Pathfinder WotR Ability Scores Guide: What do I need for my class?

This guide will teach you the importance of each attribute for all classes, so you can better understand the system and build a good character. Beginner-friendly!

Pathfinder WotR Ability Scores Guide: What do I need for my class?

Welcome to my ability scores guide! This guide will hopefully help you build a good character. It’s not always easy to understand the importance of each attribute for different classes, especially for beginners. And, of course, this can be an alternative to that crappy wiki lol.

Keep in mind that my goal here is not to provide you a full build that you can copy without thinking about it. I hope that you use this guide to understand the system and then build the character that YOU want to build, the way YOU want it. Of course, if you have questions, I’ll be happy to help!

If this guide’s helped you in any way, feel free to give it a positive rating and/or add it to your favorites! if you see anything wrong, please let me know and I’ll be happy to edit it accordingly.

If you need help picking your class, check my full class guide:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2926003839

Important points to remember

When we’re talking about ability scores, it is crucial to remember that they might offer common benefits to every kind of character, even if that is not your “main” attribute.

By checking the class list, you can see that INT is the main attribute for a given class. Does that mean you can allocate ALL of your points into INT and forget about the rest? Well, it depends. You gotta know what do you want that character to do before you spend their points.

Things to keep in mind before creating your character:

• Will this character use weapons? Ok, but which kind? Two-handers? Dual wield? Bows?
• Will this character use spells? Ok, but regular AOE spells or “touch” spells? Or both?
• Will this character be safe in the backline or do you want it to be melee? Is it a tank?
• Will this character only use spells, or do you want it to also be good at weapon combat? What do you want to focus on?
• In which game difficulty are you going to play? This is the most important question to determine how optimized you need to be. You don’t need to do some extreme min-maxing to play on difficulties up to core, as long as you have some basic knowledge of how things work and build wisely.

Those answers will help you decide what does your character need. Some attributes can be safely “ignored” if they’re not used by your build, while others might give you some trouble if you leave them at the negative… I’ll give you some examples on the next section.

The best advice I can give you is this: when you’re planning your character, be reasonable. Don’t expect a single character to be good at everything. You don’t need to be good at martial combat, spellcasting, buffing, defense etc all at once… because you won’t be, no matter how you build. That’s why you can have 6 characters so each one can cover one thing. It is better to be a specialist in one area than being average on five (the famous “master of none”). This is specially important on higher difficulties, because the game will expect you to be a specialist if you want to beat it.

This guide is focused on combat. Although I’ll list the roleplaying and exploration benefits of each stat, I won’t go into much detail about those.

Character creation 101

On character creation, you’ll have 25 points to freely allocate. You will get another 5 points by leveling up (one point each at level 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20). Some races will give you a bonus for some attributes.

The bonus you’ll receive from each attribute is determined by the modifier number, not by the total amount you have on it. Sounds complicated, but check the following example:

• The “thumbs up” means this is a recommended attribute for the class you’ve picked (this can vary);
• +2 is a racial bonus because you’ve picked a class that has one;
• 20 is the total amount you have on DEX, including the racial bonus (ignore this number for now);
• +5 is the important thing here. Whenever you use your DEX, be it for an attack roll, a DEX check to avoid a spell etc, this is the bonus you’ll have on your roll/check. Why +5? Because the modifier grows by +1 each two levels beyond ten.

Still on that example, 20 (+5) is the maximum amount you can have on character creation if you have a racial bonus, or 18 (+4) without a racial bonus. You can increase that number later on with buffs, equipment, and the extra points you get with leveling.

In order to optimize your stat distribution, I suggest you leave your main stat at an odd number. Why is that? Because you will get +5 extra points during leveling, which will give you an even number at level 20, thus giving you the maximum benefit on your modifier.

Example: let’s say your main stat is DEX. By leaving it at 19 (+4 modifier) and then adding all 5 leveling points, you will get to 24 (+7). If you would go with 20 DEX, adding all extra points would get you to 25, which gives you the same +7 modifier as 24, since it only grows at even numbers. That way, we could say you’ve basically “wasted” the last extra point since you won’t get another to make it +8.

Now, let’s say you also have a secondary stat that you need. What you can do here is leave your main stat at an even number this time, and your secondary stat at an odd number.

Example: main DEX, secondary WIS. DEX will go to 18 (+4), while WIS will go to 15 (+2). That way, you can put the first extra level up point on WIS to make it 16 (+3), while the 4 remaing points will go to DEX, making it 22 (+6). No points were wasted this time and you have an even number on both, giving you the maximum benefit.

Of course, this is just a suggestion. I’m only talking about main and secondary stats here, so you should evaluate how much you need for the others stats according to the specific character you’re building. On the next section, you’ll learn the importance of each stat.

ABILITY SCORES BREAKDOWN

Strength (STR)

• Hit chance for melee attacks, be it with weapons or melee touch spells;
• Amount of damage done with melee or throwing weapons (throwing axe, javelin, dart);
• Inventory and encumbrance capacity;
• Athletics and other physical prowess checks;
• Bonuses for combat manouvers (bull rush, disarm, trip, etc).

Basically, do you want your character to use melee weapons? Then you’ll need a good amount of STR, otherwise your character will have a hard time hitting anything while also having very little damage. 16 STR is a good start for a martial character, but do go higher if you don’t need anything else.

Now, this is the case for regular martial weapons. If you’re going for dual-wield builds, or using light weapons, then DEX will be your main thing (more about it on the next section). However, DEX will still be good for you anyway since it gives you armor, which will be useful for any melee character. Even if it might not be your main stat, you can consider putting some spare points into it, like 12 at least. If you’re planning a tank character, you might want more.

There’s an exception to mention: some bows have the “composite” modifier on them. Those bows are a different case since they add your STR modifier to your damage roll, making them useful for ranged builds using STR. Regular DEX-based archers can still use those bows normally, as long as their STR score is not negative (otherwise you’ll get a penalty on your damage roll).

Remember: this is only the case for the damage rolls of those weapons; your hit chance will still be DEX-based even with a composite bow.

Another thing to mention is that, while you could technically go with negative STR on casters since they don’t need STR, you should be aware of the negative side effect of your character moving slowly and only for short distances in melee if they’re encumbered (carrying too much stuff). Having one or two STR users in your party can help mitigate this.

Dexterity (DEX)

• Attack rolls (hit chance) for ranged weapons (bows, crossbows, throwing weapons) and ranged touch attacks;
• Initiative and armor bonuses (armor class – AC);
• Defense against reflex effects. Example: you can reduce the amount of damage you receive from an AoE spell like fireball by half with a succesfull DEX check;
• Trickery (lock-picking) and Stealth checks.

Bow users need a high amount of DEX for their chance to hit and damage numbers. Like with STR for melee, 16 is a good amount to start, but can and should go higher if you don’t need anything else that high.

DEX is also needed for spellcasters who want to use ranged touch spells, like Snowball or Hellfire Ray, since those spells require an attack roll. If you’re only using regular spells, then you don’t need DEX for those, but keep in mind that you will be terrible with a bow. Do equip a bow though to prevent your poor mage from going to melee on real time mode. Be alive while you miss those shots. lol

Exception: some melee weapons, like light weapons, have the “finesse wielding” modifier. Those weapons give you the option of using DEX for your attack rolls, instead of STR, so you can make a DEX-based melee character. However, you can’t just equip those weapons and expect to dump STR: you need the necessary feats or class passives to make those weapons DEX-based, otherwise they will still be treated as other STR weapons.

Rogues, for example, get the Weapon Finesse feat for free, which lets them use DEX with light weapons right away. If you’re not playing a class that has this feature, you should get the Weapon Finesse feat first. This feat lets you do attack rolls with DEX instead, but your damage rolls are still STR-based. To use DEX for your damage rolls, you need another feat, which will be different according to the type of weapon (slashing or piercing) you want to use. With both feats, you can then ignore STR completely and go full DEX with those weapons.

Dual-wield builds also need high DEX since the required feats for that combat style cannot be taken without high amounts of DEX, and they use light weapons anyway.

Another important thing to mention for DEX is the “max dexterity bonus” on armors. You already know that DEX gives you bonus defense, but the armor you wear might limit how much of that bonus you get. Let’s take a look at an example:

As you can see, this unique medium armor has a max DEX bonus of 4. It doesn’t matter if you have a +18 on your DEX, because you will only get a +4 bonus by using that armor, making it +13 at most.

Because of that, you might want to avoid using heavy armor on melee characters other than tanks, so you get the maximum defensive benefit from your DEX, which will naturally be high. You can find great pieces of light or medium armor with different amounts of max dex bonus.

Armored tanks don’t really care about that because they will need to wear the best protective gear possible, which will be heavy armor for the amount of AC they give. This is the case for regular tanks, but keep in mind that DEX-based tanks using light or no armor at all are also possible (and even better).

Constitution (CON)

• Amount of health points you have and receive at each new level;
• Defense against fortitude-based effects, like poison, diseases, some necromancy spells, etc;
• The speed in which your character gets fatigued by travelling.

Every single character can benefit from CON since it gives them extra hit points. This is especially important for melee characters so they can take a beating. 14 CON is a good number for melee characters, while tanks should get a bit more. Again, it depends on your other stat needs.

This is one of the stats I don’t recommend dumping. Going negative CON can make you quite squishy, while also getting your character tired easily. Have you played Kingmaker? Remember Octavia? “I need to catch my breath…” after 5 steps. Yeah. You don’t have to put points into CON if you can’t spare some, just don’t leave it at a negative number. Don’t be a masochist.

Intelligence (INT)

• Amount of skill points you receive per level.
• Knowledge (Arcana and World) checks;
• Access to higher level spells, more spell slots, and other benefits for INT-based classes.

Yeah, that’s it. This is one of the “dump stats” if your class doesn’t really need it for combat. The only downside of taking points away from INT is that you get fewer skill points, which might be a big deal for roleplaying/exploring or not. However, even with negative INT, you will still always get at least 1 skill point per level. You can always use INT classes for your Knowledge checks.

For most basic ranged spellcaster builds, you might wanna go with 17 or 19 INT, and then pick whatever else you need on the other stats.

Wisdom (WIS)

• Defense against will-based effects (mind-control, charm, etc);
• Perception and Lore checks;
• Access to higher level spells, more spell slots, and other benefits for WIS-based classes.

It might not seem that important, but mind-affecting effects are some of the most dangerous things that can happen to you in this game. Remember that old saying:

“Failing a reflex save can hurt you. Failling a fortitude save might kill you. Failing a will save might kill your whole party”.

Do you want to see your fully-buffed, two-handed barbarian get charmed and then kill your whole party in one turn? No? Then don’t take points away from WIS. Leave it at 10 or throw a 12 in there just to be safe, if you can. Again, don’t be a masochist.

Charisma (CHA)

• Persuasion/intimidation checks;
• UMD (use magic devices) checks to use scrolls, wands, etc;
• Access to higher level spells, more spell slots, and other benefits for CHA-based classes;
• More channel energy casts for clerics and paladins, as well as how hard will it be for enemies to resist it when used to do damage (does not affect the amount of healing you do!).

It can be easily ignored if you don’t play a CHA-based class. However, maybe don’t leave it at a negative number. You can always have a dedicated persuasion character, but some persuasion checks can only be done by the main character. So… leave it at 10 unless you really need more points somewhere else.

DISCLAIMER

Now, before we jump into the main stats for each class, keep in mind that this information refers only to the unique features of that class, or which stat that class needs for their main spellcasting ability.

You should decide how much you want of the other stats based on what you’ve learned on the previous sections. I don’t need to tell you to get some CON if you’re playing a melee character, right?

This is why I’ve detailed each stat on the previous sections, so you know how important they are even when not used as main stats. Go read it. Done? Good.

For most hybrid classes, I’ve included their martial potential as main, and their spellcasting potential as secondary. The reasoning is that, even though they can cast spells, they don’t get to cast higher level spells as other dedicated casters, so you might get more from them by focusing on the martial part. If you still want to focus them on magic, swap the main and secondary stat recommendations as needed.

When you see an exception, that means you swap the class’ main stat for that one on that specific subclass only. If there’s no exception listed, that means all subclasses use the same main stat.

List of classes: A-F

Alchemist

Main: INT, for spells.

Secondary: DEX, if you’re using bombs or any other ranged weapon, or STR for the Metamorph subclass only, since you turn into a melee character during your metamorphosis.

Arcanist

Main: INT, for spells.

Secondary: CHA, only for some specific abilities (exploits). If you’re not using those, you don’t need CHA at all. Are you not sure? Get 12 or 14 CHA then.

Barbarian

Main: STR or DEX, according to the type of weapon used.

Secondary:WIS, for the Instinctual Warrior subclass only.

Important to mention: CON determines the amount of rage turns you’ll get per day, but you can always get a mythic feat that gives you infinite rage turns. So, don’t worry too much about it and only get some (like 14 maybe) for the health points which you will need anyway…

Bard

Main: CHA, for spells and bard songs.

Secondary: STR or DEX, according to the type of weapon used.

Bloodrager

Main: STR or DEX, according to the type of weapon used.

Secondary: CHA, for spells.

Cavalier

Main: STR or DEX, according to the type of weapon used.

Secondary: CHA for their special abilities, with the exception of the cavalier of the paw subclass which doesn’t need CHA at all.

Cleric

Main: WIS, for spells.

Secondary: CHA, for more channel energy casts per day, as well as to make it more effective when used to deal damage (it does not affect the amount of healing you do).

If you’re going to use the channel energy ability, I recommend you go with at least 13 CHA (ideally 14) because that unlocks the Selective Channel feat, which prevents you from healing enemies. If you’re going to use if offensively, consider going a little bit higher.

Druid

Main: WIS, for spells.

Exception: CHA, for the Feyspeaker subclass.

Secondary: STR, if you’re using metamorphosis.

Fighter

Main: STR or DEX, according to the type of weapon used.

Secondary: CHA, only for some abilities of the Dragonheir Scion subclass.

List of classes: H-P

Hunter

Main: STR or DEX, according to the type of weapon used.

Secondary: WIS, for spells.

Inquisitor

Main: STR or DEX, according to the type of weapon used.

Secondary: WIS, for spells.

Kineticist

This one is tricky. I hope you know what you’re doing.

Main: DEX and CON, for their main attacks (kinetic blasts).

Secondary:
INT, for the Dark Elementalist;
CHA, for the Overwhelming Soul;
WIS, for the Psychokineticist.

Given how CON works for kineticists, all subclasses need a high number of it, which is why I’ve listed two stats as main ones. The only exception is for the Psychokineticist, which uses WIS instead of CON.

Magus

Main: INT, for spells.

Exception: CHA, for the Eldritch Scion subclass only.

Secondary: STR or DEX, according to the type of weapon used.

Monk

Main: WIS, for their class-specific abilities and passives.
Exception: CHA, for the Scaled Fist subclass only.

Secondary: STR or DEX, according to the type of weapon used.
Exception: the Zen Archer uses WIS for their bow attack rolls instead of DEX, so you might wanna go full WIS on that subclass and put spare points into DEX.

Oracle

Main: CHA, for spells.

Paladin

Main: STR or DEX, according to the type of weapon used. Unless you’re making a full caster Paladin for some reason, in which case ignore those and focus on CHA instead.

Secondary: CHA, for spells.

List of classes: R-W

Ranger

Main: STR or DEX, according to the type of weapon used.

Secondary: WIS, for spells, with the exception of the Espionage Expert subclass which uses CHA for spells.

Rogue

Main: DEX, since they get the weapon finesse feat to use with light weapons, so they don’t need to focus on STR.

Secondary: INT, for spells of the Eldritch Scoundrel and Sylvan Trickster subclasses only.

Shaman

Main: WIS, for spells.

Secondary: STR or DEX, according to the type of weapon used.

Shifter (DLC)

Main: STR and/or DEX, according to the aspect/subclass you pick.

Secondary: WIS, for their unique passives.

Skald

Main: CHA, for spells and songs.

Secondary: STR or DEX, according to the type of weapon used.

Slayer

Main: STR or DEX, according to the type of weapon used.

Secondary: INT, for their special abilities.

The Arcane Enforcer subclass might need CHA because some of its abilities scale with it (same deal with Arcanists). However, if you don’t pick those specific abilities, CHA is not needed.

Sorcerer

Main: CHA, for spells.

Exceptions:
WIS, for the Empyreal Sorcerer; and
INT, for the Sage Sorcerer.

Warpriest

Main: WIS, for spells.

Secondary: STR or DEX, according to the type of weapon used.

The reason I’m suggesting WIS for main stat is that they can cast spells of up to sixth level, so you need at least 16 WIS for those. Since that is already quite high, you might wanna get some more and focus on the caster part of the class.

Witch

Main: INT, for spells.
Exceptions: CHA, for the Stigmatized Witch.

Secondary: CHA, for the Ley Line Guardian only.

Wizard

Main: INT, for spells.

Secondary: CHA, for some abilities of the Exploiter Wizard. If you’re not using those specific abilities, CHA is not needed (same deal with Arcanists).