Saving throw

Saving throws (or saves) are your character's attempts at resisting an unusual or magical attack. Like an attack roll, a saving throw is a d20 roll plus a bonus based on your class, level, and an ability score.

Your saving throw modifier is equal to:

Base save bonus (determined by your class levels) + ability modifier + bonuses from class abilities, class enhancements, spells, items

Saving throw types

The three different kinds of saving throws are Fortitude, Reflex, and Will:

Fortitude save

These saves measure your ability to stand up to physical punishment or attacks against your vitality and health. Apply your Constitution modifier to your Fortitude saving throws.

• An Alchemist with Insightful Fortitude instead uses their Intelligence if higher.

Reflex save

These saves test your ability to dodge out of the way in the nick of time. Damaging area effects commonly allow these. Apply your Dexterity modifier to your Reflex saving throws.

• A character with the feat Insightful Reflexes instead uses their Intelligence if higher.
• A Cleric with the Strength Domain will use their Strength modifier if higher.

Will save

These saves reflect your resistance to mental influence as well as many magical effects. Apply your Wisdom modifier to your Will saving throws.

• A character with the feat Force of Personality instead uses their Charisma if higher.
• An Alchemist with Insightful Courage instead uses their Intelligence if higher.

Saving throw Difficulty Class

The Difficulty Class (DC) for a save is determined by the source itself. For example, the DC to resist a spell is equal to 10 + the level of the spell + the modifier for the caster's casting ability:

• Intelligence: Alchemist, Artificer, Wizard
• Wisdom: Cleric, Druid, Favored Soul, Monk, Paladin, Ranger and their Archetypes
• Charisma: Bard, Favored Soul, Sorcerer, Warlock and their Archetypes

Note: Favored Soul uniquely uses the highest of their Wisdom or Charisma score to determine their spell DCs

Tactical Feats such as Trip, Sunder, or Stunning Blow tend to be modified by the user's Strength bonus, but class specific Tactical Feats may scale based on other Ability scores instead.

The DC for a saving throw against a trap in a dungeon varies for each trap. It is also affected by the quest's difficulty setting.

Automatic failures and successes

By default, a natural 1 on a saving throw is always a failure and a natural 20 is always a success.

Certain effects allow you to bypass the automatic failure of a natural 1: In such a case, the rolled 1 is treated as a bonus of 0 to your roll, and your bonus to that save is enough to pass the check, your save succeeds.

Effects that remove Fortitude Autofail on 1

• Epic Fortitude: Epic Feat, ML 27

• Draconic Incarnation: Dragonhide Rank 3

Effects that remove Reflex Autofail on 1

• Epic Reflexes: Epic Feat, ML 27

• Machrotechnic: Blast Shields Rank 3
• Shadowdancer: The Darkest Luck: Only if you naturally possess Improved Evasion

Effects that remove Will Autofail on 1

• Epic Will: Epic Feat, ML 27

• Grandmaster of Flowers: Calm Before Storms Rank 3
• Exalted Angel: Saving Grace Rank 3

Effects that conditionally remove Autofail on 1

• Inquisitive: Mind Like Iron: Against Fear, Enchantment, Illusion effects

Extra Saving Throws

Certain effects allow you to reroll a failed saving throw a certain number of times.

• Slippery Mind: Reroll one failed save vs enchantments
  • Inquisitive enhancements provides this feat as part of their 5th core ability
  • Occult Slayer enhancements provides this feat as part of their 4th core ability
  • Swashbuckler enhancements provides this feat as part of their 5th core ability

Results of saving

Succeeding a saving throw may negate all effects of the special attack, or negate some effects, or it may prevent half the damage you would normally take. Most non-magical traps are usually reflex saves for half damage, exceptions are poison traps (fortitude save to negate ability damage) and illusionary/magical traps - saves vary wildly on these. A rare few mechanical dart traps are instead treated as standard attacks, which offer no saving throws, but instead armor class may help against.

Strength and Dexterity saves

In addition to the three 'real' saving throws, DDO also uses Strength and Dexterity saving throws for some effects. Your Strength or Dexterity bonus is the only thing modifying the d20 roll, and other effects which boost saving throws do not apply. Because they are saves instead of ability checks, a roll of natural 1 or natural 20 is still an automatic failure or success, respectively. Also, some effects allow the saving throw to use the higher of either your Strength or Dexterity modifiers.

Special categories of saving throws

Apart from the universal saving throw bonuses, special bonuses exist that apply against a subset of effects. For example, Barbarian's Trap Sense grants a bonus to reflex saves versus traps only. These circumstantial bonuses stack with the universal saving throws.

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vargouille For saves, there are separate statistics tracked for Disease, Poison, Magic, Traps, Paralysis, Fear, Illusion, Energy Drain, and Sleep (in addition to general Reflex, Fortitude, and Will). Each of these is actually broken up by Reflex, Fortitude and Will.