As someone who's been a dedicated melee character for the last two years, I'd like to share my input on how the game is changing for the worse.
There was a time when your ability to top the scoreboard, to do well in battle, to win the match, all revolved around how good you were. cRPG lacks this factor now in the sense that you can just grind to level 32 or 33, sell your loom points and instantly have enough gold to wear whatever the hell you want, upkeep is unnecessary. You don't need to be good at blocking these days, just roll high strength in heavy loomed armor with a big two-handed weapon (greatsword or nodachi are preferable) and you'll be a god. I'm still stuck in the mentality that I am capable of doing well with a rounded build like 18-18 with unloomed equipment.
I've since come to realize that the majority of the community is following whatever is the best and strongest build. It's natural for anyone to follow that route, since it's the easiest path and requires the least amount of effort and thinking. The current top builds are crossbows, which require almost no proficiency to be used effectively, hit hard and can be used in heavy armor without restricting their ability to fight in melee, and they don't have to worry about how much money they lose for upkeep because as I said, upkeep has been rendered unnecessary by the marketplace and heirloom points. To counter this, people don't resort to shields, yet they resort to stacking their strength, using heavy armor and large weapons that can one hit anyone who has an armor rating below 25 and ironflesh less than seven. Their heavy armor and large weapons enable them to soak up lots of hits and deal just as many, and they don't have to worry about the upkeep because they're stinking rich.
To conclude, it's not exploitation as much as it is human nature to take the easiest, least exerting choices over the challenging ones. The upkeep system is useless, crossbows are too easy to use, strength is being abused by the commons, money is no longer a variable as much as it is a counter like the health bar, or xp bar. Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to go grind myself to level 32 and sell my loom points so I can avoid worrying about upkeep like everyone else.
Nerf rage buff fun 2012
EDIT:
Incoming swarm of *insert whoever I targeted in my post* -1'ing me.