The Deluxe version of the game features the ability to assign the attributes using a point system during the character creation. This mostly eliminates the randomness of the natural and question-based attribute rolls (attribute potentials still retain some randomness). This is particularly helpful for underpowered race/class combinations that are especially sensitive to starting attributes.
Cost of raising[]
Each attribute is assigned a cost in points, so you can't expect to trade e.g. one point in Charisma for one point in Strength.
| Attribute | Cost |
|---|---|
| Strength | 5 |
| Learning | 4 |
| Willpower | 3 |
| Dexterity | 4 |
| Toughness | 4 |
| Charisma | 2 |
| Appearance | 1 |
| Mana | 4 |
| Perception | 3 |
Minimum and maximum values[]
The minimum and maximum values for each attribute are determined by the character's age, race, profession (class), starsign, and gender, as usual, with race and class always having the strongest effects.
Note that the maximum values shown in the point distribution dialogue are not the same as attribute potentials! The potentials will always be at least one point higher than the value you point-buy to. But the fewer points you assign to an attribute, the lower its potential will be upon creation. If you assign points with early-game training in mind, ensure that your resulting potentials allow taking the most advantage of the training. This is particularly important for race/class combinations that have naturally low potential for an important attribute such as Strength or Toughness.
General strategy[]
A simple and effective distribution method is to start by reducing all attribute values to their minimum and then raising them back up in the order of decreased importance.
All character builds naturally have 2–3 attributes that will benefit them the most; these would commonly be raised to a high value. For melee-centric characters, these would usually be Strength, Toughness, and Dexterity. For spellcasters, Learning, Willpower, and Mana. For ranged weapon specialists, Dexterity, Perception, and Toughness. These priorities are not set in stone, but they are provided as a rule of thumb since they have a direct influence on the class's performance in combat.
The rest of the points would then be distributed with respect to various thresholds and good-to-haves, such as getting Perception to 10 to increase line of sight, Mana to 18 for a free talent (which could be used to get +2 on another attribute), getting a speed bonus out of Dexterity, avoiding extra penalties for starved attributes, etc.
Characters that don't intend to use minions have little use for Charisma, while Appearance's corruption resistance bonus is not very prominent in shorter games where some non-essential areas are deliberately skipped. These two cheaper attributes can still be put to good use by bringing the sum total of all attributes to a value divisible by 7 for another free talent — which, again, could be used for the +2 on a more costly attribute. This is a good trade-off, especially if you use it to increase an important attribute that is already maximized.
In some cases, especially revolving around classes with a very broad spectrum of possible builds (such as Bards), it might make sense to raise attributes more evenly, which comes with an opportunity to take good advantage of blessed potions of balance.
While prioritizing is important and effective, raising any of the starting attributes very high is rarely worth it: all important thresholds are reached around 30–32 for most attributes, and investing the remainder in other attributes can be more valuable in terms of the character's performance. Having the attribute values in mid-30s or above only comes into play in the very late stages of the game where you want to take maximum advantage of your damage, range, defenses, and are less likely to overkill. In the early game, on the other hand, your prospects of survival depend more on avoiding penalties and quickly ramping up HP, PP, innate resistances, and other common stats to comfortable baseline numbers.
The summaries below should help with deciding which attributes to prioritize for a given type of build.
Strength[]
Strength is extremely useful for all characters intending to engage in melee combat — which is, in practice, most of them. Even specialized spellcasters should be somewhat capable in melee because power points and spell knowledge are limited resources, highly magic-resistant enemies exist, and the DV bonus from weapon skill helps even when the weapon itself isn't used. Additionally, Strength determines the character's base carrying capacity and provides a bonus to hit points; again, both useful for every character.
However, it's also one of the easiest attributes to train early on, so experienced players who don't build their character primarily for melee combat may choose to keep it low with the intention of going through early game strained to quickly raise it to 18 or so. In this case it's optimal to leave it at a value that ensures the attribute potential is around 18.
Note that some races (e.g. elves) tend to have lower Strength potential than others. These could particularly benefit from maximizing Strength during character creation in order to raise that potential as high as possible.
Learning[]
Learning is among the most important attributes for casters, especially in the early-to-middle game, closely rivaling the benefits of Toughness. It is also generally useful for every build in the long term, as it affects their skill increase rate. Additionally, raising it after character creation isn't trivial until character has access to Garth's training.
Builds relying on spellcasting to any significant degree should aim for a very high value (20+). Others may at least want to hit breakpoints such as 6 for seeing wand charges, 10 for starting with the Literacy skill, or 15/20 for additional skill increases.
Willpower[]
Willpower is of high importance to spellcasters and Mindcrafters; others will mainly benefit from the extra HP, PP, and resistances to some special attacks and effects such as confusion and paralysis. While every build takes advantage of Willpower bonuses to a degree, high investment is not worth it unless the character relies on either spells or mindcraft.
Thankfully, Willpower can be trained with morgia roots, so characters using herbs will have an easy time raising it to 26 or their attribute potential, whichever is lower. Those wishing to enter the Rift might want to ensure their Willpower potential is at least close to 20.
Dexterity[]
Dexterity, like Willpower, is never useless for anyone — but the greatest benefit is observed by ranged combat specialists, such as Archers or Rangers, as well as any melee combatants willing to broaden their options with missiles. The others will mainly benefit from DV and speed bonuses, both of which are highly useful early on but not provided generously enough to justify high investment in Dexterity.
Dexterity can be trained with non-cursed moss of mareilon, thus players intending to use herbs early on can afford to start lower. Having at least 8 at the start is recommended for everyone to avoid penalties; having 16 in conjunction with the Long Stride talent allows outrunning most of the early-game enemies in the absence of speed or energy cost penalties (Raven-born characters may choose to ignore this).
Toughness[]
Toughness is vitally important for every character, as it is the attribute with the greatest influence on maximum HP. High starting HP comes with the added benefit of enemies being less likely to stun you in the early game. High values of the attribute also provide bonus PV, which is every character's lifeline in the early game, especially in the absence of good starting equipment.
Toughness is easily trained with morgia roots; players willing to take advantage of it early on may choose to stop at a value that ensures a potential of around 24–26. In all other cases, and especially for races that tend to have lower Toughness potential (e.g. elves), maximizing it during creation is extremely beneficial.
Charisma[]
Charisma is largely useless for every kind of build except pet/companion users, for whom it will make giving orders slightly less annoying. Male characters also receive shop discounts based on their Charisma, but this effect is unimportant and can even be superseded by the Haggling skill. In any case it can also be trained by Garth.
The best use of Charisma is manipulating the total sum of all attributes to be divisible by 7.
Appearance[]
Appearance is similar to Charisma in that its benefits are minor, especially for male characters who don't get a shop discount from it. The innate corruption resistance is not as valuable as the other stats, and in most cases just 3–5 corruptions are enough to drop the Appearance score all the way down to 1.
The best use of Appearance is manipulating the total sum of all attributes to be divisible by 7.
Mana[]
Mana has the largest effect on maximum PP, and hence particularly important for spellcasters. It also provides resistance to a significant number of detrimental effects, such as attribute drain, which can be useful for any character. If Mana is 18 or higher from the start, an extra talent is granted.
Spellcasters in particular should aim to start with 18 Mana if possible, both for the extra talent and to ensure a decent amount of PP (and its growth potential). Do note that it is a costly (4-point) attribute, so the race/class combinations with a low innate Mana score but willing to invest in spellcasting may find themselves starved for points. In this case, Learning and Toughness should take priority, but it's always a good idea to start with at least 6 Mana to reach the PP gain threshold.
Beyond 18, there are diminishing returns to additional starting Mana: it is an easy stat for spellcasters to train, and steady Mana growth can be expected throughout the game as a result. On the other hand, spellcasting and the Necromancy skill are the only two methods of training Mana, which makes it quite tricky for non-spellcasters willing to take advantage of this attribute.
Perception[]
Perception, while it may seem lackluster on paper, is tactically important as it increases the character's line of sight. The thresholds are reached at 5, 10, 20, 25, 30, and 40 Perception, each giving a +1 bonus to LoS radius in dungeons. 10 is a sensible minimum for all builds, as it improves both survivability and quality of life without much investment, and having the potential at 20 or higher ensures you can quickly raise the attribute with potions of carrot juice.
Ranged weapon specialists should pay more attention to this attribute because of its direct bonus to ranged damage as well as the immediate benefit of having a longer line of sight for aiming. For such builds, getting the potential closer to 25 at the start might be a good idea. Dedicated spellcasters, on the other hand, aren't pressed to invest in it as carrot juice is easy to come by in the early game, and Farsight can be used to boost the line of sight afterwards.
If the player is planning on acquiring the Treasure Hunter talent, it is worth noting that one of the prerequisite talents, Alert, raises Perception by 2.
There are also benefits to having this stat as low as possible, such as entering the Rift at low Willpower or having a lower chance of accidentally tripping the stair attraction in weekly challenge games with that modifier.