Bertram25/mana — comment on commit a2f74e7663d8a2a5687de5e1af87108ebed0282a
File: src/net/manaserv/playerhandler.cpp line 354
By bjorn:

I am also afraid the reason for using item position might be the lack of an ID for dropped items, but can't check it at the moment.

As for the main drawback you mention at 1, it's not much of a drawback at all, right? It's not a drawback when the client can tell the server specifically which item he wants to pick up, rather than the server having to take a guess based on the location. Also, the fact that the item may be drop-steal protected should of course be known to the client so that it will have no problem picking up another item when possible.