All classes get two saving throw proficiencies at level one and you can take Resilient to get another, but you can only take it once. Is there any other way to get another saving throw proficiency? My gut says no, because saving throws are pretty important.
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5 Answers
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General
All classes get two save proficiencies to start with, and can take the feat Resilient for a third. You can only take any given feat once, unless it explicitly allows taking it more than once (like Elemental Adept).
Class-Specific
- Monk gains proficiency in all saves at L14 via Diamond Soul.
- Rogue gains proficiency in WIS saves at L15 via Slippery Mind, but makes no provision for choosing an alternate if you somehow already have it.
- Samurai Fighter (from Xanathar's Guide to Everything) grants proficiency in WIS saves at L7 via Elegant Courier and allows you to pick INT or CHA if you already have WIS.
- Gloom Stalker Ranger (from Xanathar's Guide to Everything) grants proficiency in WIS saves at L7 via Iron Mind and allows you to pick INT or CHA if you already have WIS.
- Transmutation Wizards can gain proficiency in CON saves at L6 via Transmuter's Stone.
Other Considerations
If you're purely looking for big saves, there are other factors.
- Paladin adds CHA to all saves from L6 onward via Aura of Protection. It's not proficiency, but it can be better at low levels and stacks at all levels.
Summary
A character can get all six attribute save proficiencies at L14 via Monk. Monk is the only way to get proficiency in death saves (it says "all", which includes death).
Alternatively, a Gloom Stalker 7/Samurai 7 (also L14) with Resilient has five attribute save proficiencies. If you start as a Ranger, you can add Transmuter 6 to get all six. (You don't want to start as Fighter, because they get Constitution naturally, and you want to get it from the stone.)
An L6 Transmuter or an L15 Rogue with Resilient comes in last in the big-saves contest with four and no built-in way to get the Paladin's bonus for the Rogue. I'd put the Transmuter a little bit behind, because it gives up on all the other things the Stone can do if you're using it just for the saves.
Anybody else can have three, via Resilient.
If you had a generous Transmuter friend, you could borrow their stone to add Constitution to any character, but the Transmuter loses out on it.
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3\$\begingroup\$ Since someone bumped this, I realized your answer was more comprehensive than @zach's. Since it's been far over 60 days, I'll change the accepted answer to yours. \$\endgroup\$– Rob RoseCommented Mar 27, 2018 at 18:26
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\$\begingroup\$ Monk 14/Paladin 6 with 20 cha would have +11 to death saves. Still pretty crappy when you consider 3 CR0 frogs could gank you and kill you, but still, kind of nice to never have to worry about death saves? \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jan 16, 2020 at 3:07
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Might not be the answer you want, but Monks gain proficiency in all saving throws at level 14 from their diamond body trait. Rogues gain proficiency in Wisdom saving throws at level 15 from their slippery mind trait. This list is not conclusive but I don't have my books with me.
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1\$\begingroup\$ I don't know if it's worth adding that Paladins might as well be counted as having proficiency in all saving throws due to the Aura of Protection at level 6. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jun 29, 2017 at 22:39
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7\$\begingroup\$ @keithcurtis While it certainly is a bonus to saves, they are totally different. First of all, its an aura, second the bonus depends on the paladins charisma score, while proficiency depends on level, third the aura even grants its bonus to death saving throws which are not related to an attribute, and lastly (and propably most importantly) standing in the aura and having proficiency stacks since its not the same thing. \$\endgroup\$– HaquimCommented Jun 30, 2017 at 5:18
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1\$\begingroup\$ @Haquim All good points, which was why I led my comment off with a qualifier. As for the last point, I was talking about being a paladin, not standing near one. I certainly wouldn't advise including conditional bonuses. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jun 30, 2017 at 13:52
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2\$\begingroup\$ @Haquim, I'm not sure if you're referring to the Paladin, or someone standing in his/her aura. I don't think that the Paladin's Aura of Protection would grant its bonus to his/her own Death Saving Throws, since "You must be conscious to grant this bonus" (PHB, p. 85), and a character at 0 HP is either dead or unconscious. But it would help on allies' Death Saving Throws. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jul 1, 2017 at 3:35
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\$\begingroup\$ This definitely answers the question. Never played Monk so I've never actually read their entry. Thanks! \$\endgroup\$– Rob RoseCommented Jul 3, 2017 at 21:57
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Some classes get an additional saving throw. For example, the UA Ranger Deep Stalker conclave (included in Xanathar's Guide to Everything as the Gloom Stalker conclave) at seventh level earns proficiency in Wisdom saving throws. When you include the Resilient feat, it is possible to get four proficient saving throws.
answered Jun 29, 2017 at 22:18
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Also, it should be noted that the new UA Artificer revisited class basically gives a 20th-level Artificer the equivalent of proficiency in every save. The Soul of Artifice feature allows them to be attuned to up to 6 items at once. For each item they are attuned to, they gain +1 to all saves = +6 to all saves potentially. Since this gets added to all saves, on top of any proficiency bonuses, it is even better than giving them proficiency in every saving throw. Obviously, the really big downside is it's only at level 20 that they achieve this, and most players never reach level 20.
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\$\begingroup\$ Hi Maligaant! Answers are in reference to the original question. The stack exchange is not a forum (comments can get deleted, for example, and often are) so questions that are directed as a comment will get downvoted and possibly deleted because they do not directly answer the original question. \$\endgroup\$– RykaraCommented Jun 22, 2019 at 1:15
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\$\begingroup\$ The section about the Artificer wasn't there when I posted that comment and I think that part can make a valid answer. In short we are a Q&A site, not a forum (again take the tour, earn a badge). Answers are (usually) ordered by votes, not the order of posting so the "comment" part of your answer doesn't have the context it needs. Each answer should therefore stand on its own, however once you earn 50 rep you can comment on any answer/question to provide f.ex. that kind of information. \$\endgroup\$– Someone_Evil ♦Commented Jun 22, 2019 at 1:16
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1\$\begingroup\$ Thanks for the explanations. I've edited the answer to be in line with the direction and will take the tour. Much thanks! \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jun 22, 2019 at 1:18
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\$\begingroup\$ Soul of Artifice isn't "the equivalent of proficiency in every save". It's substantially stronger than that, since it stacks with all existing saving throw proficiencies. \$\endgroup\$ Commented Dec 6, 2023 at 0:30
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There's nothing to say that you can't take the Resilient feat more than a single time. Let's use Clerics, for example. They start with Wis and Cha as their saves. If you're building a front lines war cleric, you may be working str and con as main stats as well. At level 1 have each of those stats being an odd number 11, 13, etc. When you gain the chance at an ability score upgrade or feat at 4th level, choose Resilient with that selected ability score. Using str as an example. At level 1 have 13 str, at level 4 gain +1 to str and proficiency in saves for it. You don't take as hard of a hit by not gaining the two ability score increases at that level, by burning a feat instead that is still quite useful. Then do it again for Con next time you get an ability score increase and you now have 4 saving throws you are proficient with.
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12\$\begingroup\$ "There's nothing to say that you can't take the Resilient feat more than a single time." Well, nothing except for the rules, which say "You can take each feat only once, unless the feat’s description says otherwise" — and Resilient does not say otherwise. An example which does say otherwise is Elemental Adapt. \$\endgroup\$– mattdmCommented Nov 22, 2017 at 15:21
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5\$\begingroup\$ As far as I know, Elemental Adept is the only feat you can take more than once. \$\endgroup\$– Rob RoseCommented Nov 22, 2017 at 17:54