What is the practical effect of dexterity (high or low) on classes that don't get dodge?

I'm thinking of ones like invoker, transmuter, conjurer, shamans and healers.

Obviously dex determines how much you can carry in your inventory. Does it have other practical effects that would cause one of those classes to want it maxed, other than the inventory thing?

Make you harder to trip (ignoring the possibility of evasion)?

Same question for other combat-oriented skills?

Make you parry better?

(I left out paladins since it's already been stated that dex plays a role in some of their skills. I'm going to assume the same is true for some of the anti-paladin combat skills.)

Precious little beyond the expanded inventory, really. (And expanded inventory is really something primarily of use only to a veteran player.) Dexterity factors into a number of combat skills (a quick grep of the skill-heavy files suggests it's checked more often than the mental stats and CON, but lower than STR, which I think we overdo) but if it was a question of trains or giving up other gear I wanted for a +dex item, I don't think there was strong incentive there.

Evade was intended to partially address this, and it sharply depends on DEX. It impacts hitroll some, though most of the classes you mentioned hit like little girls and don't care much. Some classes have other recent incentives (transmuters and Malleability, etc.) as well, and Light Armor Use, Aim and such emphasize it for those classes that get them.

So it matters more than it used to, though I'm not sure quite enough. I prefer to solve balance problems iteratively, though, and down the road you'll probably see further tweaks in the direction of the more neglected stats until we get the sense that it's more balanced. This sort of thing tends to boost 'bad' combos-- for example, arial stats look terrible on a priest, but if they got something for their DEX that might not be so true.

valguarnera@carrionfields.com

>Dexterity factors into a number of
>combat skills (a quick grep of the skill-heavy files suggests
>it's checked more often than the mental stats and CON, but
>lower than STR, which I think we overdo) but if it was a
>question of trains or giving up other gear I wanted for a +dex
>item, I don't think there was strong incentive there.

When you say "dexterity factors into a number of combat skills" are you referring solely to the skill-user's dexterity, or also the skill-recipient's dexterity?

If having max dex as a conjurer would make warriors more likely to "miss" when they pincer me (or insert relevant combat skill) then that might be worth it.

As for gear...it really depends on how much the dex effects evasion (for classes that don't get the "evade" skill) and armor use. If I'm a class that likes to load up on hp, then one extra armor deflection in a given battle could be worth giving up 25hp from gear.