Which saving throws are most important?

[Greywander]

As you build your character, you have a certain level of control in determining which saving throws they'll be best at. I was curious to see how other people might rank saving throws in order of importance. Conventional wisdom is that the three "strong saves", DEX, CON, and WIS, are the most important, but I'm not sure I agree. Here's my initial take, though I might be off on some things:

Most Important

Wisdom	Common	Mind control, domination, fear, charm, etc.
Constitution	Common	Poison, paralysis, petrification, exhaustion, etc.
Dexterity	Very Common	Mostly damage, rarely restrain effects
Charisma	Uncommon	Possession, forced teleportation, blocked teleportation
Intelligence	Very Rare	Feeblemind, intellect devourer, insanity?
Strength	Rare	Forced movement, restrain effects

Least Important

I'm not completely sure about all the different possible effects of various failed saves, but I think I have most of the common ones accounted for. The thing with DEX saves is that, while very common, they are mostly just damage. Damage is bad, sure, but many other failed saves result in much worse effects. I would rather fail my save against a Fireball than against a Feeblemind, for example, although you're much more likely to be hit with a Fireball. I find myself uncertain exactly how these should be ranked, and initially placed DEX saves below INT saves.

Let me know your thoughts and which saves you prefer to prioritize.

[CTurbo]

For casters- Con>Wis>Dex>Cha>Str>Int

For brutes- Wis>Con>Dex>Cha>Int>Str

[Galithar]

For casters- Con>Wis>Dex>Cha>Str>Int

For brutes- Wis>Con>Dex>Cha>Int>Str

Agree, except I'd switch Dex and Con on the non casters.

[Greywander]

Interesting. I understand CON being more important for casters (for concentration checks), but I'm curious why INT saves are more important for brutes than for casters.

[DwarfDM]

Because brutes generaly already have high strength?

[Chronos]

There's also the matter that intelligent enemies (which includes most that require saves) will target the saves that they expect to be weak. Nobody is ever going to use something with a Str save against a big musclebound brute, so it doesn't matter what his Str save actually is. If, in reality, it's low, it won't matter, because enemies won't know that it's low.

[Azgeroth]

i would rate INT saves much much higher for casters, sure they are rare. but if you fail that feeblemind, you can no longer cast spells... there is also maze..

they are super rare, and mostly only occur in T3 play, but if it hits...

i suppose it needs to be looked at in two ways, what is most common, what is the consequence.

Str . quite rare typically inflict damage, potentially forced movement (pushed/prone/restrained) this is potentially, a mild to moderate inconvenience.

Dex . EXTREMELY COMMON, damage, occasionally be knocked prone

Con . most common is ofc Conc. 'Checks', but there are also some pretty nasty things (disease/poision mostly) that can be a serious problem.

Wis . quite common, Hold X, Dominate X, alot of Divine spells call for wis saves, though the worst affects typically afford a save every round.

Int. very rare, if your martial unless its maze, it isnt likely to bother you at all, but if your caster this one can shut you down hard.

Cha . quite rare, though charmed, teleported, anywhere from moderately inconvenient to holy **** get me out of here!


so in short, dependant on what tier of play, what kind of foe, and your archetype, should dictate which saves are most important to you. if your fighting mind flayers, i would take Res. Int over con or wis. but if i were hunting liches, i would want wis. if im not fighting into T3, or facing demons and dijns, then int and cha are dumped.

[Frozenstep]

I thing I've realized is that while con saving throws are way, way more common for casters and really important, once the wisdom saving throws start being thrown out it's just as important to be good at them.

When all you want to do is keep concentrating on your spell, it won't matter if your con saving throw is amazing if you fail a wisdom saving throw and end up stunned/dominated, you'll drop concentration automatically.

[Tanarii]

It depends heavily on if your DM uses monsters with specials or NPC casters more.