Citations:minmaxer

English citations of minmaxer

Noun: "(gaming) a player who attempts to create an optimized character by minimizing unfavourable traits and maximizing favourable ones, typically by improving a single trait or ability to the exclusion of others"

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• 1992 July 1, doug, “Re: GURPS: Skill Levels vs. Attribute Levels”, in rec.games.frp.misc‎^[1] (Usenet):

  As far as I can see, while your "Gifted" advantage does allow a character to have one physical skill at a high level for less points, since character D still costs less than character A (DX 15 + Gifted + skill vs. DX 15 + skill), it helps the minmaxer just as much as it does the non-minmaxer, and will thus lead to TRULY GROSS characters from those inclined to create them.

• 1992 December 2, Sea Wasp [username], “Re: Question on why people play AD&D and all”, in rec.games.frp.dnd‎^[2] (Usenet):

  Point based systems have their problems. Some of us simply don't like them because, while D&D has its Munchkins, most of the PB-players we've encountered seem to be minmaxers whose greatest joy is wringing the very most out of their points. Forget ROLE playing.

• 1994 August 6, scott david orr, “Re: GURPS Eidetic Memory”, in rec.games.frp.misc‎^[3] (Usenet):

  And add 5 points for the ability to remember stuff. As can be seen from this, even a devoted minmaxer will have trouble squeezing more than 45 points of a 30-point advantage, […]

• 1996 May 17, Bill Seurer, “Re: GURPS Magic”, in rec.games.frp.gurps‎^[4] (Usenet):

  I had a minmaxer once show me how to create an utterly devatasting^[sic] mage.

• 1996 December 9, Harrigan, “Re: GURPS, sci-fi RPGing, and medical skills (was Re: Space-Rpg.)”, in rec.games.frp.misc‎^[5] (Usenet):

  One thing that annoys me is when someone posts a character or something, built, as minmaxers would say, 'inefficiently.'

• 1997 September 7, Sea Wasp [username], “Re: Foolish question?”, in rec.games.frp.dnd‎^[6] (Usenet):

  Minmaxing is the behavior characterized by sorting through the various rules of an RPG to find the best way to design a character that will minimize his flaws and maximize his potential benefits. Used as a derogatory term, it's emphasizing the fact that this behavior is often done without any regard for character design as a personality and sometimes without regard even for the spirit of the character class. A minmaxer would never, for instance, take a character trait which would decrease his character's effectiveness in any way, even if that character trait would make perfect sense for the character as they were describing him/her.

• 2000 October 12, Dr Nuncheon [username], “Re: Cav, Bbn, Rgs, Pal vs. Ftr”, in rec.games.frp.dnd‎^[7] (Usenet):

  In that case, why try for balance at all? I take a more moderate stance - I realize that there will always be minmaxers and the like, and games should not *over*constrain just because of the minmaxers - but there's no reason to throw out all the constraints either. That's like saying "we shouldn't have any rules, because someone might abuse them." Babies, bathwater, and all that.

• 2003 January 6, Timothy Little, “Re: Foolish Character Designers”, in rec.games.frp.gurps‎^[8] (Usenet):

  I agree that a minmaxer can usually make a character more suited to particular situations on less points than a player driven by a pre-existing concept, but for a well-designed system there will always be *some* way that their character is less effective.