I kind of do both depending on mood. In games with no clear starting character concept like Bethesda games, I usually let the characters develop themselves, sometimes they are powerful, sometimes not but the ones I can come up with a story for will be played the most. Sometimes I play just to test out build ideas but these characters do not last long since there is no attachment. For multiplayer type video games I tend to build more around function but as long as it is a build I can find fun to play. For this game I have started with some DnD actual and planned characters to see what will happen. One is in no way optimized in DnD, stats all over the place, but is fun to play and forces me to be creative. Another was created here and will be a rather strange multiclass Ranger/Sorc but is actually my strongest character right now. I can't play some races or classes even if they might be the "best" because I just can't relate to them or have some silly reason. For games where I like to try soloing high level content I use something more optimized but still fun.
