iserith
Magic Wordsmith
Yeah I can see things like try to knock something from a foes hands or the like, blind them is a bit more tricky for me. The thing is I wouldn't blame a player for "abusing" blind if it is standard allowable action, any decent player IMO would be foolish not to take advantage of that mechanic. Play styles and all that. I hate the 3e/4e max your build game design but in combat I expect my players to be the most effective they can be.
I think there's also a tension between doing the most optimal thing and achieving the goals of play. Is it going to lead to a good time for everyone and help create an exciting, memorable story to frequently go for an enemy's eyesight? In my view, probably not. So a player in my opinion needs to temper the desire to do the most optimal thing with the knowledge that the only real way to win at D&D - at least as far as the Basic Rules say - is to achieve the goals of play. If "spamming" the most optimal thing isn't going to get one there, then another reasonable choice must be made.
This is not to say that blinding is the most optimal thing, of course. It's just a stand-in for any trick a player might be inclined to "abuse" in order to win at fights or whatever... while still ultimately failing to achieve the goals of play.