The growing entitlement issues of the casuals

[Mishakai]

Or how about Gear should reflect the skill of the player??? Time invested does not always equal skill.

Simple.. Scaling content.. Generally "Hardcore" players tend to prefer encounters that require large groups... Casual players, tend to prefer solo/small group content. It's not hard to design single player content that is as difficult for a single player as raid content is for raiders.

You have to remember, we all pay the same monthly fee (currently 0, but still)... unless you want to charge hardcore players more per month than casual players, the rewards should equally reflect the time invested.