Dungeons we need to talk dungeons

[Shurrikhan]

The "dividing line" and the term "casual" are not made by the developers though. It's players who do that. There should be content for all levels of ability in a good MMO, I think SE have done that in a healthy way.

I think one of the core things missed from earlier MMO experiences though (in WoW or elsewhere), and perhaps one of the discussions most worth having, is that at certain times (more of matter of patches than expansions, to be honest), it didn't particularly matter if someone was "casual" or not. Those spheres didn't so delineate themselves. And yet, somehow, both sides felt neither especially

1. unengaged (as when there are insufficient difficulties at or higher than what would be doable by and engaging to a median player and/or the median difficulty has insufficient cognitive load or "stuff to do" in combat)...
2. nor excluded (as when there is seemingly insufficient content at or below difficulties that would be enjoyably doable by and engaging to a median player and/or the learning curve does not properly leverage earlier difficulty to promote later accessibility).

And, honestly, that may have had far less to do with difficulty range or the number of options or even the player climate so much as simply (A) proper use of learning curves, (B) available creativity and range of combat-related interaction even in solo play, and (C) use of reward systems (which can quickly become overbearing and thereby deemphasize intrinsic reward if led to become overly central to the gameplay loop).