One of the ways that MM6 reflects its pen and paper heritage is by the use of breakpoints -- integer threshold values which, when met or exceeded by one variable, result in the step-wise change in another variable. The game uses this method to award bonuses based on improvements in the primary statistics.
The easiest way to observe this is to equip a character with various items which increase the Speed, Accuracy or Might statistic. As the Speed stat crosses the breakpoint thresholds, Armor Class increases by a set amount of points determined by the character's class and rank. As the Accuracy stat crosses these thresholds, the Attack and Shoot Bonuses increase by 1 each. Increases in Might affect the Attack and Shoot Damage Bonuses in the same way. For more information on how the breakpoints and stats figure into the game, check out this page at Mandate Mania.
The complete list of breakpoints used in MM6 follows. All but the last two breakpoints represent a step-wise change of one unit. For example, raising the Personality stat from either 15 to 17 or from 35 to 40 results in a +1 Spell Point change for a Paladin and a +2 Spell Point increase for a Crusader. The last two breakpoints result in a 5 unit change.
The Breakpoint Table
Statistic Value
Bonus Value
1
-6
3
-5
5
-4
7
-3
9
-2
11
-1
13
0
15
1
17
2
19
3
21
4
25
5
30
6
35
7
40
8
Statistic Value
Bonus Value
50
9
75
10
100
11
125
12
150
13
175
14
200
15
225
16
250
17
275
18
300
19
350
20
400
25
500
30
The breakpoint system, by its nature, splits the game up into three major sections -- early, middle and late.
The early game is governed by breakpoint changes of 2, the middle by changes of 5, and the late by changes of 25. We see these numbers throughout the game and can read from them some of the game designers' intentions.
I know, starting at -6 can be annoying. Why not just add 6 to everything? I don't know exactly why, but the game designers appear to think of a stat value of 13 as having a bonus of 0, so we will too.
