How much base strength do I really need for ranged classes?

[KJYKJY1985]

I have a sorcerer at level 27 and I haven't invested a single point into strength yet. I know I'm going to need strength to wear some of the ideal equipment and I'm hesitant to go much farther without having this planned out. I know I get 24 to all base stats from questing which will get it to a base of 39, but it doesn't look like that will be enough to wear all of the ideal equipment.

I'd also really like to know how much strength a rogue or assassin needs. Or even how much dexterity a barbarian or warrior needs. Or how much of any stat a necromancer needs. Basically I'd like to know how much of any stat every class needs, now that I think about it.

[Wendigo]

There isn't really a tried-and-true point distribution guide for the classes, partly because nobody has written one and mostly because your gear is going to end up having a much more dramatic effect on your DPS and stats anyway. That's not saying you shouldn't care where you put your points, of course, but if you feel the urge to put some into a particular it's not going to make or break a character. The game rewards adapting your character over time to whatever situations you find yourself stuck in.

That being said, I wouldn't put any points into STR as a Sorcerer if I can help it. You'll find that a lot of times you simply don't need the gear no matter how shiny it is, or if it's irrestistably shiny it'll be worth the slots to put on some STR-boosting rings or whatever. Personally, I like my mages to have to juggle all that equipment boosting stuff around so maybe I'm the weird one, but at least through Normal gear is just kind of a happy bonus to an already overpowered class... that changes quickly once you get past Normal and monster resistances start slowing you down, but by then you're also farming better stat-boosting gear too (hopefully). I usually make my Sorcs all-Magic no exceptions and sideline them into a farming position once they get stuck.

For Barbs you want to STR because of their abilities. DEX becomes important once you start missing, and VIT is only for survivability.

For Warriors it's the same game plan but your DEX becomes more important as the game goes on because that's the stat tied to CritChance%, and that becomes more important the deeper you go. Warriors don't get the same Ignore Target Defense god-tier gear that Rogues do so a lot of times the crits are the only way to take down some of the higher-level bosses. This will be blasphemy to some here but I also don't mind buffing the MAG from time to time just because it's fun throwing spells around, especially Teleporting into a pack of archers and cleave... so much fucking fun.

As you can tell from the other thread I don't know much about what to do with Assassins, but it does seem like they want to only essentially switch out DEX and STR and otherwise follow the game plan of Barbs above.

Necros just kind of need it all but you should try your best to only boost their VIT and save your best all-stat gear for them in the shared box. STR, DEX, and VIT will pump your skeleton's DPS and survivability but you'll obviously need as much MAG as possible to throw spells around. They both need to and want to change their game plan more often than other classes to keep making steady progress... but usually I confess I don't do that and usually just let my minions hack it out while I toss barely worthwhile spells from the shame corner.

Welcome to the forums!

[KJYKJY1985]

Thanks for the welcome!

Now I have been giving this some thought, for my sorcerer and assassin at least.

I'm basing this from looking at a unique and set item list. It looks like there's unique rings that would provide a huge benefit but no strength bonus, so I don't want to rely on my ring slots for that. Mara's Kaleidoscope looks like it might be the best amulet for him and that's 10-20 to all stats.

Now, looking at the strength requirements on various pieces of equipment, there's Tal Rasha's, the most costly of which requires 70 strength, but the amulet provides +10 to all stats, so I only need 60 base strength to have the the freedom to wear any rings I want. There's also a unique Archon Plate with a requirement of 70 strength and, if I'm counting on getting Mara's Kaleidoscope, I only need 50-60 base strength. It looks like 60 base is the minimum to go for.

There are other pieces of equipment to consider though. The highest level unique staff requires 96 strength, but has +10-12 to all stats. I could get by with 84-86 strength on that basis alone and, if I throw in Mara's Kaleidoscope, it's 64-76. I don't know if the Vile Caduceus is even the best option, but if I go with a one-handed option I have a shield to consider. None of the unique shields seem to be worth the strength investment though. The heftiest strength requirement of anything I would actually want to wear is from the Crown of Ages, which hardly seems worth 170.

I'm even less certain about my assassin, though I do have some thoughts. If my idea of stacking elemental damage and spell procs is correct, then none of the best jewelry I have in mind will give me any strength bonus (Highlord's Wrath, Raven Frost, Band of Elements). I almost certainly want the Dragon's Breach shield at 121 strength. For my weapon, I'm looking at Blade of Five Suns (187 strength), The Vortex (130 strength), and Schaefer's Hammer (179 strength). I'm leaning towards The Vortex due to the lower strength requirement and combination of elements, but it has no penetration! And if I want to wear the Crown of Ages, that's 170. My assassin all has much more ambiguous armor and belt choices compared to my sorcerer.

For Barbs you want to STR because of their abilities. DEX becomes important once you start missing, and VIT is only for survivability.

For Warriors it's the same game plan but your DEX becomes more important as the game goes on because that's the stat tied to CritChance%, and that becomes more important the deeper you go. Warriors don't get the same Ignore Target Defense god-tier gear that Rogues do so a lot of times the crits are the only way to take down some of the higher-level bosses.

I thought barbarians and warriors were the same in this respect. Do they not get the same effect from dexterity or use the same weapons effectively?

[Wendigo]

Um okay. There's a lot to go through there.
First off you should be aware that once you hit level 60 you get the option to start freely redistributing your stats, so if at that time you need more STR or whatever, you can simply do it. That will probably help you make these decisions when the time comes.

Also be aware that while golds are great, they're also really rare and collecting every one would take you years (okay maybe not years but it'll seem like it). You also don't need them in most of your slots, as they aren't the best at pumping your stats; simple blues or crafted stuff is going to be where a bulk of your stat-boosting comes from. It's great to have goals and start looking for the perfect items but you won't need every slot optimized with golds, even to beat Torment. Trust me, the journey is long and things get weird so don't over-plan.

As for the difference between Barbs and Warriors, it's true that DEX will help either one get more crits, but... I guess the only way to say it is that Warriors need those crits more. Barbs get an innate damage bonus and have innate resistances that allow them to DPS Tank through enemies a Warrior wouldn't cut through fast enough; which is good because Barbs really don't do anything other than tank. Warriors can rely a lot more on their spells to make precision strikes and get away, so when you're only getting in a few hits that makes the crits much more important. Of course you shouldn't completely ignore DEX on a Barb but you also don't need to prioritize it (in distribution or equipment) like you want to with a Warrior. Sorry I can't be more specific but again, the game is so reliant on what gear you find and where you're getting stuck that it'd be more than I could give you in good faith.