This was done a long, long time ago, but I remember the reason. The wizard in
charge of remaking the spiffy new monster cash boxes (you know the ones) redid
all of container code, which was a pretty big project. In so doing, he made
the flag "does a lever-like weapon help open the box" optional, rather than
mandatory. By default, he turned it off. And it just kinda stayed off.

So what's the problem? Well, I admit that forcing boxes with shovels is
tradition here. But, having read the code, this is less because of the "great
leverage" message and more because of the "acid spits all over your weapon"
message. Shovels are cheap and expendable, tmakers aren't. The "leverage"
effect of shovels on boxes basically gave newbies a chance to open those
million-mowgles boxes we used to have (ah, those were the good ol' days...),
since they almost never had the str, pick locks%, or force lock% (yes, that
was a skill) to open them themselves. Thanks to the redone moneybox drops, the
"newbie" boxes are leather pouches, which are always open -- no forcing
necessary. Also, boxes can now be kicked or magic missile'd open, which also
didn't use to be the case.

So will shovels make a triumphant return as the box opener of choice? Probably
not. Sure, I can see using a crowbar or shovel or other lever on a wooden
crate, or maybe even a chest. But big, bad eq monsters tend to drop 2-ton
metal safe "boxes", and Digga shovels are made of wood and weigh the same as a
newborn kitten. Using one to pry open the other will just leave you with a
handful of splinters. You'd be better off using a sledgehammer, wrecking ball,
or dynamite.

Shinarae Lluminus

P.S. No kittens were harmed in the writing of this newspost.