Originally Posted by Neuleser
You have to remember her original stats.
She initially had Dex 9. People complained about that and then it was changed by Patch 3 to 15.

Ah, that makes sense. I stand corrected. I was thinking of her most recent stats.

Originally Posted by mrfuji3
Unfortunately this is just a thing with 5e: Dex is just a better stat than Str. Dex:
- governs an important (and most common?) ST
- can be used in many places instead of strength (e.g., resisting grapple and shove attempts)
- affects more skills than strength
- adds to your AC and initiative
- affects both ranged and melee weapon attacks and damage
- *cannot* be used for the strongest melee weapons - this is basically the only weakness
(I like Pathfinder's default rule that strength is always added to weapon damage rolls unless you acquire a feat allowing you to add dex to damage. And ranged weapons get no bonus to damage, unless they're composite in which case you add strength. These rules help make dex less OP compared to strength.)

Wyll needs Dex for AC; Warlocks only get access to light armor. If he actually ever lives up to his title, theoretically you want him in or near melee.
Shadowheart's change from Dex=15 to 14 doesn't actually affect much in game. Both give a +2 dex bonus. This change only affects ASIs/feat choice, as now she'd need to dedicate 2 points to increasing it to 16 instead of 1. But honestly, as a cleric she'd probably want to focus on Wisdom.

In Baldur's Gate 3, I don't think it uses Dex in place of Str to determine the success of a shove. The strongest characters are the ones most likely to be able to shove a target. Being able to shove a target is a game changer on the front line of combat.

In addition to this, it directly impacts the character's jump. This is a big advantage. It helps enormously with mobility.

And on top of that, it gets the most out of the better weapons. And the better weapons... are much better, in my opinion. Shadowheart, for example, goes from using daggers to using Faithbreaker or the Shattered Flail. Because of this, she's doing more damage and better helping to control the field, especially when coupled with her spells.

Most of her ranged attacks are coming form her spells, which use her Wis, not her Dex. So not a big deal there. Certainly not in this game when it's relatively easy to long rest.

So what is she really losing? A point of AC and a point of initiative. Well, her AC is already pretty darn nice with her armor and shield. She can also eventually and theoretically take Heavy Armor and the Dex hit to her AC won't even register. The hit to her initiative is small and hardly noticeable, especially considering so many other companions have a high Dex.

As far as skills, the only ones that have any impact in this game on the front line (from the Str and Dex categories) are Athletics and Acrobatics. So the stats are one for one here, and the Str skill is actually better. Athletics affects the ability to shove and the ability to resist being shoved. Acrobatics only affects the ability to resist being shoved. Stealth and Sleight of Hand aren't particularly applicable to the front line. And for what it's worth, Stealth isn't that hard in this game no matter what your Dex is, especially since Shadowheart can give everyone a +10 with a concentration ability.

Maybe it's different in pen and paper tabletop settings. I don't know. I have done that in years, not since 3.5. But in this game, I don't think it's quite so clear that Dex beats Str when it comes to being in the front.