General Potions Tips
Here are some general potions tips that all Hogwarts students must comply to in order to survive Snape's class :)
For the potions recipes, just click here. For potion-specific tips, click on the its recipe name.
For regenerating ingredients and their locations, click here.
Potions tip A - DIRECTIONS:
Familiarise yourself with the instructions before beginning. This helps as you won't be surprised at the next step. All the steps must be completed in the order they are written otherwise you will fail. To help, you can also write the directions and have them next to you or have a video tutorial playing in the background.
Potions tip B - INGREDIENTS:
When putting ingredients in the mortar or cauldron, always look at the counter to know if you put or poured the needed amount (very important because if you put more than the needed amount, you fail)... also be aware that even the tiniest speck of ingredient going somewhere it should not, will make your potion fail or reset
Potions tip C - CRUSHING:
when using the pestle, crush ingredients and then stop as soon as the marker turns GREEN, if you do more than that, you will fail. You crush by clicking the pestle repeatedly OR by repeatedly clicking the centre of the mortar. To move the mixture from your mortar to your cauldron, click the powder inside and not the mortar.
Potions tip D - BOTTLED INGREDIENTS:
when using ingredients in bottles, hold it at its tip for better control and make it lean on the cauldron or mortar for support
Potions tip E - HEATING:
when heating, adjust the flames by pressing the buttons below the cauldron (off, low heat, high heat) so that the marker stays within the limit, never go above or below it. If the bar turns red, you will need to restart your potion.
Potions tip F - STIRRING:
when stirring, wait for the mouse pointer to turn into a hand, click on spoon then drag it going clockwise or anti-clockwise as instructed, in a circular motion. Watch the count when stirring, sometimes it does not register.
Potions tip G - WAND:
You need to wave your wand to complete your potion, it requires holding down your mouse and dragging your wand up for a second
Potions tip H - MELTING CAULDRONS:
Avoid melting cauldrons… you will lose 5 points from your total tally and it is very costly to buy a new one. Melting cauldrons occur from large mistakes made in the brewing process; such as overheating. A melting cauldron is usually preceded by green smoke coming out of your cauldron but it can also happen instantaneously if you overheat your cauldron.
Potions tip I -TEAMWORK:
if you need ingredients, be SPECIFIC and post in the comment board ALL the ingredients that you need... if you can't brew for the life of you, is currently in a potions glitch or is too busy with work and don't have time, you can gift your ingredients to those who are in need... if you are a boss in brewing, offer to brew for others and advertise it on the comment board.
Potions tip J - REGENERATING INGREDIENTS:
bezoar, dried billywig stings, wolfsbane, horned slugs, mistletoe berries and more are free so don't buy them (especially that bezoar because its waaaay expensive) and always ask in the common room for those that don't regenerate because someone will always be willing to gift them to you. Regenerating ingredients can be used as soon as its gone in your trunk. when you recollect ingredients you don't get points again and its always just a piece. Check the list of regenerating ingredients here
Potions tip L - PRACTICE:
new students must start with cure of boils... this has a "training session" so to speak so take advantage of that. Practice until you get it right, after all practice makes perfect!
Potions tip M - CAULDRONS:
There is a difference in brewing times between the 3 cauldrons. Brass cauldron is 15% faster than pewter, and copper cauldron is 25% faster than pewter.
Potions tip N - SAVE MONEY:
don't spend too much because the next time we will get an "allowance" is on the day the next book opens, so SAVE those galleons :)
Potions tip O - MISTAKES:
refreshing or clicking back after you make mistakes will cause you to fail and it will consume your ingredients, thus make sure you are very careful. Remember that it does take a while to get used to brewing so don't be too hard on yourself if you don't get it the first time around.
Potions tip P - TIMER:
the hourglass on the top left of your potion page is the timer. It's important to keep an eye on it but don't be too caught up by it as you will get a 10 seconds warning. If you don't finish in time, you will need to start again.
(Above tips provided by CloakEye178 and FlameMidnight12)
More Tips
- Feel free to drop bottles or containers after you have used them - you are not penalised for doing so.
- You may continue to the next step of a potion once your current one is crossed off on the instructions, as long as you complete it. This applies in particular when waiting for potions to boil: ingredients may be added while waiting.
