Maximize Mode

by Remco Gerlich

First, stats are rolled without considering race and class. This gives a number in 8-17. The maximum that an internal stat can ever be is 18/100. Now, race/class bonuses and penalties are added. There are two ways to do this.

Non-maximize: This changes your "internal" stat. If you have +1 Str, this acts as if you quaffed 1 potion of Str. This can mean more than a +1 bonus, since stat potions sometimes give a +2 bonus, and above 18 it can give more than a +10 percentile increase. But this only affects your "internal stat", which you can increase with stat potions anyway, so once your stats are maxed at 18/100, no race/class influence on stats will be left.

Maximize: Leaves your "internal" stat intact. If you have +1 Str, this acts as if you've "swallowed" a +1 Str ring. At all times, you'll have a bonus of exactly 1. (internal stat 15 will be 16, internal 18/20 will become 18/30). Because this does not affect the internal stat, it will still have influence on your stats even when they have been maxed with stat potions.

Conclusions:

Non-maximize is often somewhat easier at the beginning, since the effects of bonuses can be more extreme. A non-maximize vanilla gnome mage can reach 18/70 starting Int, a maximize one can't.
After stat gain, the original race/class bonuses are meaningless in non-maximize mode, if you have no equipment your stats will be all 18/100. In maximize mode, the bonuses are still used, the stats will all have different max values without equipment.

This may be even more clear if you check C-h-h, the third page of the character screen, and observe the effect of race/class bonuses. In maximize, you'll see that they're added in, but in non-maximize they aren't, since they're only used at character creation.

I always play maximize, whatever the character, because I think max stats should be influenced by race/class during the whole game.