I'm going to be a moron and drop my two cents in without bothering to read the thread either.
(lol j/k I did go back and read from page 7 or so on, but there's so much bs)
Let's start with the facts, shall we? I'll use Maphack as an example.
1. Maphack alters the game in a way not intended by the game makers.
I think this is pretty incontestible. It's something that you're not "supposed" to have.
2. Maphack gives its users a competitive advantage over players who do not use it.
Gee, I wish I could find Durance 3 in a matter of seconds. It would make Meph runs so much easier, which means I MF faster, which means more gear, which means more tradeables, which means more wealth.. you get the idea.
3. Maphack can get your acct banned and/or hacked and looted.
If you're an idiot and get a trojaned, or if Blizzard figures out a way to detect the apparent 'undetectable', well.. I hope you don't mind shelling out for a new cd key and potentially losing all your gear.
And here's the biggest thing:
4. Maphack is a HUGE time/hassle saver.
This is pretty much the only argument I can see in it's favour. Let's be honest here - we're not all hardcore players. We don't have unlimited time to play D2. In the time that we have, a lot of us just plain want to have fun, and teleporting blindly around durance 2 or worldstone keep 2, directionless and being attacked on all sides, is generally not very much fun. The fun part is scoring the kill and getting the drops and finding the sweet stuff. Anything that accelerates that, in essense, increases the fun of the game by excising the tedium. So an argument could be made that Maphack makes the game more fun.
Now tell me truthfully: who here hasn't wished they could "legitimately" find the gear that hackers seem to find with amazingly regularity? How many of you legit folks have never even SEEN a Windforce, Tal armor or Ber rune drop? Doesn't it suck, just a little? Hasn't the thought run through your head that "oh man this would be SO much more fun it I could find things just a LITTLE bit easier"?
Has Diablo whispered his dark words of destruction in the back of your mind? He has in mine. I've considered it. I've cussed out the people who tele baal in 0.0001 seconds. I've envied those who have 10+ sojs and an unending amount of Jah/Ber runes and godly items.
But at the same time, there's a quiet recognition that if I COULD get everything incredibly easy, then the game wouldn't be fun anymore either. Sort of like playing on single player with a character editor. It gets boring after a few minutes.
Something like Maphack is a middle-ground toy. It makes the game a LITTLE easier, illegitimately, but not so easy as to rob it of challenges. You still have to spend time and effort finding stuff, but not as much as you did before. This is how it can add fun, without ruining the fun.
In my opinion, if you want to have more fun and Maphack/hacking is how you get there, feel free to go right ahead and use it. I don't care. However, there are some things you should consider before pursuing the route of hacking..
1. Are you going to reduce other people's fun as a result of your methods?
This is the big issue. I imagine many legit players answer to q1 would be an immediate yes. So then the question becomes: do you even care? For most hackers, the answer is no. They don't give a rats as long as THEY are having more fun.
This is the crux of the issue. Just knowing someone else in the game is hacking can suck all the fun out of it. I can definately sympathise with that sentiment, as it's one of the major reasons I joined a particular website of legitimate players who put in a specific effort to play amongst themselves in a co-operative fashion.
2. Do you particularly mind if you get hacked/banned/looted/have to buy a new cd key?
If potentially restarting from zilch after purchasing a new copy of Diablo 2 doesn't trouble you, feel free to risk it.
I don't give a rats what people do, as long as they don't mess with me while doing it. Now, there is a world of difference between something like maphack and being able to bring ITH on the realms. One can be seen as a timesaver.. the other is nothing more than game breaking, an item so overpowered that it actually sucks the fun out of the game. And that's where I personally draw the line - where the hack makes the game UN-fun.
Lastly.. maphack isn't a legitimate tool. Please don't argue the legitimacy of it, it's a no-contest. At the same time, if you don't have any problem, ethically, using an illegitimate thing, then that is YOUR decision. You should be honest about yourself as to whether you have an ethical problem with altering the game with third party tools. But please, do not attempt to transpose this lack of ethical conflict with any legitimacy on the part of the hack you're using. If you don't see any ethical conflict, then all the "it's a HACK!" arguments in the world aren't going to mean a thing.
That's my two lengthy cents..
What i've basically said in this posting is that all the people who complain about hacks...still do the same basic action of seeking a edge...whether or not its morally right is another matter...but many of us gamers do it, and will continue...there doesnt seem to be anyway of stopping it. So in closing...please dont cheat excessively...and please for the love of god..remove ebay buying from this game...it ruins the game IMO and brings in too many negative elements into the game...more hackers...more people who will do anything to make a buck.
