[Chaos]

When assigning stat points, stats that cannot be raised any higher will still take off points.

I.e. Assume your base STR is 80, and you have ten points remaining. If you press the + button next to STR five times, STR is still displayed as 80, but you will have five points remaining.

[Esther]

I think that's because of the nature of hardcap vs. penalties.

You can have 85 STR, but only 80 of it ~counts~, and the extra 5 STR is a buffer against things that reduce your STR, since they have to go through 5 extra points before they can reduce you below 80 STR.

[Chaos]

I think that's because of the nature of hardcap vs. penalties.

You can have 85 STR, but only 80 of it ~counts~, and the extra 5 STR is a buffer against things that reduce your STR, since they have to go through 5 extra points before they can reduce you below 80 STR.

You're mixing this up with scaled STR.

A very high stat investment makes the scaled stat harder to influence, both positively and negatively. This, on the other hand, basically throws your stat points into the void and gives you the middle finger.

[Esther]

I'm not mixing it up with Scaled STR. I know that in most games, even with diminishing returns, going above the 'hard cap' is often possible, it simply provides a buffer against stat-reducing effects.

To use the previous example, having 85 raw STR is 'hard capped' to 80, and then subject to diminishing returns, ending up at about 60 or so Scaled STR. But when cursed with Noshka's Famine, the character will have 79 raw Strength to put through the diminishing returns formula, instead of the 74 raw STR that an 80-STR character would have.

Subtle, but potentially important to those who actually spend the points to reach that hardcap! I think it deserves some testing to determine whether that functionality is present.

[Lolzytripd]

in the stat menu if you have any aptitude it gives you strength,

If you then attempt to max out str it stops at 80 but will let you keep adding until you reach as many bumps as if you had 0 apt

BUT it does not increase the displayed str in menu or in combat

[Ranylyn]

If we go by what Lolzy said, Esther was partially right: it serves as a buffer against Aptitude drops, since your stat is still hardcapped without it.

... kind of pointless, though, considering how many points it takes to equal a single scaled point, close to 80.

I'd test it, myself, but my only high levels with stats close to/ at the hardcap are corrupted, so low/no aptitude, there.