Quote Originally Posted by DementedFellow View Post
I've just noticed a fair number of players who use 3.x are power gamers who seek to exploit the system and rely more of the combat ability of their character than the personality therein.
Yes, but thats a consequence of personality, not system (well, pretty much). Both 2ed and 3.x suffered from system bloat which inevitably leads to uber builds and optimizers. Since most 2ed books are no longer in print, finding source material for optimization might be a bit harder, but if your players are really bent on breaking a system, there isn't much that you can do.

Also, bear in mind that the internet wasn't really around during 2ed (well, it was, but you know what I mean). This means that if someone wanted to beat the game they had to do so with their own resources and mind. Now you can just google "batman wizard" or "hulking hurler" and receive a dozen links about how to best piss off your DM. This couldn't happen in 2ed, which tended to limit the power level to the ingenuity of your group.