Skyrim Fortify Restoration Loop: Requirements & Steps

Short answer: The Fortify Restoration loop (called "super alchemy" in Japanese) works like this: wear gear enchanted with Fortify Alchemy, brew a Fortify Restoration potion, take the gear off, drink the potion, then put the gear back on. Repeat, and the potion strength snowballs. That strength also carries over to Fortify Enchanting and Fortify Smithing potions. It only works if certain conditions are met, and it may not work at all if you run the Unofficial Skyrim Patch (see below).

Last checked: November 8, 2026. Steam's announcement title lists Update 1.7.99 (August 20, 2026, plus an August 27 hotfix) as the latest. The version in an announcement title can differ from the actual game version; this site confirmed the game itself at 1.7.104 on September 10. The notes mention no Alchemy, Enchanting, or Restoration changes. I have not tested the loop in-game on the current version. UESP says the Unofficial Skyrim Patch (USKP) fixed it in 1.3.0. If you use mods, try it on a separate save first.

What the loop actually does

A Fortify Restoration potion normally boosts Restoration magic. In the loop, you brew the potion while wearing Fortify Alchemy gear, then take the gear off and drink it. When you put the gear back on, its Fortify Alchemy value is larger for as long as the potion lasts, so the next potion comes out stronger. Repeat to push the value as high as you want.

UESP does not explain why the game scales the enchantment this way, so I will not guess. What is documented is the behavior and the conditions below.

Requirements: check these first if it fails

• Fortify Alchemy gear: it can go on head, neck, arms (gauntlets), and finger slots. To make your own, disenchant an item with Fortify Alchemy to learn the effect.
• The condition (UESP): let e be your total Fortify Alchemy bonus and r the strength of a Fortify Restoration potion you can brew without gear (both as decimals, so 40% is 0.4). The loop works when e > (1 − r)² ÷ (4r).
• UESP examples: at Alchemy 40 with Benefactor and 3 ranks of Alchemist, 26% total gear is enough. At Alchemy 30 with Benefactor and 2 ranks, you need at least 37%. At Alchemy 60 with Benefactor and 4 ranks, 15% is enough. If the numbers are close, you will need a very large number of ingredients.
• Japanese guide's rule of thumb: Kamigame (a Japanese game guide) asks for at least 40% total Alchemy gear and Alchemist rank 2 or higher. That is only that guide's guideline. It does not include your Alchemy level or Benefactor, so check the formula above to confirm the loop will run.
• Unofficial patches: UESP tags the loop as fixed in USKP 1.3.0. Its Enchanting page also says that with the Unofficial Skyrim Patch installed, the Necromage perk and Fortify Restoration potions no longer affect enchanting bonuses. I have not confirmed whether the Special Edition version (USSEP) carries the same fix. If the loop fails with the patch installed, that may be why.

UESP also lists workarounds for when you do not meet the condition (such as building up Fortify Restoration through poison). They are long and setup-dependent, so this guide skips them.

Ingredients

Steps: the loop

1. Equip all of your Fortify Alchemy gear.
2. At an alchemy lab, brew one Fortify Restoration potion. Brew it with the gear on.
3. Unequip all of the gear (favorites make this faster).
4. Drink the potion.
5. Re-equip the gear. If its Fortify Alchemy value is higher than before, it is working.
6. Go back to step 2 and repeat until you reach your target.

The first potion is just a normal one. The effect appears from the second round onward. If the number does not rise, recheck the requirements above.

After the loop: putting the potions to work

1. Once Fortify Restoration is strong enough, brew a Fortify Enchanting potion.
2. Drink it, then use a filled soul gem to enchant a separate, unenchanted piece of gear (head, neck, arms, or finger) with Fortify Alchemy. The value is vastly higher than normal. You now have a work outfit that makes strong potions at will, without redoing the loop (UESP's method).
3. Wear it, brew and drink a Fortify Smithing potion, and improve weapons at a grindstone and armor at a workbench (improvement materials are still required). A Fortify Enchanting potion can likewise strengthen Health, Magicka, and Stamina enchantments.

Notes from UESP:

• Potion strength drops sharply once the Fortify Restoration effect expires. Time keeps passing at the arcane enchanter, so prepare several potions first and keep item names short or skip them.
• The boosted value only holds while the gear stays equipped. Take it off and it returns to normal.
• You do not need astronomical numbers. UESP says armor rating caps at 642, and weapon damage around 1,000 kills most enemies in one hit, with about 2,000 enough even on Legendary difficulty.

Number limits and crashes

• UESP: any value above 2,147,483,647 wraps to a negative number and the glitch stops working.
• UESP: on Xbox One Special Edition, Enchanting potions boosted past roughly 10,000% crash the game.
• Kamigame: brewing further once a potion passes about 800 million percent can crash the game.

You do not need to go that far. Save to a separate slot regularly while looping.

Optional boosts

• Falmer helmet plus circlet: a bug lets you wear a second headpiece, which adds one more Fortify Alchemy slot. UESP tags it as fixed in USKP 1.2.
• Ahzidal's relics: wearing any four of the seven relics grants the Ahzidal's Genius power (+10 Enchanting). Dragonborn is required (UESP Powers).
• Black Book: The Sallow Regent: a Dragonborn Black Book. Seeker of Sorcery makes enchantments 10% stronger, and Seeker of Shadows makes thief skills (including Alchemy) 10% stronger. They are mutually exclusive, but you can swap them at the Black Book (UESP).
• Enchanting perks: Enchanter (5 ranks) makes new enchantments up to 100% stronger. Insightful Enchanter, taken at Enchanting 50, makes skill enchantments on armor 25% stronger (UESP).
• Vampire plus Necromage: UESP's Enchanting page includes this in its loop maximum. An unofficial patch disables it.

What was corrected in this guide (November 8, 2026)

• The latest patch was listed as 1.6.1170. It now follows Steam's Update 1.7.99.
• The Physician perk was described as central to the loop. UESP says it boosts potions that restore Health, Magicka, or Stamina, so it is removed.
• Enchanting perk details were rechecked against UESP (Insightful Enchanter is taken at Enchanting 50).
• The Black Book was named "Winds of Change" and described as boosting Enchanting, Alchemy, and Smithing together. UESP lists the Seeker powers under The Sallow Regent, with the actual rewards above.
• Example figures ("29% to 80%") and the "tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of percent is safe" guideline had no source and were replaced with sourced numbers.

Sources

• UESP: Skyrim:Glitches (Infinitely Powerful Items)
• UESP: Skyrim:Enchanting (Maximizing Enchantment Power)
• UESP: Fortify Alchemy, Fortify Restoration, Fortify Enchanting, Fortify Smithing
• UESP: Skyrim:Powers
• Kamigame: How to do super alchemy (Japanese, updated 2025/08/22)
• Steam: Skyrim Special Edition news (Update 1.7.99)

This technique badly breaks game balance. Keep a separate save so you can return to normal play.