D&D 5E Attunement & New or Converted Items

[Jester David]

There's some advice in the DMG.
Generally, if the item can be abused by passing it between party members or only pulling out out at select times when it's advantage is needed, then it should require attunement. If other limits control its power (charges, uses per day) it doesn't require attunement.

 

[aco175]

If players all say they want it or wow, that's cool- Attunement
If players all say oh, another X, that may come in handy someday- Let it go.

 

[Hrothgar Rannúlfr]

Thanks, everyone. Each point made is appreciated and I believe it will help me, significantly.

Here are the points made, so far:

Requires Attunement

• ● All cursed items (Satryn)
  ● Any weapon or armor of +2 or better (cmad1977)
  ● Any weapon or armor of +1 with an extra or two (cmad1977)
  ● Any item that provides an interesting choice for players as to whether or not to attune to it (Kobold Stew)
  ● Non-consumable, primarily combat items (with some exceptions (dwarven plate) (Kobold Stew)
  ● Items with a clear combat use (such as boots of levitation) (Kobold Stew)
  ● Combat items of significant threat that PCs ought not be able to turn against the NPC using the item (BoldItalic)
  ● Items that could be abused through quickly sharing the item between PC's (Ring of Jumping) (MarkB, Jester David)
  ● All non-consumable items, except generic +1 items (Mephista)
  ● Items that form a set when paired together (dwarf thrower/belt/gloves combo) (Mephista)
  ● Items that can be abused through only pulling it out at select times (Jester David)
  ● Items every player wants (aco175)

Does not require attunement:

• ● Exploration or out-of-combat items (Kobold Stew)
  ● Items with other limits to control power (charges; uses per day) (Jester David)
  ● Items that are uninteresting to most players (aco175)
  ● Items that may only come in handy in special circumstances (aco175)

 

[Kalshane]

Another one would be if it has powers that reset on a rest (short or long) it requires attunement. If it's got charges or regains the ability at each dawn/dusk, then it doesn't necessarily need it (though more powerful items still do).

Raw plusses are not actually a good indicator. Generic +2/+3 weapons and armor don't require it.

I also would say non-combat isn't necessarily indicative of attunement not being required, as a Hat of Disguise, Cloak of Elvenkind and Eyes of the Eagle, for example, all require it. (Granted, a rogue is probably going to get combat use out of the cloak, but for everyone else it's likely used to avoid combat.)

One thing that definitely requires attunement is anything that boosts/replaces an ability score.