What is a Min -Max game?

[Deace]

Yes I’m dumb…. When players are talking about playing a Min-Max game, what the hell are they talking about?

[Xandor]

Min-Maxing is basically trying to do something optimally.

Not sure what min-maxing would be in 7d2d but generally it would be getting the best skills, since it is easy to cheese ai it would likely be doing that etc. Wearing the armor with the best stats which would likely include preacher gloves for dps since it gives +60% damage against zombies or saving magazine and using them with nerd outfit since it gives 50% chance for additional perk point.
Someone that is min-maxing would not take something because it is fun, they would take it if it is optimal.

[Brevan]

The opposite of Min-Maxing might be the player that's playing a story role. Recently a friend and I had a game where he refused to kill anything unless it was via Shotgun. I was the Chef and Miner, refusing to kill anything except animals but I would use Spike Traps for my own defence. Similarly, ever since A21 my characters almost exclusively drink Gutter Water, since that's the best water.

[ElDudorino]

I've always assumed the "min" part refers to games where you can take certain garbage stats/skills and lower your proficiency in them in order to put more points towards useful ones. So like having 1/3 charisma and 10/18 strength, that kind of thing. All to make the "perfect" character.

A lot of people insist that you have no choice but to do this in various games. I've seen it said a lot for games like Dragon's Dogma and Elden Ring. What's happening there is unskilled players who spend too much time theorizing and not enough time playing are convincing others of things that aren't true. I don't think any game forces you to Min/Max.

OK, maybe Wrath of the Righteous on core difficulty. But I could just be saying that as an unskilled player.

[NoMan]

Minimum effort/Maximum results. It's about efficiency.

[Slainpessimist]

min maxing in this game is investing in skills to get books/parts.
get a melee skill to lvl 4 and a point into a ranged skill., later you'll want to focus on ranged.
The point is you don't want to dilute the loot pool to much, set your priorities and invest in them, it's more about books than anything else.

[8_Hussars]

Originally posted by Deace:

Yes I’m dumb…. When players are talking about playing a Min-Max game, what the hell are they talking about?

Watch IzPrebuilt... and you will soon understand.

[art]

Less dying, more fun

[Mithrandir]

Min/maxing is about using all the tricks you may find yourself or from others to get the optimal results in games.

IMO, it often leads to ppl complaining games are boring, too short or too easy because they use the single most OP (base building, classes, spec, gear, or any other choices) way to play they can find, no matter if they like it or not.

But some are passionate about it. To each their own.

[BanDHMO]

Originally posted by ElDudorino:

I've always assumed the "min" part refers to games where you can take certain garbage stats/skills and lower your proficiency in them in order to put more points towards useful ones. So like having 1/3 charisma and 10/18 strength, that kind of thing.

Same. It's common in roleplaying game systems where the player is purposely restricted from becoming "OP" by training every possible skill high, but at the same time given the flexibility to sacrifice some skills to boost others. Since people still want a character that's excellent at something, they end up minimizing a number of other skills and make idiotic characters that have the strength of a baby, the intelligence of a brick, the stamina of a cow, but good agility, for example, and then try to solve every problem with agility.

Thankfully, 7DTD's stat system does not suffer from this. Your character begins average at everything and only gets better from there. There's no need to min/max your stats, just prioritize what you will become really good at first.

In 7DTD context, it's probably referring more broadly to "using dirty tricks that kill the fun".

[Laub]

Originally posted by Deace:

Yes I’m dumb…. When players are talking about playing a Min-Max game, what the hell are they talking about?

Min / max for the best result. It's more like a job or hard work and less to play a game to have fun. It's all about efficiency.