Level 4 Sorcerer, 20 attribute, or take a feat?

[Wolff]

I got my White/Cold Sorc to level 4, and with Auntie Ethel’s hair, I can have 20 Charisma or stay at 18 and get the Magic Initiate: Warlock. I’ve never had an attribute at level 20, and how much more powerful is your character at 20 points?

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2913028262

I have a deep gnome wizard that I can do the same and get an intelligence of up to 20.

How many times will we be able to take another feat and level up our attributes for the full release?

[Starwight/ttv]

Generally you can choose an ability score or take a feet around every 4th level, with the final one occurring around level 19 in tabletop DnD.

To answer your question, I would always max out your primary stat unless there's a feat in particular that will be a game changer for you. For example, my Cleric in my tabletop game had 18 in Wis, and I opted for the Warcaster feat since I often used a shield in combat.

Some of the feats are really good. In early access we cap at level 5 so you won't get another chance to get magic initiate, but if they follow the same tabletop progression, when you hit level 8 you could take that feat.

Some things to keep in mind:

1. Feats are strong, yes, and well worth taking
2. It may not be worth taking *at the detriment of your primary stat* because as a caster, your primary stat will effect your spellcasting DC (how difficult it is to save against your magic), and the chance to hit with your spells (and in some cases the damage of your spells).

So before you take a feat over maxing out a skill, consider if it is worth delaying getting that +5 to your attribute.

[Wolff]

Thank you for the quick reply! I was thinking about the Hex spell, and Eldritch blast would make her strong with 18 Charisma. I'll go with 20 Charisma instead and enjoy my first character at 20.

[IgnatiusJ.Reilly]

Yes, the twenty charisma would be best, in my opinion.

[Heu, Iterum Id Feci]

+1 on your modifier gives you around 5% more hitchance, depending on the spell +1 to damage etc.
While having +2 in your primary stat is always nice, it's also often overrated.
Feats on the other hand depend a lot on your char.
Ie. Your plan of magic initiate has major problems. Eldritch blast is so good for warlocks, because they can get all the additional eldritch invocations that add to it....ie allowing the cha-mod to be added to the damage, pushing/pulling enemies etc. On it's own, without those Eldritch blast is still not bad, but not nearly as powerful as when used by a warlock that's build around it. And there are other cantrips you have access to as a sorc, that are pretty much as good as eldritch blast without its augments.
having hex, certainly isn't a bad spell, but it's also not that powerful and it requires concentration...and there's the problem...as sorc/wizard you often have better things to do with your concentration.
All in all it sounds like a bit of a waste of a feat tbh...
I'm a big fan of feats in general and 18 in primary stat is fine, but maybe there are better choices...I can't really remember which ones are in the game right now, so it's a bit hard for me to recommend one...

[Harukage]

TBH there are no feats so far that are super usefull to casters currently in EA. Unless you are a dwarf abjuration wizard or something. In that case take the ability to wear heavy armor. That is all.

[Starwight/ttv]

Originally posted by (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Rusty ♥:

+1 on your modifier gives you around 5% more hitchance, depending on the spell +1 to damage etc.
While having +2 in your primary stat is always nice, it's also often overrated.
Feats on the other hand depend a lot on your char.
Ie. Your plan of magic initiate has major problems. Eldritch blast is so good for warlocks, because they can get all the additional eldritch invocations that add to it....ie allowing the cha-mod to be added to the damage, pushing/pulling enemies etc. On it's own, without those Eldritch blast is still not bad, but not nearly as powerful as when used by a warlock that's build around it. And there are other cantrips you have access to as a sorc, that are pretty much as good as eldritch blast without its augments.
having hex, certainly isn't a bad spell, but it's also not that powerful and it requires concentration...and there's the problem...as sorc/wizard you often have better things to do with your concentration.
All in all it sounds like a bit of a waste of a feat tbh...
I'm a big fan of feats in general and 18 in primary stat is fine, but maybe there are better choices...I can't really remember which ones are in the game right now, so it's a bit hard for me to recommend one...

See, I play mostly casters, and I feel like because that 20 effects not only spell chance to hit, but also your spell save DC--and in some cases damage (like Warlock's agonizing blast), it's often better to max out my primary before I take feats; with a few exceptions depending on my character. If there is a feat I absolutely need to get my character off the ground, and I already have an 18 I'll delay until the next feat/attribute level to raise it. I am a HUGE fan of feats. But it's hard for me to justify taking a feat over maxing my attribute in about 75% of cases I've personally run into.

Originally posted by Wolff:

Thank you for the quick reply! I was thinking about the Hex spell, and Eldritch blast would make her strong with 18 Charisma. I'll go with 20 Charisma instead and enjoy my first character at 20.

A) no problem at all! and B), bear in mind that this subject is going to be somewhat subjective as well as dependent on your particular playstyle and build you are going for. I'd recommend experimenting while we are in early access and seeing what works for how you play! Someone else pointed out they prefer the feat, and that's perfectly valid too. I'm a fan of feats myself, but I'll often max my mainline attribute first.

Originally posted by Harukage:

TBH there are no feats so far that are super usefull to casters currently in EA. Unless you are a dwarf abjuration wizard or something. In that case take the ability to wear heavy armor. That is all.

Got to look at the big picture though. There will be outside of early access for 1, and for 2, if this person decides they want to transition to tabletop DnD after enjoying BG3 so much, they will want to know the arguments for and against taking a feat vs raising an attribute and the pros/cons of each decision.

[Heu, Iterum Id Feci]

Originally posted by Starwight/ttv:

See, I play mostly casters, and I feel like because that 20 effects not only spell chance to hit, but also your spell save DC--and in some cases damage (like Warlock's agonizing blast), so I prefer to max out my primary before I take feats; with a few exceptions depending on my character. If there is a feat I absolutely need to get my character off the ground, and I already have an 18 I'll delay until the next feat/attribute level to raise it. I am a HUGE fan of feats. But it's hard for me to justify taking a feat over maxing my attribute in about 75% of cases I've personally run into.

I also play mostly cha casters, so I know that to well.
But taking Ability Score vs. Feat is another thing that's been discussed over and over again at the different TTRPG sites, and never really been resolved. It's largely a matter of preference. In the end 18 vs 20 cha doesn't make a huge difference, while certainly still being noticable and the same is true for feats. If it was 16 vs 18 I would be more on your side anyway. And your choice certainly is a very popular one, which resulted in some GMs increasing Starting stats on the tabletop, so more players choose Feats etc.
But still the game stays absolutely playable with 18 casting stat + feat, and might be situational and depending on the feat even better. 20 casting stat however is the more generalized solution.
In the end I don't think you'd do something wrong either way, I think. Play however you like, is what I wanted to express with that. :)

[Starwight/ttv]

Originally posted by (っ◔◡◔)っ ♥ Rusty ♥:

Originally posted by Starwight/ttv:

See, I play mostly casters, and I feel like because that 20 effects not only spell chance to hit, but also your spell save DC--and in some cases damage (like Warlock's agonizing blast), so I prefer to max out my primary before I take feats; with a few exceptions depending on my character. If there is a feat I absolutely need to get my character off the ground, and I already have an 18 I'll delay until the next feat/attribute level to raise it. I am a HUGE fan of feats. But it's hard for me to justify taking a feat over maxing my attribute in about 75% of cases I've personally run into.

I also play mostly cha casters, so I know that to well.
But taking Ability Score vs. Feat is another thing that's been discussed over and over again at the different TTRPG sites, and never really been resolved. It's largely a matter of preference. In the end 18 vs 20 cha doesn't make a huge difference, while certainly still being noticable and the same is true for feats. If it was 16 vs 18 I would be more on your side anyway. And your choice certainly is a very popular one, which resulted in some GMs increasing Starting stats on the tabletop, so more players choose Feats etc.
But still the game stays absolutely playable with 18 casting stat + feat, and might be situational and depending on the feat even better. 20 casting stat however is the more generalized solution.
In the end I don't think you'd do something wrong either way, I think. Play however you like, is what I wanted to express with that. :)

I agree with you on the 18 vs 20, in that it is absolutely playable. I have a warlock right now, whom I took a feat for (I can't remember what feat it is off the top of my head, but I wanted to experiment with something I remember that), and it's noticeable as you said...but I don't really feel like it's absolutely destroying the character. So you're absolutely right here, the game (both this one and tabletop) is definitely playable.

I just lean more towards the better hit chance and save DC, personally. I don't think there is a singular "this is the right answer" thing. It's going to heavily depend on playstyle and to a very large degree, personal preference.

One other thing to consider is that even with an 18, that doesn't neccessarily mean you are stuck with that if you never take the raise attribute option, because magical items do exist in the game, so one could simply cap off at 18 and look for a magic item to raise said attribute.

Idk how much BG3 has in the game right now to raise attributes, but it's certainly a tabletop option. So I definitely am not saying your choice is wrong in any sense of the word. There's a lot of variables to consider really.

[Ronin Gamer]

I'm not a person of strong knowledge on this subject, just giving an opinion.
Feats are very dependent on what idea you have in mind for the character. Unlike in the 3.5 rule set like Pathfinder uses, where Feats are paramount to building your character correctly, in 5e which this one is based on it's not AS big of a deal. A feat can certainly help, or be fun to test out in EA which if you are going to might as well do it now, but it's not the be all end all either.
Getting the score up to 20 however will be a good thing for any character. Some may say pushing it up may be a tad overkill or something along those lines, but every two points you get better chance to hit and better damage with what you are using that stat for, and since your a spell caster likely to be launching spells on the regular, getting that to 20 probably isn't the worst idea.
You can certain have a decent idea going the warlock feat and taking hex or something to combine with what you have already, I'm sure that would work out great as well, but I'd say if you are ever unsure what to do, just go for the two point increase if you can get it, as that will always be a net gain for your character if it's their main stat.

[KOHb]

All the submitted feats for casters in EA suck. Stats is the only good choice here and now IMO.

[Pan Darius Cassandra]

Every +2 to a stat (on even numbers) gives an additional +1 to hit rolls or damage rolls if appropriate.

I've completed all of the EA content with a 16 in my primary stat, on any character. I rarely bother to even get it up to 18 as it's only +5% to hit.

Feats tend to have far more impact on immediate gameplay, and there are a couple of really useful feats for every class, such as Mobile. Some of them even give +1 to a stat so if you plan ahead snd get a 17 in your primary stat, you may end up with 18 and a useful feat.

In the final release we will have the option to roll for our stats, making ASI even less necessary.