Quote Originally Posted by HappyHubris View Post
The thing is that MMOs have multiple axis for "casual" and "hardcore:" skill level and time invested. I've met people who spend a TON of time in game - every class at 90, buy all the glamours, participate in a lot of social interaction with other users - and never touch extreme or savage content. Heck, I know a guy who crafts and clears to get his wife things to stick in their in-game housing, because she enjoys that part of the game more than combat. MMOs are social things that happen to have combat for some people, and many of those that are left happily respond to earning items even if the content you need to grind is absolutely droll.
None of this is contradicting anything I said. In fact, it makes the dev team look worse, because it means they're willingly alienating a portion of the playerbase to cater entirely to another portion that's already happy with the game.

Also, not every casual player is entirely happy with just socialising, flashy animations and engaging story either. There's been quite a few players who say that they're casual and never touch extreme/savage but also hate the job simplifications.