Attributes (2)

Discover the impact of Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Dexterity on your Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn characters. Optimize your stats for combat, spellcasting, and skills.

During character creation in Baldur's Gate II: Shadows of Amn, you will "roll" your characters' attributes. You can swap points between attributes, ensuring you don't go below class minimums or 3. You can re-roll as much as you like. A total of around 90 attribute points is a good target. For Fighters, pay attention to the percentile score when Strength is 18; a total of 88 points with an exceptional strength of 18/91 is better than 90 points with a Strength of 18/01.

Generally, you cannot start with an attribute of 19 or greater, though some racial choices allow a 19 in one or two attributes at the cost of reducing others. Characters imported from Baldur's Gate may have attributes of 19 or 20.

Strength

Investment in Strength increases THAC0 (To Hit Armor Class 0), damage per attack, bash chance, and weight allowance.

The "To Hit" column applies to melee weapons; Dexterity provides the THAC0 bonus for missile weapons. The damage bonus applies to thrown weapons and slings. The "Bash %" is the chance to break open locked containers, though a Thief is more convenient. The "Carry" column is the maximum weight for items; exceeding it slows movement, and greatly exceeding it can immobilize your character. Some equipment has a minimum Strength requirement; 15 is sufficient for everything.

Intelligence

Intelligence is crucial for Mages, governing maximum spell level and spells per level. For all characters, it provides a bonus to the Lore skill.

Intelligence above 18 is not strictly necessary for spellcasting. A score of 19, achievable by Gnomes, reduces the chance of failing to learn a spell, which can otherwise waste scrolls. Some players consider this a reload condition. For spellcasting, Intelligence is only a factor when scribing spells, not casting them. Potions of Genius or Mind Focusing can temporarily boost Intelligence for scribing and bypass the maximum spells per level limit. Sorcerers do not need Intelligence to cast high-level magic. Characters with Intelligence below 9 cannot use wands and scrolls, even if their class normally allows it.

Wisdom

Wisdom is primarily for Cleric and Druid characters, providing bonus spells at high values and a Lore bonus.

Dexterity

High Dexterity provides an AC (Armor Class) bonus. For Thief, Ranger, Bard, and Monk characters, it also boosts or penalizes their skills.

Due to the AC bonus, a Dexterity score close to 18 is highly beneficial.