for the first little while in the game i'd recommend going to the merchant
to get it done, as you'll need every skill point you can get for more useful
things, depending on your class and how you want to build up.
as for the potion question, i dunno... i think it depends on the bottle size
and all... i dont think i've ever used a shadow potion in the game 'cause when
i used to try it would always freeze. so i just got used to not using it lol.
