# The 5e Standard Array: 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8

What the standard array is, what it costs in point-buy terms, how it compares against a rolled array, and where each class should put the six numbers.

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- **Canonical URL:** https://dothecalculation.com/blog/hobby/standard-array-5e
- **Category:** Hobbies & Leisure Utilities
- **Author:** Do The Calculation Team
- **Published:** 2026-09-20
- **Reading time:** 9 min read
- **Publisher:** Do The Calculation (https://dothecalculation.com)
- **Methodology:** https://dothecalculation.com/methodology

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The standard array in D&D 5e is the fixed set 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8. You assign those six numbers to the six abilities in whatever order you like, and that is the whole method: no dice, no budget arithmetic, no chance of a character who cannot function. It exists so a player can build a competent character in about thirty seconds and get on with the game.

> **The short answer** — The array totals 72 and its six modifiers add up to +5. Priced against the point-buy cost table it comes to exactly 27 points, which is the entire standard budget, so the array is not a cheaper option than point buy. It is the same budget spent one particular way.

## It costs exactly the full point-buy budget

People often assume the array is a weaker, simplified alternative to point buy. It is not. Price each of its six scores using the published point-buy cost table and the total lands precisely on the 27 points a point-buy character gets to spend.

**The standard array priced against the point-buy cost table**
| Score | Point-buy cost | Modifier |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 15 | 9 | +2 |
| 14 | 7 | +2 |
| 13 | 5 | +1 |
| 12 | 4 | +1 |
| 10 | 2 | 0 |
| 8 | 0 | −1 |
| Total | 27 | +5 |

That tells you something useful about what point buy can and cannot do for you. Spending the same 27 points differently does not buy more total power; it redistributes it. You can flatten the array towards 13s and 12s, or you can push for a second 15, but the budget does not grow.

Tool: [Try a different 27-point spread](https://dothecalculation.com/calculators/dnd-point-buy-calculator) — The point buy calculator shows the running cost as you move each score, and flags when the next point crosses a modifier breakpoint.

## How it compares with rolling

This is the comparison that actually matters at a table deciding which method to use, and it is usually argued with hunches. The exact distribution of 4d6-drop-lowest arrays settles it. Enumerating every possible outcome rather than sampling them, here is where the standard array sits.

**The standard array against every possible 4d6-drop-lowest array**
| Measure | Standard array | Rolled arrays |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Six-score total | 72 | Mean 73.47, median 74 |
| Share of rolled arrays that total less than 72 | — | 38.3% |
| Share that beat 72 outright | — | 56.2% |
| Modifier sum | +5 | Mean +5.24 |
| Share whose modifier sum beats +5 | — | 47.8% |
| Share whose modifier sum is +5 or better | — | 58.9% |

So the standard array is slightly below the average roll, and close enough that the difference is not what people are really arguing about. Roughly 56% of rolled arrays beat it on raw total, and roughly 48% beat it on modifiers, which is the measure the rules actually use. What rolling changes is not the expected outcome but the spread: about one rolled array in ten comes out below 65, and about one in eight reaches 82 or more. Choosing the array is choosing to give up both tails.

> **The fairness argument, in one number** — In a party of four rolling independently, the gap between the luckiest and unluckiest player is usually larger than the gap between the standard array and the average roll. That gap, not the average, is what tables that ban rolling are objecting to.

Tool: [Roll an array and see its percentile](https://dothecalculation.com/calculators/dnd-stat-roll-calculator) — The stat roller shows every die, marks the dropped one, and tells you where the array you just rolled sits against all the others.

## Where to put the six numbers

The placement rule is simple and rarely stated plainly: the 15 goes on the ability your class uses for its attacks or spellcasting, the 14 usually goes on Constitution or on a secondary ability the class leans on, and the 8 goes somewhere the class genuinely never rolls. Beyond that, the useful distinction is between classes that need one high score and classes that need three.

### Classes that need one high score

A full caster whose spells all key off a single ability is the easiest case. Put the 15 there, the 14 in Constitution so concentration checks hold up, the 13 and 12 wherever the saving throws you expect to make live, and dump the 8 into the physical ability you will never use. These characters lose very little by taking the array instead of rolling, because they were only ever going to use one high number.

### Classes that need three

A character that wants a strong attack ability, solid Constitution and a third ability for its class features is where the array pinches. There is exactly one 15 and one 14 to go round, and the 8 has to go somewhere. These are the builds that benefit most from a good roll and suffer most from a bad one, which is worth knowing before your table picks a method.

> **Check your own class entry** — Which ability each class actually keys off, and which saving throws it is proficient in, is set by the class description in the rules you are playing. Confirm it there rather than from any summary, including this one.

## Then add the bonus, and mind which rule set you are on

The array is applied before any bonus. Where that bonus comes from changed between editions: under the 2014 rules it comes from your species, and under the 2024 rules it comes from your background. Both hand out three points, spread either as +2 and +1 across two abilities or as +1, +1 and +1 across three. The arithmetic is identical; only the source and the list of eligible abilities differ, so check the entry you are actually using.

One practical consequence. If your bonus is +2 and +1 and you put the +2 on your 15, you start at 17, one point short of the modifier breakpoint at 18. Putting the +1 on an odd score such as the 13 does nothing at all until something else raises it, because modifiers only move on even numbers. That is worth a moment of thought, and it is the same consideration the point buy calculator flags when it tells you whether the next point changes your modifier.

## Common questions

**What is the standard array in 5e?**

The fixed set 15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8, assigned to the six abilities in any order you choose. It totals 72 and its modifiers add up to +5.

**Is the standard array better or worse than point buy?**

Neither, on the numbers. Priced against the point-buy cost table the array comes to exactly 27 points, which is the whole standard budget. Point buy lets you spend the same 27 points on a different shape, such as two 15s at the cost of flattening everything else.

**Is the standard array worse than rolling?**

Slightly below the average roll and well inside the normal range. About 56% of 4d6-drop-lowest arrays beat its 72 total, and about 48% beat its +5 modifier sum. The real difference is spread rather than average: rolling can produce arrays far better and far worse than the array can.

**Did the standard array change in the 2024 rules?**

The six numbers are the same. What moved is the bonus applied on top, which comes from your background under the 2024 rules rather than from your species. Check the rule set your table is using.

**Can I rearrange the standard array?**

Yes. Assigning the six numbers to whichever abilities you like is part of the method, not a house rule.

**Where should the 8 go?**

On an ability your class never rolls with and whose saving throw you can afford to fail. For most spellcasters that is Strength; for most martial characters it is Intelligence. Check your class saving throw proficiencies before committing, since a dumped stat you are proficient in is less painful than one you are not.

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