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For what it's worth, I believe there is a divide between Combat as War and Combat as Sport, but that people are really bad at talking about the subject.

Why shouldn't I have kickass characters that are mechanically effective at the table?

That being said, the opportunity cost of raising Con later compared to buying it at level 1 is fairly high. Most people I would think build a character with the assumption that they'll be playing it over a certain period of time, and will look to the future when it comes to the Constitution stat.

I was always fond of the concept of taking your dead level 1 character and crossing out the name on your character sheet and replacing it with Bob II. But yeah, I second this. I can't be bothered to invest in something disposable.

Leaving out the optional stuff just changes the goalposts. I'll just optimize what's left. Certain classes(Wizard, Druid, Warlock, and Monk for example) can be almost completely optimized without any of those optional things, and given those limits I would be looking at those classes more...

A Rogue at level 1 will have 8hp with 10 Con and 10 hp with 14 Con, but at level 5 those numbers are 28 versus 38, and at level 10 those numbers are 53 versus 73. It adds up. That and everybody seems to say that Con is the most important of the 6 saves.

Level limits in 2E were in the 10-16 range, and hidden in the DMG as a quasi-optional rule.

1. I think what he means is taking away agency by denying RAW. All the tools somebody like me needs to be a combat monster are in the PHB. The tools in 5E are far less than what they are in 3E or 4E, but there is more than enough to disrupt(to your standards, not mine) the table you seem to be...

1. Not caring about stat bonuses does not make you a better roleplayer 2. Your missing the point. The point isn't whether it is good or bad, it's that rolling and rolling plus fudging/cheating are not the same thing, and when people simply say "we rolled our stats" or "we prefer rolling stats"...

I'm still not 100% on Multiclassing. I can make up for the loss of the second attack with Booming Blade and Greenflame Blade to some extent, but the major loss is Great Weapon Mastery. Great Weapon Mastery and the second attack go together, and I don't think I want one without the other. It's...

You might have had a former 4E DM. In 4E it was black letter rules that marked enemies were aware they were marked. The DM might have interpreted that 5E Defender mechanics worked the same way. I probably would have done the same as your DM given my time with 4E.

Whether or not to trust a DM isn't the same issue as whether the DM should have that much power or how much power a DM should have. A lot of people feel that the DM taking a way an array of highly rolled stats to be power the DM shouldn't have. It really isn't about trust. Players shouldn't...

Point buy or array? Sure thing. 6 rolls that I have to live with for months of campaign time, not so much

The conflict is rarely with me or with the group. I don't see how the way I play necessarily conflicts with anyone else. If somebody has a problem, it seems to me more to be a personal issue as opposed to a system issue of a style issue. in your case I would consider it more a personal issue...

How specifically does one conflict with another?

How so? I really don't see the issue.

Anecdotally speaking, from playing 2E from the mid 90s until 3E's launch, with only one semi-exception the DM's I gamed with(including myself) ran 2E a lot less lethally than it mechanically was.

I think in context "Combat as War" vs "Combat as Sport" is more about the intentions of the DM/Players. In "Combat as War", combat is dangerous. People die, in particular, people die on both sides("Combat as War" tends to be more dangerous to PCs). People pursue convoluted strategies to avoid...

Assume what? People say they roll stats and accept the results, I'm inclined to believe them. That doesn't change the fact that I've never seen it happen in 20 years of playing D&D. People trying to imply that it's typical goes against my experience that's all.