Dexterity
Dexterity is one of three statistics, or "stats", that constitute a character's "physical" form. The amount of dexterity a character possesses determines his or her stamina, rate of melee attack, ability to successfully parry, and the time it takes to apply a bandage. The unmodified maximum dexterity is 125 points. Dexterity, along with a host of other information, is displayed on the Character Status Menu.
Dexterity Bonuses
An Item Property that affects a character's dexterity is the aptly named Dexterity Bonus, which imparts a one-for-one increase in a character's base dexterity statistic. The non-artifact range for the Dexterity Bonus is +1 to +8. There are items that when equipped, reduce a character's dexterity (e.g., Insert Example Here).
Another form of bonus is the direct one imparted from higher levels of relative dexterity. An example of the swing speed increase gained from higher levels of dexterity can be seen in the table below, which can be found in a 2003 Stratics Post:
| Weapon | Dexterity - | Dexterity + | Secs Between Swings | Swings Over 1 min. |
| Long Spear | 0 | 8 | 4.286 | 14 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 22 | 3.529 | 17 | |
| 54 | 73 | 2.500 | 24 | |
| 74 | 95 | 2.000 | 30 | |
| 98 | 98 | 1.714 | 35 | |
| 131 | 145 | 1.500 | 40 |
Dexterity & Speed
A character’s swing speed and healing ability is affected by dexterity. At the unmodified maximum, i.e., 125, a bandage takes 5 seconds to take effect. Dexterity affects stamina, which in turn affects weapon swing speed and fire rate. Melee and pet attack speed changes at certain stamina levels. Allegedly, most melee weapons are imparted a speed increase at 56 stamina. The katana is reported to gain another speed increase 186 stamina. There are numerous formulae for determining the affects of dexterity.
Other's Dexterity
A character can use the Anatomy skill to assess the dexterity, and other attributes, of creatures, NPCs, and other players. A practitioner of Anatomy will see the following dexterity message in-game; the table below includes a range for the applicable dexterity statistic:
| Dexterity Message | Target’s Dexterity |
|---|---|
| They barely manage to stay standing | 0-9 |
| Very clumsy | 10-19 |
| Somewhat uncoordinated | 20-29 |
| Moderately dexterous | 30-39 |
| Somewhat agile | 40-49 |
| Very agile | 50-59 |
| Extremely agile | 60-69 |
| Extraordinarily agile | 70-79 |
| Moves like quicksilver | 80-89 |
| One of the fastest people you have ever seen | 90-99 |
| Superhumanly agile | 100+ |