Larian Studios Forums Divinity: Original Sin 2 Divinity - Original Sin 2 - General Why do we need primary attributes?

RPG system design has been fascinating to me since I was a kid.

My two cents:
1) I like the idea of making all stats useful in some way to most builds.

It cheapens the game to have obvious choices and dump stats. I had fun in Pillars of Eternity working through the possibilities in that system, and it felt good to come up with a decent build knowing I didn't have to follow one or two prescribed most powerful options for each class.

However, this will still face the problem that there is generally one best/optimal choice when it comes down to it, except instead of "do I take X or Y?" it will be "X, Y, or Z?", and most players will figure that out.

You would have to make attributes do something more interesting and influence a character's active role, which something like "more damage" vs. "a minor chance to dodge" doesn't do. For example, the effect of intelligence in Pillars (AOE and duration of skills) was meaningful enough to make most fighters not mindlessly (ha) skip it.

2) One possible improvement to attributes is to progressively increase costs just like with ability points (1 point at first, then 2, 3, etc.)

Balancing the relative strength of attributes to be as equal as possible is difficult if not impossible, and potentially takes away from customization by making choices feel bland or inconsequential.

Increasing costs to keep pumping a stat can solve this while encouraging players to consider other stats that normally might never compare to something like a primary attribute or speed in D:OS. Min-maxing will always exist in some form, but at least this way can reward a wider range of thoughtful mix-and-match of attributes.

It works in part because it's closer to how reality works. Beginners always make faster gains than experts who must invest more and more to push the limits of what is possible. Some people become masters in one main area due to this focused dedication, others fulfill valuable roles with a blend of skills and perspectives even if not the best in any single area. It's the idea of pure vs. hybrid classes, and it would be great if D:OS 2 really enables the player to go either route.

tl;dr To empower the player, games should provide multiple paths to success, make attribute choices more interesting, and enable hybrid builds by making initial stat investments cheaper.