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<blockquote data-quote="Dausuul" data-source="post: 4208181" data-attributes="member: 58197">...While I agree with your larger point, were you actively trying to select sub-optimal approaches to character design in your examples of super-optimized builds?&nbsp; Blasting magic is one of the least effective ways to play a wizard--you're far better off with save-or-lose spells and battlefield control--and &quot;greatsword with Power Attack&quot; is the gold standard for fighter damage output.&nbsp; And elves are the weakest of the full-blood races in the PHB, though still better than half-elves and half-orcs.&nbsp; The Constitution penalty kills them, literally.Humans are solid though.&nbsp; Love me some humans.&nbsp; And if you include the sub-races in the Monster Manual, I'll concede that wood elf is a decent pick for a melee specialist.Anyway, yeah... &quot;system mastery&quot; is a major problem IMO.&nbsp; For one thing, it means a lot of the Player's Handbook is wasted paper once you figure out what's good and what's worthless.&nbsp; For another thing, it means that you often end up with some PCs being uber-powerful and others being near-useless, in a relative sense; whether because some players know how to work the system and others don't, or because some players stumble across a killer combo by sheer luck, or because some players aren't interested in power-building and others are.There will always be system mastery in D&amp;D, simply because no RPG ever built has achieved perfect balance except by making all options identical.&nbsp; But increasing the impact of system mastery should not be a design goal by any means.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Dausuul, post: 4208181, member: 58197"] ...While I agree with your larger point, were you actively trying to select sub-optimal approaches to character design in your examples of super-optimized builds? Blasting magic is one of the least effective ways to play a wizard--you're far better off with save-or-lose spells and battlefield control--and "greatsword with Power Attack" is the gold standard for fighter damage output. And elves are the weakest of the full-blood races in the PHB, though still better than half-elves and half-orcs. The Constitution penalty kills them, literally. Humans are solid though. Love me some humans. And if you include the sub-races in the Monster Manual, I'll concede that wood elf is a decent pick for a melee specialist. Anyway, yeah... "system mastery" is a major problem IMO. For one thing, it means a lot of the Player's Handbook is wasted paper once you figure out what's good and what's worthless. For another thing, it means that you often end up with some PCs being uber-powerful and others being near-useless, in a relative sense; whether because some players know how to work the system and others don't, or because some players stumble across a killer combo by sheer luck, or because some players aren't interested in power-building and others are. There will always be system mastery in D&D, simply because no RPG ever built has achieved perfect balance except by making all options identical. But increasing the impact of system mastery should not be a design goal by any means. [/QUOTE]

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