I can't believe that whole argument between the two of them was started by me being opposed to more and more important random item drops. I enjoy creative problem solving, challenge(like trying to figure out how to get my sand and web dungeon to work), and exploration - this game has those in spades and is the reason I love it. But the combat? The combat has never been anything more than an annoyance to me in this game. Even digging is more fun than the freaking combat, at least it feels like I'm getting somewhere when I dig. I had full meteor armor, 2 mana rings and rocket boots before I managed to get a grappling hook because I had so little desire to farm skeletons. In fact, in most games I play, enemies are things to be killed only if you're stupid enough to fail to avoid them, because overcoming the challenge in the quickest and most effective way (especially if that way involves finding a creative way to bypass the challenge completely) is far more enjoyable than holding down the left mouse button while people throw themselves onto your weapon.
I honestly can not see how "here's this guy you know how to beat and can beat easily, now spend two hours killiing him over and over and pray you get lucky enough to grab the thing your looking for" is supposed to be fun. Now, if it was "they only drop this item at this certain time of night" or "during a blood moon" or something like that, that's fun! Suddenly, something happens, and you're under a timer. Can you accomplish the challenge? Can you get there and kill this guy in time? There's a bit of tension and excitement and even potential enjoyment there. But that's not the way they're doing it. Instead, many people seem to be of the opinion that "You know how you like exploring? Well, fuck you. We want you to play the game our way, and that involves fighting boring shit until your fingers bleed, so our exploration rewards only go to people who do that now." That is what I'm opposed to. And that's the path that prioritizing rare enemy loot drops leads too. If that's where the game is going, I want no part of it.