The subtle benefits of statistics

[sffp]

So there are some obvious benefits of Strength -
You can carry more.
Eventually - it gives you more attacks per turn and so your weapons do more damage

Same with Dex -
More attacks per turn
And also slight AC bonus

Constitution obviously is all about HP

For spell casters/priests - either Intel or Wisdom affects mana points

But are the stats also helpful in other ways?
Does higher intel increase device fail percentages?
Does greater dex help with trap disarmament?
Does a greater strength increase number of great/superb hits (does weight of weapon?)

What about wisdom for a warrior?
Is there any benefit at all?

I'm asking because I have a level 40 warrior who's found a Crown of Lordliness that does telepathy/+3 Wisdom/sustain wisdom and protection from fear - but at a eleven point lower AC than my current helm of telepathy.

[Sphara]

Wisdom increases your saving throw by a little amount.
In your situation: If I had rFear from elsewhere, I'd certainly wear a headgear worth +11 AC.
Higher dexterity lowers the chance of monsters stealing from you. There is a gap where stealing becomes impossible, somewhere past 18/100 afaik.
The heavier the weapon, the better critical hits you get.

This little I (think I) know.

[Estie]

The advantages beyond ESP, AC or saving throw/sustain wis, are so tiny that they can be ignored. I would use the crown so that I can squelch headgear of telepathy. Less clutter is the advantage I would pick.

[Pete Mack]

Going from save 99 to 100 is huge. But it is the only case where it is worth picking up a little wisdom, and doesnt apply to warriors.

[backwardsEric]

Originally Posted by sffp

Does higher intel increase device fail percentages?

Intelligence does affect the character's skill with devices, but the effect is small compared to the effect of the character's level or race. There's 13 points of device skill to be had by increasing intelligence, most (9 of the 13) is gained between an intelligence of 18/50 and 18/220. In comparison, a warrior gains 0.7 points per level, a mage or necromancer gains 1.3 points per level, and other classes gain 1 point per level. Increased skill with devices does reduce the change of device failure and, for device damage, does boost the base damage if the skill is greater than the difficulty level for the device.

[Pete Mack]

@BE--
Right. In retrospect, i think V3.0 and earlier got device fail rate high. There were several breakpoints that made getting a little better skill a big deal:
* skill 20, where _Tele, and -TO started to be useful.
* skill 40, where --TO became useful
* skill 50, where _Destruction and _Banishment became useful.

In the current system, a few points rarely makes such a difference.