DEX weapons

[Carynara]

Hi all,

I heard on YT that Finesse weapons (like Shortswords and iirc Rapiers) dmg scale with DEX instead of STR. Is this correct? I'm having a hard time finding concrete info about this in-game, any idea where I should look?

I'd like to start a Fighter/Rogue char and plan to go Rogue first so I can allocate my stats better (Fighter would force me to have a higher min STR and lower max DEX).

I wonder, would going max DEX and using Finesse wep work well even after I multiclass to Fighter?

[Recjawjind]

Yes, weapons that have the finesse tag use your dex for their attack and damage rolls instead of strength, if your dex is higher.

If your strength is higher (and it would thus be beneficial to use your strength), they use your strength as normal.

Ranged weapons like bows and crossbows always use your dex, and cannot use your strength.

Edit: Also your class doesn't force any allocation. It only "recommends" something (which usually is pretty bad from an optimization standpoint tbh) but you can freely pick your stats however you want.

[Raven]

If a weapon has finesse, you can use your dex instead of str. That doesn't mean you *have* to, for those that have higher str, just the option is there.

[Teehetki]

Put mouse over the item you want to know more, then press T. After that you can just point over text you want to know more, in your case finesse. This works on spells and skills too and is must use sometimes when you see "..." in spell description to see whole text.

[Kino]

finesse weapons allow the usage of dexterity modifier rather than strength. if you're going the warcaster route there's also the possibility of using charisma by using the warlock's pact of the blade (obtained on lvl 3).
fighters are good with dex builds too as long as you keep to finesse/ranged weapons

[Rez Elwin]

Yes, finesse weapons scale off Dex. Class also doesn't matter, you can be a Dex based fighter, all that matters is if the weapon is finesse based or not. The only reason you usually wouldn't do high dex on a warrior is that they have heavy armor proficiency and won't be getting a dex bonus from armor anyway, saving the points for other stats.

[Carynara]

Thanks everyone for the replies, this is all super helpful! I had no idea about half of these things lol.

Originally posted by Recjawjind:

Also your class doesn't force any allocation. It only "recommends" something (which usually is pretty bad from an optimization standpoint tbh) but you can freely pick your stats however you want.

IIRC selecting Fighter first didn't allow me to go below 10 STR or higher than DEX 16 but I'll check again in case I'm mistaken. I'd love to start as Fighter to get the extra attack asap.

[Rez Elwin]

Originally posted by Carynara:

IIRC selecting Fighter first didn't allow me to go below 10 STR or higher than DEX 16 but I'll check again in case I'm mistaken. I'd love to start as Fighter to get the extra attack asap.

Your +2 was probably set on strength, stats cannot go below 8, stats also cannot go past 15 during creation.

You can max out 1 skill at 17 in creation using 15 points and the +2.

With the way they set the game up all races and classes have the same exact stat distribution.

[Carynara]

Originally posted by Rez Elwin:

Your +2 was probably set on strength

Oh right, that was it. Thanks!