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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gradine" data-source="post: 7192381" data-attributes="member: 57112">I think at least a part of my distaste for optimization might have something to do with some of the language choices associated with them. Growing up with a disabled sibling has left my tolerance for using these kinds of words as pejoratives at well below zero. It feels like a great option to include in a single-player experience like a video game. As for group experiences like RPGs, however, I think I can agree with this sentiment. It also seems better suited to a competitive multiplayer experience like M:TG. In a collaborative experience like D&D, all it seems to do is provide roadblocks for accessibility to new players, and create an atmosphere that fosters, as you mentioned, elitism in a community that by all rights ought to extremely open, and all about sharing excellent experiences with each other.I spent a lot more time in video game communities back when major titles were starting to incorporate "RPG elements" and everyone was arguing what did or did not define an "RPG". "No see, you're playing the role of Link!" Another pointless thing I no longer have any tolerance for <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f61b.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":p" title="Stick out tongue    :p"  data-smilie="7"data-shortname=":p" /></blockquote>