Hardcore... How would you define it?

[Simurgi]

My explanation :

Hardcore is an approach to the game that the majority of other players may feel is 'not needed,' 'over the top,' or excessive. E.g. ,a hardcore player will level their chochobo to 10 in 3 weekends. He will set this as his goal, and focus on that goal until it is complete. A casual on the other hand, may take 3 months to achieve the same goal, or not consider this as a goal at all.

Player skill is a subset to the hard-core mindset and not necessarily a defining quality. I say this because hardcore players tend to grind more, and repetitions typically hone a skill.

Lastly, time is irrelevant. A hard-core player may have had lots of time in the past to play games like this. And while that excessive time played in the past probably developed his approach to gaming today, he may not be afforded the same luxuries to play all hours of the day like within his previous life .

[Commatbear]

I don't think it has to to with time or mindset as most people have suggested.

It has to do with how committed you are to other people.

For instance, a hardcore player when a new raid comes out is committed to playing 4 hours a day for a few nights each week. This creates an obligation to people and to the game.

Casual players don't have this obligation regardless of how many hours they play a week. They could play for 40 hours a week whenever they want and never feel as though they cant leave.

My definition, i believe, can be proven in game. Ever wonder why bad players are in full Coil gear? or why very good players with a lot of in game time have none or haven't run coil at all? one is committed and dedicated to a group of players and the other is not. (no offense to hardcore raiders, i know many of you are elite.)

Its not about how much you play or how much you want to win but how many hours you are willing to invest without the possibility of leaving.

[Xystic]

Hardcore - A lot of effort put in beyond normal

It can be applied in a multitude of directions.

For example, You can have a multitude of hardcore raiders.

You can have the skilled down to the single digit number math players. They can tell you how much damage in "X" time frame on "Y" encounter. They can calculate how much margin of error they have and where to make up for such errors if they occur. These players, put in "A lot of effort beyond normal" in understanding the mechanics of progression.

Next you can have the skill-less but time invested players. They don't understand the mechanics down to the single digits but they spend countless hours cracking at content. Sooner or later, they eventually increase that margin for error with gear or get lucky and produce the needed numbers in the specific set time frame to down content. These players are also considered hard-core. They put in "A lot of effort beyond normal" with time invested.

You can have players that sit in between the two. Because they put slightly more effort than normal in time and understanding mechanics but overal its still "A lot of effort beyond normal" invested.

This can also be applied to, a hardcore merchant as well~

[Vantol]

Hardcore - skilled player, who accomplish a lot in game. Who is ready to sacrifice his social life, family, job for sake of progression and being best of the best, who understand value of gear and achievements and is taking game as primery job.
Casual - unskilled player, usually taking game as game and nothing else, troll, not ready to put hours to learning curve or put aside social life. Person who plays for fun and doesn't understand realy value of mmo.

[Espon]

You don't have to spend a lot of time in the game to be hardcore. These types of people usually strive for challenge and try to complete everything while it's still relevant. This requires a bit of a commitment, but by no means does it say you have to play 24/7. While they might more time when new content is first introduced, but after they got the place on farm they really only need to play a couple hours a week.

I used to consider myself as being a hardcore player when I played WoW. My guild only raided 4 hours a day, 3 days a week for a total of 12 hours (when learning), however we put in our best during that time and cleared all hardcore content first or second on the server; content that 99% of the population couldn't do through an entire patch-cycle.

[Lucke]

I tend to view hardcore/casual in terms of difficulty of content.

Hardcore content = content that is difficult, takes many runs to master, one mistake and the raid wipes, requires alot of tactics, thought, and strategy to complete, and content that takes longer than 30 minutes to complete. People who like this high difficulty content are "hardcore" to me. EQ1 was hardcore, requiring 72 (I think) person raids into a dungeon that lasted 6-8 hours.

Casual = easy mode. Sorry. Casual content is easy content that takes 30 minutes to accomplish, usually requires very little if any, tactical thought, and "hardcores" can steamroll through this content in a few hours after it's released.

I think most 30ish year olds were around in EQ1s heyday. They know what hardcore is. Now, with this new generation, they have no idea what hardcore is because they we're around when MMOs where hard as hell and required more thought than what is common today.

[Jinrya-Geki]

Hardcore = Dark Souls

[Tazo]

Hardcore - Ridill / Ebody +1