Edit: This is intended to be biased. My professor asked to present my opinion with my best thinking as to why I think the other side is wrong. This is a free-think assignment, meaning he is not asking for proof or evidence for or against. He is simply looking to see if I can critically think. Leave proof and evidence for the English and Science department! Also, there is no conversion at all here from a rubric based academic assignment that has specific criteria to reach a grade, to a traditional forum post. So please keep that in mind when your reading.. First off, a little background about me. I am a college student who is attending a variety of speaking classes and Philosophy classes. My philosophy professor issues us weekly critical thinking assignments, in which we are to choose a controversial subject of our choice, and through the tools of philosophy, we are to argue a point. It just so happens that my 75 year old philosophy professor is an avid gamer, and often follows the Destiny forum drama. So for this reason, I chose to write about the subject of Bungie patching the Winter’s Run boss platform exploit. Let us begin. As of patch 1.0.3, Bungie attempted to fix the Aksor boss platform glitch[1] in the Winter’s Run strike by placing a barrier in the original entrance to the exploit[2] area. They did fail to completely patch it, as there is another alternative route to get under the exploit platform. The community has recently been in an uproar of debate and discussion about whether the platform area truly counts as an exploit or not. Does the platform provide viable and realistic cover that can be compared to real life military tactics, or does the platform provide a theoretical “ultimate cover”[3] that classifies it as an exploit of unintended gaming mechanics? There are two major sides of the argument that the community has taken a stance for. Yes, the platform is an exploit that removes the difficulty of the strike, and is in need of a fix. No, the platform presents protection and strategic cover that is required in order to beat the Nightfall, and Weekly Heroic missions, and patching it restricts the gamer in the way they he or she chooses to play the game. Many users made the comparison that a real world military would not give up a tactical position nor would they consider it an exploit of their enemy. The major flaw with this logic is that real world militaries are adaptive, and Destiny’s AI[4] is maladaptive[5], therefore making this logical comparison illogical. By creating a theoretical situation, we can begin to see how the platform glitch is truly an exploit. In a real life situation, let’s say a team of Navy Seals has taken cover underneath a metal platform on a hill. This metal platform has a 360 degree area of exposure, in which the seals cannot dodge incoming threats. The top of the platform itself is metal, and presents a sort of weakness. The seals encounter a large platoon of diverse enemies, consisting of RPG’er’s (Servator), foot soldiers (Dreg), snipers (Vandal), drones (Shank), heavy machine gunners (Captain), and a helicopter (Aksor). The helicopter, with its powerful bullet piercing rounds would be able to pierce through the top of the metal platform. The heavy machine gunners would be able to provide extensive cover fire, preventing the Seals from providing unchallenged gunfire. Drones would be able to fly right into the rabbit hole. Snipers would be able to critically shoot the Seals when they expose themselves to fire. Foot soldiers would be able to flank the Seals from their 360 degree deathtrap. They would be able to get on top of the platform, and fire below. They could even simply throw a grenade under the platform. The RPG’er’s could simply shoot at the platform to collapse it, or they could just shoot into the platform, causing a explosion in a confined space that is incredibly lethal. Therefore, in a real life situation, the Seals would never seek cover underneath a platform, because the environmental flaws and intelligence of their enemies would quickly allow the enemy to wipe them out. The platform in Destiny provides ultimate cover, and the AI are not smart enough to maneuver around that ultimate cover. Therefore it is illogical to compare Destiny to a real world situation, as real life is adaptive, and Destiny is maladaptive. Some users have claimed that if they remove the Aksor platform, they might as well remove all other cover from the game and make boss encounters one large arena. We come back to the theoretical idea of ultimate cover. The platform provides near ultimate cover, while other points of interest do not provide ultimate cover. Therefore, patching a single point of ultimate cover does not indicate that Bungie does not support players using cover for tactical advantage. The existence of flawed points of cover is a good indicator that Bungie wants players to formulate strategy. Players often confuse tactics with strategy. Tactic is a single move, while strategy is a long term game plan compiled of many tactics to reach a goal. Tactical cover is not ultimate cover. You will eventually be rooted out and required to seek cover elsewhere. Therefore, it is safe to assume that the intended Bungie playstyle is for players to utilize various different points of tactical advantage, and adapt to a changing environment by shifting to another point of tactical advantage when necessary, creating an overall strategy at conquering the boss. Another interesting point is players claim Bungie is restricting the way players can play the game. I raise this point to you: If an activity can be completed by using a strategy consisting of only one single maladaptive tactic, is it fair to assume that the difficulty of the said activity is comparable to that of a child’s game ages 7 and below, or playing the game on ultra-easy difficulty? Shouldn’t some of the hardest content that the game has to offer require a strategy that consists of no less than at least 5 tactics? That is ultimately what makes it hard after all. I also raise this point to you, Bungie would be restricting the community by not patching the exploit. My logic behind this is that many players choose to play the game for the challenge it provides, as it is actually good practice for your brain to train you to think critically on a moment’s notice, and how to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. By allowing this exploit to go on, many players who wish to challenge their brains will fail to do so, as it is likely that there will always be someone who chooses to cheese the activity instead. By allowing strategies that require the mental IQ of a 7 year old, Bungie is restricting the intellectual ability of its gamer base. Lastly, people have claimed that Bungie has made it impossible for players to solo the weekly events. Again, referring to previous points of argument above – The hardest content in the game should require advanced strategies that go beyond the mental operating power of a 7 year old. The weekly activities are still able to be completed solo, without the use of exploits. However, there is emphasis on group play, but group play is not required. Interested to hear your feedback guys! I put a lot of thought into this and really tried seeing both sides’ perspectives. It’s very clear that I support the removal of the exploit in this post, but I was previously unsure on my stance, until doing much digging and forum lurking regarding the subject. Key: [1] Glitch: A malfunction or irregularity [2] Exploit: An unintended mechanic that yields and unintended advantage [3] Ultimate Cover: A theoretical term that indicates absolute superior advantage over your enemy. A sort of environmental protection that is unbreachable by any enemy tactics or weapons, but gives the person absolute freedom to assault his or her enemy [4] AI: Artificial Intelligence (Ex: The programmed behavior of a Dreg) [5] Maladaptive: Opposite of adaptive. The inability or refusal to make adequate changes to adjust to an environment or situation