I don't understand where to find information

This game seems quite odd to me in the way it holds your hand through some things, and not others. For instance, I have absolutely NO idea how to craft potions, and can’t find any information on this. I found the alchemy location, however, the book only shows me the names of herbs, there’s only 1 recipe I can read for some reason. I’m on a quest to craft or find some Embrocation for the scribe, and I have absolutely no idea what i need for it. How am I supposed to find out? I found a wiki page that tells me what’s in the Embrocation, but I’m not alt/tabbing out of the game every time I want to make something. Why doesn’t the alchemy book layout all of the potions and what’s used to craft them? It’s in some giberish, and it only shows me herbs. I mean it’s fine if the game is going to challenge me in this way, but it’s so random in the way it holds my hand through some quests, and then others just expect me to know a bunch of stuff without telling me how to find it. It’s frustrating when the challenging part of the game is simply a matter of leaving the game to learn how to play it. Imagine if I was on a quest that was straight forward and didn’t expect me to be a mind reader. Maybe one day.

Can your Henry read? hoping yes, How good is your herbalism? Can you follow a cooking recipe or cake mix box IRL? The recipes are not hard to follow.
It sounds like you about totally ignored these 2 skills, and where to buy/ pick/find the components/potions. Merchants such as the herbalist that help heal your henry in Rattay sell these items, herbalist in the countryside sell plants and recipes. Picking herds helps Identify them.
The lack 0to me seems more your fault. I did not have major difficulty following the recipes and before attempting I had raised my herbalism and got a hold of recipes by buying of stealing.
IRL I can follow recipes and cook BTW which are more involved than in the game. The game own help sections diagram the alchemy section and its parts and how the work

I don’t know if Henry can read. Again, how would I know? No part of the game thus far has lead me to reading. Or if it had, it wasn’t prominent. I surely didn’t acknowledge it.

If you have not been to Ushitz and did the reading mission ( which you would definitely remember as it is not a simple fetch quest) or even asked where to read and/or if a book/map/ letter is a jumbled mess of letters then no.
If you went to the Alchemist next to the Rathaus , you might find he might sell what you need.
Potion and herbs will help in the game as for healing/buffing/restoring you or items through out the game.
Edit: correction

How was I supposed to learn that? I’m curious. What you just told me right there was never mentioned in the game thus far. How can reading be required to complete this portion of the main quest, yet, no other part of the main quest has prompted me to learn how to read? This game is so weird.

If and when you went the alchemist in Rattay to pay your debt a conversation topic line would show asking where to learn to read and play thru online too would show the need… Since you went on the net if looked up potion you find the need to read. there are a couple conversation ( I can’t recall) where reading skill is brought up.

So I guess here’s what I would request to the game developers. If reading is going to be mandatory to complete main quests, reading as a skill has to also be included in the main quest. You can’t make reading “optional” in the main story line, but then later on in the main quest demand it as a skill. It’s not a professional mechanic.

It is not “mandatory” . Reading skill just yields access to parts of the game that enhance your character and game play. Just as potions do.
Just remember the historical fact that reading ability was rare.

But it is. I need to craft embrocation for the scribe in the main quest, but I can’t read the alchemy book to understand the potions. How else would I learn how to craft these potions? There are no herbalists showing up anywhere on my map, and I haven’t ran into one in the game. Do they sell potions?

I am not sure where, but during main quet I at least once heard that you can visit scribe in Uzhitz and he will teach you reading. Until then, every in-game text you see will have randomly mixed letters and is practically unreadable. After you learn reading, come back to alchemy lab and look into book. The book has two sections, you can switch between them. One part describes herbs, the second recipes for potions. Recipe is easily understandable, you won§t have problem with that.

If you do more than just run from main quest to main quest and not take time to explore, do side missions you nerf yourself in what the game has to offer and teach. Have even seen what the alchemist even sell in rattay? He might even sell the potion you want.

Thanks. I wish the game would have made reading a mandatory skill if it were going to be mandatory in the main quest. It basically just left it as optional. The main quest prompted me to learn how to sword fight, but not read.

Yeah, no. I’ve just been doing the main quest. I thought that was the game.

yes , if you asked around you would have found out about the scribe in Ushitz.

Why didn’t it make me seek out the sword fighting mechanic? It’s not consistent. After the main quest prompted me to find somebody who taught me how to sword fight, I just figured that’s how the game would teach the mechanics. That’s what I mean by holding my hand in some ways, but not others. It’s very scattershot.

the game is much more than the MQ line. It will give you and idea of what life was like back then . Not precisely but a taste and a some adventure.

In every other video game I’ve ever played, and I’ve played a lot, the main quest never requires you to seek out optional skills. The side missions are just little fun things you can explore in between main quest missions. This game is forcing me to partake in “optional” quests. Do you see how that’s confusing?

In other words, I can’t continue progressing in this game unless I go back and seek out some of the “optional” missions. That’s very confusing. It’s either a part of the game or it’s not. If it’s a mandatory part of the game , it needs to be in the main quests, simple and shut. Otherwise… what in gods name is the actual distinction between “MAIN” and “SIDE” lol.

the first 20 hours of the game in skalitz is essentially teaching you the very basics if the game mechanics. the rest is the game and living thru is the life of a simple tradesman’s son forced to grow up quick. The mostly will not hold your hand like other fantasy games. you learn swords and fighting when you need it for the story. Reading picking flowers and making potions ca be totally ignore and the game can give work arounds for such a path. Fighting and weapons on the other hand is mandatory. How you learn them and skills is up to you.

Basically you guys are just telling me the side quests are a hell of a lot more important than they are in any other game. Good to know. Thank you for actually telling me that.