Lanefan
Victoria Rules
Agreed to both; and yet the character that a player might have the most fun with could still be, in the grander scheme, as sub-optimal as hell.Its the fault of both the player and the designer, the designer should do their utmost to create a game where as many builds as possible are viable, but the player should do their utmost to design and play a character they'll have fun with.
The best character I've ever played was like this: almost certainly the weakest member of her party in terms of mechanics and what she could do at any given time, but for seven real-world years she just kept going like a little Energizer bunny and ended up - for a time - being the longest-serving member in the party.
The thing that needs to go is the attitude of thinking a sub-optimal character shouldn't be played, and that adventuring parties have to operate like Navy SEAL teams.