Many reasons why players can be change averse. The Quake example shows a recurring one: unintended mechanic adds an extra facet of mastery, raising the skill ceiling. Players who mastered this tech are resistant to its removal because it nullifies a learned skill. They're mechanically conservative.

This is similar to the example I was thinking of, Super Smash Bros Brawl. People become attached to unintended behavior or exploits they've spent time mastering because they feel it makes the game require more skill. An exploit mastery fallacy, perhaps?