Is softcore viable?

I feel like there is a big gap between casuals and the high tier raid community.
I always find myself stuck in between.

I did finish First Coil because a group that was farming it picked me up as a sub right before Second Coil was released.
When it did, they asked me to join as there main Scholar. I was extatic but being a softcore player I couldn't manage the tight schedule they were running. They were known to compete for server first stuff and that includes a lot of trial/error. I barely had time left to max out my tomes back then and everyone knows how easy that should be haha...
The game felt more like work than anything else so I decided to take a break.

HW caught my attention and with a comeback in mind, I am interested in finding out how others deal with the sense of wanting to experience endgame at a high level but without the benefits of having static or a close group of friends that can help/carry...
Any tips are welcome.

Static doesn't have to mean playing 10 hours a day.
All statics I had untill now progressed 3 hours a day, 3 times a week, only now my static plays more often because everyone agreed to.
9 hours a week are softcore, especially in MMO measures.

EDIT: Also progressing raids with random people is 10 times more time consuming than doing it with a static on slow pace.

Alexander Midas coming out in 3.2 should be close to SCOB/FCOB in difficulty. You will still need a static if you want to progress at a reasonable rate, but if you find a group that isn't going to be competing for server firsts it may feel a bit better.

I think people usually call that midcore. Softcore brings some other imagery to mind...

My static goes for 2-3 hours 3 days a week (though sometimes ends up only doing 1-2). You probably could find/make a group to fit your needs.

I can easily spend 10 hours or more in game per week, that is not the problem. But sadly I can't block 3/4 hours as a recurring event on the same days every week...
I work freelance and my deadlines organise my game time.

So the question rather focusses on this:
What if you really can't make a static work, unless it's a group of people (8+) that does content as soon as all roles are filled.
I guess this only exists as part of an endgame linkshell... But I've only found these full of randoms, without social aspects or attachments.

I don't know how it is on your server, but the best way to do things with randoms is to already have some people who've cleared the content to come help you. Try get to know some people who have cleared the content, they don't need to be friends of yours really, just ask them every now and then if they are up to spending 90 minutes helping you practice a floor with some randoms. You can tell them they don't need to teach anything or give advice if they don't want to, but that they need to be prepared for a lot of wipes to things they might consider stupid deaths.

Once you have some people willing to help you, use Party Finder for a learning X phase party while shouting in popular zones every 7-10 minutes that you're recruiting. It's best you do this on a kinda peak hour days after weekly reset. Weekend is great time for this but if your server is popular your Party Finder might be surrounded by a ton of messages so it will be hard to notice.

If you want a linkshell for PUGing Alexander, if you can't find one you might need to start one yourself.

Sorry for breaking the mood... but all I can see is a bad sex joke *cough*, maybe I'm just dirty minded.

Yeah I should change the title but I don't think I can?

Hardcore is just who never died with a char. There isn't hardcore gamers on MMOs.

Gordias savage was especially harsh on the casual raider and even the dev team has acknowledged this. I also don't mean casual as in you can only put in x amount of time per week but I also include the below average to average type of players. I was lucky enough to be a part of a top tier raiding group which allowed me to clear Gordias savage at an early date. It took time and very skilled players for us to clear it. I've since moved on to a more casual group and the difference is quite tangible. If anything, I'll advice you to look forward to 3.2 end game as Midas will most likely be more accessible to anyone who wants to try it.