Disable bonus stats?

[Smilodon]

Is there a purpose to being able to disable them, other than oddly not wanting extra health/damage/etc?

[Jᴧgᴧ]

Sure. Building new characters up isn't hard as it is in Normal mode. Add in bonus stats, and it can be a boring cakewalk. Some people want to experience it as hard as possible to keep it even marginally entertaining, especially when learning a new class.

[Sharknado]

Though it doesn't answer your question, but BAR is banned on time trials to even it out for everybody.

[Smilodon]

Ok, thanks for the info!

[NewTroll]

Sometimes BAR can affect a character spec negatively. Like if you have more shield boosting stats than melee damage, then it could be a huge disadvantage to a melee-centric character.

Plus if you're running tests on different mechanics of the game, like trying to find the most damaging weapon in a certain situation, BAR can effect the outcome.