Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 – What is the Difference Between Dried Herbs and Freshly Picked Ones for Alchemy?

Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 has a relatively complex alchemy system that allows Henry to make his own potions, but it can be pretty complex, especially when it comes to finding and using varying ingredients. With the ability to dry certain products, including herbs for potions, you are probably wondering if using those will change anything. This guide will try to answer that question for you.

What is the Difference Between Dried Herbs and Freshly Picked Ones for Alchemy?

In case you were not paying attention to the dialogue very early in the game, when Bozhena teaches you how to find herbs and brew potions, she points out that fresh sage is better than dried ones.

This is because she hints that the latter is mainly used for cooking. However, dried herbs can still be used for alchemy in a pinch, as long as you still have at least one fresh ingredient in your concoction. The quality will not be the best, but it will be usable.

Simply put, fresh ingredients are better. If you use dried ones, this can count as a mistake and will potentially mess up your potion if you have no fresh ingredients at all. That is all there is to it, so make sure to always pay attention to even the little details when talking to story NPCs.

There are various alchemy perks that can cancel out or compensate for the penalties of using dried herbs, such as Secret of Equilibrium. Alternatively, Art of Preservation would make it so that your fresh herbs will not spoil as fast, removing the need to dry them in some occasions.

How to Dry Herbs

If you need to get some dry herbs for the road, you can find a drying rack and place your herbs there. These are found in a lot of places, including taverns or near alchemy stations. You can find one as early as Troskowitz, in the building across the tavern.

You can use both food and herbs on these racks, and to save you some time, they do get dried immediately. If you find yourself picking too many herbs without actually using them for prolonged periods of time, consider drying your herbs and just relying on perks to keep the quality good.

Later on, if you have a really high alchemy level and a certain set of perks, you can probably get away with only using dried herbs. So, if you want to make it to that point, make sure to keep training Henry’s alchemy whenever you have time to do so!

And that is everything you need to know with regards to using fresh or dried herbs. While you are here, consider checking out our guide on the ten best horses with good stats in Kingdom Come Deliverance 2. By picking the right one, you can save so much time when going on herb foraging runs and making your way to the nearest alchemy stations.