SureAI

Is there somewhere that I can get recipes for mainly healing and magica potions? Or is it more a case of trial and error?

There aren't recipes...per se.

If you hover your cursor over an ingredient you will see what kind of potion that ingredient can be made into. You need at least two different ingredients to make a potion.

Currently with your starting skill in Alchemy, all ingredients only have 1 available ability for potions, which makes it difficult to make potions.

However, as you gain skill in Alchemy, you open up more options per ingredient. Once you reach Alchemy 25 you'll open up the second ability, which will make mixing and matching ingredients for potions easier.

You need at least two different ingredients, with the same effect,to make a potion.
One exception: Once you reach level 100 in alchemy you can create potions from a single ingredient.

So if the first effect of two different plants are restore health, you would make a healing potion? Or does the other effects of the plant also come into play?

I better try this... Ok.

Effects must be visible to your Char and present in two or more ingredients in order to affect the potion. (More than two does not give better potions.)
At alchemy 100 you can make single ingredient potions, they will have only the first effect.

Gotcha.

You can also make 3 effect potions. I do this a great deal with effects like shield, fortify magicka and reflect damage. I really like that one.

EDIT: Nevermind. Figured it out.

Brandon

Try buying them from Eriodan, or just liberate some from the Arcane Sanctum.