How do potions work in Diablo 4?

No matter who you are or what class you play, you’ll drink a lot of potions before you finish Diablo 4. Drinking one will instantly heal a portion of your health, and you’ll gain a healing over time effect for a few seconds afterwards.

At the start of the game, you’ll hold a maximum of four potions at once. Fortunately, refilling your potions doesn't cost any money. The easiest way to do this is to return to any major town and look for a basin marked by a heart icon. Interact with one of these and you’ll refill your stock of potions, no questions asked.

You can also upgrade your potions every 10-20 levels by visiting the Alchemist. If you have the proper materials, you’ll increase the amount of HP each potion will bestow. Click here to check out our guide on this process!

Additionally, you can refill your potions before most boss battles by using a basin conveniently placed outside the room of most encounters. Dying in Diablo 4 decreases the durability of your gear, which costs valuable gold to repair. Conversely, you can easily warp back to town to refill potions at almost any point, so you’re almost always better off using potions at the first sign of danger. You won't even lose progress as long as you have an active portal leading back to your original location!

Here's some more valuable information about potions in Diablo 4.

Though you’ll start Diablo 4 holding four potions, you’ll upgrade your carrying capacity throughout the adventure. In fact, you can carry up to ten potions in Diablo 4 if you put in the work for them!

Potion capacity upgrades come from the Renown system. In short, by completing tasks across the open world, you’ll earn Renown. After reaching the second reward tier of each area of the map, you’ll earn an extra potion to carry. In an especially nice touch, these Potion upgrades apply to your entire account. In other words, if you unlock every extra potion on a single character, subsequent characters you create will immediately have ten potions!

Any enemies you battle will have a chance to drop potions upon defeat. This can be a literal life saver in hectic situations, so don't give up if your potion reserve runs low. The longer you fight, the more likely you’ll find that extra health you desperately need.

Additionally, boss monsters will drop potions as you whittle down their health. Above a boss’ health bar, you’ll see red triangles pointed downward (pictured above). Once you drop your foe's HP below the threshold marked by these symbols, one or more potions will fly out. This can help you pace yourself in hard fights, especially if you have trouble dodging a boss’ mechanics. Sometimes, brute forcing a boss to get those extra potions is better than playing it safe.

Potions on the floor will remain for a small amount of time. However, they will disappear if you don't eventually pick them up. For best results, be sure to top off your health when potions drop if you’re already sitting on a full stack of them. Many bosses will get exponentially fiercer in their final phases, so don't waste any healing you have access to!

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