Hardcore is not a dirty word

[Delmontyb]

I thinks any good MMO has elements of both. In fact, I believe that both casual and hardcore players need each other in an MMO so the best MMO will have elements for both groups.

The hardcore gamer invests a lot of time in the game and are challenged and rewarded. They have the best gear and coolest experiences. They inspire the casual gamer to play more.

The casual gamer will play in short bursts, but they spend money on items and help the market move. They generally don't spend time in crafting so they need the hardcore players for gear.

This in turn helps the hardcore out.

That all being said, content should be created for both groups, that way player x who logs in and only has 30 minutes to an hour to play is able to enjoy themselves, but player y who can play 4 to 6 hours a day needs contents so they don't run of of things to do.

It's a hard balance, and I hope that when this game is finished we will have that balance.

[Kiroh]

I prefer Softcore personally. I don't need to see another guys gear.

Oh...wait that's what hardcore is? Oh hell, sign me up! =D

[Dragonlord]

You're right, I grew out of the game. The trouble is, when you grow out of something, you tend to look at it objectively, I saw FFXI for what it was, it was never hardcore, it was just a bog standard MMO for its generation.

oh and also Final Fantasy is not a hardcore franchise, all of them can be beaten by anyone who decides to play them...usually in about 40 hours or less (or so the story goes...)

Well any game that takes 40+hours is usually pretty hardcore. I dont know how long you have been playing video games, or how many u have played, but 40hours is a time investment. Compared to games that take 10-15hours to beat. Also if u think ffxi wasnt hardcore, or want to know what mmo is hardcore, then by all means go back to early ffxi days, and go to sky/sea/limbus and do all the time sinks involved and then hopefully after all your hard work, get the drops. That is pretty hardcore if u ask me. I was insulted when u wrote this. I cant belive your discrediting SE for there hardcore nature. That is simply absurd!! FFXI along with every single final fantasy title. "Yes i have played them all". Has been nothing less than hardcore/timesinks galore. Maybe you should explain to us what you percieve to be casual to hardcore. I look forward to seeing your response on this one.

[Dragonlord]

And it used to be popular opinion that disease was caused by evil spirits. what's your point?

FFXI was for hardcore gamers if by hard core you mean people like I used to be, no responsibilities and plenty of time (or really procrastinating on something I should have been doing, like my school work at the time, good golly I wonder what my GPA would have been if the scales had fallen from my eyes earlier) to sit around and stare at a screen hoping, oh hoping so hard, that you would be the ones to kill a particular HNM, that spawns once a week and you've had someone sitting there babysitting that spot the whole time, the strategy for which was soooo complex, Keep tank alive, beat on it till its HP reaches 0, just like every other MMO.

Like I said, it wasn't hardcore, sure it sucked the life from your bones and gave an illusion of depth, but in reality it was a tank and spank grind fest with time sinks in masquerading as content.

Ohh really AV was a tank+spank right? Seems u forgot that SE had to release a video for people that spend alooooot of time, trying to analyze and discete a strategy to defeat him. Also what HNM poped every 7days? None i remember. I recall it being 24-72hours. That isnt really the point here though.

[Griss]

oh look, its this thread again.

[Kopuno]

I agree with ya OP. I miss the old days of Hardcore FFXI before Abyssea bull, however, FFxiv isn't heading that way. SE wants to cater to the casual crowd, instead of there loyal fan base. I mean it's not like it has bitten them in the ass yet. (/sarcasm off)

/em looks forward to the day FFXIV dies a very slow painful death.

It shall be a sad say indeed. /salutes

[Spuffin]

Why does everyone assume the whole game has to be either casual or hard core?

Why cant it be casual with a bit of harder content?

Am I asking too much here?

Why can't it be hard core with a bit of casual content? Games need to be challenging.... I rather not PTP and obtain everything in a heartbeat without experiencing any lust or satisfaction what so ever.

TERA is a perfect example of what FF14 should be like. TERA has both hard core and casual play but the Hard Core out weighs the Casual which creates a perfect balance and will most likely keep subscribers. Once they add more end game ( hence why they delayed it which was incredibly smart on their end ) TERA will be on the road to success and will have 100% of my attention.

If FF14 continues to pamper casual players... then they better think twice before they implement Pay to Play as their idea for making more money will be shot dead.

[Gramul]

I'm taking exception to is this rose colored glasses look to the sins of XI, there was no big reward at the end of those tunnels...it usually was an oncoming train of further grind

Now hold on a minute. Isn't this true of every single MMO out there? If Chocobo and Airship licenses, New areas, AF armor, and storylines aren't a valid reward, how are the rewards from other MMO's any more valid? Are none of them valid because they aren't real? If not, what's the point of playing games in the first place if it's a total waste?

It's for entertainment right? Perhaps people with more free time for entertainment want something they can work on. Maybe the rewards don't seem that worthwhile to you, but maybe they mean a great deal to the people who had the time to commit to the achievements that asked patience and practice from the players. To them, casual content may feel like a handout, like they don't even have to give much dedication to achieve anything.

I rather not PTP and obtain everything in a heartbeat without experiencing any lust or satisfaction what so ever.

Call it grinding if you like, but in the end people are working for a goal. Whether or not you personally feel that those goals are worth the effort is completely subjective.

And as I've said, I think there's room enough for both types of content, and honestly, I'm really looking forward to the Materia system and I think it will provide a type of "timesink" that core players can get engaged in.

[weeble]

Why can't it be hard core with a bit of casual content? Games need to be challenging.... I rather not PTP and obtain everything in a heartbeat without experiencing any lust or satisfaction what so ever.

TERA is a perfect example of what FF14 should be like. TERA has both hard core and casual play but the Hard Core out weighs the Casual which creates a perfect balance and will most likely keep subscribers. Once they add more end game ( hence why they delayed it which was incredibly smart on their end ) TERA will be on the road to success and will have 100% of my attention.

If FF14 continues to pamper casual players... then they better think twice before they implement Pay to Play as their idea for making more money will be shot dead.

agree'd don't see this game going anywhere the casual route, in reality what mmo does, they might do good for what a year? then it will be deathsville.

also hoping tera does well ...gameplay looks great and looking forward to playing it too, question is if it will be with half my time in this game or not. is sad when u gotta play more then one game for decent amount of content lol.

[zombie]

why can't this game cater to both hardcore and casual gamers? if hardcore gamers want content that is difficult and takes ages to complete, give it to them. if they want nm which require weeks or months of camping to acquire a piece of gear from, give them some of those. the majority of the content in this game will still be accessible to casuals anyways.