[Jack_Spade]

I noticed that so far all my characters in SR 5 had the positive quality exeptional attribute in one way or another.

So I wondered, which attribute do you tend to improve beyond the max?

For mundane characters I usually emphasize Intuition, since it improves initiative, perception and tracking checks and is one of the few attributes that can't be enhanced with ware or adept powers.

For my adepts, I always take improved attribute magic, so I'll get powerpoints and improve my dice pool for attribute boost.

[Jokersbtmbeach]

For magic users, easily Magic. It adds an additional Initiation level as well, something that should be a REAL challenge to actually finish that final procedure. Otherwise, i would venture to say that each character should have exceptional in the attribute tied to their particular frequently used skills. Street Sam could go body or str, a face would want CHA, and a rigger/decker would want log.. It's all based on the character you play, really.

[Michael Chandra]

A raised maximum Initiation level isn't that big a deal though. By that time an Initiation costs 31 karma. And until you take that seventh Initiation grade, which you could also unlock by buying Magic up to 7, you don't benefit from the raised maximum because your Initiation Grade still is simply how many initiations you took. The main benefit is sacrificing 1 Edge and 14 karma for 1 Magic, rather than 35 after chargen. For a low-Edge character it's both beneficial karma-wise and gives a nice power boost straight out of the gate.

The downside, meanwhile, is that Exceptional Magic is taking the ONE uncapped attribute, so you cannot exceptional another attribute in return for just a bit of karma profit and an initial power boost. It may make more sense for mages to buff their willpower since they can always get Magic 7 later and 1 extra point of Edge is also real useful straight out of the gate.

A Street Samurai should go Agility unless they're actually going to cap Intuition instead of Agility. I'd prioritize offense myself, since Edge for initiative + full defense is always a neat available combination, especially with Agile Defender.

[Csjarrat]

For me it's gotta be MAG and RES. Both cost a lot to raise from 6 in-game so to do it at chargen can be pretty handy!

[celondon]

In descending order of usefulness, in my opinion:

Non-Magic/Tecnomancer
Charisma (Face)
Agility
Reaction
Intuition
Willpower
Body
Charisma (Non-Face)
Strength
Logic

Magic/Tecnomancer
Magic/Resonance
Charisma (Face)
Willpower
Logic (or Charisma for Shaman)
Agility
Reaction
Intuition
Body
Charisma (Non-Face/Non-Shaman))
Strength

That said, I rarely use Exceptional Attribute.

[Michael Chandra]

I'd rank Intuition above Reaction myself. Reaction is for driving, anti-suppressive fire and physical limit, Intuition for perception, mental limit and a few nice mental skills. Of those my personal preference is the second. On the other hand, Perception is doable with wireless (and also non-wireless) gear. So it's a tough choice.

[Whiskeyjack]

I feel like it is rarely worth it, if ever. Even for Magic. For a lot of combat stats, ware is by far the better way to get high dice pools. I'd say maybe Willpower or Intuition since there is no ware to boost the dice pools for those.

[8-bit]

About the only time I find myself taking Exceptional Attribute is for Logic for deckers. Sometimes I'll take Exceptional Attribute - Body if I want a tank Troll.

[JackVII]

I'd rank Intuition above Reaction myself. Reaction is for driving, anti-suppressive fire and physical limit, Intuition for perception, mental limit and a few nice mental skills. Of those my personal preference is the second. On the other hand, Perception is doable with wireless (and also non-wireless) gear. So it's a tough choice.

I agree with Michael, I'd take Intuition over Reaction. For one, you can boost Reaction with gear. For two, Intuition tends to benefit more things. Aside from what Michael listed, it also impacts your Street and Interest Knowledge skills and Matrix Searches, which a lot of characters tend to have the capability to perform, even if they aren't a decker.

[Fedifensor]

I find myself taking Exceptional Attribute on many of my characters.  The die pool is often determined by stat + skill, and it seems to be more effective to start out with a maxed-out stat and a few maxed skills in my area of specialization, even if that makes me have to buy up several other skills during play. 

The attribute you choose, of course, depends on the character type.  There's the (elven) face with a Charisma of 9, the decker with a Logic of 9 (6 + 1 Exceptional Attribute + 2 Cerebral Booster), the bodyguard with an Intuition of 7...all of these allow you to have your area of specialty at 13+ dice even before adding 'ware, and getting close to 20 dice after all your other bonuses are added in.  This also lets you get anything related to your prime state at a decent level for a mere 2 Karma expenditure.  Maybe your face is a smooth talker and doesn't like playing the heavy...but with a 9 Charisma, you can get Intimidation to 10 dice easily, and higher if some of your general bonuses carry over.

Perhaps the most extreme example is my daughter's character, a physical adept who just completed her first initiation and now has a 12 Agility.  She's sitting on 21 dice with her main weapons (6 skill + specialization + laser sight/smartgun), but could pick up any weapon and use it at 11 dice, or 13 dice once she has a chance to spend a few Karma.  Sure, it makes her a bit of a pro from Dover, but the sacrifice to her other abilities isn't as high as you might expect.  For example, she still manages to squeeze out 12 dice for Negotiation (Bargaining), so she's more than just a weapons specialist.

[Spooky]

While I almost never use exceptional attribute myself,  I have put some thought into it. I would use intuition on most any character. Strength on a gun troll gets really scary (augments up to 15, which is 5 recoil comp. Can you say ouch?), charisma on an elven face, and will on an elven technomancer are excellent choices.

[Top Dog]

While I almost never use exceptional attribute myself,  I have put some thought into it. I would use intuition on most any character. Strength on a gun troll gets really scary (augments up to 15, which is 5 recoil comp. Can you say ouch?), charisma on an elven face, and will on an elven technomancer are excellent choices.

Wait, Str 15 on a gun troll? Not that the recoil comp is bad, but that priority is a tad off.

I mean I can see STR 15 on a blade troll being scary (DV 20P) but guns?

[Lucean]

Strength on a gun troll gets really scary (augments up to 15, which is 5 recoil comp. Can you say ouch?).

Remember, that it gets rounded up, so you'd need 13 STR for 5 RC and 16 to get the next point. So exceptional attribute would not be required for a gunner.

[Csjarrat]

yeah its a bit overkill. the RC is nifty for LMG-troll, especially with gyromount in a cyberarm + gas vent 3 + shockpad + foregrip, but its a pretty niche build and doesnt really require EA.

[Spooky]

Strength / 3 = rc, according to core book, combat section. Therefore, 15 / 3 = 5 rc. Unless that's been changed in errata. So, take an Ares alpha, add shock pad and gas vent 3, factor in first round for free, and he can fire 12 rounds with no recoil. That is 4 burst fires in a row, or 2 simple full auto. Or worse, hmg with hip brace, gas vent 3, and gyro mount for 15 recoil comp total. And then he can whip out a combat axe if necessary. That is scary.