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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Empirate" data-source="post: 5844129" data-attributes="member: 78958">While the Stormwind Fallacy seems to lurk just over the horizon, I must admit that a certain threshold amount of optimization from anyone in the game, be it the DM or even just one of the players, will change the way your game plays out at the table.Optimization forces more optimization if the mechanical aspects of the game are supposed to stay fun for everybody. I know I'm having less fun as a player when I'm playing an unoptimized melee guy and see another PC regularly one-shotting the boss of the week. I'm also having less fun as a player when my DM throws us curveball after curveball with extremely optimized monsters, and us poor little PCs are simply being ineffective much of the time.And I also know I'm having less fun as a DM when every encounter I send against the party is brushed off in a couple combat rounds - especially if it's only one PC who does the heavy lifting all the time. Or the othe way round.So in order for the game to stay fun, even one person at the table optimizing well means everybody needs to step up their game at least a bit. This is not about competition (D&D isn't a competitive game), it is about playing in the same league. Competition aside, I just wouldn't enjoy myself playing Roger Federer on the tennis court if he doesn't pull any punches - and neither would he, playing me.I believe optimization is more or less neutral where the general fun a given group will have is concerned. However, large imbalances in the amount of optimization applied by the players can heavily detract from the game.Or, to put it another way: always make sure everybody understands the game at least roughly well enough not to flounder too much on the mechanical aspects. And make sure nobody tries to out-optimize everybody else.</blockquote>

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