What is the Best Saving Throw Proficiency?
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Determining the “best” saving throw proficiency in Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition (5e) is not a straightforward answer, as its value is highly contextual and dependent on the specific character build, campaign, and playstyle. However, if forced to choose, Constitution saving throw proficiency stands out as arguably the most universally beneficial. This is due to the sheer frequency and severity of effects that target Constitution, making it crucial for maintaining a character’s health and overall viability.
Why Constitution Reigns Supreme
Frequent Use
Constitution saving throws are primarily used to resist effects that directly impact a character’s physical condition. These include:
- Poison: A very common threat found across various terrains and adversaries.
- Disease: From mundane sickness to magically-induced plagues, Constitution saves are vital.
- Effects that inflict the Poisoned condition: Many creatures and spells cause this condition.
- Maintaining Concentration: If you’re a spellcaster, maintaining concentration on spells is often protected by a Constitution saving throw, especially if you take damage. This is crucial for keeping your spells active.
- Death Saving Throws: While not technically a saving throw against an effect, your ability to remain alive when reduced to zero hit points is directly tied to making a Constitution-based death saving throw.
High Stakes
The consequences of failing a Constitution saving throw can be severe. Being poisoned or diseased can quickly incapacitate a character, potentially leading to a quick death, while losing concentration can nullify your most powerful spells. The ability to resist these ailments is critical for consistent performance. The importance of death saving throws, also tied to constitution, simply can’t be understated.
Universally Beneficial
Unlike some other saving throws, Constitution benefits almost every character regardless of their role. Melee fighters need to survive incoming damage, spellcasters need to maintain concentration, and even support characters will get hit by area effects.
The Importance of Other Saving Throws
While Constitution is a strong contender for the best proficiency, other saving throws are also essential for different reasons:
Wisdom
Wisdom saves are important for resisting effects that target a character’s mental state and willpower. This includes:
- Mind control effects: Such as being charmed or frightened.
- Illusion spells: To resist falling for tricks and falsehoods.
- Psychic damage: Some creatures deal damage directly to the mind.
Dexterity
Dexterity saves are used to resist effects that require agility and reflexes.
- Area of effect damage: Such as fireballs or lightning bolts.
- Traps: To avoid physical dangers.
- Being knocked prone: Effects that cause you to fall.
Strength, Intelligence, and Charisma
While less frequent than the other three, these saves are used to resist specific attacks and effects:
- Strength: Resisting being pushed, grappled, or restrained.
- Intelligence: Resisting mental effects that require analysis, such as illusions or psychic attacks.
- Charisma: Resisting magical effects that would manipulate your personality or will.
How to Prioritize Your Proficiencies
When choosing saving throw proficiencies, consider the following:
- Your class: Your starting proficiencies should align with your role. Classes that are on the frontlines should prioritize Constitution saves, while classes that cast spells benefit from having a high Constitution for concentration.
- Your character’s role: Consider what your character will be doing in combat. Will they be in the thick of it taking hits, or from a safe distance?
- Campaign setting: Certain campaigns might favor certain saving throws over others. For example, a campaign involving a lot of wilderness exploration may require more dexterity and constitution saves to deal with the environment.
- Your party composition: Your party might be very strong on Wisdom saving throws, meaning you might want to shore up another area.
Conclusion
While all saving throws are important, Constitution saving throw proficiency is the most beneficial overall. It is the most commonly targeted, with severe consequences for failure, and universally important across all classes and playstyles. Wisdom and Dexterity saves are also very important, however. Ultimately, proficiency is essential and should be selected with your specific class and build in mind, but should not be dismissed when making a character.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What are Saving Throws?
Saving throws are d20 rolls made to resist a harmful effect. They are involuntary and triggered by an attack, spell, or other circumstance, such as an environmental hazard.
2. How do I Calculate a Saving Throw?
A saving throw is determined by rolling a d20, adding your corresponding ability modifier, and adding your proficiency bonus if you’re proficient in that saving throw. So, the formula is d20 result + ability modifier + (proficiency bonus if proficient).
3. What are Saving Throw Proficiencies?
Saving throw proficiencies allow a character to add their proficiency bonus to the roll whenever they make a saving throw associated with that ability. For instance, proficiency in Strength saving throws would add the proficiency bonus to all Strength saving throws.
4. How Do I Gain Saving Throw Proficiencies?
Most saving throw proficiencies are granted by your class at character creation. However, you can also gain proficiency via feats and magic items. Multiclassing will not grant additional saving throw proficiencies.
5. What are the “Strong” and “Weak” Saving Throws?
The “strong” saves are often considered Constitution, Dexterity, and Wisdom because they’re the most common in the game. The “weak” saves are Strength, Intelligence, and Charisma as they are less frequently used.
6. Is 10 a Successful Death Saving Throw?
Yes, a 10 or higher on a death saving throw is a success. Rolling less than 10 is a failure. You need three successful saves to stabilize and avoid death.
7. What is a Death Saving Throw?
A death saving throw is a d20 roll made when your hit points drop to zero. It determines whether you stabilize or die.
8. Can I Purposefully Fail a Saving Throw?
Generally, you cannot purposefully fail a saving throw. You are required to roll, unless an effect specifically allows it, like the Calm Emotions spell.
9. What Happens if I Roll a 1 on a Saving Throw?
A natural 1 on a saving throw is not an automatic failure in 5e. However, some effects and spells may specify that a 1 results in a specific outcome, such as taking maximum damage.
10. What Happens if I Roll a 20 on a Saving Throw?
Contrary to popular belief, a natural 20 is not an automatic success on a saving throw in 5e. It is treated like any other result when it is added to your ability modifier and proficiency bonus, if any.
11. Can I be proficient in all Saving Throws?
Normally, you get two starting saving throw proficiencies from your class and one from the Resilient feat. Monks gain proficiency in all saving throws at level 14.
12. What are Some Feats that Grant Saving Throw Proficiency?
The Resilient feat allows you to gain proficiency in the saving throw of your choice. There are some other niche cases where feats might grant proficiency under special conditions but this is rare.
13. What is the Highest Proficiency Bonus in D&D?
The highest proficiency bonus in D&D 5e is +6, achieved at level 17. All characters start with a +2 at level 1, and the bonus increases to +3 at level 5.
14. Do Natural 1’s and 20’s have special effects in all D20 rolls?
Natural 1’s and 20’s have special effects on attack rolls, which means they always fail and always succeed, regardless of the modifiers. However, they have no special effect for ability checks or saving throws unless the effect says they do.
15. What happens if you take damage while making death saving throws?
If you take damage while at 0 hit points, you suffer a death saving throw failure. If the damage is from a critical hit, you suffer two failures instead. If the damage equals or exceeds your hit point maximum, you suffer instant death.