BG3 Alchemy & Crafting Guide: How to Make Potions, Elixirs & Coatings

How Alchemy and Crafting Work

Baldur’s Gate 3’s alchemy system lets you turn the plants, mushrooms, monster parts, and minerals you find throughout the world into consumable items. Unlike many RPG crafting systems, BG3’s alchemy requires no workbench, no crafting station, and no skill investment — you can craft anywhere, any time, as long as you have the ingredients.

Open the Alchemy menu by pressing H on PC or selecting it from the character sheet radial on console. The interface has two main functions: Extraction and Crafting.

Extraction converts raw ingredients into reagents. Every alchemical ingredient you find (like Mugwort, Belladonna, or Hyena Ear) must be extracted before it can be used. Each raw ingredient extracts into one specific type of reagent, and some rare ingredients produce multiple reagents. Right-click an ingredient in your inventory and select “Extract” to process it, or use the Extract All button in the alchemy menu to process everything at once.

Crafting takes three of the same type of reagent and combines them into a finished product. For example, three Sublimate of Balsam reagents craft into one Potion of Healing. Three Ashes of Balsam craft into one Smokepowder Bomb. The recipe determines the output, and recipes unlock automatically the moment you collect your first sample of the relevant ingredient.

The Most Useful Potions and Their Ingredients

Potion of Healing: Requires three Sublimate of Balsam (extracted from Balsam, though the game also provides these sub-reagents directly from many early-game herbs). Healing potions are the most important craftable in the game — always craft these before buying them, as vendors sell them at a markup.

Potion of Speed: Requires three Sublimate of Hyena Ear (extracted from Hyena Ears, which drop from hyenas and gnolls). Haste is one of the best buffs in BG3, giving an extra action per turn for three rounds. Having a stock of these potions changes how you approach boss fights.

Elixir of Bloodlust: Requires three Ashes of Worg Fang (extracted from Worg Fangs, dropped by worgs). Grants an extra action once per turn when you kill an enemy. Extremely powerful on martial characters, especially Fighters with Action Surge.

Elixir of Hill Giant Strength: Requires three Sublimates of Hill Giant Finger (extracted from Hill Giant Fingers, sold by Auntie Ethel in the Emerald Grove and the Myconid Colony in the Underdark). Sets your Strength to 21 until your next long rest. This lets any character use heavy weapons effectively and dramatically improves carry capacity.

Elixir of Vigilance: Requires three Sublimate of Hook (extracted from Hooks). Grants a +5 bonus to Initiative and immunity to being Surprised. Excellent for characters who need to go first, like control wizards and assassins.

Oil of Combustion: Requires three Sublimate of Avernus Cinder (extracted from Avernus Ashes). Coats a weapon to make targets vulnerable to fire damage. Pair this with a Fireball or Scorching Ray for devastating combos.

Where to Find Rare Ingredients

The best source of rare alchemy ingredients is vendors. Auntie Ethel in the Emerald Grove sells Hill Giant Fingers and Cloud Giant Fingers in limited quantities — her stock refreshes each time you level up or long rest. The Myconid Colony vendor Derryth Bonecloak also sells rare ingredients. In Act 2, Quartermaster Talli at Last Light Inn frequently has Worg Fangs and other uncommon reagents. In Act 3, the Bonecloak’s Apothecary in the Lower City (run by Derryth if she survives) is the premier source of alchemy ingredients.

The Underdark is the richest region for wild alchemy ingredients. The Bibberbang fields near the Myconid Colony, the fungal groves around the Sussur Tree, and the abandoned duergar camps all contain dense clusters of harvestable plants and mushrooms.

Quick Tips

• Extract all ingredients immediately upon looting them — extracted reagents stack and weigh less.
• Check vendor inventories after every level-up and long rest for rare reagents.
• Craft Potions of Speed before every major boss fight if you do not have a party member who can cast Haste.
• Elixirs last until long rest and their effects do not stack — you can have only one Elixir active per character at a time.
• The Transmuter Wizard subclass (level 2) can craft two potions for the cost of one via Experimental Alchemy — consider respeccing a hireling to Transmuter just for crafting.
• Weapon coatings use a bonus action to apply, so plan your action economy before combat begins.
• Do not sleep on Grenades — Smokepowder Bombs and Alchemist’s Fire deal reliable damage and can knock enemies off ledges.