This codex serves two primary uses:

• You will gain access to the recipes for every POTION in the game. This does not include food items, bombs, or scrolls
  
• You will be able to IDENTIFY any potion in the game which you happen upon.

Well, my friends, you may be asking yourself just what the big deal is. Well THE DEAL is...

• the cookbook guarantees that you will always be able to access any potion recipe you want, regardless of whether you find the potion vendor, and whether he actually has the recipe you want
  
• the cookbook offers access to a free and effective source of healing and fatigue recovery
  
• the cookbook allows you to identify otherwise unknown (and thus dangerous) potions, and because there are no negative scrolls, you'll be able to use any looted consumables immediately without searching for a scroll of identification or spending an inventory slot to carry one around
  
• the cookbook is useful EVEN WITHOUT BEING EQUIPPED. This is one of few codexes which can actually improve a run when you're using another codex! Simply use the scriptorium at your local level elevator to switch to the cookbook, craft what you need, and switch back to your preferred codex. I daresay it couldn't be simpler!
  
• the cookbook does all of these things, and only a measly 6 tokens of favor are required to permanently unlock it

Fair enough, there are more than a few potions in the game which are... less useful than others. However, when used intelligently, potions can prolong a campaign long beyond where it should have ended otherwise, and there are quite a few potions that we will focus on which are far more interesting than simple restoration potions. For you, my fledgeling alchemist, potions of infernal peace shall serve as your bread, and elixirs of steel shall be your butter.

ingredients: fungus, essential oil, metal, bone matter

effect: enemies flee from you for the potion's duration, and refuse to attack you

why it's so good: The potion of infernal peace is often functionally indistinguishable from invisibility or even invulnerability. Even after attacking an enemy, they will refuse to even face you until the potion's worn off. HOWEVER, unlike invisibility and invulnerability potions, this potion is cheap, VERY cheap. Most of the ingredients required for a potion of infernal peace are available as early as the very first level, and none of them are particularly rare or difficult to obtain, meaning you get access to this potion early, and you'll be able to make a LOT of them.

The first and most important use of this potion is reviving teammates. If your friend goes down, you COULD try to kill the enemies in the area before he dies completely. You could also cut your hand off and use the resulting blood stream to draw a fancy pentagram and pray to your deity of choice. In both cases you're usually better off simply drinking one of these and scaring the monsters off while you ressurect your friend.

The second use for this potion is simple, abuse the powerful and inexpensive area-of-effect crowd control. If you see a large group of enemies you can't easily split up, or one or two bigger and scarier enemies, simply drink one of these potions and go to town. In my experience I have not yet found a monster which will attack you while the buff remains, so use that time to whittle down the large group's numbers, or the big guys' healthbars.

Keep in mind that this potion is typically more useful for Blackguards, who are quicker and have an easier time chasing down enemies as they flee from the potion's user.

ingredients: ancient bones, 2x metal, bone matter

effect: the user becomes significantly more resilient to damage, and can't be knocked down under the potion's effects. HOWEVER, the user ALSO moves slower and can't jump as high for the duration.

why it's so good: The elixir of steel is a pretty simple potion, you will usually use it in scenarios where you expect to take lots of damage or you're afraid you'll get knocked down. Keep in mind that THIS POTION DOES NOT PREVENT STAGGERING! If you run into enemies that can stagger you, they will not give a ♥♥♥♥ about this potion as they knock you back and forth like an exotic meat pinata. However, this potion WILL let you take the beating much better than you could without it, and you will never get knocked down. It can help you survive a big battle where you're forced to fight without healing or resting for a while, and it can help you deal with big scary monsters as well.

The biggest draw to this potion is how cheap it is. Like the potion of infernal peace, all of the ingredients for an elixir of steel are available as early as the first level, and none of them are exceedingly rare or difficult to obtain. The requirement for two metals per potion does add up after a while, so you may not be able to make several elixirs until you've reached the second or third level, and have had a chance to stockpile some metal.

Contrary to the potion of infernal peace, the elixir of steel is actually best used by the Brute. Blackguards are much squishier, and usually want to avoid damage as much as possible by leveraging their superior agility, whereas the elixir of steel will bolster the Brute's already impressive resilience, and the knockdown immunity will complement the Brute's superior poise (stagger resistance).

Alright, I hope I've got your attention now. We've already seen how the cookbook is uniquely helpful in simultaneously reviving allies, clearing out big hordes of baddies, and clearing out hordes of big baddies. But, man cannot live on bread and butter alone, and similarly, the potion of infernal peace and elixir of steel, though reliable and effective, are hardly the only useful or interesting potions you can make.

In particular, I have derived great utility and amusement from Bolut's mystical restoration, the potion of big boy strength, lapis primus, Morten's springheel elixir, and Morten's fleet foot.


Bolut's Mystical Restoration:

ingredients: clockwork eyes, clockwork gears, spores, crystal

effect: you will automatically be ressurected once after dying (functions similarly to having a friend revive you)

notes: In singleplayer, this potion is an absolute lifesaver, and you should always try to make sure that you have some ingredients to make another if you use up one of your lives. You can't stack extra lives by drinking several bottles at once, and these are expensive, so you should generally only make them one at a time, and save some resources to make more if you do consume your extra life. In multiplayer, it's usually easier to just revive your teammates, but it can be helpful if everyone goes down at once; given its cost, I wouldn't recommend making these for anyone but yourself considering how easy it is for an alchemist to raise his allies with a potion of infernal peace.

it's also worth noting that these potions would be extremely expensive to obtain without the codex, with the potion costing 800 gems at a potion vendor, and the recipe costing about 400 gems when I last checked.


Potion of big boy btrength

ingredients: scales, arcane dust, metal, essential oil, ichor

effect: for a while you do loads more damage and you stagger/knock down much easier

notes: Exactly what it says on the tin, you drink it, and you toss around the monsters like ragdolls for a bit, assuming you don't get staggered or knocked down before you can hit them. It's worth noting that this requires scales, which are pretty scarce and usually most effective in a Lapis Primus potion. In addition, it also requires arcane dust, which is not as rare as scales, but still on the rarer side, and arcane dust is a key ingredient in restorative potions. Of course, this potion is also HILARIOUS and very fun to use. You can use this potion more frequently if you don't need many restorative potions, but try to make sure you don't waste it.


Lapis Primus

ingredients: scales, arcane dust, essential oil, torn flesh, bone matter

effect: for the duration of the potion, you experience extremely high health and stamina/fatigue regeneration

notes: This is your other scales-based luxury potion. After you drink one of these, you can pretend that your health bar and stamina bar don't exist for the duration, as the regeneration rate is extremely high. Short of getting killed in one shot from full health, it's unlikely that you will ever die while under the influence of this potion, and it's the closest you'll get to invulnerability without actually becoming immune to damage. This is a useful potion in pretty much any combat situation you find yourself in, and has the added bonus of leaving you with full health and stamina afterward, especially useful if you were low on either (or both) before drinking. Feels great to face tank a sword bigger than I am, all while power attacking with reckless abandon because I know I'll regenerate the stamina.


Morten's Springheel Elixir:

ingredients: shadowborn skin, ancient bones, torn flesh

effect: for the duration you can jump pretty high

notes: You usually won't be using this in combat, but it can help the user get through areas with difficult platforming, especially if the user has reduced jumping ability(such as from their armor). This potion can also be useful if you want to try to get past a monster filled area without fighting by taking another route, typically by jumping to higher ground which the creatures can't reach. The potion does not use any particularly scarce resources other than shadowborn skin, and most of the other potions using shadowborn skin require other resources that you should be using to make other, better potions. All in all, make as many as you want, but don't forget that you can't use two buff potions simultaneously, so you will be vulnerable until the buff wears off and you can drink other potions.


Morten's Fleet Foot:

ingredients: 2x ancient bones, essential oil

effect: you run faster

notes: Another case of a potion which is usually less useful in combat. You can hypothetically use this to run through a dangerous area quickly, but I usually don't have difficulty outrunning monsters without this potion. This potion can be a great convenience when you want to cover a lot of ground quickly, such as when you've cleared out an area, but you can't find the elevator. It's not terribly expensive, ancient bones aren't exceedingly common but the only other potion you're likely to need ancient bones for is the elixir of steel, so depending on your preferences you might forgo a few elixirs of steel in favor of a couple fleet foot potions.

This section is pretty straight forward, these are some of the most efficient potions to restore your health and stamina. If you wind up running out of arcane dust, don't be afraid to use normal rations, but you should avoid rotten food if you can; you will probably want that fungus later for potions of infernal peace.

Lapis Primus:

notes: Expensive, but one of the best restoration potions available. More information in the Luxury Potions section.


Eliphoph's Mystical Boon:

ingredients: arcane dust, crystal, essential oil, torn flesh, ichor

effect: regenerate a large amount of health slowly over a period of time

notes: Make this when you need to recover a lot of health, or you don't need to restore much stamina. Don't forget that this is a buff potion and you won't be able to drink other buff potions while it restores your health, so be careful during this period of vulnerability.

You may find yourself running low on crystals on some occasions. In these cases it is usually best to save a crystal or two to make Bolut's Mystical Restoration as mentioned in the Luxury Potions section. In a pinch you should be able to make do with potions of vigor and rations.


Tonk's Everlasting* Energy:

ingredients: arcane dust, essential oil, bone matter, 2x ichor

effect: regenerate a large amount of stamina slowly over a period of time

notes: Make this when you need to recover a lot of stamina, or you don't need to restore much health. Don't forget that this is a buff potion and you won't be able to drink other buff potions while it restores your stamina, so be careful during this period of vulnerability.


Potion of vigor:

ingredients: arcane dust, essential oil, torn flesh, 2x ichor

effect: restores a decent amount of health and stamina instantly

notes: make this when you need both health and stamina, and you don't need a huge amount of either, or use this to heal without mixing two buff potions and throwing up.

• Scales are dropped by changelings. They can be pretty scarce, use them for Lapis Primus and potions of big boy strength.
  
• Shadowborn skin is dropped by shadowborn (go figure), and I can really only recommend you use it in springheel potions as an occasional convenience.
  
• Arcane dust is dropped by nagual, hollowmen, and changelings, and it's a core component for all of your healing potions, and the potion of big boy strength. if you frequently find yourself running low on restorative supplies, avoid the potion of big boy strength to save on arcane dust. Alternatively, feel free to make the potion of big boy strength more often if you don't usually find yourself in a pinch for healing.
  
• Clockwork gears and eyes are dropped by hollowmen, and you should usually just save these for Bolut's Mystical Restoration.
  
• Spores are dropped by the fungal/infected enemies, and are also usually best saved for Bolut's Mystical Restoration.
  
• Crystals are dropped by grine enemies and gemeaters, and they are plentiful enough that you can usually indulge in Eliphoph's Mystical Boon, so long as you make sure to keep a few spare crystals on hand for Bolut's Mystical Restoration.
  
• Ancient bones are dropped by skeletons (who knew?!), and you'll primarily use them for elixirs of steel. If you make springheel and fleet foot potions, you should make sure to save some bones for elixirs of steel if you need them later.
  
• Fungus is dropped by skeletal enemies and diggers, and you should mostly just use it for potions of infernal peace.
  
• Metal is dropped by nagual and hollowmen, and it's used to make potions of infernal peace, and elixirs of steel, and potions of big boy strength. You should prioritize potions of infernal peace if you are running low on metal, but feel free to make elixirs of steel and potions of big boy strength otherwise.
  
• Essential oil is simple to harvest from vermin, used in potions of infernal peace, potions of big boy strength, restoration potions, and the fleet foot potion. This is a pretty plentiful ingredient, you should try to keep a steady amount available for potions of infernal peace and restoration potions, but you generally shouldn't have a hard time keeping this in stock or finding more.
  
• Torn flesh is also very common, and readily dropped by vermin; it's used in healing potions and springheel potions. Simply make sure you don't spend an unreasonable amount on springheel potions
  
• Bone matter and ichor are both extremely common and I have yet to experience a shortage of either, don't bother worrying about using them efficiently.

• don't drink two buff potions at once! you'll throw up and lose both of the buffs, wasting your potions and incapacitating you for a few moments. Neither Bolut's Mystical Restoration, nor potions of vigor are considered buff potions, but the rest of the potions described in this guide are, so drink responsibly and don't mix your buffs.
  
  
• it is certainly helpful to simply use the cookbook for crafting when you're at a scriptorium, but don't forget that if you choose to use it in the field as well, you can also identify any potions you find, you can immediately replace any potions you use, you won't have to gorge your inventory with enough potions to last you until you reach another scriptorium, you can wait to craft expensive/luxury potions until you need them so that they won't be stolen by a bandit, and you won't have to waste inventory space on convenience potions like Morten's Springheel Elixir and Morten's Fleet Foot should you choose to make them.
  
  
• don't forget that you can distribute your potions to your team in multiplayer. They may not be as familiar with your potions and how to get the most out of them, but any necropolis run's success rate can be improved by simply giving each player a potion of infernal peace
  
  
• if you make potions for other players, or switch to another codex after crafting your potions, don't forget to pick up a scroll of identification. It's terribly frustrating to use the wrong potion because you forgot to identify it after switching codexes.
  
  
• if you craft potions and switch codexes, try to leave some space in your inventory in case you find more useful consumables on the level

• even if you decide to use a different codex, unlocking the cookbook will still give you access to all potion crafting recipes for free at any scriptorium, you just need to activate the cookbook, and then switch back after crafting.
  
  
• the easiest potions to make are potions of infernal peace and elixirs of steel.
  
  
• potions of infernal peace are great for clearing out crowds and reviving your friends.
  
  
• elixirs of steel make you tougher and prevent you from getting knocked down.
  
  
• Bolut's Mystical Restoration and Lapis Primus are also really effective, but they're expensive so use them sparingly.
  
  
• the potion of big boy strength is also expensive, you're usually better off making Lapis Primus instead, but the potion of big boy strength is really fun to use on occasion, and it's still pretty effective.
  
  
• Morten's mobility potions are not super useful in combat, but they're also not super expensive and they can be pretty convenient at times.
  
  
• For restoration potions, stick to Eliphoph's Mystical Boon for restoring health, Tonk's Everlasting Energy for restoring stamina, and potions of vigor for restoring both or for when you're already buffed by another potion.