Guild Wars 2

Invariably players will find nooks and crannies that give them access to places they otherwise shouldn’t have access to. I’m an explorer, I find all kinds of nonsense. I thirst for it.

And consequently I find myself in places I have the sneaking suspicion I’m not supposed to be at. Places that appear “unfinished”, to put it mildly. I have a long history of this since City of Heroes and the crack in the wall that allows one to roam the ocean and find the City Over Water in the distance. I’m inclined to bug report and move on for the most part… but I won’t lie and say it isn’t thrilling.

Regardless… does Arenanet view this as a form of exploitation (though i’ve never used this sort of thing for personal gain), or is it something they’re relatively comfortable with?

There is a bug report feature in game, even allowing you to attach a screen shot of your issue. I reported many of those, many got fixed in the next patches (if based on my reports, or someone else’s).

Knowingly using bugs in the game is always exploitation. Getting into places you know (or as you say, "suspect") no player was supposed to go, is exploitation. Plain and simple.