Dupers — players who take advantage of exploits to duplicate rare items in-game in order to sell them — can be a type of MMO bogeyman, heard-of but rarely seen. However, Business Insider tracked down one MapleStory duper and got a rare behind-the-scenes look at this rule-breaking activity.
Justin Liu confessed to the publication that he had made $12,000 in two years by duping and selling items while betting that Nexon would not patch in fixes fast enough or rollback the servers. He said that he was part of an organized team that would swing into action instantly when a money-making dupe was discovered.
Perhaps the most telling part of this confession is that Liu did not see it as stealing or unethical: “I don’t think of it that way. I’m not taking their property and selling it anywhere else. I allow people access to parts of the game that Nexon blocks off to all but the richest. What Nexon tries to make rare I make common.”
[Source: Business Insider]
