Video game exploits

In video games, an exploit is the use of a bug or glitches, game system, rates, hit boxes, or speed, etc. by a player to their advantage in a manner not intended by the game's designers. Exploits have been classified as a form of cheating; however, the precise determination of what is or is not considered an exploit can be controversial. This debate stems from a number of factors but typically involves the argument that the issues are part of the game and require no changes or external programs to take advantage of them.

Whether an exploit is considered a cheat, or all exploits are cheats, is a matter of widespread debate that varies between genres, games, and other factors. The distinction is important as it decides how the developers and community responds to the issue and to the players who exploit the issue. On the one hand exploits can be considered illegitimate cheats that the developers should address and exploiters should be banned, while on the other hand exploits can be considered simply part of the game.

Arguments in favor of the cheating view involve the spirit of the game and the potentially damaging effects of the exploit on the game's community. While the rules or game code may not explicitly disallow a specific exploit, it may be seen that using that exploit goes against the spirit of the game. The potential damage of an exploit on a game has been described by a World of Warcraft community manager as "devastating".

In defense of these behaviors are arguments that the rules of the game allow it and that players might not know they are behaving against the designer's intention. So-called exploits, in this view, are not cheats because they do not change the game in any way and therefore could be accessible to all players if they know how to do it. The players who use such techniques may consider them fair for use in the game in cases when they are not explicitly disallowed in the Terms of Service or other such rules governing participation.

While players more frequently exploit issues to gain advantage for themselves, sometimes they may use them instead to irritate other players, known as griefing. One team of gamers in Team Fortress 2 produced popular online videos demonstrating their griefing and also several exploits present in the game, most of them being of little use for personal gain. Another famous incident during the Ultima Online beta test saw a player kill Lord British when that character was supposed to be invincible; the tester was later banned for exploiting rather than reporting the bugs he found.

...
Wikipedia