The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Hints

Magic Skills

  • 1 of 8: The way to practice Alchemy is to get lots of ingredient items and make them into potions using a mortar & pestle.
  • 2 of 8: You can find a whole lot of ingredient items in containers in cities, and can buy more from merchants and steal them from shops and houses. Also, you can roam around the countryside to find lots of plants to harvest for ingredients (especially around Skingrad).
  • 3 of 8: Furthermore, all of those ingredient sources are renewable. Merchants' shop inventories will periodically refill, harvestable plants will "regrow" so you can harvest them again, and ingredient items that are in houses will reappear. Just remember to allow several game days for it to happen.
  • 4 of 8: Don't pay any attention to the type of potions you're making -- just keep making them every chance you get. You can sell your potions to make lots of money, with which you can buy more ingredient items (and many other things).
  • 5 of 8: The best way to practice all of the spell-casting skills is to gain access to a spellmaking altar (see below), then make the cheapest possible version of one spell from each skill category.
  • 6 of 8: You should make all of your practice spells be ones that work on Self so that you can always use them no matter where you are. Choose a spell to practice and keep casting it over and over as you go about whatever else you're doing.
  • 7 of 8: Or if you'd rather stand still and practice a bit faster, go into fight mode and hold down the Block key, then hold down the Cast key to cast your currently selected practice spell at maximum speed.
  • 8 of 8: Below, I list what practice spell I recommend for each spell school.