Optimization with regard to what? It can't be "with regard to max damage" or else everyone with access to a board like this would be taking the same race, class, feats, spell list, equipment list, etc--which they manifestly are not. Even if we say there's an element of "scissors paper rock" to the whole thing, there'd no reason to have as many options as there are.

In fact, someone who's feeling particularly grumpy might say that D&D has so many classes, variants, etc that it is insanely unreasonably difficult to optimize a character. You need lots of system knowledge just to know what books to look in to achieve something close to the concept you want. And even if you get an expert to make out a character for you, if you don't know how the action economy works and what the feats do for you and what creatures are vulnerable to what special attacks and when Attacks of Opportunity are available, etc etc, you're left saying "I swing my sword. Again. Just like last time. And, you know, the time before. Ain't this fun." It's hard to optimize a character. That can't be what D&D is about.


What it is about having fun.
For some people, "fun" does include optimizing, and gaining the system knowledge to optimize.
But for some people, that mass of system knowledge is actually an obstacle to having fun--we'd be playing Savage Worlds or HERO if we had a GM for them.

But as long as we can put aside worrying about the budget and politics and customers and fixing the car and, for a few hours, be the celebrated hero Kestrel Ghostkiller, relentlessly pursuing the evil magician until, battered but undaunted, we finally slide past the enemy's parry and make that last triumphant thrust home--as long as we can do that, D&D will be fun.

And that's what brings us back to the table next time.