In seriousness, I'm having a hard time because I'm seeing quantification without data. "A lot of the casuals who play this game have 0 care for challenge. They want everything handed to them and its very apparent." Well, it's not apparent to me. I play with a group that is comprised almost entirely of casual players (in terms of available time), and we simply play the game in a fashion that suits us, and dare I say, in a play style that is more representative of "hardcore play" (ability-wise) than the parties we used to have several years ago (back when none of us could imagine ever hitting the level cap because we didn't have hours to dedicate to camps). Perhaps there's an entire "casuals" scene that I'm missing out on, but perhaps I also just chose more fun people with whom to spend my time.

On the flip side, there's, "The fact is, the MAJORITY of players want exactly what SE is giving out now. AN EASIER AND MORE TIME EFFECTIVE GAMING EXPERIENCE." Obviously, that's not entirely true, as evidenced by the opposition to that sentiment as well as the number of folks unsubscribing. I still disagree with the time and effort equivalence, but I do very, very much agree with the sentiment expressed by Dazusu, "As I stated in other threads of this nature - it shouldn't be about 'this or that', it should have been about maintaining casual content AND hardcore content." I'm not at the cap yet, and I likely will not be for another month or so, but when I do get there (by trioing Ts and VTs, rather than camping ITs), I really hope there's some challenging stuff to keep me engaged. And if there isn't, it's likely that instead of looking at the proposition of cranking up my other mid-level jobs, I will stop for a while.

My overarching point is this: We've been given a number of ways to level to the cap faster, and I think that's great. However, if what's waiting for me there is nothing particularly engaging or challenging, 'tis for naught in the long run. But at least I've been enjoying that journey this time around.