What attribute values should I strive for?
I know that part of the game is electing to trade off one thing for another - and this includes attribute values (e.g. higher magic level to gain access to spells and equipment or higher willpower for more mana). However, I don't know what the different attributes unlock for each character class and so don't know how to make a plan to get the necessary attributes when I need them.
So far I've been concentrating on the 2-3 attributes I think are most needed for each class (e.g. strength & constitution for warrior types and magic, willpower, and constitution for mage types).
Recently, I just discovered that some skills available for Alister also require fairly high (18) dexterity.
What are reasonable values that I should strive to get in each attribute for the various classes?
Best Answer
The answer by K. Patterson is quite good. There are a few additional details to keep in mind though:
Resistances
Every point in Strength, Constitution, and Dexterity increase physical resistance by half a point while each point in Magic, Cunning, and Willpower increase mental resistance by half a point. (These translate very loosely to 1% reduced chance of related status effects per point of resistance.) Without going into the exact mechanics, it is worth stating that the benefits of resistances are disproportionately reduced when you have very little of that resistance. Thus, you are rewarded for focusing mental stats as a mage and neglecting physical stats because a trivial bonus to physical resistance will give you effectively no benefit.
Resource Pools
Constitution and Willpower (even for non-mages) can be important to a degree. Beyond a comfortable threshold they won't add much, but on harder difficulties you'll need to spend a little in each for most characters. Constitution will play a larger role for Blood Mages as they'll need to use a bit of their health pool to cast their spells while their special mode is active. A low Willpower can be made up for by a massive investment in mana potions for mages, but Warriors/Rogues won't have that option in the base game. (Deep Mushrooms restore a very small amount of stamina -- typically not enough to matter.) In the expansion stamina potions exist and make Willpower far less necessary for Warriors and Rogues.
Skills
Some skills require Cunning to unlock. This includes Persuasion, Stealing, and Survival. A cunning of 16 is sufficient to unlock the highest rank of all of these. (Note that Persuasion requires 16 cunning but when used as intimidation, will use the Strength attribute to increase your chances of success, not cunning.) Thus, a bit of Cunning can be helpful for a warrior that desires to learn survival.
Arcane Warrior Equipment
The Arcane Warrior mage specialization will use Magic for equipping all kinds of gear that normally require high strength scores. This is yet another reason why stacking magic on Mages is so useful.
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