Technically, there is no such thing as a dump ability stat in this game.
I'm going to have to strongly disagree with that. Pick any class and I'll tell you at least two abilities you can safely ignore. That there exists a scenario where a Wizard may benefit from high Strength doesn't mean Strength isn't generally useless to a Wizard.
And every two levels you can increase any ability score by +2.
This means that even if you start with 14, you can end up with 20.
So an Elf wizard and a Half-orc wizard at level 12 both can have an intelligence of 20.
So yes, SOME races are initially better in main stats for some classes.
But you can distribute your starting stats so that at level 8 there will be practically no difference between the "TOP" race for your class and the race you chosen.
The key word here is "initially", which is not true at all. If your key ability is behind by 1 at character creation, it's going to be behind by 1 for the majority of the game. I'll try to illustrate why I think so with an example.
I begin the game as a hill dwarf monk, starting with a 15 in Dexterity. This is my main Ability which determines my hit chance, damage, AC, initiative and Dex saves. Saying it's in my best interests to have it as high as possible would be a massive understatement. As you said, I'd start a little behind with a 15 at level 1, then increase to 17 at level 4, 19 at level 8 and finally 20 at level 12.
Meanwhile, a completely basic human monk starts with a 16 - that's already a +3 bonus instead of +2. They up to 18 at level 4, 20 at level 8 and can unlock a feat - many of which are gamechanging - at level 12. Throughout the
entire length of the game there won't be a second where my dwarf isn't behind.
I've used a generous example here, because it gets worse. An elf or halfling could start with a Dex of 17. There are feats which grant a +1 bonus to an ability score in addition to their base effect. If I pick such a feat at level 4, I bridge the gap between me and the human who's now at 18 Dex a little bit, but the elf monk can pick such a feat too, keep at +1 to everything ahead of my dwarf and then continue to reach 20 Dex at level 8. The non-ability racial features are all balanced against each other, so nothing I gain from being a dwarf can make up for this disparity.
Now monk doesn't need feats as much, but this gets a lot worse for classes that rely on certain feats to be effective. A variant human fighter can have 20 Strength and a major feat like GWM or Polearm Master by 6th level. Meanwhile a hill dwarf fighter will barely reach 19 Str without feats by that time.
This is how even a seemingly small difference like starting with a 15 or a 16 in a single ability can add up staggeringly over the course of the game. I see very little benefit in limiting a decent starting array to a select few races.
