How Alchemy works - Baldur's Gate 3

Published , by Sam Chandler

Alchemy is another powerful mechanic in Baldur’s Gate 3. This system allows players to craft potions, elixirs, grenades, and coatings using basic resources they forage from the world. In order to dabble in Alchemy, players will need to gather raw materials, break them down into extracts, and mix them together. It’s also possible to discover new potions while out exploring. Here’s what you need to know.

What is Alchemy and how does it work?

The Alchemy tab is where you'll mix together ingredients into powerful concoctions.
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In Baldur’s Gate 3, Alchemy is a system that lets you extract the raw essence from materials and mix them together to create potions, elixirs, grenades, and coatings. These mixtures can be as simple as a new healing potion or as powerful as a fire grenade.

Alchemy can be done at any time, provided you’re not in the middle of combat or a conversation. When playing on PC, press the H key to bring up the Alchemy screen or open the Inventory and click the potion icon. On controller, pull Right Trigger and select the potion icon.

Every potion you create using Alchemy requires two things: a specific extract and an extract from a specific category. For example, a Potion of Healing requires Rogue’s Morsel from the Salt category and any extract from the Suspension category.

How to get extracts

You can either click Extract All Ingredients or choose the extract you want and do it manually.
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There are six extract categories in Baldur’s Gate 3: Sublimate, Salts, Essences, Ashes, Vitriols, and Suspensions. Each ingredient will fall within one of these six categories. An extract is simply the resource you will use to craft potions.

In order to get extracts, you must find raw materials in the environment and then use the Extract All Ingredients button on the Alchemy screen to break down the materials into the extracts. It takes three raw materials to make one extract. For example, Salts of Rogue’s Morsel requires three Rogue’s Morsel mushrooms.

All the ingredients and extracts are stored in the Alchemy Pouch in your Inventory. You can open this at any time to see what resources you have.

How to craft potions

Click the potion you want to craft and the game will automatically place the ingredients you need into the slots.
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Crafting potions (and the others) is easy. Open the Alchemy screen, select the item you want to craft from the list, and either click the big button in the middle of the triangle or the Craft Item button. If you’ve got multiple recourses you can choose to Craft All Items to turn everything into the potion you’re making.

How to get more potions

New potion recipes can be found by reading books and notes found while exploring. Reading one of these will automatically add the recipe to your Alchemy screen, showing you what extracts are needed to craft it.


Make sure you’re always collecting resources, extracting ingredients, and crafting new potions in Baldur’s Gate 3. By taking advantage of Alchemy, your chances of surviving battles or sneaking into new areas will greatly increase. Read over our Baldur’s Gate 3 strategy guide for more explainers or information on specific puzzles and quests.