We are in a time of transition -- where MMOs are trying to find ways to cater to both the casual player who doesn't have a lot of time to play and the 'hardcore' players who demands more and more content with each passing week. The definition of 'hardcore', for me... is different from what I would have considered it ten years ago, or particularly with regards to the FFXI world (camping HNMs nonstop, for example).

I play FFXIV many hours a day, and pride myself at being good at all endgame content... but I do not consider myself hardcore. There is something that sets apart hardcore players from the people who are skilled with a lot of time to play. Hardcore players, to me, are the people who beat their head against new content immediately after it comes out... until they have completed it. The Free Companies that spent hours upon hours fighting Twintania in an effort to figure out how her mechanics work... those are 'hardcore' to me. The players who get server firsts and create tutorials to teach the rest of the FFXIV player base how to do a fight are 'hardcore' to me. Hardcore players are not necessarily elitist; they just have more stamina to figure out fights that haven't been figured out yet.