we are a new group, three players and DM all new to D&D. We rolled stats at first with the 4d6 remove lowest method and was all fine but after a few fights the lower rolled players started to feel like they contributed less so we wanted to balance it for all three. In the end we took the points the highest rolled player had 82 and had everyone distrubute that amount to thier stats before racials. Now it seems a little too much but being new we are not sure what to do, dont want to start over since we are new and that could mean resetting a campain which nobody wants. running official campaigns only and started with mines of phandelver, any advice on what to do?
Balance between the players is more important than their overall power level. You can make encounters more difficult fairly easily if needed. If nothing else, you can bump enemy hp up a bit, just enough that some of them will survive an extra hit.
As for how to start out, I'm a fan of having everyone roll a set of numbers with 4d6 method and anyone can use any of the sets. You still get the unusual randomness of stats but without the imbalance.
If you're worried about it, you can give everyone the highest number rolled, the lowest number rolled, and then fill out the rest of the stats with either the original rolled stats (not counting the original highest or lowest) or use 14, 13, 12 &10 for the middle numbers. If it's your first go round, you can also just go with it and focus on picking up other aspects of the game, throw in a second wave of enemies 1 or two rounds in (between half the normal amount for the encounter up to twice the amount, or add in an appropriate leveled creature (hobgoblin or bugbear along with the normal goblins perhaps).
Rather than totalling the numbers rolled, you may want to calculate their point buy total. (Just google point buy calculator (probably better to use pathfinder rather than 5e)).
I played in a group where we had a big spread from player to player like you did. Our DM decided to nerf the top two PC stats and buff the bottom two. (Total of 6 players) As I was one that got reduced, I was a bit annoyed, because I rolled them fair and square, but quickly got over it along with the other player that was reduced.
You've already adjusted stats once. Easiest thing is to do it a second time and do a reduction across the board. If you don't want to go that route, you can buff up the enemies as was said above. My suggestion is: require everyone to take feats on their first 2 (or even 3) ASI levels. They'll still be a bit OP, but after 8th level it's more manageable. Plus, it gives everyone a chance to pick some of the more interesting feats that they might not pick if they were focused on "optimal" progressions.
When I considered giving my players a pool to simply make their own Attributes I found that 74 was the magic number for a game where you wanted above average, but not over powered characters. That's a 10 in every stat with 14 points to spread as you see fit and then add your racial modifiers. For the people who want multiple 18s, they'll have a dump stat, or average stats in most of their scores. It allows for a mix an match that seemed to be well met by my players.
That being said, the randomness of the characters' attributes is part of the game's challenge if you choose to roll. I love the discrepancy between characters, it creates a Raistlin (the frail Wizard who's insanely powerful), the Grog (super strong but lacking in the smarts), and the various iterations in between. A good party will figure out how to shore up the faults of their party members or they fail. It promotes team work, creative thinking, and gives games that drama that people want through both RP and mechanics. Everyone using the same stat array is very bland in my eyes.
I have even become a bit more generous with my players and the Attribute rolls; I now have them roll a d10 and add 8 to it. This approach allows for the lowest roll to be a 9, the average roll to be a 13, and in general gives well rounded results. Even so, I had one player who rolled four 10s, a 9, and a 12, it was crazy to see this happen. The whole table agreed to the process and he didn't complain at all. It made the game so much more interesting because now we had a character that was slightly above average but wanted to adventure with these significantly more powerful people. A couple low stats do not equate to a death sentence, they're a challenge to make your character succeed, the underdog hero.
we are a new group, three players and DM all new to D&D. We rolled stats at first with the 4d6 remove lowest method and was all fine but after a few fights the lower rolled players started to feel like they contributed less so we wanted to balance it for all three. In the end we took the points the highest rolled player had 82 and had everyone distrubute that amount to thier stats before racials. Now it seems a little too much but being new we are not sure what to do, dont want to start over since we are new and that could mean resetting a campain which nobody wants. running official campaigns only and started with mines of phandelver, any advice on what to do?
Balance between the players is more important than their overall power level. You can make encounters more difficult fairly easily if needed. If nothing else, you can bump enemy hp up a bit, just enough that some of them will survive an extra hit.
As for how to start out, I'm a fan of having everyone roll a set of numbers with 4d6 method and anyone can use any of the sets. You still get the unusual randomness of stats but without the imbalance.
If you're worried about it, you can give everyone the highest number rolled, the lowest number rolled, and then fill out the rest of the stats with either the original rolled stats (not counting the original highest or lowest) or use 14, 13, 12 &10 for the middle numbers. If it's your first go round, you can also just go with it and focus on picking up other aspects of the game, throw in a second wave of enemies 1 or two rounds in (between half the normal amount for the encounter up to twice the amount, or add in an appropriate leveled creature (hobgoblin or bugbear along with the normal goblins perhaps).
Rather than totalling the numbers rolled, you may want to calculate their point buy total. (Just google point buy calculator (probably better to use pathfinder rather than 5e)).
I played in a group where we had a big spread from player to player like you did. Our DM decided to nerf the top two PC stats and buff the bottom two. (Total of 6 players) As I was one that got reduced, I was a bit annoyed, because I rolled them fair and square, but quickly got over it along with the other player that was reduced.
You've already adjusted stats once. Easiest thing is to do it a second time and do a reduction across the board. If you don't want to go that route, you can buff up the enemies as was said above. My suggestion is: require everyone to take feats on their first 2 (or even 3) ASI levels. They'll still be a bit OP, but after 8th level it's more manageable. Plus, it gives everyone a chance to pick some of the more interesting feats that they might not pick if they were focused on "optimal" progressions.
When I considered giving my players a pool to simply make their own Attributes I found that 74 was the magic number for a game where you wanted above average, but not over powered characters. That's a 10 in every stat with 14 points to spread as you see fit and then add your racial modifiers. For the people who want multiple 18s, they'll have a dump stat, or average stats in most of their scores. It allows for a mix an match that seemed to be well met by my players.
That being said, the randomness of the characters' attributes is part of the game's challenge if you choose to roll. I love the discrepancy between characters, it creates a Raistlin (the frail Wizard who's insanely powerful), the Grog (super strong but lacking in the smarts), and the various iterations in between. A good party will figure out how to shore up the faults of their party members or they fail. It promotes team work, creative thinking, and gives games that drama that people want through both RP and mechanics. Everyone using the same stat array is very bland in my eyes.
I have even become a bit more generous with my players and the Attribute rolls; I now have them roll a d10 and add 8 to it. This approach allows for the lowest roll to be a 9, the average roll to be a 13, and in general gives well rounded results. Even so, I had one player who rolled four 10s, a 9, and a 12, it was crazy to see this happen. The whole table agreed to the process and he didn't complain at all. It made the game so much more interesting because now we had a character that was slightly above average but wanted to adventure with these significantly more powerful people. A couple low stats do not equate to a death sentence, they're a challenge to make your character succeed, the underdog hero.