Magic/potions - useful vs. useless

[Kasey24]

Hey guys,

 

Still new to Oblivion and some of the potions and spells leave me scratching my head. Here's a short list of what I'm talking about:

 

Damage (or for that matter, "Absorb") :confused:

Agility

Luck

Magicka

Intelligence

Endurance

Personality

Willpower

 

There's probably others, but are any of these spells/potions valuable and if so when - or how best used?

 

For instance: It just seems like a "damage Intelligence 2 points for x seconds" is just not worth bothering with - but maybe I just don't understand what, when or how it works.

 

And Fatigue potions- I just make them and sell them.

 

Anyone want to explaing the finer points of these potions and spells?

 

:thanks:

[Master Marksman]

The main potions that you will be using are the 'damage health' (or fire, frost, shock), and restore 'health', 'magicka' and 'fatigue'.

 

Most poisons simply are not worth using because even though ou are pernamently crippling an attribute, the effect is often miniscule. MOST attribute poisons effects are simply underpowered.

 

Absorb gives you skill or stat points, drained directly from your opponent. The most useful effect is probably absorb fatigue and helth, as they can keep you fighting/disabling while damaging/crippling.

 

The main poisons you will want to use are any form of damage. It will add a definite boost to your burst damage, and if you can spam them if you find two common attributes in common attributes, you can boost your dps, although t can prove costly.

 

Always keep a supply of restore potions. Not attributes, but mainly health, and fatigue. However, magicka is far more worth it to mages.

 

Overall, the rarest and most powerful potions are the 'spell absorbtion', 'reflect damage/spell', and 'chameleon'. Because potions stack not only with your items, but with other potions as well as your highest active spell, and potions up to the maximum the game allows (3 or 4). Therefore, you can stack 3 35% chameleon potions for 105% x duration, or similarily, 3 restore 17 health potions for 51 health x duration. Also, detect life stacks in terms of feet, so stacking can prove advantageous.

 

Thats all I can think of. Hope it helps. .-.

 

EDIT: These links may prove useful:

Check with UESP if you need to check something else.

 

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:List_of_Spells_by_Effect

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Alchemy_Effects

[Jenrai]

I agree with Marksman on pretty much all. The only thing I can think of that he didn't cover is unless you have disease/poison resistance through the roof (Vampire ftw! :D ) you're liable to pick up a disease or two and they have a nasty habit of nerfing your attributes. You can, of course, just leg it into a chapel and get cured, but if you have the inventory space or are busying yourself around the Imperial City, that might prove costly, so pack a potion of Cure disease, and leave a couple of "Restore X" (where X is strength, Endurance, personality, luck ect) potions in one of your houses or somewhere else you can easily get at them, just in case.

The other one would be the "Weakness to X" potions, where X is fire/frost/magic/normal weapons or whatever. They seem underpowered. Mainly because they are. However, every little helps in a tight fight, and once you get to be a lil better at Alchemy, those potions can turn the tide of a loosing battle. Especially if you can stack d.o.t (damage over time) or area attacks with all one kind of damage, then have a weapon or touch magic that can do it too.

 

Jenrai

[Kasey24]

The main potions that you will be using are the 'damage health' (or fire, frost, shock), and restore 'health', 'magicka' and 'fatigue'.

 

Most poisons simply are not worth using because even though ou are pernamently crippling an attribute, the effect is often miniscule. MOST attribute poisons effects are simply underpowered.

 

Absorb gives you skill or stat points, drained directly from your opponent. The most useful effect is probably absorb fatigue and helth, as they can keep you fighting/disabling while damaging/crippling.

 

The main poisons you will want to use are any form of damage. It will add a definite boost to your burst damage, and if you can spam them if you find two common attributes in common attributes, you can boost your dps, although t can prove costly.

 

Always keep a supply of restore potions. Not attributes, but mainly health, and fatigue. However, magicka is far more worth it to mages.

 

Overall, the rarest and most powerful potions are the 'spell absorbtion', 'reflect damage/spell', and 'chameleon'. Because potions stack not only with your items, but with other potions as well as your highest active spell, and potions up to the maximum the game allows (3 or 4). Therefore, you can stack 3 35% chameleon potions for 105% x duration, or similarily, 3 restore 17 health potions for 51 health x duration. Also, detect life stacks in terms of feet, so stacking can prove advantageous.

 

Thats all I can think of. Hope it helps. .-.

 

EDIT: These links may prove useful:

Check with UESP if you need to check something else.

 

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:List_of_Spells_by_Effect

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Alchemy_Effects

 

 

Marksman,

 

Your links and comments are very helpful.

 

Maybe I haven't played far enough into the game, or don't play correctly - but so far I have not noticed a "Fatigue problem". I usually keep a check on my health bar during a tough fight, but really haven't noticed a low Fatigue bar. I'll start watching that bar also.

 

One comment I'm not sure of - What do you mean by "burst damage" and also the spam reference.

 

:thanks:

 

 

Jenrai,

 

Good advice. I hadn't thought to store some Restore x potions in my sack/stash for the eventual emergency. And I do try to carry a cure disease ( or at least have an ingredient to munch).

[David Brasher]

Most potions are pretty lame. I like to mix them and sell them to the alchemist for bags and bags of gold though.

 

When questing, I like to carry:

 

Healing Potion X 20

Restore Magicka X 5

Cure Disease X 2

Restore Luck X 2

Restore Intelligence X 2

Restore Personality X 2

Restore Willpower X 2

Restore Strength X 2

Restore Agility X 2

Restore Endurance X 2

Restore Speed X 2

Invisibility X 5

Chameleon X 5

 

Some of my characters also use poisons which have damage health and another effect or two.

 

Some of my characters know spells and don't need the corresponding potions.

 

I guess I carry a lot of potions around for someone who says most potions are lame.

[Kasey24]

Most potions are pretty lame. I like to mix them and sell them to the alchemist for bags and bags of gold though.

 

When questing, I like to carry:

 

Healing Potion X 20

Restore Magicka X 5

Cure Disease X 2

Restore Luck X 2

Restore Intelligence X 2

Restore Personality X 2

Restore Willpower X 2

Restore Strength X 2

Restore Agility X 2

Restore Endurance X 2

Restore Speed X 2

Invisibility X 5

Chameleon X 5

 

Some of my characters also use poisons which have damage health and another effect or two.

 

Some of my characters know spells and don't need the corresponding potions.

 

I guess I carry a lot of potions around for someone who says most potions are lame.

 

 

I don't see any Restore Fatigue in your list either.

 

Does Fatigue restore only apply to a certain type character or style of play?

[Pronam]

It actually makes a lot of difference to use restore fatigue (especially custom made ones), but as the effects don't seem to differ when fighting with few or no fatigue less (besides the occasional knockdown) I barely use it. Although your hits are much stronger when at full fatigue.

[Master Marksman]

(Burst is mainly for stealth classes)

When I mean burst damage, I mean if your trying for a 1 shot kill, which is more aligned to stealth characters. By stacking a good poison on an enchanted bow, and if yor rich enough, enchanted arrows, you can achieve an extreme 'burst' of damage from just one stealth attack.

 

(Fatigue regen is for melee classes)

When I mean carry restore fatigue potions, I mean if your a melee class. Melee classes suffer fatigue drain from every aattack and every block, while mages and good archers don't. With a slow fatigue regeneration, as Pronam correctly stated, it will keep your damage optimum.

 

(Spam'ing is for the magic classes)

By spam'ing, I mean finding two cheap ingrediants, like I think Cairn Bolete Caps (common and cheap) and Venison (common and cheap) you get a restore health potion which is cheap. Same with Wisp stalks, Nightshade, and Stinkhorn caps for a damage health poison. At apprentice, harrada and spiddal stick for damage health and fatigue poison. At higher levels, you can make some very evil stuff from any of the stuff they sell at Inns and hotels.

 

All of these are somewhat effective, and if your running low on money, you can just sell it because it will be worth more than the ingrediants, considering the ingrediants are only 2 gold each, for a 4 gold potion, taht sells for at least 7 gold, which increases as you get better apparatus and level. This works for any potion, although you'll be selling your surplus of restore fatigue potion most of the time.

 

Alchemy + 2 gold food - Kachingo

[David Brasher]

In Morrowind you die if you get knocked down by a hand to hand fighter and don't have restore fatigue potions. But in Oblivion restore fatigue potions are more of a luxury than a necessity. Their effect is basically to make a melee fighter do more damage with each hit. Kind of like you could make the battle quicker if you are winning, but it probably won't sway the outcome from lose to win if you are not already going to win. I guess maybe if you had so many of them that you drank them constantly it could have a big effect.

[Kasey24]

Thanks, all! Everyone is being most helpful to the new guy - ooooh, wait, I'm now a "rookie". :)

 

One last (maybe) question on potions.

 

I know I can drink 3 or 4 at once, but can you use 3 poisons stacked on the weopon or do you have to use them one at a time?