and once again you are incorrectly putting the casual = easy and hardcore = difficult scenario. i don't see the casuals in here asking for easy mode. i see them asking for options for different play styles(solo or party, questing or grind) and people attacking them for it. i haven't heard casuals in here complaining darkhold was too hard nor did i hear them saying the nm's were too difficult.
i see casuals asking for nothing more than not just adding time sinks that they cannot do. i don't see an issue with there they feel about that, but i wish there was some long term goals. the thing to me is they could do those long term goals like relic's or long quest items to where even the casual player can complete eventually.
they could make it to where it is a progression based type quest where you cannot access the next stage until you complete one section. each minor section could take an hour or so before you get access to the next part and have to move to another area. this would allow hardcore players(all i think of when i say hardcore is more time) to complete the quest in a few weeks/months, but would not exclude the casuals completely. sure it may take them a year to get that super elite item because they can only play one small piece a day, but at least they could feel like they were progressing towards it and would eventually be able to acquire it.
the thing i don't want to see is 1 spawn a week hnm's or whatever again. to me, that is not a good thing to have for hardcore or casuals. that's good for the ls's that use claim bots and nobody else.
remember i say this as one of the hardcore players, but i can still look and see where the casuals are coming from. casual payers are not wanting easy mode in general no more than hardcores all want to see 1 week mob spawns. i personally just think everyone wants a game in general that they can play and enjoy.