It is by far the most efficient strategy to level your character. If the game had a more efficient leveling system built into it's more legitimate systems we would be utilizing that. Many other games have leveling systems that put you close to end game levels at the end of story content. So you don't have to work as hard. This game makes you play hours upon hours, days upon weeks even, to get to end game levels. And it makes you play content we've already been playing up to this point.
TLDR: If you Make a better leveling experience, you will get more players who want to engage with it And not *want* to find the exploits.
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I know why they do. Nobody, who's played this game for any length of time, wants to spend hours/days grinding the same old crap for the same old light leveling nonsense. So, players are desperate to get past that.