Uh-huh. But sometimes, as a player, I might WANT to do things like that, especially after the first game or two. You mention XCOM, which I played and enjoyed without ever thinking about exploits because it was pretty good as a game. But I've never played it second time, because I don't think I would want to go through the motions for the bits I might want to experience again.
OTOH, there are plenty of games with exploits that I have played many times simply because I know I can shortcut and manipulate things I don't want to do again.
So, I wouldn't say it's that simple a choice, even if you think it is.
