Strength (statistic)

Strength (STR) is one of the three primary statistics (Statistics — alongside Dexterity and Intelligence) that constitute a character's physical form. Strength is the most consequential of the three for any combat-focused build: it directly determines a character's maximum Hit Points, contributes a percentage-based bonus to melee damage (above 100 STR), gates the wear/wield ability of heavy armor, shields, and weapons via the Strength Requirement item property, and sets the character's carrying capacity in stones. Strength has a soft maximum of 125 points (achievable via natural skill-gain stat allocation + Stat Scrolls), can be temporarily extended to a hard cap of 150 via item-side Strength Bonus modifiers, and is assessed on other characters via the Anatomy skill. Strength is the canonical stat to max for warriors, tamers (for survivability), and any build that stacks above 100 Hit Points.

Primary effects

Strength Requirement (item property)

Strength Requirement is the minimum Strength value needed to equip an armor piece, shield, or weapon. Without sufficient STR, the item either cannot be equipped at all or imposes a heavy stamina/swing-speed penalty.

Imbuing the Lower Requirements property on an item reduces the effective STR requirement, allowing low-STR mage builds to equip pieces they otherwise couldn't. Lower Requirements is its own item-property slot — counts against the 5-mod cap.

Strength Bonus (item property)

Strength Bonus is an item-property modifier that adds directly to the base STR statistic:

The 25-point STR Bonus headroom is the canonical "STR-cap suit" — the pieces selected for STR Bonus contribute to both maximum HP (via STR contribution) and carrying capacity (via STR multiplier). The Bracelet of Health (+10 HPI), various armor pieces (+5 STR each), and Crimson Cincture make a typical max-STR loadout.

Carrying capacity

A character's max carryable weight in stones (UO's weight unit; see Weight) is governed by STR:

Each point of STR adds 3.5 stones. Strength Bonus contributes to STR for the carrying-capacity calculation. The maximum useful carrying capacity is around 600 stones because the main backpack capacity is fixed at 550 stones — the character can technically hold more (in equipped containers), but the backpack itself can't accept more than 550 worth.

A typical loadout-fit-out check:

Damage Increase from Strength

For STR ≥ 100, a damage bonus applies to melee combat (and counter-attack ranged):

This bonus does not count against the 300% Total Damage Bonus cap (Damage Increase). It stacks with Tactics (~68.75% at GM), Anatomy (~55%), and Lumberjacking (+30% on axe-class) for a baseline 200%+ bonus before any item-DI is added.

Anatomy assessment table

A character with the Anatomy skill can assess another character's STR (player, NPC, or creature). The in-game message corresponds to a STR range:

The 101+ message indicates an over-capped character (post-Stat-Scroll application).

Stat allocation

Players allocate STR via skill-driven stat gain. Skills associated with STR-gain include:

A character can lock or atrophy their STR via the paperdoll stat arrows — set to "down" to lose points and reallocate budget to DEX/INT.

Build profiles

The 125 STR ceiling corresponds to the natural per-stat cap with Stat Scrolls at maximum tier (+25 per stat from Wondrous → Ultimate).

Stat-cap mechanics interlock

See also

• Statistics — the 3-stat overview (STR / DEX / INT) and 260-cap math
• Hit Points — the pool that STR determines (1 STR = 1 HP)
• Dexterity — partner stat (Stamina, swing speed)
• Intelligence — partner stat (Mana, casting)
• Anatomy — the skill that assesses other characters' STR
• Damage Increase — STR damage bonus is one component
• Weight — STR drives carrying capacity (3.5 stones per STR)
• Stat Scrolls — +5 to +25 per-stat cap raises