Quote Originally Posted by Aidorouge View Post
It doesn't matter if I WANT to play with other people if I'm not good enough to do so, but it's one thing to be self-aware of shortcomings and do my best not to be a bother, and it's another when other people constantly CONSTANTLY deride you for it while also claiming they're way nicer and friendlier than they actually are, or act like that I don't deserve even the most basic content. It's not even like I'm demanding that things become easier or get handed to me (though the hardcore crowd will vehemently insist otherwise), but if I eventually run of things to do, or CAN'T do, then I really shouldn't be here at all, and a sizable portion of the playerbase agrees that casuals (or whatever I am) shouldn't be here either.
You're making a lot of generalisations about what "the playerbase" thinks but the playerbase is not a monolith. In any social game you're going to get people frustrated. I mean I got kicked from an Extreme group recently because "somebody" kept changing the markers and the dope who was running the group decided to kick everyone they didn't know personally, some people are just idiots. On the other side there are tonnes of players who do want to help people who struggle with content but you have to make the effort to go out and find them. Just because some people are arseholes doesn't negate the nice people who play the game. You're taking all of your worst experiences in the game and extrapolating from that that everybody feels that way but it's just not true. Haven't you had positive experiences too?

It seems like you have doubts about playing the game and you're projecting them on to others. If you don't like the combat, don't like the social aspect, then what is it about this game that attracts you? Because these are not part of the casual/hardcore discussion, these are all essential elements of the game design for all players.