/Rb
Effect: Dodge and Parry efficiency raised by 50%
Duration: 0.3 hours.
Toxicity: Medium.
Notes: This would be a good potion to use just before boss battles... if it
weren't for the way the visual effect COMPLETELY screws up the camera.
Seriously, it's almost impossible to see what you're doing properly when you
drink this, which does somewhat ruin the whole point of supposedly improved
fighting ability. And then there's the ridiculously brief duration: Just 20
minutes. This effect is so short-lived it often doesn't even last the length
of the fight you used it for, let alone the journey through an entire cave /
dungeon / etc.
Cat: Rb/Qb/Qb
Effect: Grants the ability to see in total darkness.
Duration: 8 hours.
Toxicity: Low.
Notes: Cat is a must. Simple as that. The game's storyline will inevitably
take you into many areas that are completely pitch-dark, and the only real
way of getting through them is with the use of this potion. The only
alternative is to use a torch, which renders your ability to do physical
attacks useless, or through signs / other potions that produce faint amounts
of light in their visual effects (none of which are as good, or last as long,
as the Cat).
De Vries' Extract: Rb/Ae/Qb/Qb/Hg
Effect: Makes hidden / invisible opponents visible.
Duration: 1 hour.
Toxicity: Medium.
Notes: Another useless one. Yes, it makes it possible to spot opponents that
are behind walls and obstacles, but the same thing can be achieved by just
holding down the Alt key and panning the camera around; the monster / enemy
names appear in red, as plainly as what happens when you drink this. There's
also the not-so-small issue of there being a grand total of 0 'invisible'
monsters in the game, making this potion doubly useless. It's only pragmatic
use is if you're in a dark cave and you've ran out of Cats, since the visual
effect can light up dark areas just enough to be able to see what you're
doing in them... assuming the mini-map isn't enough to help you get out of the
place already.
Full Moon: Qb/Hg/Hg/Vm/Vm
Effect: Doubles maximum Vitality.
Duration: 8 hours.
Toxicity: high.
Notes: Now THIS is what I call a decent potion! Anything that automatically
makes you twice as hard to kill is aces in my book. There is one downside
though (apart from its high toxicity): It only doubles the MAX health, and
you'll have to wait a while before your current health fills the extra space
generated by it. Because of this, I'd strongly recommend making a
rubedo-dominant one, along with a Swallow to use at the same time, to speed
the process up. You don't want to know how long you'll be sat doing nothing
for while Geralt regenerates the equivalent of his entire health bar unaided.
Golden Oriole: Vt/Vt/Ae/Ae
Effect: Removes any current Poison effects and increases poison resistance by
70%.
Duration: 8 hours.
Toxicity: Medium.
Notes: Since all Poison does is periodically cause insignificant amounts of
health loss, and since it wears off so quickly on its own, the need to get rid
of it isn't really that high. Certainly not high enough to bother with this,
most of the time. If you're playing the game on Hard mode, it might be a
different matter, but even then for the majority of cases it's not really
worth it unless you're actually about to die from the poison... and you've ran
out of Swallows and White Raffard's Decoctions.
Kiss: Vt/Vt/Vm
Effect: Removes any current Bleeding effects and increases bleeding resistance
by 70%
Duration: 8 hours.
Toxicity: Medium.
Notes: Same as the Golden Oriole, only for Bleeding instead. As such, all the
same reasons why it's an unwise use of toxicity points apply to this too,
since Bleeding is largely the same as Poison (read: short-term, periodical
losses of small amounts of health). I can think of maybe one or two situations
where this might be useful (the fight with Ozzrel comes to mind), but no more
than that.
Legal Info: Na/Na/Na/Na
Effect: Gets idiots banned off of guide-hosting sites.
Duration: Permanent, hopefully.
Toxicity: Hilarious.
Notes: This is here to tell you that the only place this guide should be is on
www.gamefaqs.com, nowhere else. If you find this anywhere else, or under any
usernames besides 'AdVenon', please e-mail me at:
[email protected] reason this fake list entry is here is
simple: It doesn't take a genius to copy-paste a guide and delete / replace
the legal info section, but your average guide-thief rarely bothers reading
beyond that. Hiding a copy of said info in an unrelated section is
surprisingly effective at catching out idiotic plagiarists. >:D
Maribor Forest: Rb/Rb/Ae/Qb
Effect: Raises maximum Endurance by 50%.
Duration: 8 hours.
Toxicity: Medium.
Notes: This can be pretty useful, provided you've not been ignoring your signs
and have spent a few talents making them more powerful. If you're into using
magic in battles, this is a pretty wise choice. If not, however, there are
probably more relevant things to dose yourself up with elsewhere on this list.
Perfume: Vt/Ae/Qb
Effect: Causes Intoxication (Attack -50%). Best used as a gift or sold.
Duration: 8 hours.
Toxicity: Low.
Notes: This can be a replacement for the items most female NPCs ask for, so as
a bartering tool it's pretty good. However, if you've already gotten all the
rewards playing with female NPCs gets you, then it's all but worthless save
for its mediocre selling price of 20 orens. Which, I might add, is less than
what most potion bases cost to buy, so it's not any good for making money with
either.
Petri's Philter: Rb/Rb/Qb/Hg/Vm
Effect: Sign intensity increased by 50%.
Duration: 8 hours.
Toxicity: Very high.
Notes: Finding a place of power, and performing the ritual of magic there,
gives you a sign intensity boost of 100%, and with no toxicity problems either.
Ergo, why would you use this in any place where there are places of power
nearby? Also, I'm having a hard time thinking of areas where said places of
power don't appear AND where magic is actually needed in any great measure.
Unless your fighting style relies almost exclusively on signs, I doubt this'll
ever be worth the toxicity incurred.
Shrike: Rb/Qb/Hg/Vm/Vm
Effect: Causes Pain to creatures that physically attack Geralt.
Duration: 8 hours.
Toxicity: High.
Notes: Personally, I think there are better ways of causing Pain than to clog
up your system with this stuff. Crinfrid Oil, to name but one. And that's
assuming the creatures you're up against are actually vulnerable to Pain,
which quite a few aren't.
Swallow: Vt/Rb/Rb/Ae
Effect: Speeds up health regeneration. By a lot.
Duration: 2 hours.
Toxicity: Medium.
Notes: This potion is useful on so many levels I highly doubt I need bother
explaining why everyone should have a stock of these. Apart from White
Raffard's Decoction, this is the best way to restore health while in a fight.
If only it weren't such a short-lived potion... but then again, having this
last for the usual 8 hours would probably make the game far too easy.
Tawny Owl: Vt/Ae/Ae
Effect: Speeds up Endurance regeneration. By a lot.
Duration: 8 hours.
Toxicity: Medium.
Notes: Another useful one, especially if you use signs a lot in combat. Later
in the game it becomes useful even to those who don't bother with signs at
all, since the special sword attacks Geralt eventually gains consume Endurance
too. As a result, the Tawny Owl improves your ability to tear up your
opponents, be it through signs or sword techiques. Well worth the toxicity, in
my opinion, and given how damn simple to make this is I don't see why having a
stash of them is a bad idea at all.
Thunderbolt: Vt/Rb/Hg/Vm/Vm
Effect: Increases physical damage by 100%, but reduces Parry and Dodge success
rates by 50%.
Duration: 8 hours.
Toxicity: High.
Notes: This is given to you at the start of the game for a reason: It's the
best overall pre-boss fight potion around. The ability to deal twice the
damage you normally do is self-appreciative, and the only real downsides are
quite easy to circumvent. Toxicity too high? Use it immediately after an
Albedo-dominant potion. Don't like the Dodge and Parry skill penalties? Well
frankly you shouldn't be relying on either to get you through tough fights,
but you can nonetheless cancel them out by drinking a Blizzard potion at the
same time... so long as you can stand what it does to the camera.
White Gull: Vt/Vt/Rb
Effect: Causes Intoxication (Attack -50%).
Duration: 8 hours
Toxicity: Medium.
Notes: Despite being useless in themselves, you'll still end up making tons of
these for their ability to be used as top-quality potion bases, effectively
turning bottom-end alcohol into top-end distillate. Keeping a stock of these
handy is a smart idea for when you run into trouble and have to use a potion
or two to save yourself; with them you can replenish your stocks of real
potions without having to buy / find purpose-made distillates.
White Honey: Vt/Rb/Ae
Effect: Clears all toxicity and potion effects.
Duration: Immediate.
Toxicity: None.
Notes: Although the primary use of these is to quickly replace potion effects
and change tactics on-the-fly, they're actually more useful as free tickets to
the effects of additional substances. Since these things have no toxicity, and
can be made to carry dominant additions, you can leave yourself with an
additional effect without having to pay for it in the form of the usual
toxicity points. This is especially useful in the case of making
Albedo-dominant White Honey, which will basically create the perfect
conditions to load Geralt up with other potion effects just before a boss
fight.
White Raffard's Decoction: Vt/Rb/Hg/Hg
Effect: Immediately restores a lot of health.
Duration: Immediate.
Toxicity: High.
Notes: This is the prime candidate for your potion quickslots, IMO. This
potion comes in handy loads of times, and can be made right from the start of
the game too (it's comprised entirely of ingredients obtainable from Barghest
carcasses). They also sell for 40 orens, but personally, I don't think you'd
be wanting to give them away that easily, given how damn useful they are.
Willow: Ae/Ae/Qb
Effect: Grants immunity to the Stun and Knockdown effects.
Duration: 8 hours.
Toxicity: high.
Notes: Unlike the Kiss and Golden Oriole, this status-preventing potion is
actually important to have on a number of occasions, thanks to both the
effects it protects against being much more dangerous than either Poison or
Bleeding. Stun and Knockdown both enable enemies to execute finishing moves on
you, some of which can kill instantly. And if that wasn't reason enough, some
of the end-game bosses can also do it to you too, complete with insta-death
finishing moves. It is worth carrying at least one of these with you at all
times, just in case you run into a monster capable of causing either effect.
Wives' Tears: Rb/Ae/Qb
Effect: Removes Intoxication effect.
Duration: Immediate.
Toxicity: Low.
Notes: Several story points in the game involve Geralt getting completely
plastered with his friends... and some of these drinking sessions are
immediately followed by fights. As a result, it's always a good idea to have
one of these handy, should the unexpected need for combat arise (or if you're
just bored of laughing at Geralt's drunken attempts at walking across the
room).
Wolf: Vt/Vt/Hg/Hg/Vm
Effect: Chance of causing Precise Hit raised by 50%.
Duration: 8 hours.
Toxicity: Medium.
Notes: I'm not sure, but I have a feeling the critical effect Precise Hit can
only be caused by using the Group style during combat. If this is true, then
this potion is only any good in fights where said style is employed. To be
honest however, even if it isn't, relying on critical effects is rarely a wise
move in any but the most rudimentary of fights (when said effects failing to
take hold is of little concern). If you've got the spare toxicity points, and
you know you'll be facing large groups of enemies in the near future, then I
can see the reasoning. For any other situation, however, I'd spend said
toxicity on something else.
Wolverine: Ae/Ae/Qb/Hg/Vm
Effect: Increases Attack and Damage by 50% when Geralt's health drops below
50%.
Duration: 8 hours.
Toxicity: Medium.
Notes: Using toxicity points, top-quality alcohol and a few ingredients to
effectively bet against yourself like this isn't my idea of skillful gameplay.
This potion is only any use when Geralt's health drops below half, meaning
most battles will cause neither need nor use of it at all. Of the remaining
few (namely, with those creatures dangerous enough to cause that kind of
damage), letting yourself get to such a risky state is never smart. Trying to
keep yourself in said state, just for the sake of something a Thunderbolt can
replicate pretty well (what it doesn't give in accuracy, it makes up for in
damage), is even dumber.
Could be useful if you've got a spare Full Moon lying around, though, since
they effectively cause your health to go to 50% without you actually losing
any vitality.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Mutagenic potion recipe list.
These are special potions that can only be made once per game, using the
relevant special ingredients listed. They all have immediate effects and are
not toxic at all, so there's no point in listing duration and toxicity here.
Note that these potions cannot be given additional effects like regular
potions, due to the 'special substance' counting as an ingredient, and
therefore making it impossible to match ALL of the ingredients up with the
same additional substance (none of the special ingredients have additional
substances in them of any kind).
Although, like normal potions, you don't need to buy / find the formula in the
game, you do only get one chance to make each of these, so you'd best not ham
it up! You might want to save your game first before making any of them, just
in case something goes wrong.
Dagon Sap: Rb/Ae/Hg/Vm/Sp=[Dagon Secretions]
Effect: Unlocks the True Grit strength upgrade.
Notes: You can make this potion about 2/3 of the way through chapter 4, after
you fight Dagon.
Frightener's Vision: Vt/Rb/Qb/Sp=[Frightener's Eye]
Effect: Grants 1 Bronze talent when consumed.
Notes: You can make this as soon as you have the 'herbalism' skill and have
knowledge of a few basic plants (or when you have a journal entry about
Ghouls), at the start of chapter 1.
Golem's Pith: Vt/Ae/Qb/Hg/Sp=[Golem's Heart]
Effect: Unlocks the Moonrise intelligence upgrade.
Notes: This becomes available to produce once you defeat the Golem, towards
the end of chapter 2.
Hellhound's Soul: Vt/Rb/Rb/Sp=[Trace of the Beyond]
Effect: Grants 1 Silver talent when consumed.
Notes: Can be made as soon as the Hellhound is defeated, at the end of chapter
1.
Kikimore's Ire: Vt/Qb/Hg/Vm/Sp=[Kikimore Queen's Nerve]
Effect: Unlocks the Mutation stamina upgrade.
Notes: Can be made at the start of chapter 4, after having escaped Vizima with
the special ingredient from the Kikimore Queen.
Koshchey's Core: Ae/Hg/Hg/Sp=[Koshchey's Heart]
Effect: Grants 1 Gold talent when consumed.
Notes: Can be made towards the end of chapter 5, after killing the Koshchey.
Striga's Urge: Vt/Ae/Hg/Sp=[Striga Heart]
Effect: Grants 1 Bronze and 1 Silver talent when consumed.
Notes: Possible to make about halfway through chapter 5, if you decide to kill
the Striga. However, doing so has a few story-related consequences, so choose
wisely before killing her. Do you really need those extra talents that badly?
Werewolf's Wrath: Ae/Qb/Hg/Vm/Sp=[Werewolf Fur]
Effect; Unlocks the Predator dexterity upgrade.
Notes: The option to kill the Werewolf and obtain its fur presents itself about
2/3 of the way into chapter 3. However, killing the Werewolf has several
negative story-related consequences attached to it (more so than what happens
if you kill the Striga). Personally, I don't think it's worth it, but that's
up to you.
Zeugl's Vigor: Rb/Ae/Ae/Sp=[Zeugl Venom]
Effect: Grants 1 Silver and 1 Gold talent when consumed.
Notes: Can be made about halfway through the Epilogue, after the fight with
the Zeugl.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. Oil recipe list.
Oils generally fall into 2 categories: ones for causing critical effects and
ones for causing more damage to specific types of monsters. Unlike potions,
oils have no use for additional substances (making them all match up doesn't
create oils that are any different from the normal versions), so there's no
point wasting ingredients with additional substances on them. All oils in the
game last for 24 hours, so there's also little point in stating the duration
of each individual one in the list.
Note that the effects of oils cannot be stacked; applying an oil to a sword
will overwrite any previous oils / upgrades on that sword (this fact can be
useful if you mess up and put a negative-effect oil all over one of your
weapons: applying any type of weapon upgrade / oil will instantly remove the
deleterious effect and replace it with said upgrade / oil). All of these can
be made as soon as you have the 'Oil Preparation' intelligence skill (costs a
Bronze talent to acquire) and have the required base / ingredients.
Argentia: Rb/Qb/Qb/Hg/Hg
Effect: Increases a silver sword's damage by 60%. Reduces a steel sword's
damage by about 50%.
Notes: This stuff rocks! If you don't know what you're going up against, or if
you know you'll be facing lots of different types of monsters in the near
future, this is your best overall choice for what to put on your silver sword.
Keep a stock of these; they're almost always useful in situations involving
monsters.
Brown Oil: Rb/Ae/Qb/Vm/Vm
Effect: Adds Bleeding to sword attacks.
Notes: Ehh, Bleeding isn't the most dangerous critical effect in the game, so
it's not particularly useful when used on your enemies either. On top of that,
the Strong style often ends up having a pretty good chance of causing Bleeding
on its own, without the help of this oil. If you've already got a store of
Argentia and Crinfrid Oil, I don't see why making this is such a bad idea, but
making it instead of either is a bit silly, IMO.
Crinfrid Oil: Vt/Ae/Hg/Vm/Vm
Effect: Adds Pain to sword attacks.
Notes: As hinted at above, this is in my opinion the best overall
effect-inducing oil. Pain can completely incapacitate enemies and leave them
helpless for a few seconds, giving you ample time to finish them off with
minimal trouble. It makes fights with humanoid creatures in particular a lot
easier: Even if you're hopelessly outnumbered, one swing of the Group style
and the entire mob is suddenly too busy writhing in agony to hurt you. Even
with monsters, Pain can slow most of them down considerably, if not stop them
in their tracks.
Hanged Man's Venom: Vt/Rb/Ae/Hg/Vm
Effect: Adds Poison to sword attacks.
Notes: Same problem as Brown Oil, really. Poison just doesn't do that much to
enemies, and what little it does do is already accomplished in much greater
volumes by the act of swinging a sword at them in the first place. If you've
already got your stocks of more useful oils filled and have a spare
top-quality grease lying around, give it a go; otherwise, spend said grease
on something else.
Insectoid Oil: Rb/Qb/Ae/Vm
Effect: Increases damage done to insects by 100%.
Notes: Especially useful in chapter 3 when all the Kikimores start appearing
everywhere, but its use somewhat wanes after that. However, if you know you'll
be up against insects soon, this is a good thing to have handy nonetheless.
Necrophage Oil: Vt/Vt/Ae
Effect: Increases damage done to necrophages by 100%.
Notes: Since necrophages are everywhere in this game, it's always a good idea
to have some of this in your collection for pretty much every chapter. An
added bonus is that necrophages are very predictable in their locations:
Almost every crypt, graveyard and other dark, corpse-filled place is home to
them. As a result, you're unlikely to waste this oil by applying it at the
wrong time: if an area looks like it'll have necrophages in it, it almost
always does, so go ahead and apply it. It's not like it's hard to make more of
the stuff either, even if you do get it wrong.
Ornithosaur Oil: Vt/Rb/Qb/Hg
Effect: Increases damage done to ornithosaurs by 100%.
Notes: Ornithosaurs are among the ranks of the more annoying monsters, and
they like to show up in fairly large groups in those places where they appear,
so having this handy from chapter 2 onwards is never a bad idea (since that's
when you first encounter wyverns). Later on in the game, ornithosaurs become
rare, and so does the need for this too, but it's useful while it lasts.
Specter Oil: Vt/Ae/Rb
Effect: Increases damage done to specters by 100%.
Notes: Specters, like necrophages, appear in practically every chapter of the
game, so having something that makes them go away quicker is a wise move,
however you want to look at it. Some specters, unlike necrophages, have an
irritating habit of randomly appearing right next to you without any warning,
so applying this oil beforehand is not as easy as it is for most others.
However, just using it whenever a specter pops up and then making a new batch
later isn't difficult, thanks to its simple formula.
Vampire Oil: Vt/Qb/Qb/Hg/Vm
Effect: Increases the damage done to vampires by 100%.
Notes: Vampires are some of the toughest regular enemies in the game, so
investing in some Vampire Oil is especially wise toward the end of the game
(chapters 4 and 5), when they start appearing in significant numbers. You can
usually see them coming a mile off, though, so getting this oil on your sword
in time is pretty easy in comparison to some of the other types of monsters
listed here. The same can be said for predicting where they'll be, too:
basically anywhere you'd expect to find necrophages, in the later chapters of
the game. Ergo, having this oil ready long before you ever even see them isn't
hard to do.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6. Bomb recipe list.
Bombs are mostly used to generate critical effects, so their primary uses are
often limited only to when you come across enemies that can have said effects
used against them. However, they are a good way of causing certain effects
which aren't easily generated by other means, so they're worth the Silver
talent (and all the other Bronze / Silver talents necessary to reach said
talent) needed to make them. Like oils, bombs have no use for additional
substances, so it's better to keep some of the basic ingredients (i.e. those
lacking additional substances) for making these instead of using your potion
ingredients. Bombs all have an immediate effect, and their exact duration is
random to some extent.
Devil's Puffball: Ae/Ae/Hg/Rb
Effect: Poisons all enemies within detonation radius.
Notes: Causing Poison, once again, is not really worth spending powders and
ingredients on. Especially when you consider that, with the same base, you can
make other bombs that cause much more useful and rare effects.
Dragon's Dream: Hg/Hg/Qb/Rb/Vm
Effect: Releases an explosive gas. Use of the Igni sign on this gas causes
considerable damage to everything caught in it.
Notes: This is the only bomb that can do straight-up damage, and also the only
bomb that requires top-quality powder to make. It's worth saving said powder
to make a few of them, even if they're harder to use than the other bombs.
Note that if you don't move far enough away from the gas cloud, it'll hurt you
as well when you set it off. As a result, it's not really designed for
close-range fights, but if you can set it off in advance of an enemy closing
on you it can still prove worthwhile.
King and Queen: Rb/Rb/Ae
Effect: Causes Fear in all emenies within detonation radius.
Notes: For when you just can't be bothered with yet another horde of Ghouls,
this is very handy indeed. Fear causes enemies to hesitate, run off, and
generally not bother you, making it effective as an escape strategy should you
find yourself surrounded. Have some of these in your quickslot, just in case
you need to do an impromptu exit-stage-left.
Samum: Rb/Rb/Ae/Vm
Effect: Stuns all enemies within detonation radius.
Notes: This is my overall favourite bomb... because Stun is my overall
favourite effect out of those caused by said bombs. Stun is like Knockdown in
that it leaves an enemy completely helpless and immobile for a few seconds,
which can be used to execute finishing moves on them, or simply to get away if
you can't be bothered with fighting and they're immune to the Fear effect. I'd
save a quickslot space for this, if I were you.
Zerrikanian Sun: Ae/Hg/Qb/Vm
Effect: Blinds all enemies within detonation radius.
Notes: I like this bomb, simply because it's the only reliable way of blinding
enemies without spending lots of talents on powering up the Yrden sign.
Blinded enemies have their ability to attack removed for a few seconds, which
can leave them open to those skills / spells that take time to pull off... or
simply to another faceful of sword-swings. Up to you, really.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
7. Ingredients FAQ.
OK, so you know what you want and how to make it the way you want it. Now
where are you gonna get the ingredients? If you're only interested in making
potions / oils / bombs for their ordinary effects, then it shouldn't be hard
to find all of the main alchemy components without any help at all. But what
if you want a specific additional effect on any of your potions?
Well, look no further: Here's a list of every ingredient and possible
additional substance in the game, along with explanations of where / when it
becomes available.
NOTE: some of the ingredients that are bought from herbalists / alchemists may
be omitted, or have inaccurate details on when they appear in shops. This is
for the simple reason that there is only ever one time when spending money on
ingredients is advisable: At the start of the game, when Vermillion isn't
found in any monsters or recogniseable plants, it may be bought from Abigail
in the form of Phosphorous. Apart from that, there is always a free
alternative to all of the stuff merchants offer, so they really shouldn't be
relied upon as a means of obtaining anything (Kalkstein wasn't lying when he
said they'll rip you off!). As a result, I didn't pay much attention to what
was in the shops during most chapters, so I can't guarantee when they'll have
what you need (not that it should matter, for reasons stated above).
Vitriol (Vt):
Beast Fangs - Dogs/Wolves/Barghests(/Skullheads) - Ch1-E
White Vinegar - Necrophages(any, except Devourers) - Ch1-5
Shimmering Dust - Noonwraiths - Ch4
Pure Vitriol is easy to get, and is obtainable right from the start of chapter
1. Hell, the very first thing you do in said chapter is fight 4 Barghests, and
they drop Beast Fangs pretty often. Chances are you'll end up with a
lifetime's supply of the stuff before you even get into Vizima itself,
especially since you don't even need any journal entries at all to remove
Beast Fangs from the enemies that drop them.
Oh top of that, necrophages can be found as soon as you get the key to the
crypt in chapter 1 too, but they don't drop White Vinegar as often as
Barghests do Beast Fangs. Even so, you can end up with a large stockpile of
both without really trying, given how abundant the sources for both are.
Noonwraiths, the final source of Vt, are only found in chapter 4, roaming
around in the Fields area during the daytime.
(Note: Skullheads only appear at the very end of the game, past the point of
no return to any campfires, so they are only mentioned for the sake of
completeness and are not intended as a reliable source of... well, anything.)
Vitriol+Albedo (Vt-A):
White Myrtle - Ch1-5
Echinops Rootstock - Echinopsae - Ch2-3(1+5)
Vt-A has a very common source: White Myrtle is an abundant, easily recognised
plant that grows all over Vizima's outskirts, swamps and grassy regions. Since
the game's early story involves you picking 5 of these, you're basically
forced into being able to gather it, and after that your supply of Vt-A is
essentially unlimited.
The other way of obtaining Vt-A is by fighting Echinopsae, however they are
nowhere near as abundant, or as easy to harvest things from, as White Myrtle.
Wherever they appear, so does White Myrtle, and that at least doesn't try to
kill you when you go harvesting it. They mainly appear in chapters 2 and 3, in
the swamp, however a small number of them can also be found in the cave under
the wall in chapter 1, and in the swamp cemetery in chapter 5 (neither of
these groups are big enough to be farmed, and they may not even re-appear at
all once destroyed for the first time).
Vitriol+Rubedo (Vt-R):
Sewant Mushroom - Ch1-5
Calcium Equum - Bought/Found - ChP-5
Archespore Juice - Archespores - Ch3
Bruxa Blood - Bruxae - Ch5
The easiest way of getting Vt-R is via Sewant Mushrooms; those bright green,
impossible-to-miss fungi that appear in caves, crypts, or any other
underground locations. You need a journal entry about them in order to harvest
them, but said entry is available almost as soon as the mushrooms themselves.
Sewants alone should be enough to create a stockpile of Vt-R, but if you find
yourself short of them there are alternatives. Archespores appear in the swamp
in chapter 3 (in the place of some Echinopsae locations), and Bruxae can be
found near the house in the swamp cemetery in chapter 5. There's also a grand
total of one Bruxa available in chapter 4, which appears amongst a group of
Alps during your first encounter with Berengar. However, said Bruxa does not
re-appear once killed.
Vitriol+Nigredo (Vt-N):
Crow's Eye - Ch2-4
Hop Umbels - Bought/Found - Ch??
Ghoul Blood - Ghouls - Ch1-5
Ginatz's Acid - Ghouls/Drowners - Ch1-5
Fun fact: Hop Umbels, despite having a journal entry about them, do not
actually appear anywhere in the game. They might've been available in the old
version of The Witcher, but they're nowhere to be found in the Enhanced
Edition. Odd...
Anyway, the easiest source of Vt-N is Crow's Eye, since all you have to do is
walk up and take it. It grows in all the same places White Myrtle can be
found, throughout chapters 2 to 4 (read: swamp, and later, meadows outside
Murky Waters). The earliest opportunity to get it, however, is from the
carcasses of Ghouls and Drowners (Ghouls drop Ghoul blood almost all the time,
though, while Drowners don't always leave Ginatz's Acid behind). Ghoul-hunting
will give you a large stock of the stuff as soon as you open the crypt in
chapter 1, with Ginat'z acid being available even earlier, albeit not in as
high a volume. Also, Drowners and Ghouls appear in every chapter in the game,
so they're more reliable than Crow's Eye, too.
Rebis (Rb):
Death Dust - Specters(any) - Ch1-4
Cadaverine - Drowners/Devourers/most Necrophages - Ch1-5
Wine Stone - Bought/Found - Ch1-4
Another easy one, which you can acquire huge amounts of without paying any
attention to what you're picking up. Death dust is available right from the
start of the game from Barghests, and Cadaverine is available once you have a
journal entry concerning Drowners. Both are obtainable right at the start of
chpter 1, and cadaverine in particular stays available right through the game,
wherever drowners appear (read: swamps / rivers / bodies of water / etc.).
Rebis+Albedo (Rb-A):
Wing Membrane - Wyverns/Royal Wyverns/Fleders/Garkains - Ch2-5
Rb-A is the single most annoyingly difficult alchemy component to find in any
noteworthy amount. It's only dropped by 4 monsters; said monsters aren't
particularly common; all of them are on the more challenging end of the battle
scale; you need a journal entry on the ingredient for it to be dropped at all;
and to cap it all, once it's unlocked via the journal, the drop rate is lousy
for all of the monsters that have it, too. Avoid trying to make
Albedo-dominant potions that use Rebis whenever possible: hunting for this
stuff is irritating to say the least. The first "opportunity" (and I use the
term VERY loosely) to get Wing Membranes is from the Wyverns that appear in
the north of the swamp in chapter 2. Bring up the map and mouse over the
islands to the north of the Mage's Tower; one will be labeled "Wyvern Island".
That's where the Wyverns are, in both chapters 2 and 3. Later, Wyverns appear
in all the areas of chapter 4 (especially Black Tern Island), along with
Fleders, which appear both just outside and in the crypt by the lakeside. In
chapter 5, Garkains can be found in and around the crypt in the swamp
cemetery... very rarely.
Rebis+Rubedo (Rb-R):
Green Mold - Ch2-3,E
Lunar Shards - Bought/found - Ch1-5
Beast Liver - Dogs/Wolves/Mutants(/Skullheads) - Ch1-E
Rb-R is best obtained through Beast Livers, since dogs and wolves are common
throughout the game, and are replaced in chapter 5 by mutants, which are just
as easy to find towards the end of said chapter. Since Dogs don't even fight
back when you attack them, and since Wolves appear in large groups wherever
they can be found (chapter 2 and 3 = near the druid's grove and in the swamp
cave; chapter 4 = in the field surrounding the inn at Murky Waters),
stockpiling Beast Livers is very quick and easy to do. Once you have the
journal entries for dogs and wolves, that is.
If you want a (slightly) easier way of obtaining Rb-R, then Green Mold is
always available in the sewers during chapters 2 and 3 (as well as the
Epilogue, should you run out during the last few hours of the game). It looks
like a very pale green stain (almost white) on the walls of the sewers (It's
hilighted by holding down the Alt key anyway, so shouldn't take too long to
find). Remember, Green mold is not available for some of the chapters in the
game, whereas Beast Livers are.
Rebis+Nigredo (Rb-N):
Celandine - ChP-3,5
Han - Ch4
Cemetaur Jaw - Cemetaurs - Ch3-5
Stones of Ys - Vodyanoi Priests - Ch4
This one's a complete no-brainer: Celandine is the only sensible choice here.
You are given the journal entry for it in the Prologue (for free, I might
add), and it grows all over every grassy / swampy area from chapter 1 to 4.
During chapter 4 is the only time it becomes rare, but that's where Han comes
in useful. Han can be found all over the Fields area in chapter 4, thereby
providing a ready supply of Rb-N during the one time when Celandine is not
really available. You need a journal entry to harvest Han, but it's fairly
easy to acquire.
Based on the above, I really can't recommend Cemetaur Jaws as a supply of
Rb-N, but if you feel you must, Cemetaurs can be found in all the places
you'd expect: Crypts, graveyards, and wherever there's corpses to be had.
There's a couple mingling in a large crowd of other necrophages in the swamp
in chapter 3, and also a few in the streets in chapter 5, feeding on corpses.
Aether (Ae):
Spores - Echinopsae/Archespores - Ch2-3(1+5)
Cockatrice Feather - Cockatrices - Ch3
Naezan Salts - Alps/Bruxae - Ch3-5
No matter which way you look at it, you'll have to go out of your way to
collect pure Ae ingredients if you want a stock of the stuff. All of the
enemies that drop it are restricted to just a few areas each. Thankfully, when
combined those areas span almost all the game, so there'll usually be at least
one of these on offer. Your first chance to get Ae is from the Echinopsae in
the swamp in chapter 2 (possibly from the 4 or 5 in the cave in chapter 1, but
I don't think they re-appear when killed), followed by Cockatrices in the
swamp cave during chapter 3, and finally from Alps / Bruxae during chapters 4
and 5 (in crypts and the swamp cemetery, respectively).
Aether+Albedo (Ae-A):
Bebercane - Ch1-5
Drowner Brain - Drowners - Ch1-5
Easy, easy, easy. Bebercane is a big, obvious, tree-like plant that grows
practically everywhere (including inside towns and cities, where it's used as
an ornamental plant), and Drowners are just as common. Preference over either
is up to personal choice for this one, since they both appear at the same
time, and both can easily be used to create large stockpiles of Ae-A.
Aether+Rubedo (Ae-R):
Hellebore - Ch1-3,5
Alp Fangs - Alps - Ch3-5
There's really not much choice over what to stock up on here: it's either
Hellebore or Alp Fangs. There's even less choice when you realise Hellebore
is not present in the one chapter Alps are most common in. Ergo, there's
really only one way you can go about getting Ae-R: Stock up on Hellebore
through the first 3 chapters, then either live off said stock or switch to
collecting Alp Fangs in chapter 4, and then take your pick of either in
chapter 5. Hellebore looks almost like a small sunflower, and grows all over
everywhere (including inside towns and in people's gardens), and Alps are
mostly found in the crypt in the Fields in chapter 4.
Aether+Nigredo (Ae-N):
Ginatia - Ch3-5
Allspice Root - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Drowned Dead Tongue - Drowned Dead - Ch2-3,5
Quicksilver Solution - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
The first free way of getting Ae-N is in the form of Drowned Dead Tongues,
from the Drowned Dead which appear all over the swamp in chapter 2. This
source lasts until chapter 4, where your only real choice is to switch to
Ginatia petals instead (Ginatia grows all over the meadows just outside Murky
Waters itself, near the inn). Again, both appear in high enough numbers to
quickly amass a large collection of either, so go nuts.
Quebirth (Qb):
Sulphur - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Abomination Lymph - Vampires(any)/Bloedzuigers/Ghouls/Cemetaurs - Ch1-5
Shadow Dust - Devourers/Nightwraiths - Ch4
By far the most effective way of stocking up on pure Qb is by hunting for
Abomination Lymph. The list of creatures carrying it is so long, and the
occurence of some of them so frequent, that it's practically impossible not to
end up with a fair amount of the stuff just by total accident. Any trip to
either a crypt or a swamp will usually yield some Abomination Lymph, since
that's where the most common carriers of it (read: Ghouls and Bloedzuigers
respectively) can be found.
There's also the possibility of obtaining it from Devourers and Nightwraiths
(in the form of Shadow Dust), both of which appear in the Fields area in
chapter 4, but chances are by then you'll have all the Qb you can use and
then some.
Legal Info (Lg):
Original Host - GameFaqs - ChP-E
Original Author - AdVenon - ChP-E
Original E-mail -
[email protected] - ChP-E
As much as I hate ruining the flow of this FAQ, I just can't resist the
opportunity to make complete fools out of (some of) those who think stealing
guides is clever. Your average guide-thief is an immature moron, you see, and
while they usually know to delete / re-write the legal info section to show
their own name and e-mail, they rarely bother reading all the way through what
they steal. Ergo, putting duplicates of the legal info in a random place like
this makes it obvious when someone has re-written the legal info part and
tried to pass it off as his / her own work. If this guide appears anywhere
besides on the site stated above, you know what to do.
Quebirth+Albedo (Qb-A):
Verbena - Ch2-4
Honeysuckle - Ch2-3,5
Vodyanoi Bladder - Vodyanoi - Ch4
It's primarily the lack of sources that makes Qb-A ingredients so surprisingly
hard to find, since the plants it comes from aren't anywhere near as
ubiquitous as most others. Verbena is found in St. Lebioda's Hospital grounds
in chapters 2 and 3 (as well as a few places in the swamp), and then in
amongst the plants lining the Lakeside in chapter 4. Honeysuckle is found (in
very small amounts) in the cesspools in the cemetery in chapters 2 and 3, and
later in much larger quantities in the swamp cemetery in chapter 5.
Personally, I'd go for Verbena, since it is a bit easier to stock up on in the
early stages of the game.
Vodyanoi can also be used to supplement the supply of Qb-A, and appear mainly
at the water's edge in the Lakeside in chapter 4 (Though they can also be
found in the Fields, in places where the riverbed hasn't dried up completely).
Quebirth+Rubedo (Qb-R):
Balisse - Ch1-4
Fool's Parsely - Ch2-3,5
Optima Mater - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Graveir Bone - Graveirs - Ch2-5
Kikimore Claws - Kikimore Workers - Ch3
Most ingredients leave you with only one real way of collecting them, but not
Qb-R: You're practically spoilt for choice here. Balisse presents you with the
first opportunity to collect it: it's a fairly large, easy to spot plant
(looks a bit like Bebercane, only with orange fruits instead), and it grows
in most grassy areas throughout the first 3 chapters, but it's not as common
as most others are. Still, it serves as a decent source of the stuff until you
get access to the swamp in chapter 2, when Fool's Parsely becomes available in
much larger volumes (it grows everywhere in the swamp). In chapter 3, Kikimore
workers will throw themselves at you in such numbers that you'll probably have
a ton of claws from them anyway, and Graveirs are as predictable as ever in
their locations (crypts / graveyards / cemeteries etc.). Personally, I like
Fool's Parsely best, since you don't have to fight it to harvest it, but meh;
whatever works is cool here, I suppose.
Quebirth+Nigredo (Qb-N):
Ducal Water - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Mandrake Root - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Alghoul Marrow - Alghouls - Ch2-5
Garkain Saliva - Garkains - Ch4-5
Given how damned rare Garkains are, the only real option here is to go hunting
Alghouls (which can be found in any crypt / cemetery from chapter 2 onwards,
when you get the key to the city cemetery). They almost always drop Alghoul
Marrow when killed. There's a grand total of one Garkain in the crypt in the
fields in chapter 4, and another one either just outside or somewhere inside
the Swamp Cemetery's crypt in chapter 5. That's it.
Hydragenum (Hg):
Albar's crystals - Bloedzuigers/Devourers - Ch2-5
Vodyanoi Scales - Vodyanoi - Ch4
Tendons - Vodyanoi(/Skullheads) - Ch4,E
Mutagen - Mutants - Ch5-E
Fifth Essence - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Another no-brainer. Albar's Crystals, in addition to being very easy to find,
also happen to sell for 40 orens each should you find a merchant willing to
buy them. Bloedzuigers are rare in chapter 4, but that simply means you can
switch from hunting them to going after Devourers instead during said chapter.
Bloedzuigers are everywhere in the swamps in chapters 2, 3 and 5, and
Devourers appear at the river outside Murky Waters and in the Fields at night
in chapter 4.
Vodyanoi may drop pure Hg more often in chapter 4, however, so if you're into
the habit of selling your Albar's Crystals you might want to go hunting for </pre><pre id="faqspan-2">
Vodyanoi during chapter 4 and build up a stock of the stuff to keep for oils /
bombs and sell all your Albar's Crystals during that chapter. Either way
works, so it's up to you.
Hydragenum+Albedo (Hg-A):
Wolf's Aloe - Ch2-3,5
Ectoplasm - Specters(any) - Ch1,4-5
Another one where you don't have much choice: In chapters 1 and 4, your only
source is Ectoplasm; in chapters 2 and 3, it's available only from Wolf's
Aloe. Ectoplasm is obtained from Barghests in chapter 1, and all the other
specters in chapters 4 and 5. Wolf's Aloe is a unique plant in that it can
only be found indoors, in people's houses. There's one each in Shani and
Kalkstein's houses in chapters 2 and 3, and another in Triss' house in chapter
3. There are others in random NPC houses, too; just go door-to-door and look
for them, you'll find quite a few if you spend long enough looking.
Hydragenum+Rubedo (Hg-R):
Beggartick - Ch2-3,5
Pituitary Gland - Mutants - Ch5-E
The only other component, besides Rb-A, with only one possible source for most
of the game, but this time it's nowhere near as much of a problem. Beggartick
grows prolifically in the swamps in chapters 2, 3 and 5, and its bright red
blooms make it easy to find, too. Which is just as well, since you're going to
need a large stock of them to last you through chapter 4 when they disappear.
In chapter 5, the only other way of getting Hg-R becomes available, in the
form of Mutants. Since you'll be fighting lots of these as per the story
anyway, obtaining Hg-R from then on shouldn't be a problem (though it's still
worth stocking up on Beggartick, just in case).
Hydragenum+Nigredo (Hg-N):
Ornithosaur Eye - Cockatrices/Basilisks - Ch3-4
Mistletoe - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
This is probably the latest-appearing of all the alchemy components, not
presenting itself until chapter 3 when Cockatrices take over the swamp cave.
Said Cockatrices are the only real source of Ornithosaur Eyes too, since the
Basilisks in chapter 4 don't seem to re-appear once killed. I'd strongly
recommend taking some time out in chapter 3 just to hunt Cockatrices, for
their eyes amongst other things.
Vermillion (Vm):
Toxin - Ornithosaurs(any)/Kikimore Warriors/Giant Centipedes - Ch2-5
Tracheae - Kikimores/Giant Centipedes - Ch3-4
Phosphorous - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Like Qb, Vm is something you'll likely have coming out the wazoo without even
trying. Although initially rare, it becomes available in chapter 2 from the
Wyverns in the swamp, and very abundant in chapter 3 when all the Kikimore
Warriors and Cockatrices start appearing in the swamp and cave respectively.
By the end of Chapter 3, you'll probably have more Toxin than you can readily
use for the rest of the entire game. And even if you don't, Kikimores (both
kinds) also drop Tracheae too, which contains the same component as Toxin. In
short: Hunt Kikimores and Wyverns; get Vm. Lots of Vm.
Vermillion+Albedo (Vm-A):
Bloedzuiger Blood - Bloedzuigers - Ch2-5
Wolfsbane - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Only one way you can really go here: Bloedzuigers. Fortunately, Bloedzuigers
are very common in chapters 2, 3 and 5, and almost always drop Bloedzuiger
blood when killed. It's perfectly possible to collect a lifetime's supply of
the stuff in chapter 2 without even breaking a sweat... just don't let them
get it on you, OK?
Vermillion+Rubedo (Vm-R):
Feainnewedd - Ch2-3
Devourer Teeth - Devourers - Ch4
Pyrite - Ifrits - Ch2-3,5-E
The easiest way of getting Vm-R is via Feainnewedd, a plant that grows in the
swamp (particularly around the nonhuman camp) in chapters 2 and 3. After that,
supplies of it peter out somewhat, so it's best to spend a while stockpiling
it. Feainnewedd itself looks like a wide, very flat disc of pale-green leaves
with small pink flowers on it (were it not for the flowers, it'd more closely
resemble a fungus than a plant). It's a bit harder to spot than your average
swamp plant, but as always the Alt key is your free ticket to having them
pointed out for you if you can't find them.
Devourers, the only other reliable source of Vm-R, are found wandering by the
river near Murky Waters, and in the Fields area, at night in chapter 4.
Vermillion+Nigredo (Vm-N):
Bryonia - Ch4
Ergot Seeds - Bought/Found - Ch??
Venom Glands - Ornithosaurs(any)/Giant Centipedes/Kikimore Warriors - Ch2-5
Every enemy that drops Toxin also drops Venom Glands. As a result, amassing
huge piles of Vm-N is just as easy as it is with ordinary Vm. Follow exactly
the same guidelines for obtaining Toxin, and you'll end up with more Vm-N than
you can shake an overfilled alchemy sack at.
There's also the added possibility of harvesting Bryonia in chapter 4, but
there are Wyverns present in all the areas of chapter 4 too, as well as Giant
Centipedes, so there's no real need to think about replacing the former for
the latter, unless you've somehow already ran out of Venom Glands and don't
feel like fighting Wyverns for more.
(Note: Ergot Seeds, like Hop Umbels, don't actually exist in the game. Dunno
where they went or why they're gone, but meh; they're not here, period.)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Journal entries FAQ.
Right, so you know what you want to make, how to make it and where to get
everything necessary to make as many of them as you want. However, there's one
final thing standing between you and complete freedom to do whatever the hell
you like with your alchemy stash: The journal. Almost all of the above
ingredients can't be harvested at all until you have a journal entry about the
monster you want to obtain said ingredients from.
How do you get Journal entries? Mostly from either books, or from NPCs in
exchange for an item (usually food). I prefer books since remembering all the
exact locations of NPCs who give you them is a pain to do, and you only get
one entry per item as opposed to several at once in most books.
Most books will give you a list of all the monsters they cover when you mouse
over them in the store screen, but here's a comprehensive list of what book
covers which monster, and where / when you can find said book. I'll include
NPC-related journal entries if and when possible, but I don't know all of them.
If you're having trouble finding the money to pay for all these books, I
recommend checking out the hints / tips section for some ways to make a lot of
money early in the game.
BOOKS DESCRIBING PLANTS:
Field Plants.
Describes: Balisse, Bebercane, Celandine, Crow's Eye, Hellebore, Sewant
Mushrooms and White Myrtle.
Location: Buy from either the Viziman herbalist, the Antiquary, or from
Abigail, in chapter 1 for 200 orens.
Swamp Plants.
Describes: Fool's Parsely, Beggartick and Celandine.
Location: It can sometimes be found for free in a trunk near the collapsed
tower in the swamp, but if not it can be bought from either the Antiquary in
chapter 2 (Dwarven guy outside Shani's house), or from the Bookseller in
chapter 3 (where all the other merchants are). Each charges 400 orens for this
book.
Plants of Barren Lands
Describes: Bryonia, Ginatia, Honeysuckle, Verbena and Wolf's Aloe.
Location: Bought from the same Bookseller who has the Swamp Plants book in
chapter 3, and also from the Hermit in the Fields in chapter 4, for 600 orens.
It's also possible to get this book for free as a reward for completing one of
the side-quests in chapter 4, too (side with the Blacksmith's wife in
'Temptation', and she'll give it to you when you complete the quest).
Feainnewedd.
Describes: Feainnewedd, Feainnewedd and Feainnewedd. Also Feainnewedd.
Location: Sold by the antiquary outside Shani's house, and the Elder Druid in
the Druid's grove, in chapter 2 for 300 orens. As dumb as it is to shell out
300 orens just for one lousy journal entry, this is the only way to get the
Feainnewedd entry, so meh.
Subterranian Plants.
Describes: Green Mold and Sewant Mushrooms.
Location: Bought from the Antiquary (inside the inn) or Viziman Herbalist
(outside the inn) in chapter 1, or from either the Dwarven Antiquary or
Herbalist outside Shani's house in chapter 2. Also available from the
Bookseller in the Trade Quarter in chapter 3. Whoever you buy it from, it
costs 300 orens.
Ritual Plants.
Describes: Allspice Root, Ergot Seeds, Han, Hop Umbels, Mandrake Root,
Mistletoe and Wolfsbane.
Location: The Dwarven Antiquary and Elder Druid have it in chapter 2; the
Bookseller also has it in chapter 3. It costs 400 orens.
The Druid's Herbarium.
Describes: Allspice Root, Ginatia, Hellebore, Mistletoe, Verbena and Wolf's
Aloe.
Location: I really do have to advise against buying this one, because all of
the journal entries it gives can already be found in other books, most of
which appear earlier in the game for a lower price. If you feel the need to
get it anyway, the Elder Druid sells it, as does the Bookseller in the Trade
Quarter, in chapters 2 and 3 repectively. It costs 600 orens.
BOOKS DESCRIBING MONSTERS:
The Book of Animals.
Describes: Dogs and Wolves.
Location: Abigail and the Antiquary have it in chapter 1, the Dwarven
Antiquary outside Shani's house has it in chapter 2. It costs 100 orens.
Barghests.
Describes: Hmmm... I wonder... Barghests maybe? ...Nah.
Location: Abigail and the Antiquary in chapter 1 sell this. It costs just 50
orens, but you can get the journal entry for free by spending a Bronze talent
on the 'Monster Lore' upgrade instead.
Swamp Monsters.
Describes: Drowners, Drowned Dead and Bloedzuigers.
Location: The Antiquary and Abigail sell this in chapter 1, and the Dwarven
Antiquary also sells it in chapter 2. It may also be possible to find this
book for free, since it may appear in one of the huts in the outskirts. If it
doesn't, it costs 200 orens to buy from either merchant.
The Tome of Fear and Loathing, Volume I
Describes: Ghouls and Graveirs.
Location: The antiquaries in both chapters 1 and 2 sell this book, however
it's not an advised purchase since you can get both journal entries by
spending a Bronze talent on the 'Monster Lore' upgrade instead, for free. If
you value your talents more than money, however, the 250 oren asking price
should trouble you less.
Curses and the Cursed.
Describes: Echinopsae, Archespores, Strigas and Werewolves.
Location: The Dwarven Antiquary in chapter 2 sells it for 500 orens, however
talking to the inkeeper in chapter 3 can result in him giving it to you for
less than half that. It can also be found for free in the Salamandra base at
the end of chapter 3, in a trunk in the main hall. Both of the latter options
do necessitate going an entire chapter without the ability to harvest some
things from Echinops carcasses, though.
The Tome of Fear and Loathing, Volume II
Describes: Alghouls, Cemetaurs and Devourers.
Location: The Dwarven Antiquary and Kalkstein in chapter 2 both sell it for
500 orens, and the Bookseller also sells it in chapter 3 for the same amount.
Ornithosaurs.
Describes: Wyverns, Royal Wyverns, Cockatrices and Basilisks.
Location: The Dwarven Antiquary and Kalkstein both sell this in chapter 2 for
400 orens, as does the Bookseller in chapter 3.
Vampires: Facts and Myths.
Describes: Alps, Bruxae, Fleders and Garkains.
Location: The Bookseller in the Trade Quarter sells it in chapter 3, and later
the Hermit in the Fields has it in chapter 4, for 600 orens each.
A Description of the Vodyanoi or the Fishpeople.
Describes: Dagon, Vodyanoi Priests and Vodyanoi Warriors.
Location: The Bookseller in chapter 3 sells it for 600 orens.
The Wonderful World of Insectoids.
Describes: Giant Centipedes, the Kikimore Queen, Kikimore Warriors and
Kikimore Workers.
Location: The bookseller in chapter 3, and the Hermit in chapter 4, both sell
this for 600 orens.
The Last Wish.
Describes: Ifrits.
Location: The Bookseller and the Hermit sell it in chapters 3 and 4
respectively, for 800 orens. Can also be found for free in the Striga's
sarcophagus room, in chapter 5.
Note: Geralt can also obtain this entry by talking to the nurses in chapter 5
and giving them what they ask for.
The Double Cross of Alzur.
Describes: Skullheads, the Frightener and Koshchey.
Location: Sold by Julian in chapter 4 for 200 orens, but can be found for free
in Kalkstein's laboratory in chapter 5.
Experiment Notes.
Describes: Armored Hounds, Mutants and Greater Mutants.
Location: Found on De Wett in chapter 5.
Physiologus.
Describes: Cemetaurs, Garkains, Golems, Royal Wyverns, Skullheads, Vodyanoi
Priests, Werewolves, Witchers (yes, Witchers), Wolves, Wraiths and Zeugls.
Location: One of the townsmen in the Trade Quarter may hand you this book for
free in chapter 3. His exact location isn't fixed, though. He's supposed to be
around John Natalis Square, but he has a habit of wandering off into nearby
areas. Still, if you find him he can save you a lot of money on journal
entries, so it's worth looking for.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9. Hints / tips / miscellanious stuff.
This is a random pile of things that, while not having much to do with
alchemy, are useful / interesting to know nonetheless.
-The "infinite" money trick.
You can do this as long as you've started the Dice Poker sidequest and
completed the 'Novice' stage. The trick itself is available not long after
starting chapter 2, when you first meet Thaler. If you've got yourself
recognised as a professional dice player, Thaler will have no problem playing
you.
Most of the time, if you play poker with the same character repeatedly,
they'll eventually run out of orens and the option to play more will be
disabled. Thaler, on the other hand, never seems to run out of money no matter
how many times you play him. As a result, dice poker with Thaler + blatant
abuse of the save / load buttons = as much money as you can be bothered to
win. If there is a limit, I never found it, and I'd made something like 3000
orens off of him before getting bored.
Besides getting all the money you need for books relating to alchemy, this is
also useful for being able to afford the Excellent Leather Jacket (the single
most expensive thing in the whole game) in chapter 2.
But what if you want a lot of money before chapter 2? Well, the total sums you
can win from the dice players in chapter 1 combined add up to a fair amount
(again, blatant abuse of the save / load buttons is the key to getting it
all), and when they run out, you can always go hunting Drowners. If you have
the journal entry about them, you can harvest Ginatz's Acid from them, which
sells for 15 orens each. The ones by the river respawn at midnight, so you can
run around and kill them all, fetch the acids they drop, go to a fireplace,
hit the 'meditate til midnight' button, then get up and kill them all again in
the space of less than 5 minutes. Keep doing this (Kill, meditate, kill,
meditate etc.) until you have all the acid you can carry, then go to Abigail
and sell it all (a full pouch of them can get you 750 orens).
-Power-levelling.
The mechanics of this game are not at all suited to power-levelling, but there
is one place where you can do it and gain levels quickly. That place is in
chapter 3, in the swamp cave. The Cockatrices in there will give you somewhere
around 700XP each, and there's usually 7 or 8 of them each time they respawn.
They, like everything else in the swamp, respawn at midnight, so by using the
fireplace just outside the cave you can effectively cause them to respawn as
many times as you like. After killing them all, go to the fireplace, hit
'meditate til midnight', and once you wake up you can go back to the cave and
there'll be a new group of Cockatrices there. The entire cave-ful of them gets
you somewhere between 4000 and 5000 XP each time you go through it, and you
can make them respawn as many times as you like through use of the 'meditate
til midnight' button. Just be prepared to get mobbed by all the other things
that spawn right next to said fireplace at midnight too!
(There may be other power-levelling places in the game, but this is by far the
most effective one I've found to date.)
-Making Fisstech.
Yes, you can actually make Fisstech. Why you'd want to, I've no idea, since it
consumes top-end alcohol and only sells for 20 orens each (meaning you'll be
making no money at all from it at best), but if you just want to make some for
a (not so) cheap laugh, here's the formula:
Qb/Hg/Hg/Hg/Vm.
I don't know if this stuff can have dominant substance effects put on it,
since I've never tried making it, but if you want to have some fun
experimenting with drugs, be my guest. And don't say the manual's description
of what Fisstech does didn't warn you!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Q&A
If you ask about something particularly relevant, I might put your question
here for everyone to read. Especially good questions will get you a mention
in the credits, should you want one.
Q: Where is / How do I [insert something not related to alchemy]?
A: Check the Wiki site I put in the credits, or the guide the game comes with.
This is only supposed to cover the topic of alchemy, not the whole game.
Q: You missed a monster / ingredient / book / etc!
A: First of all, make sure I actually did miss something, and you're not just
being stupid and misspelling it in the Ctrl+F box. I've proofread this thing
at least a dozen times by now, and I'm fairly sure I've gotten rid of all the
spelling errors on my end. If I really have missed something, feel free to
tell me via the e-mail listed in the credits. Be specific about what I missed,
and if I can confirm your info I'll fix it.
Q: Can I suggest something for the hints / tips section?
A: Sure, knock yourself out. If you think you've got something that would fit
with this guide (or if it's just plain awesome / funny to do), by all means
tell me about it. I'll try it myself, and if it works it'll go in with what's
already there, and you get a mention in the credits. :)
Q: What about the Potion for Triss?
A: It's not a real potion (as you can't drink it yourself), and the game
spends half an entire chapter spelling out how to make it. If you still can't
figure out what to do here, then the problem is more deeply rooted than what
some text on the internet can solve.
Q: I'm confused about [insert explanation here].
A: If you don't understand anything here, ask me via the e-mail and I'll try
to put it in simpler terms. If it turns out you're not just being dense, or if
several people raise the same concern over any part of this, I'll edit it to
be less confusing wherever possible. No, I'm not re-writing the entire thing
just because you can't get to grips with the abbreviations, but small changes
here and there shouldn't be a problem.
Q: NO ASCII ART!??!? F$^& YOU!!!
A: Dear obvious 12 year old,
I will (temporarily) ignore the fact that you should not be playing this game
at your age, let alone yelling obscenities at people over the internet because
of it, and instead direct you to the fact that this is a guide, not a
doodle-pad. The point is to convey informaton regarding a videogame, not to
see how well I can creatively waste GameFaqs' server space with pointless
headers and drawing little boxes around everything. If your attention span
does not allow you to read anything devoid of either, then this guide is not
for you. Now give your big brother his game back already!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
10. Credits.
All credit for writing this guide goes to... me. :P
All comments, questions, complaints, death-threats, marriage proposals and
pyramid-scheme offers concerning the content of this guide should be sent to
'
[email protected]' (<=Yes, that is my real e-mail address,
shut up). Please type coherently, and make sure I've not already answered your
question here, if asking about something. Imbeciles, 1337speakers, spam-bots
and obvious little kids will be ignored.
Oh, also this site gets a mention for filling in the things I couldn't
remember through my own completion of the game (mostly book locations, and one
or two ingredient compositions):
http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Witcher_Wiki
Whatever's not in here, will almost certainly be in there. Visit it; you won't
be disappointed.
I suppose I should thank www.gamefaqs.com (the only place this guide should be
found on, by the way) for giving people a place to share guides like this too.
Without this place, a lot of people would by very, very stuck on their games.
Me most certainly included.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
11. Legal / copyright info.
Copyright (c) 2011 AdVenon
The only place this should appear is on www.gamefaqs.com, under the username
AdVenon. Don't steal this guide. That clear enough for ya?
..OK, I personally couldn't care less where this ends up, but I know for a
fact that most guide-hosting sites do. If they find someone to be uploading
guides they didn't make, it usually results in the offending account being
deleted, and possibly IP-banned for copyright infringement. So don't do it. Or
at the very least, don't get caught.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12. Printer friendly version.
Want to print this out? Here's a simple, no-nonsense list of all the recipes,
as well as a brief description of where the ingredients are.
NOTE: The chapter locations are approximate. Not every monster/ingredient in
each entry will be available for all the chapters listed next to it; it only
serves as a general reminder that, at any given chapter, at least one of the
ingredients mentioned is available. Check the full FAQ above to find out
exactly which one appears when.
POTIONS:
Bindweed: Ae/Qb/Vm
Black Blood: Vt/Vt/Vt/Rb/Ae
Blizzard: Vt/Vt/Rb/Rb
Cat: Rb/Qb/Qb
De Vries' Extract: Rb/Ae/Qb/Qb/Hg
Full Moon: Qb/Hg/Hg/Vm/Vm
Golden Oriole: Vt/Vt/Ae/Ae
Kiss: Vt/Vt/Vm
Maribor Forest: Rb/Rb/Ae/Qb
Perfume: Vt/Ae/Qb
Petri's Philter: Rb/Rb/Qb/Hg/Vm
Shrike: Rb/Qb/Hg/Vm/Vm
Swallow: Vt/Rb/Rb/Ae
Tawny Owl: Vt/Ae/Ae
Thunderbolt: Vt/Rb/Hg/Vm/Vm
White Gull: Vt/Vt/Rb
White Honey: Vt/Rb/Ae
White Raffard's Decoction: Vt/Rb/Hg/Hg
Willow: Ae/Ae/Qb
Wives' Tears: Rb/Ae/Qb
Wolf: Vt/Vt/Hg/Hg/Vm
Wolverine: Ae/Ae/Qb/Hg/Vm
MUTAGENS:
Dagon Sap: Rb/Ae/Hg/Vm/Sp=[Dagon Secretions]
Frightener's Vision: Vt/Rb/Qb/Sp=[Frightener's Eye]
Golem's Pith: Vt/Ae/Qb/Hg/Sp=[Golem's Heart]
Hellhound's Soul: Vt/Rb/Rb/Sp=[Trace of the Beyond]
Kikimore's Ire: Vt/Qb/Hg/Vm/Sp=[Kikimore Queen's Nerve]
Koshchey's Core: Ae/Hg/Hg/Sp=[Koshchey's Heart]
Striga's Urge: Vt/Ae/Hg/Sp=[Striga Heart]
Werewolf's Wrath: Ae/Qb/Hg/Vm/Sp=[Werewolf Fur]
Zeugl's Vigor: Rb/Ae/Ae/Sp=[Zeugl Venom]
OILS:
Necrophage Oil: Vt/Vt/Ae
Specter Oil: Vt/Ae/Rb
Insectoid Oil: Rb/Qb/Ae/Vm
Ornithosaur Oil: Vt/Rb/Qb/Hg
Vampire Oil: Vt/Qb/Qb/Hg/Vm
Crinfrid Oil: Vt/Ae/Hg/Vm/Vm
Brown Oil: Rb/Ae/Qb/Vm/Vm
Hanged Man's Venom: Vt/Rb/Ae/Hg/Vm
Argentia: Rb/Qb/Qb/Hg/Hg
BOMBS:
King and Queen: Rb/Rb/Ae
Samum: Rb/Rb/Ae/Vm
Zerrikanian Sun: Ae/Hg/Qb/Vm
Devil's Puffball: Ae/Ae/Hg/Rb
Dragon's Dream: Hg/Hg/Qb/Rb/Vm
INGREDIENTS:
Vt:
Beast Fangs - Dogs/Wolves/Barghests(/Skullheads) - Ch1-E
White Vinegar - Necrophages(any) - Ch1-5
Shimmering Dust - Noonwraiths - Ch4
Vt-A:
White Myrtle - Ch1-5
Echinops Rootstock - Echinopsae - Ch2-3(1+5)
Vt-R:
Sewant Mushroom - Ch1-5
Calcium Equum - Bought/Found - ChP-5
Archespore Juice - Archespores - Ch3
Bruxa Blood - Bruxae - Ch5
Vt-N:
Crow's Eye - Ch2-4
Hop Umbels - Bought/Found - Ch??
Ghoul Blood - Ghouls - Ch1-5
Ginatz's Acid - Ghouls/Drowners - Ch1-5
Rb:
Death Dust - Specters(any) - Ch1-4
Cadaverine - Drowners/Devourers/most Necrophages - Ch1-5
Wine Stone - Bought/Found - Ch1-4
Rb-A:
Wing Membrane - Wyverns/Royal Wyverns/Fleders/Garkains - Ch2-5
Rb-R:
Green Mold - Ch2-3,5
Lunar Shards - Bought/found - Ch1-5
Beast Liver - Dogs/Wolves/Mutants(/Skullheads) - Ch1-E
Rb-N:
Celandine - Ch1-3,5
Han - Ch4
Cemetaur Jaw - Cemetaurs - Ch3-5
Stones of Ys - Vodyanoi Priests - Ch4
Ae:
Spores - Echinopsae/Archespores - Ch2-3(1+5)
Cockatrice Feather - Cockatrices - Ch3
Naezan Salts - Alps/Bruxae - Ch3-5
Ae-A:
Bebercane - Ch1-5
Drowner Brain - Drowners - Ch1-5
Ae-R:
Hellebore - Ch1-3,5
Alp Fangs - Alps - Ch3-5
Ae-N:
Ginatia - Ch3-5
Allspice Root - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Drowned Dead Tongue - Drowned Dead - Ch2-3,5
Quicksilver Solution - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Qb:
Sulphur - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Abomination Lymph - Vampires(any)/Bloedzuigers/Ghouls/Cemetaurs - Ch1-5
Shadow Dust - Devourers/Nightwraiths - Ch4
Qb-A:
Verbena - Ch2-4
Honeysuckle - Ch2-3,5
Vodyanoi Bladder - Vodyanoi - Ch4
Qb-R:
Balisse - Ch1-4
Fool's Parsely - Ch2-3,5
Optima Mater - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Graveir Bone - Graveirs - Ch2-5
Kikimore Claws - Kikimore Workers - Ch3
Qb-N:
Ducal Water - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Mandrake Root - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Alghoul Marrow - Alghouls - Ch2-5
Garkain Saliva - Garkains - Ch4-5
Hg:
Albar's crystals - Bloedzuigers/Devourers - Ch2-5
Vodyanoi Scales - Vodyanoi - Ch4
Tendons - Vodyanoi(/Skullheads) - Ch4,E
Mutagen - Armored Hounds/Mutants - Ch5-E
Hg-A:
Wolf's Aloe - Ch2-3,5
Ectoplasm - Specters(any) - Ch1,4-5
Hg-R:
Beggartick - Ch2-3,5
Hg-N:
Ornithosaur Eye - Cockatrices/Basilisks - Ch3-4
Mistletoe - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Vm:
Toxin - Ornithosaurs(any)/Kikimores/Giant Centipedes - Ch2-5
Tracheae - Kikimores/Giant Centipedes - Ch3-4
Phosphorous - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Vm-A:
Bloedzuiger Blood - Bloedzuigers - Ch2-5
Wolfsbane - Bought/Found - Ch1-5
Vm-R:
Faeinnewedd - Ch2-3
Devourer Teeth - Devourers - Ch4
Pyrite - Ifrits - Ch2-3,5-E
Pituitary Gland - Mutants - Ch5-E
Vm-N:
Bryonia - Ch4
Ergot Seeds - Bought/Found - Ch??
Venom Glands - Ornithosaurs(any)/Giant Centipedes/Kikimore Warriors - Ch2-5
