Related to this question: What are the most and least-resisted damage types?
I'm wondering which saving throws low level enemies are the most likely to succeed at and/or fail in encounters.
For an example, if I had the choice of six spells to use against a random enemy whose stats I have no familiarity with, and each spell has a unique saving throw, which spell has the highest likelihood of failing due to a saving throw? Which has the best chance of succeeding?
I realize the difficulty class for saving throws scales with the spellcaster's level. This is for a low-level module in which the DM had us use the point buy system from the PHB and outlawed minmaxing, so:
Please assume any given DC is between 12 (8 + 2 proficiency + 2 ability modifier) and 14 (8 + 3 + 3).
While I am interested in how this might change at higher levels, that's not the main focus of this question.
I'm curious because I've been told that Levitate is the best control spell… and also that spells with constitution saving throws are the most unreliable because of the high likelihood of the creature making its saving throw.
Three guesses what Levitate's saving throw is, and the first two don't count!
Best Answer
Using research done by platypusbill on ENWorld, namely their spreadsheet, I calculated the average saving throw modifier for all creatures below Challenge Rating 1:
As a spellcaster, most spells ask for a Dexterity, Constitution, or Wisdom saving throws, so if you had to choose between the three most common saving throws, your best realistic bet for a creature to fail a saving throw would be Wisdom. If you're considering all saving throws despite their rarity, then the most likely to fail is Intelligence.