Editing Exploit

The main reason an exploit exists is that the player discovers a method of using system mechanics in ways that the developers did not take into account during the design phase, resulting in unintended side effects. Exploits were either never encountered during a game's testing, or were simply not addressed before a game officially released. The larger and more complex a game is, the more likely exploits are to exist, simply due to the increased difficulty in testing every possible situation and figuring out how to address the issue without breaking other parts of a game. Exploits are not to be confused with [[glitch]]es, which are caused by the game specifically not working as intended. Exploits specifically involve multiple gameplay elements working as intended, yet yielding unintended results.

By definition, exploits can cause a wide variety of effects on the game itself. These include skipping portions of the game, making initially difficult parts of the game trivial, breaking in-game economies if they exist, and altering the metagame if the game has multiplayer modes. Typically, exploits are not harmful to the players' experience and can be indirect quality of life improvements towards a game. Some exploits have become so popular that game developers intentionally program them into the game as features in later installments. However, some exploits can be seen as harmful, especially if they negatively impact the experience of others. These exploits typically get patched out of games that have the privilege of receiving updates.