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Min-max
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this post was submitted on 21 Sep 2023
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Min max means minimizing the downsides while maximizing the upsides.
That's weird! I always understood it as minimizing scores you don't care about to further juice your most desired stats. Eg. Sawing off a shotgun to make it more viable as a quick-draw close-range problem solver. What you're describing means "Optimizing", to me
To my knowledge you're correct. In the context of DND you put the least possible points in attributes you don't care about, while maximizing the stats that do your damage. So you can end up with a sorcerer with more charisma than Jack Nicholson, who is too dumb to tie his own shoes.
That's max-max
As everyone else has said, this is not at all what min-maxing is. Min-maxing is dumping the things you don't care about to be very good at the things you do. I present an example in the form of the excellent Darths and Droids.
I always think of quintessential min-maxing being to use 5e point buy to choose the stats 8, 15, 8 15, 8, 15 or whatever, literally making your relevant build stats maximum while dumping all else.
That's how the modern DnD community has been using it, but that's absolutely not what it means. It's just been kinda lost since 5e has basically no options to "Min" anymore. Back in the 90s and early 2000s, most games had options to take flaws that further reduce stats or add other complications in exchange for better base stats or more feats.
It's not always downsides though. Just a less desirable stat for the build than the one(s) you're maximizing.
Median max, aka Med Max