Alchemy in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 retains its vital role for survival, combat, and profit, but this time it’s noticeably more streamlined. You’ll find yourself gathering herbs on the go and whipping up potions almost automatically, but don’t be fooled — precision and timing remain crucial to maximize potion quality and effectiveness.
If you encounter any tricky recipes or need clarification, it’s worth seeking community insights or direct help from seasoned players familiar with the game’s mechanics.
Related: Kingdom Come Deliverance 2: All Blacksmithing Recipes List (How to Get)
Intro to Alchemy for KCD2
Forget what you knew from the original game — in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, the bellows aren’t your go-to tool unless explicitly specified by the recipe. Simply lowering the cauldron over the fire initiates boiling, and keeping the bellows dormant will prevent unintended brewing errors.
If a particular recipe calls for bellows use, the exact method is: lower the cauldron on the fire, flip the sandglass, press the bellows button once, then lift the cauldron after the required number of sandglass turns have completed.
Understanding the timing of sandglass turns is critical. Flip the sandglass only after lowering the cauldron, because the turn completes precisely when all grains fall through. Mistiming this step by a second early or late will drop your potion’s quality.
Throughout this guide, “boil” means lowering the cauldron, measuring exact sandglass turns, and then raising the cauldron—without using bellows unless specifically instructed.
You don’t need to depend on Henry’s recipe book to brew new potions. If you know the ingredient combinations and process, you can craft any potion on your own. Once you brew a potion successfully, it’s added to your in-game recipe book automatically.
Auto-crafting from the previous game is gone, likely due to the simplified brewing mini-game. However, with high-level perks, you can prepare up to six potions simultaneously, and each recipe typically takes about two minutes, so the process remains efficient.
Keyboard controls for brewing: “X” moves the cauldron up and down, “F” flips the sandglass, and “Q” operates the bellows.
Potion Quality Guide
Potions come in four quality tiers in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2:
- Weak (-2)
- Normal (-1)
- Strong (0)
- Henry (0)
- Weak (-2)
- Normal (-1)
- Strong (0)
- Henry (0)
Better-quality potions grant more powerful effects. Several factors influence potion quality:
- Any brewing mistake lowers quality by one tier.
- Using dried herbs reduces quality by one.
- Old herbs, indicated with red condition, also reduce quality by one.
- Brewing between midnight and 4 AM with the Dark Arts Apprentice perk grants a +1 quality boost.
- Making a mistake (-1)
- Using dried herbs (-1)
- Using old herbs (-1)
- Brewing between 00:00 and 04:00 with the Dark Arts Apprentice perk (+1)
Minor mistakes like boiling for too long or too short a time will cost you quality points. Major errors, like adding wrong ingredients, cause the potion to fail outright.
The negative impact of dried herbs is avoidable if you have the Secret of Equilibrium perk or by ensuring at least one ingredient is fresh while using a dried herb as the second.
While old herbs generally impair potion quality, pairing a fresh herb (even one with red condition) with a dried herb can still yield a normal-rated potion with perfect brewing.
To reach the highest Henry-tier quality potions, unlocking the level 16 Secret of Secrets perk is essential.
Related: Kingdom Come Deliverance 2: All Dice List (Probabilities, Locations, What They Do)
All Potion Recipes in KCD2
Aesop
Liquid Base: Spirits
Ingredients: Comfrey ×2, Boar’s Tusk ×1, Belladonna ×1
Recipe:
- Add 2 Comfrey to the mortar, grind them finely, and pour the paste into the cauldron.
- Add 1 Boar’s Tusk directly into the cauldron.
- Boil the mixture for 2 full sandglass turns.
- Add 1 Belladonna ground in the mortar to the cauldron.
- Prepare a phial and distill the potion.
Effect (Strong quality): Boosts horsemanship and houndmaster skills by 5, and makes sneaking up on animals easier for 24 hours.
Price (Strong quality): 55 groschen
Aqua Vitalis
Liquid Base: Water
Ingredients: Dandelion ×2, Marigold ×1
Recipe:
- Add 2 Dandelion directly to the cauldron.
- Boil for 1 sandglass turn.
- Add 1 Marigold ground in mortar, then pour it into the cauldron.
- Boil again for 2 turns.
- Prepare phial and distill the potion.
Effect (Strong quality): Reduces health loss by 50% and slows bleeding effects by 50% for 10 minutes.
Price (Strong quality): 55 groschen
Aromatic / Essential Oil
Liquid Base: Oil
Ingredients: Chamomile ×3, Sage ×1, Valerian ×1
Recipe:
- Add 3 Chamomile to the cauldron.
- Boil for 3 sandglass turns.
- Add 1 Sage ground in mortar, pour into cauldron.
- Boil for 1 turn.
- Add 1 Valerian ground in mortar, pour in.
- Pour the mixture into the phial.
Artemisia
Liquid Base: Spirits
Ingredients: Sage ×1, Wormwood ×2
Recipe:
- Add 1 Sage to the cauldron.
- Boil for 1 turn.
- Add 2 Wormwood ground in mortar, pour into cauldron.
- Boil for 2 turns.
- Prepare phial and distill potion.
Effect (Strong quality): Increases Strength by 4 and reduces stamina cost for attack and block by 25% for 10 minutes.
Price (Strong quality): 55 groschen
Bane Poison
Liquid Base: Wine
Ingredients: Wormwood ×1, Belladonna ×2, Amanita Muscaria ×1
Recipe:
- Add 1 Wormwood to the cauldron.
- Boil for 2 turns.
- Add 2 Belladonna ground in mortar, pour into cauldron.
- Boil for 1 turn using bellows.
- Add 1 Amanita Muscaria to the cauldron.
- Prepare phial and distill potion.
Effect (Strong quality): Prevents running and drains 110 Health over 30 seconds.
Price (Strong quality): 50 groschen
Bowman’s Brew
Liquid Base: Spirits
Ingredients: Eyebright ×2, St. John’s Wort ×1
Recipe:
- Add 2 Eyebright to the cauldron.
- Boil for 3 turns.
- Add 1 St. John’s Wort ground in mortar, then pour into cauldron.
- Boil for 1 turn using bellows.
- Prepare phial and distill potion.
Effect (Strong quality): Increases marksmanship by 5 and reduces stamina loss when aiming by 50% for 10 minutes.
Price (Strong quality): 55 groschen
Buck’s Blood
Liquid Base: Oil
Ingredients: St. John’s Wort ×1, Comfrey ×1, Dandelion ×1
Recipe:
- Add 1 St. John’s Wort ground in mortar, pour into cauldron.
- Add 1 Comfrey into cauldron.
- Boil for 1 turn.
- Add 1 Dandelion to the cauldron.
- Boil for 1 turn using bellows.
- Pour the potion into a phial.
Effect (Strong quality): Raises stamina by 30% and stamina regeneration by 15% for 40 minutes.
Price (Strong quality): 55 groschen
Chamomile Decoction
Liquid Base: Wine
Ingredients: Chamomile ×2, Sage ×1
Recipe:
- Add 2 Chamomile to the cauldron.
- Boil for 1 turn.
- Add 1 Sage ground and pour into cauldron.
- Pour into phial.
Effect (Strong quality): Speeds up sleep healing by 4 times and energy recovery by 2 times for 24 hours.
Price (Strong quality): 35 groschen
Cockerel
Liquid Base: Spirits
Ingredients: Mint ×2, Valerian ×1
Recipe:
- Grind and add 2 Mint to cauldron.
- Boil for 1 turn.
- Add 1 Valerian directly into cauldron.
- Boil for 2 turns.
- Prepare phial and distill potion.
Effect (Strong quality): Raises energy by 20 and decreases energy consumption by 20% for 12 hours.
Price (Strong quality): 55 groschen
Digestive Potion
Liquid Base: Water
Ingredients: Thistle ×2, Nettle ×1, Charcoal ×1
Recipe:
- Add 2 Thistle to the cauldron.
- Boil for 2 turns.
- Add 1 Nettle ground and add to cauldron.
- Boil for 1 turn.
- Add 1 Charcoal ground and add to cauldron.
- Pour into phial.
Effect (Strong quality): Boosts Vitality by 2, cures food poisoning, and reduces nourishment by 20 for 10 minutes.
Price (Strong quality): 35 groschen
Dollmaker Poison
Liquid Base: Spirits
Ingredients: Valerian ×1, Herb Paris ×2
Recipe: