Which stats are okay to max out(18 base) and which ones are okay to reduce(set at 3?)

[Theorycrafter]

And in which cases?

I assume tanks need deflection so they need high PER and RES.

I assume dpses need high STR and DEX and also INT when they're casters.

CON seems to be worth it really only for Monk due to wounds.

Does that sound about right?

[Zarkhes]

Depends on the class.Usualy Con is not important to characters that have low endurance.It wont make diference between 12/3 for cipher/mage.If you are caught melee, you are in big problem anyway.
 

[RunningWolf]

If we talk about hard and higher then i dont think any stat should be at 3. Like con for example. Abysmal fort will make some fights considerably harder without save scumming. %hp is often difference betwen dead or alive glass cannon in one shot and there are ways to save them if they survive that initial damage.

I generally avoid dropping stats to lower than 8. 3 is higher risk, without that much benefit.

[Ceranai]

I would argue that that there are several builds out there that dont suffer at all from droping int to 3, for example a summon based chanter gains very very little from int and can use to points gained to become an offtank. It depends, look at the skills available to each class, if you want to dump a particular stat avoid skill paths that make use of that stat

[pstone]

drop con. You loose hp, but only about 25% iirc. So you can take one or two hits less than normal. However, all those points go to other attributes, so you will also get hit less (if per or res), or kill your enemies faster (might or dex) -> which also means you get hit less (dead enemies don't hit you).

 

Had no problems with con 3 on hard (paladin).

 

if you play a character that doesn't rely on int too much for durations / area, you can also drop int.

 

Keep in mind, as long as you don't drop two attributes that contribute to the same save, your fort/ref/will saves will be as good as thoses of a char with average saves.