All Worlds Emergency Maintenance (Sep. 20)

[Reika]

I'll tell you why this is not an 'exploit'.

Firstly, SE set the vendor price for Dawn Drops. No one figured out any system work around to make them sell for more. Since the addition of grand companies, the dawn drops have always been there under recruit. This was a very long time ago adition, it is nothing new. Though at the time, there was no way besides the few quests offered to get seals, so whos going to waste them on dawn drops? Later on down the line, new ranks are added and ways to get seals constantly are added. People have been playing this for a long time and clearly it didnt take people very long to pick the dawn drops as the item to deplete seals on for this event. So I would say people have done this in the past when there was nothing else they wanted from the GC and were maxed on seals.

Now SE adds the Atomos NM event, where you can get over-aspected crystals/clusters and exchange them for Seals of your Grand Company. At first, they messed it up to where you could get more than one cluster. That was their blunder and they fixed that already. However, SE set the exchange rate for these items themselves. 1 cluster = 3000 seals, 4 crystals = 1000 seals. SE also set the drop rate and amount of crystals dropped from atomos, at first being 3 to 5, now being 5 or 7. They also set the voidstone to be left up for a certain amount of time and to be multi-examinable. No special tricks by players were needed to increase the amount of crystals you get, amount of crystals you have to turn in, or amount of seals you get from turning in crystals.

The NPC that gives you seals for crystals wont let you turn in anymore if it will put you over cap. So any player that has everything they want from GC and wants to get that 500k seal ach, has to do something about it. So of course they would Take advantage of the Dawn drops that have been there since the addition of the Recruit rank, and have always been purchaceable with seals, and vendorable as a means to convert seals to gil.

Its not an exploit, its something to take advantage of while it lasts.

[Aenarion]

stuff

Pretty much, but then you have to realize that while it's not something that can be technically qualified as an exploit, many players nevertheless will use that term to describe stuff they believe is unbalanced/unfair etc.

It's just semantics tbh.

[darkstarpoet1]

Pretty much, but then you have to realize that while it's not something that can be technically qualified as an exploit, many players nevertheless will use that term to describe stuff they believe is unbalanced/unfair etc.

It's just semantics tbh.

if you want to look at it that way then making and selling francesca heads for major profit was not an exploit, fighting mobs naked so the casters could cure over and over to proc max xp was not an exploit, making and selling fish hooks for major profit was not an exploit, using a crafter to stun ifrit was not an exploit, burning down garuda before astral flow was not an exploit, linking leves as fisher to get massive exp was not an exploit, leve linking parties where you fail leves were not exploits, and raising and standing still during moogle to get another shot at them was not an exploit.

none of those are exploits by that definition, but they all did something that the dev staff had not intended so they were taken care of and deemed as exploits. all of the above were using things in the game to an advantage so they were deemed exploits and taken care of.

[Aenarion]

if you want to look at it that way then making and selling francesca heads for major profit was not an exploit, fighting mobs naked so the casters could cure over and over to proc max xp was not an exploit, making and selling fish hooks for major profit was not an exploit, using a crafter to stun ifrit was not an exploit, burning down garuda before astral flow was not an exploit, linking leves as fisher to get massive exp was not an exploit, leve linking parties where you fail leves were not exploits, and raising and standing still during moogle to get another shot at them was not an exploit.

none of those are exploits by that definition, but they all did something that the dev staff had not intended so they were taken care of and deemed as exploits. all of the above were using things in the game to an advantage so they were deemed exploits and taken care of.

Read my above post where I said a part of it really comes down to dev's discretion, also, exploit, at least where I come from, is something that's a bannable offense, and most of your example really falls more under design oversight than exploits.

[Nero]

I'll tell you why this is not an 'exploit'.

respectfully snip'd

ex·ploit (ksploit, k-sploit)n. An act or deed, especially a brilliant or heroic one. See Synonyms at feat1.

tr.v. (k-sploit, ksploit) ex·ploit·ed, ex·ploit·ing, ex·ploits 1. To employ to the greatest possible advantage: exploit one's talents.
2. To make use of selfishly or unethically: a country that exploited peasant labor. See Synonyms at manipulate.
3. To advertise; promote.


just saying...

[Aenarion]

stuff

What Reika and I have been trying clarify is the definition of exploit for game devs from a technical (and eula/game mechanics) standpoint.

Your dictionary definition really has little application here as far as that goes. Not saying you can't use the term exploit to describe it, just that it's not really the correct/accurate term.

[Elexia]

I'll tell you why this is not an 'exploit'.

Firstly, SE set the vendor price for Dawn Drops.

They've been at the GC since...forever so no SE didn't expect people to buy them even at all since mobs rarely debuff you, let alone sleep you.

Now SE adds the Atomos NM event, where you can get over-aspected crystals/clusters and exchange them for Seals of your Grand Company

Which was a good way to rank up and get your gear, especially newer players.

The NPC that gives you seals for crystals wont let you turn in anymore if it will put you over cap. So any player that has everything they want from GC and wants to get that 500k seal ach, has to do something about it.

That 500k seal achievement could be obtained normally even before this event, it was a long term goal for helping out your GC. Can you explain the logic of people who got the achievement and still gaining seals and vendoring drops?

Its not an exploit, its something to take advantage of while it lasts.

THAT IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF AN EXPLOIT.

[Reika]

They've been at the GC since...forever so no SE didn't expect people to buy them even at all since mobs rarely debuff you, let alone sleep you.



Which was a good way to rank up and get your gear, especially newer players.



That 500k seal achievement could be obtained normally even before this event, it was a long term goal for helping out your GC. Can you explain the logic of people who got the achievement and still gaining seals and vendoring drops?



THAT IS THE VERY DEFINITION OF AN EXPLOIT.

nonono, the faction leve exploit was an exploit, because it was taking advantage of a BUG. I reported that one btw. There is no bug to be taken advantage of by trading seals for dawn drops and then vendoring. That is working as intended.

[Molly_Millions]

nonono, the faction leve exploit was an exploit, because it was taking advantage of a BUG. I reported that one btw. There is no bug to be taken advantage of by trading seals for dawn drops and then vendoring. That is working as intended.

if it wasn't an exploit, then there wouldn't be emergency maint. to fix it today.

just sayin'

and I'm saying that after taking advantage of it myself. I watched prices skyrocket, because I was buying mats with my profits. The fact of the matter is, it was unintended, and I'm glad it's being fixed not only because it f'ed the economy up royally, but because it was difficult to do anything that was actually fun while everyone was spamming atmos for gil.

[Reika]

if it wasn't an exploit, then there wouldn't be emergency maint. to fix it today.

just sayin'

and I'm saying that after taking advantage of it myself.

Back in the day, you could make 12 linen yarn from 2 flax. Now you only make 1 linen yarn from 2 flax. Was it an exploit back in the day that you could make 12 instead of 1? They eventually changed it so can we call every weaver an bad bad exploiter?

Im saying there is a line between what is an exploit, and what is working as intended. It may have been much faster for them to deterimine that it was 'Too much' and change it, but just because they are changing it does not mean it was an exploit. I'm sure everyone will still be able to convert seals to gil with vendorable GC stuff, just not as fast.