Exploit (online gaming)
Encyclopedia
An exploit, in video games, is the use of a bug
or design flaw by a player to their advantage in a manner not intended by the game's designers. It is often colloquially abbreviated sploit. 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.
, 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.
. 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.
Duping
: Duplicating items or money.
Lag
and disconnection exploits: A game with inadequate lag handling may let players intentionally cause lag for themselves to cause an advantage. Similarly, a game that lets a player disconnect immediately with no consequences may let players exit a game without suffering a loss. (Shogun 2: Total War)
Geometry: Taking advantage of how the game world is built. Typically the goal of these exploits is to reach normally inaccessible areas or take unintended shortcuts in the game world. These are commonly achieved by going through walls, crossing invisible barriers made by the programmers, or scaling ledges not intended to be climbable.
Twinking
: Taking advantage of design flaws in the game's gearing system in order to appear better than you actually are. Because of the EULA which twinking does not violate, it is very commonly patched in order to prevent such an exploit from posing a serious problem.
Movement speed bugs: These usually allow the player to move faster than intended, such as bunny hopping
. Many of these have been embraced by certain games, such as skiing in the Tribes series.
Safe zones: Places where a player can attack with no risk of being attacked back. This is often a form of an exploit in the geometry (terrain) of a game—however, a game may have areas that make players within them safe (especially in PvP games/zones where the opposing faction(s) may not enter) from attack while not disallowing the safe players to attack.
Game mechanics: Taking advantage of the systems that make up the gameplay. A game mechanics exploit is not a bug—it is working as designed, but at the same time is not working as intended. Things such as hitting an enemy in a zone then running off, knowing that when the enemy soon despawns you will get full credit for the "kill", as you did 100% of the damage to it (even though the damage did not kill it). Such as in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where online you may come between a fight and it would not be a team battle, and characters would help one win. That means they would let one of the characters they are trying to help win, hit them then intentionally run off the stage to get the other player credit for killing them.
Each game has potential for exploits unique to that game's rules. For example, in World of Warcraft
, wall-walking allowed a player to climb steep mountains that are supposed to be impassable to get into unfinished areas or make one's character not attackable by mobs or other players. EverQuest
had an exploit in player versus player analogous to weight cutting
in sports whereby a player would intentionally lose levels
by dying in order to compete against lower-level players while wielding higher-level items and skills (game mechanics exploit). In the game City of Heroes
people were using teleport powers to place others inside the PvP zones' watchtowers which, originally designed as props for atmosphere, had no way in or out if you could not teleport (the towers have since gained a doorway).
, such as when skiing in the Tribes series of games gained developer support. Otherwise the developers may try to fix the underlying problem or discourage use of the exploit if the issue cannot be clearly addressed by technical means. In severe cases players may be banned. Further, the game state of the world may need to be reset to restore game balance
. For example, following a serious currency dupe exploit
in EverQuest II
, the developers removed large amounts of duped money from the game to address the rampant inflation
it caused in the game's virtual economy
.
Software bug
A software bug is the common term used to describe an error, flaw, mistake, failure, or fault in a computer program or system that produces an incorrect or unexpected result, or causes it to behave in unintended ways. Most bugs arise from mistakes and errors made by people in either a program's...
or design flaw by a player to their advantage in a manner not intended by the game's designers. It is often colloquially abbreviated sploit. Exploits have been classified as a form of cheating
Cheating in online games
Cheating in online games is an activity that modifies the game experience to give one player an advantage over others. Depending on the game, different activities constitute cheating and it is either a matter of game policy or consensus opinion as to whether a particular activity is considered to...
; 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.
Controversy
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 bannedBan (law)
A ban is, generally, any decree that prohibits something.Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some see this as a negative act and others see it as maintaining the "status quo"...
, 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
Letter and spirit of the law
The letter of the law versus the spirit of the law is an idiomatic antithesis. When one obeys the letter of the law but not the spirit, one is obeying the literal interpretation of the words of the law, but not the intent of those who wrote the law...
. The potential damage of an exploit on a game has been described by a World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
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
Terms of Service
Terms of service are rules which one must agree to abide by in order to use a service. Unless in violation of consumer protection laws, such terms are usually legally binding...
or other such rules governing participation.
Griefing
While players more frequently exploit issues to gain advantage for themselves, sometimes they may use them instead to irritate other players, known as griefingGriefer
A griefer is a player in a multiplayer video game that deliberately irritates and harasses other players.-History:The term was applied to online, multiplayer computer games by the year 2000 or earlier, as illustrated by postings to the rec.games.computer.ultima.online USENET group.-Overview:A...
. One team of gamers in Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2
Team Fortress 2 is a free-to-play team-based first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve Corporation. A sequel to the original mod Team Fortress based on the Quake engine, it was first released as part of the video game compilation The Orange Box on October 10, 2007 for Windows...
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
Ultima Online
Ultima Online is a graphical massively multiplayer online role-playing game , released on September 24, 1997, by Origin Systems. It was instrumental to the development of the genre, and is still running today...
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.
Common types
Common types of exploits include:Duping
Duping
Duping refers to the practice of exploiting a bug in a video game to illegitimately create duplicates of unique items or currency in a persistent online game, such as an MMOG. Duping can vastly destabilize a virtual economy or even the gameplay itself, depending on the item duplicated and the rate...
: Duplicating items or money.
Lag
Lag
Lag is a common word meaning to fail to keep up or to fall behind. In real-time applications, the term is used when the application fails to respond in a timely fashion to inputs...
and disconnection exploits: A game with inadequate lag handling may let players intentionally cause lag for themselves to cause an advantage. Similarly, a game that lets a player disconnect immediately with no consequences may let players exit a game without suffering a loss. (Shogun 2: Total War)
Geometry: Taking advantage of how the game world is built. Typically the goal of these exploits is to reach normally inaccessible areas or take unintended shortcuts in the game world. These are commonly achieved by going through walls, crossing invisible barriers made by the programmers, or scaling ledges not intended to be climbable.
Twinking
Twinking
Twinking is a type of behavior in role-playing games. A player who engages in such behavior is known as a twink. The precise definition of twinking varies depending on the variety of role-playing game. In "pen and paper" role-playing games, a twink is often synonymous with a munchkin. In MUDs, a...
: Taking advantage of design flaws in the game's gearing system in order to appear better than you actually are. Because of the EULA which twinking does not violate, it is very commonly patched in order to prevent such an exploit from posing a serious problem.
Movement speed bugs: These usually allow the player to move faster than intended, such as bunny hopping
Bunny hopping
Bunny hopping, or bunny jumping, is a term used in video games to describe the basic movement technique in which a player jumps repeatedly, instead of running, in order to move faster.-Concept:...
. Many of these have been embraced by certain games, such as skiing in the Tribes series.
Safe zones: Places where a player can attack with no risk of being attacked back. This is often a form of an exploit in the geometry (terrain) of a game—however, a game may have areas that make players within them safe (especially in PvP games/zones where the opposing faction(s) may not enter) from attack while not disallowing the safe players to attack.
Game mechanics: Taking advantage of the systems that make up the gameplay. A game mechanics exploit is not a bug—it is working as designed, but at the same time is not working as intended. Things such as hitting an enemy in a zone then running off, knowing that when the enemy soon despawns you will get full credit for the "kill", as you did 100% of the damage to it (even though the damage did not kill it). Such as in Super Smash Bros. Brawl, where online you may come between a fight and it would not be a team battle, and characters would help one win. That means they would let one of the characters they are trying to help win, hit them then intentionally run off the stage to get the other player credit for killing them.
Each game has potential for exploits unique to that game's rules. For example, in World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft
World of Warcraft is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game by Blizzard Entertainment. It is the fourth released game set in the fantasy Warcraft universe, which was first introduced by Warcraft: Orcs & Humans in 1994...
, wall-walking allowed a player to climb steep mountains that are supposed to be impassable to get into unfinished areas or make one's character not attackable by mobs or other players. EverQuest
EverQuest
EverQuest, often shortened to EQ, is a 3D fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game that was released on the 16th of March, 1999. The original design is credited to Brad McQuaid, Steve Clover, and Bill Trost...
had an exploit in player versus player analogous to weight cutting
Weight cutting
Weight cutting is the practice of rapid weight loss prior to a sporting competition. It most frequently happens in order to qualify for a lower weight class or in sports where it is advantageous to weigh as little as possible...
in sports whereby a player would intentionally lose levels
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
by dying in order to compete against lower-level players while wielding higher-level items and skills (game mechanics exploit). In the game City of Heroes
City of Heroes
City of Heroes is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game based on the superhero comic book genre, developed by Cryptic Studios and published by NCsoft. The game was launched in North America on April 27, 2004 and in Europe on February 4, 2005 with English, German and French language...
people were using teleport powers to place others inside the PvP zones' watchtowers which, originally designed as props for atmosphere, had no way in or out if you could not teleport (the towers have since gained a doorway).
Response
Developers may find it difficult to identify and respond to an exploit because a player who discovers a vulnerability in a game may be reluctant to inform the game's developers, in order to continue exploiting. However once developers do find exploits the response may include banning players who took advantage of the exploit, changing the game's rules to combat it, or even embracing the exploit. Positive opinion of the exploit can lead to the designers embracing it as emergent gameplayEmergent gameplay
Emergent gameplay refers to complex situations in video games, board games, or table top role-playing games that emerge from the interaction of relatively simple game mechanics....
, such as when skiing in the Tribes series of games gained developer support. Otherwise the developers may try to fix the underlying problem or discourage use of the exploit if the issue cannot be clearly addressed by technical means. In severe cases players may be banned. Further, the game state of the world may need to be reset to restore game balance
Game balance
Game balance is a concept in game design describing fairness or balance of power in a game between multiple players or strategic options. Each team or person would be equally matched in every aspect.- Overview :...
. For example, following a serious currency dupe exploit
Duping
Duping refers to the practice of exploiting a bug in a video game to illegitimately create duplicates of unique items or currency in a persistent online game, such as an MMOG. Duping can vastly destabilize a virtual economy or even the gameplay itself, depending on the item duplicated and the rate...
in EverQuest II
EverQuest II
EverQuest II is a 3D fantasy massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Sony Online Entertainment , based on EverQuest, and shipped on 8 November 2004...
, the developers removed large amounts of duped money from the game to address the rampant inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
it caused in the game's virtual economy
Virtual economy
A virtual economy is an emergent economy existing in a virtual persistent world, usually exchanging virtual goods in the context of an Internet game...
.
External links
- Online gaming's cheating heart Article about cheating and exploting.
- Cheating Guide in Online Games Docs, Trials & Cheating Guides.
- How to Cheat at Online Games Trials, Triumphs & Trivialities #145