Yes, it is true that to add higher detail takes more time. But for things like bug fixes that don't involve models, that doesn't apply. And that's one of my key questions.

Unless I am quite unaware of how the gaming industry works, I don't think another company besides Blizzard can "copy" their code onto a different game. They may use similar engines, sure. But they can't copy it (as far as I'm aware). Rift is certainly very similar, but that doesn't mean the code is the same.

And you are quite wrong on that regard. This is my main. I've merely been thinking about this quite a while and finally decided to make a post of it. I've browsed these forums a bit, but haven't posted until now.