There is a well known fact to online games in relationship to
player advancement. I believe there is, in real life, a fundamental
law that collectively describes this <g>.

Players will take the path of least resistance (, to maximize
the realized or potential gain - be it monetary or otherwise)

I coded on an LPmud for 2 years. I wrote a lot of the object
code and base structures, along with level design and balancing.

Being invisible, I could watch players find sneaky ways around
certain obstacles. With 20 or 30 coders, and a mesh of so many
styles and items... no one could realize the potential impact
of adding X item to the game on areas where X item was not
designed in mind for. Earning an item that stuns a mob every
5 rounds combined with some other item that also stunned a
monster produced a unwanted effect in the game. Players knew
that if they had these two items they could essentially beat
any monster without risk. Neither wizard was to blame for
the coding of these items, it was the unrealized combined
effect in an area which the coding wizard had no idea this
could or would happen. Players will find a way... with
hundreds of items doing a hundred different effects, you will
never know the complete outcome when players begin to experiment.

Is it being resourceful? Is it taking advantage of the code?
Does it really matter? Once I learned of a player 'exploiting'
a method against a particular mob, I would alter the behavior
of the monster under those effects to create a more challenging
confrontation. It wasn't to ruin the player's experience, it
was to heighten it. I am a player of accomplishment. If I
play a game that's too easy, I tend to get tired easily. If I
play a game that offers new challenges each time, I tend to get
addicted, ie EQ.

I don't like the way Verant introduces changes into the game,
without understanding the major impacts they produce. In fact
I'm also disillusioned with Everquest these days. But it's not
because they tweak the game so often; because after all, it will
happen constantly. It's like passing Bills in Congress, and
some damn congressperson throws in a rider on something. Verant
puts 'riders' on every patch we get. I want them to make the
game challenging, I want to look forward to tomorrow, and think
what adventure am I going to undertake next. What havent I done.
What new is out there. I just don't want the surprise of a code
modification to impact my excitement/adventure/fun while I'm
playing. My 2 cp.

Harmonic.