Attributes & Point Buy

Details on attributes, training, potentials, and how these inform your decisions with point buy.

Attributes

Strength

General bonuses:

• +1 melee to-hit/damage per 2 points over 12
  
• -1 melee to-hit/damage per 2 points under 10
  
• +1 HP per 2 points
  
• Improves carrying capacity
  
• Roughly +1 damage with rocks, slings, and bows per 4 points

Breakpoints:

• 18 - limit for burden training
  
• 36 - limit for missile damage bonus

Strength is the most expensive attribute to increase at 5 points, but is critical for melee fighters, and important for all characters due to it governing carrying capacity. Increasing it to 18 by carrying around a lot of stuff is relatively easy, although certain races may not have a high enough potential for this.

Learning

General bonuses:

• +1 skill advancement on level-up per 5 points over 10
  
• Improves chances to learn spells from spellbooks
  
• Improves amount of knowledge gained when reading spellbooks

Breakpoints:

• 6 - threshold for being able to see wand charge numbers
  
• 10 - threshold for starting out literate

Learning is a fairly expensive attribute to increase at 4 points, and is mainly useful for spellcasters. Other types of characters will have difficulty reading spellbooks even with high learning. Starting with at least 10 learning is quite important for most races and classes, as it allows scrolls to be readable from the start of the game. This aspect of Learning is not relevant for the following races and classes: gray elf, high elf, mist elf, barbarian, beastfighter, and any class that has the Literacy skill already.

Willpower

General bonuses:

• +1 HP per 2 points
  
• +1 ball magic radius per 16 points over 16
  
• Reduces the likelihood of being affected by magical confusion and melee paralysis
  
• Reduces the duration of confusion
  
• +(level - 1) PP per 8 points over 28

Breakpoints:

• 20 - +(level - 1) PP (if Mana > 5)
  
• 28 - +(level - 1) PP (if Mana > 1)
  
• 15 - threshold for taking Immune to Pain

Willpower costs 3 points to increase, and is not critically important for the early-game. Later on it is useful for everyone, as there are required bosses with confusion attacks. It can be increased up to 26 with herbs, although most races will not have the potential for this.

Dexterity

General bonuses:

• +1 DV per 2 points over 1
  
• +1 ranged to-hit per 2 points
  
• +1 ranged damage per 4 points
  
• +1 speed per 4 points over 15
  
• - 1 speed per point under 8
  
• + 1 whip damage per 2 points over 12
  
• Better chances to avoid traps and disarming

Breakpoints:

• 13 - threshold for taking Keen Shot
  
• 15 - threshold for taking Greased Lightning
  
• 16 - +1 speed, +2 range with thrown weapons

Dexterity is a fairly expensive attribute to increase at 4 points, but is fairly useful to all characters. It can be increased up to 26 with herbs, although some races will not have the potential for this.

Toughness

General bonuses:

• +1 HP per 2 points
  
• +(level - 1) HP at many intervals
  
• +1 PV per 2 points over 18
  
• Reduces the likelihood of being affected by stunning and paralytic skin

Breakpoints:

• 12 - threshold for taking Tough Skin
  
• 15 - threshold for taking Iron Skin and Immune to Pain
  
• 20 - threshold for taking Steel Skin

Toughness is a fairly expensive attribute to increase at 4 points, but is critically important for every character due to it governing HP. It also unlocks access to several talents that make the early-game much easier. It can be increased up to 26 with herbs, although some races will not have the potential for this.

Charisma

General bonuses:

• Reduces initial shop prices for males
  
• Increases the chance to successfully command companions

Charisma is cheap to increase at 2 points, but is almost completely worthless. Generally it should only be invested in to manipulate the starting attribute total.

Appearance

General bonuses:

• Slightly reduces the effectiveness of corruption
  
• Slightly increases the effectiveness of corruption removal
  
• Dynamically affects shop prices for females

Breakpoints:

• 19 - no perception loss from mirror rooms

Appearance is very cheap to increase at 1 point, but is almost completely worthless. Generally it should only be invested in to manipulate the starting attribute total.

Mana

General bonuses:

• +(level - 1) PP per 4 points over 16
  
• Reduces the chance of being affected by attribute drain, doppelganger confusion, and melee slow

Breakpoints:

• 16 - +(level - 1) PP (if Willpower > 1)
  
• 18 - threshold for starting with an additional talent

Mana is fairly expensive to increase at 4 points, and is mainly useful to casters and mindcrafters, although it does offer some general benefits to all characters. Mana can easily be trained by casting spells, but certain races do not have very high potential.

Perception

General bonuses:

• +1 ranged damage per 4 points
  
• +1 ranged to-hit per 6 points
  
• Better chances to avoid traps

Breakpoints:

• 5/10/20/25/30/40 - +1 sight range

Perception costs 3 points to increase, and is of modest general use. Dexterity provides better bonuses overall, but getting at least 10 points of perception for increased line of sight is a good idea. Perception is one of the more difficult attributes to increase to high levels.

Racial Potentials

The following is to give a rough idea of how good potentials will be relative to starting attributes, and thus how much it's possible to compensate for weak starting attributes with training. A rating of "good" indicates an attribute that will have an excellent potential even with little investment into the attribute. A rating of "bad" indicates an attribute that will usually have little room for improvement.

Dark Elf

Good: Learning, Dexterity, Appearance, Mana, Perception
Okay: Willpower
Bad: Strength, Toughness, Charisma

Drakeling

Good: Strength, Toughness
Okay: Learning, Willpower, Dexterity, Appearance, Mana, Perception
Bad: Charisma

Dwarf

Good: Strength, Willpower, Toughness
Okay: Learning, Charisma, Perception
Bad: Dexterity, Mana, Appearance

Gnome

Good: Learning, Dexterity, Mana
Okay: Strength, Willpower, Toughness, Charisma, Perception
Bad: Appearance

Gray Elf

Good: Learning, Dexterity, Appearance, Mana, Perception
Okay: Willpower
Bad: Strength, Toughness, Charisma

High Elf

Good: Learning, Dexterity, Appearance, Mana, Perception
Okay: Willpower
Bad: Strength, Toughness, Charisma

Human

Good: Learning, Willpower
Okay: Strength, Toughness, Charisma, Mana
Bad: Dexterity, Appearance, Perception

Hurthling

Good: Dexterity, Toughness
Okay: Learning, Willpower, Charisma, Perception
Bad: Strength, Appearance, Mana

Mist Elf

Good: Learning, Dexterity, Appearance, Mana, Perception
Okay: Willpower
Bad: Strength, Toughness, Charisma

Orc

Good: Strength, Toughness
Okay: Learning, Willpower, Dexterity
Bad: Charisma, Appearance, Mana, Perception

Ratling

Good: Dexterity, Toughness
Okay: Strength, Learning, Willpower, Charisma, Mana, Perception
Bad: Appearance

Troll

Good: Strength, Toughness
Okay: Learning, Perception
Bad: Willpower, Dexterity, Charisma, Appearance, Mana

Basic Attribute Training

A basic overview of how to train attributes, to give an idea of how difficult it is to train up particular attributes in the early-to-mid game.

Strength

Potential-limited methods:

• Being burdened (trains up to 15)
  
• Being strained (trains up to 16)
  
• Being strained! (trains up to 18)
  
• Eating ogre corpses (trains up to 19)

Potential-increasing methods:

• Eating dark orc corpses (falls off in the mid 20s)
  
• Eating orc butcher corpses (falls off in the mid 20s)
  
• Eating stone giant corpses (falls off in the mid 20s)

Learning

Potential-limited methods:

• Reading spellbooks
  
• Garth training
  
• Using blessed crystals of knowledge

Potential-increasing methods:

• Eating the oracle's corpse

Willpower

Potential-limited methods:

• Eating 4-5 morgia roots (trains up to 25 -- 26 with overtraining)

Dexterity

Potential-limited methods:

• Using 2 blessed or 3 uncursed mosses of mareilon (trains up to 25 -- 26 with overtraining)
  
• Catching returning missiles

Toughness

Potential-limited methods:

• Eating 4 morgia roots (trains up to 25 -- 26 with overtraining)

Potential-increasing methods:

• Eating wight corpses (falls off in the mid 20s)
  
• Eating wraith corpses (falls off in the mid 20s)

Charisma

Potential-limited methods:

• Garth training

Appearance

Potential-increasing methods:

• Eating gelee royal

Mana

Potential-limited methods:

• Casting spells

Potential-increasing methods:

• Eating kobold shaman corpses

Perception

Potential-limited methods:

• Drinking blessed potions of carrot juice
  
• Garth training

Potential-increasing methods:

• Drinking potions of carrot juice in carrot rooms

TL;DR

Non-casters

• Toughness > Strength > Dexterity > Willpower = Learning = Perception > Mana > Charisma = Appearance
  
• At least 10 points in Perception
  
• At least 10 points in Learning if Literacy is not a racial or class skill
  
• Attribute total divisible by 7 for an extra talent

Spellcasters

• Toughness > Learning > Mana > Strength > Willpower = Dexterity > Perception > Charisma = Appearance
  
• At least 15 points (ideally 20) in Learning
  
• At least 18 points in Mana
  
• At least 10 points in Perception
  
• Maximum Strength if playing a race with bad potential
  
• Attribute total divisible by 7 for an extra talent

[Yulgash]

For Archers I would still max Toughness, and wouldn't max Perception. Strength vs Dexterity is interesting, on the one hand, carrying capacity is still important and there's some marginal ranged benefit for arrows and rocks, on the other, Dexterity is the best ranged attribute.

In the end, you cannot really make a one or two (or even three) size(s)-fits-all rule of thumb that perfectly covers all combos and playstyles.

[Sputnik]

Good guide, thanks. How about adding a 3rd build in your TL;DR chapeter for shooters?

For my Archers I always dump max points on Dexterity and Perception. Toughness and Strength not so much, since i seldom go hand to hand.

[Yulgash]

That is true in general, but I think the difference between Ch and Ap doesn't matter too much for point buy when I'm advising putting the minimum possible number of points in either! I guess in practice this means favoring Ap anyway in almost all cases, since it's cheaper.

[Enivid]

Great guide! However, I have one minor notice - Ap is more valuable than Ch. Getting Ap from 10 to 30 will decrease your corruption rate by 16.7% (greater than the Unicorn star sign bonus) and will also improve your corruption removal power by 20%. During the course of a game, the difference can amount to several SoCRs. Getting Ch from 10 to 30 isn't worth much if you aren't using pets.

[Yulgash]

You're welcome; here's to many more!

[gizmo51]

Hey, I thought I'd just say thanks for helping so many people out for so many years.

[Yulgash]

You should eat 4-5 at a time. The exception would be when the stat you want to increase is at 24 - in this case you want to eat everything because the herbs will stop working once you hit 25.

It's possible to "bank" up to two increases with excess training, but not more than that; hence why you normally don't want to eat too much at a time.

[Geralt]

Thx for answer and help. Additional question. Should I eat everything and wait or eat in "parts". In other words do statistics can increase by more then 1 or I will waste if i will eat too much.

[Yulgash]

You just need to wait for a while. The game periodically checks for attribute training (there's also a guaranteed check when you level up), and increases your attributes if you have sufficient training. Also: morgia trains willpower and toughness, but not strength.

[Geralt]

Anyone knows why i dont get attributes from eating morgia roots (possible others too but does not checked)?

I have dwarf paladin 13 level. Stats:
Strength: 21/34
Willpower: 14/27

I have:
9 uncursed morgia toots
11 cursed morgia roots
4 blessed morgia roots
When i will eat every root no strength or willpower increase - even by 1 point. How it should work? I need to wait for a effect or it is some kind of bug. Can even sent a savegame as archived before eating as in previous game had similar problems. Not sure if herbs even work for me. Please help :)