The fact that they give you the ingredients for colossus elixir right before Grymforge tells me that owlbear off the top rope is the INTENDED solution for the Grym fight.

You use the elixers of strength to cheese the stats system. I use the exliers of strength to increase my carry weight so I can sell vendors more tin cups at once. We are not the same. (Meme aside great video, really helpful! Going to be starting honor run soon and I will need to keep this stuff in mind)

There is something strangely relatable about waking up with barely enough strength to put on your favourite set of armor and your backpack, and then you need your elixir to actually go on with your day :')

Are you telling me these are more useful than just weighing down my Tav all game???

Mind Blown within three minutes after learning that Elixir of Universal Resistance is not an Elixir....

Something about elixirs of darkvision that makes them even more useless: in the rare cases that you might want darkvision (ranged humans in the Underdark and Shadow-Cursed lands pretty much), scrolls of darkvision give you the exact same buff without taking up your elixir slot. It's just straight up invalidated by the scroll.

I've done 3 full runs of BG3, 1 being honor mode and I have never decided to use battle mage's power because I assumed the arcane acuity stacks would go away like normal stacks, that is so incredibly broken lmao

Those potions clogging up my inventory have a purpose!? Lol I always forget to use them, and arrows, and scrolls.

Holy cow I didn't know Elixir of Colossus stacks with Enlarge! New playthrough group composition unlocked :D

There's an old saying that originated in the halcyon days of D&D 3rd edition optimization from the old Gleemax forum and its predecessor the 339 boards that went like this: "Initiative: because going first often means your opponent does not get the opportunity to go second."

Fun one! Switching between elixirs of Arcane Cultivation and other elixir's is one of the available increased Sorcery Points tricks. In practice, it's expensive, but viable.

Thank you for that tier-list! I'm finishing my first run today, and I only realized recently that I was always relying on the same ones, and not in an optimal fashion. Your explanations gave me a new perspective for my next run!

The tier list I didn’t know I needed! Thank you!!!

I keep forgetting I have elixirs and potions. As someone with no previous knowledge of D&D this video has helped me better understand not just the effect of elixirs but also how to use them in context of different builds. I will make sure to use them more in the future now.

Well analyzed and explained.

Notably, the main character can use tadpole powers as a bonus action, if you get the awakened buff in the creche. Advantage on a bonus action (especially in combination with something like perilous stakes in tactician) is pretty nice

It's nice to see this rating in a structured way with arguments behind it. Whenever I do a run on Honour Mode or Tactician, I mostly use the same elixirs. Strenght if the character needs it, peerless focus on my cleric, if I have one, and Bloodlust on the good DDs. If I don't want to use the "good" elixirs, I use the Collossus or heroism, with some characters Viciousness or (spoiler!) the vigilance with my sorc in the orin fight in order to get rid of her charges. And sometimes in the Counting House I actually use "see invisibility". Since I started using a 4 Transformation Wizard/4 Bard Halfing Hireling as my master alchemist, I can afford to be a little bit more excessive in the elixir use. Thanks again.

I thought I was already subscribed to your channel, but just did it. Great art on thumbnail haha

Big agree on the tadpole elixirs. I have to imagine whoever designed it didn’t know a lot about the other items/features in the game because there are SO many other ways to get advantage. You get gloves of the growling underdog pretty soon in act 1, and that basically gives you advantage on melee attacks every big fight

Thanks! Wish I would have found you sooner, really like your videos.

You’re telling me the Battle Mage Elixir DOESN‘T reduce stacks upon taking a hit? I knew they wouldn’t tick down with time, but that is ridiculous. Absolutely going to abuse that to hell and back next playthrough! 😂

One note about purchasing elixirs from merchants: every time a character levels up, merchant inventories reset. So, you can have a party member reset their level at withers, then trade. Close the trade window, switch to your leveling character, level up one level, then re-open the trade window. Each level you can purchase elixirs, potions, etc from the merchant. Also, for an early source of Hill Giant Strength, Auntie Ethel will sell you three every time you reset her.

Hmm, but I think it's okay that so many of them are so broken since we only use them very rarely. After all, we have to save them for later, right? ... Right? But seriously, I still haven't managed to completely get rid of that old Skyrim habit of stockpiling all consumables instead of using them. And so I barely use them which results in me barely knowing that they do. Which apparently results in me missing out on some truly OP effects.

Thanks for the video! Request for future vids: put ability/item description while talking about it

Oh good I was just thinking that I’d like to see this :)

I used colossus on the bulette after having Glut resurrect it. I had to make it jump over a lot of narrow spots on the map to stay with the party, but it was awesome and it was nice to go back and visit its giant corpse at the duergar camp.

Are you going to make a Race/subrace tier list?

I only very recently realized how much I love the peerless focus and me cuz if you have enough to give a caster everyday it just saves having to get the war caster feat

Which variety of Win Juice is your favorite?

Good stuff! I’m hopeless when it comes to consumables. Always end the game with loads of them 😢

An absolutely perfect ranking for Elixirs. And great discussion of them all. The only things you missed talking about are the thrown benefits of Elixirs and applying them to summons. I think the most fun (and non-abusive) way to use Elixirs is to just use the ones you find along the way. Don't buy or craft any. You find a nice random mix that let you get nice buffs, but never so many that you can abuse the game and you will have to pick and choose your days and use some of the 'lessor' elixirs because you don't have enough of the S-tier ones.

Might want to consider how some of the elixirs can be used to buff summons. While I suspect that that it wouldn’t change your rankings, this ability to use them on summons provides good uses for bad elixirs. For example, bark skin can be good on Shovel or Hill Giant can be useful with the Deva. :)

Bloodlust and Viciousness each one up imo, other than that I agree. Good video!

thank you for featuring the dreaded elixirs! I love them and enjoy making them in bulk with a transmutation wizard. great video … but there is something you left out on the elixirs of arcane cultivation. if you have an empty spell slot when you use it then you can use another elixir and not lose the replaced slot. The wiki explanation is below and I have tested it - it works. you can replace all your expended spell slots if you have enough elixirs and cycle through them properly. heres the wiki: “When the effect of this elixir is removed (i.e. when drinking a different elixir), you will lose a level 1 spell slot, prioritizing an already expended slot. If you have expended at least one level 1 spell slot, there is no harm in replacing this elixir (or benefit in keeping it).”

I actually had no clue how Barrie mages power worked. Way better than I thought 🤯

The resistance elixirs are completely overshadowed by hirelings that just cast warding bond on you, +1 to AC and saving throws and resistance to all damage.

In the early game, I view arcane cultivation as + spell points for sorcerers instead of an extra spell. I have a whole system: cultivation pots go to sorcerers, bloodthirst to barbarians, colossus to Battlemasters, hill giant strength to monks, heroism to archers, etc.

One weird edge case with elixir of heroism is that the bless buff is tied to the temporary hitpoints, so you can drink heroism and then drink another elixir and you will still get bless, at least until your temp hitpoints run out.

"Elixir of Peerless Focus; I assume this is just coffee." Well, thank DOG I wasn't drinking any at the time, or I'd be down one gaming laptop, OP. Holy shit.

My Swords Bard/Gloomstalker Ranger considers Bloodlust to be S+ tier, cuz I can do 10 Attacks in the first turn of combat WITHOUT even using Haste as well. Add the +10 dmg from Sharpshooter and up to 25 less hit points per enemy from Cull The Weak, and my one character can pretty much kill all the lesser enemies in a big fight in one round.

Just a note, the Cloud Giant elixirs are not super late game, they ingridients are available starting at level 6 in act 1 Myconid Colony venddors

I need to use Elixers more often lmao, I just keep them in my bag just in case, only to never use them, not even for the final battle.

with the arcane cultivation elixirs you can just regain all spell slots in a fight or out of combat by switching between optimally two different arcane cultivation elixirs making you up to level 4 spellslots only gold dependant and not long rest dependant

Two great spots for resistance elixirs: 1. Psychic is great for the Githyanki Inquisitor in the Crèche. 2. The last fight of act 2 is all necrotic damage, if all characters have resistance through elixirs, warding bond, Abdirak’s mace, or the Plate armor in house of healing, it turns a very hard fight into a very manageable fight.

This is why my number 1 hireling is a transmutation wizard, with one level of rogue for medicine expertise. You can very consistently get double elixirs when you craft them. So I just add the transmuter to my party when I craft alchemy things and to cast longstrider on my party, and then leave him in camp.

Isn't dark vision extremely strong on characters with sharpshooter/GWM as a way to give themselves advantage when used with fog cloud?

You can also give your barkskin elixir to the barky boy scratch.

The thing with casting a day-long buff on yourself with an Arcane Cultivation Elixir and then switching to another elixir, is you could just use a Scroll of that spell for the same effect. So there's even an alternative for THAT use case lol

I wonder, have you played XCOM 2? Watching your videos feels like watching XCOM guides, "important to go first" and stuff. You'd like it a lot, I think.

It’s brutal that every elixir you explain everything about it before saying how good it is, please present the info and then say your piece, it makes it way more digestible.

It says in the wiki that the barkskin elixir can be thrown so does that mean you can apply on summons with low AC? Obviously not game breaking but probably could be useful for more summon heavy builds.

First time i used an elixer was during the halsin quest my first time, i was getting absomutely swamped by the overwhelming numbers so i gave my paladin tav and barbarian karlach a bloodlust, along with haveing gale haste them, and absokutely wiped the floor that i ended up killing every foe before the turn count was even up

I have only used a handful of these, the ones that increase strength, and the bloodlust and invisibility ones.

I’ve been considering a ban of elixirs for my next honor run. However, I believe that may cause another problem: repeated long resting. If I’m not trying to extend the use of elixirs, the incentives would be to rest often. Would you suggest also limiting my long rests?

Resistance Elixirs should have their own stack slot such that you can trade off between being resistant to some one type of damage. Some elixirs also really need to be potions (e.g. See Invisibility or Heroism) while others really need to be elixirs (e.g. Potion of Speed). The Arcane Cultivation potions also really need to be potions, as they're basically just doing what food does with full rest: they regen spell slots, except in the most expensive way. Furthermore, some spells really should be temporary with potions that should last all day; I'm thinking here specifically of some of the Ritual Spells, like Long Jump, Feather Fall, or even Speak with Animals or Mind Reading.

Tiny additional point, but Elixir of the Colossus also helps you reach quite a few otherwise unreachable items!

using arcane cultivation with a warlock on hex is a nice way to run hex for awhile without using your 2 warlock slots

I pretty much sleep on every elixir except the giant strength ones. Never even used battle mage, vigilance or bloodlust. I probably will if I ever go back to my honor run, but for tactician there's no need for them.

Also worth noting: Hill Giant Strength can also be used as a throwable combat buff potion ….allowing it to be applied to two characters at the same time, but only for 10 turns. however I think it still replaces other elixirs (I have to test that). Usually its better to use it normally but there are times when the throwable option is good for characters that would not normally need the strength.

I was watching something else THEN I SAW THIS LETS GO!!

🔥🔥🔥

S+ tier video

Are there really enough resources in game to be able to make the cloud giant strength elixir a daily thing? I have trouble finding enough fingers.

The Giant Strength potions on a tavern brawler monk is hilariously op

May I please suggest a tier list of tadpole powers?

I will say this, the elixir that gives you a lvl 1 spell slot can actually be better later on in the game than the beginning. Although you usually don’t run out of spells, if you do have one of these and you have a wizard with every tadpole power up possible, then a single magic missile cast can kill 3 enemies with less then 25 health each. Of course the elixirs that give a higher spell slot can cast more missiles but then you’d probably be saving them for haste or fireball.

Arcane acuity is overrated because meta mage builds generally have their hit chance from just gear alone at = yes. Most meta spells also still do at least halved damage even if you miss or are guaranteed to hit like magic missiles or cloud daggers. Hill giant, cloud giant, bloodlust and occasionally vigilance are the only worthwhile elixirs so this is otherwise a pretty accurate list.

There is one essential point you overlooked concerning bloodlust. I'm currently investigating this, but what I do know for sure is that the majority of the separate sources of damage that cause the kill will not activate the bloodlust elixir. Things like cull the week. Still, I believe it is the most powerful elixir in the game.

so you're gonna do each slot of armor next right

I have always thought tadpole elixir was just a storyline item, its so bad no one would ever use it, and like you said there are other was to get its advantages without giving your self a MASSIVE disadvantage, its just a joke Elixir to me, not something you would ever actually use. New sub here, and a first time to a Baldur's Gate and a D&D game. (So basically a noob) I've watch a lot of your vids recently, the last one I watched was the lvl 6 spell slot, very interesting take, Also, In one of your other vids, I think it was about lvl 2 spell slots. (I think). I didn't realize disguise self could be used to talk to the dead you just killed, because it has always told me that it won't talk to its killer, it never accrued to me to use disguise self, I am now getting a lot more info in game than before, getting a more complete picture, very useful info, I'll continues watching to see what else I can learn.👍

My ultra-super-secret tech is to keep a transmutation wizard in camp with a maxed wisdom and expertise in medicine. Gotta double up on potions and elixirs.

Very logical rankings. I have not played BG3 at early access, but not at full release. I am worried it is too easy to break the game. These S+ elixers are one of the reasons why. I like power gaming, but if it is too easy it is less fun. Is there a lot of / more broken stuff in the current state of the game?

Omg the battle mages power lasts all day? 3 extra arcane acuity?! I always left it somewhere in my elixir pouch because I thought to myself how 3 arcane acuity for one turn then having it decrease is too niche of a use case. All day is absolutely busted beyond belief lol. Guess I gotta go back to Withers for two characters now… I would feel guilty for using it but… so much power 🤤

Hey I'd like to make an argument concerning the resistance elixirs. Cephalopocalypse said that he doesn't like this element of prior knowledge reguarding how effective these elixirs will be. Obviously there are wikis and people who play honour mode probably have played the game and completed the main story too. But the game supports the idea of scouting potential threats with the inspection button and helps you decide what kind of strategy is best used to defeat certain ennemies. Therefore I don't think the element of prior knowledge is much of an inconvenience when evaluating resistance elixirs. I also rated them as B tier before you gave your final say.

What is the difference between the daily hill giant strength elixirs and the other type. I have only ever noticed the daily ones.

easy way to fix the elixirs would be to limit the strength ones to 10 turns, and make the bloodlust elixir action only able to cast cantrips not leveled spells. not sure how you fix vigilance, but i find it much harder to find those.

Could you make a build optimized for making/handing out elixirs and potions? Has transmutation wizard levels, maybe bonus action thows with berserker levels to toss potions at your opponents and allies... like a witch doctor type of character

Neither Guileful movement nor Freedom of movement protects you from spike growth. I tested it multiple times and you still take the damage.

Cloud Giant TB Monk/Barb Karlach with a soul coin might be the most broken shit in the entire game. After beating my first honour mode run I pretty much abstain from using elixirs lol, they're so insanely powerful.

See invisibility is very useful if your character is Origin Wyll, because as he has just 1 eye Volo refuses to do the surgery. Larian has thought everything

I would bump up the rank of the arcane cultivation elixirs when used on sorcerers since they can just convert the spell slots from the elixirs into sorcery points treating the elixirs like mana potions. Like this you can use the elixirs to cast higher tier spells then the spell slots recieved by converting sorcerer points.

there is ONE specific very nice use for the see invisibility elixer and that is to get markoheskir in the tower.

hell yeah

I love the lv 1 spell slot pot for hex on warlock.

I honestly think Peerless focus and darkvision are F tier as better darkvision is provided by basically half of the races, and advantage on concentration is super easy to get. I also think the lvl 1-2 arcane cultivations are better than you've ranked them as you can also switch them for sorcery points and trade those for higher lvl spells or metamagic effects.

Might I suggest that Darkvision elixir is actually harmful as it uses up an elixir slot that could be used by anything else that would give you a benefit, thus depriving you of that benefit?

On my second playthru right now, have 2 questions. 1: why is initiative rolled on a d4 instead of a d20 like tabletop? And 2: what’s the most effective way to reset vendors to stock up elixirs/potions? I’ve never tried, would think that early on camp supplies would be an issue

I think the Elixir of Hill Giant's Strength you put in S, should be in A. Since the Str Character using it would probably have either +3 or +4 Str Mod, it effectivly turns into either a +1 or +2 increase to hit/dmg. Were as the Cloud Giant obviously provides more. The Colossus obviously doesn't provide + to Hit, and averages a +2.5 dmg bonus. But it does provide the utilitarian bonus of being large and the Str Check/Saves which I think is a fair balancing of a +2 to Hit from the Hill Giant elixir This was my excessive comment for the day.

I think you forgot to mention that you can also throw resistance elixirs to buff your whole party with it unlike all other elixirs and also i think they don't take the elixir slot either.

58:35 It is rolled on a d4, but it's also determined by your DEX modifier, as well. So not *as* broken as that, but still. Holy cow. XD

9:18 Meanwhile, I've gotten so many scrolls that my Gale's 3rd and 4th level slots (jusf reached level 7 in my first ever Honor mode run) are purely for Counterspell, with 1st and 2nd just being for Shield.

The worst part of the Darkvision Elixir is that it takes up your elixir buff slot while the SCROLL of Darkvision doesn't, and *doesn't* take your concentration! I always cast Scroll of Darkvision on Laezel every morning just to use them up

Do all those benefits work when the elixir is thrown ?

I use vigilance on shovel to guarantee surprise rounds in every combat for the whole day. The extra initiative gives shovel the chance to go invisible before the enemies get a chance to hit. If there was one elixir that deserves s++ it would be vigilance.

At this point I’m cruising through my second playthrough of honor mode. I’m looking for ways to make the game more engaging rather than easier. To that end I might ban elixirs. The only one I’ll be sorry to lose is the Colossus, as it was fun to have a giant in your party.

Arcane elixirs are also super useful for extra sorcery points, especially since you can drink one of each and get the equivalent points of that spell level without wasting the spell slot… tbh I’ve only ever used them for that purpose Oh man I’m soooo excited to finally learn why the fuck the tadpole elixir is a thing you can craft after that quest is done… huh yeah that’s disappointing, I mean I’ve never used it the downside is just stupid didn’t even know what it does since the tooltip is confusing af

Heroims Elixir is S for my defensive build it helps me to get additional Saving throw

Does anyone else feel the Arcane Cultivation elixirs should have just been potions that restore a corresponding level of spell slot? Feels very odd having them be all day elixirs, tbh.

Can you throw Tadpole Elixirs on grouped enemies to screw their Con and Wis saves ? That's probably a better use than drinking them hehe. With haste or quickened spell you can follow up with an aoe control spell or something.

One small criticism. Battlemage's Power is just an effective +3 to a stat that only applies to combat rolls and not skill checks or out of combat uses, and is ranked above Cloud Giant Strength when used on characters with max Strength despite that also being a +3 to a stat but is useful outside of combat as well, and also applies to skill checks that use the stat. The only way this makes sense is if you're asserting that simply being a caster is such a massive combat advantage that all elixirs should be losing points simply because they buff a non-caster. So no matter what, it flat out doesn't make any sense to have both Battlemage's Power and the Giant Strength Elixirs ranked the way they are, no matter how you break down the logic. Either you recognize that the mage elixir is mathematically inferior to the giant strength elixirs, or you assume that being melee is too big a disadvantage to rank highly in the first place.