Thread: A Thought on Mid-Cores and "Closet" Hardcores

"Mid-core" is a likely very overused tagphrase now that's become nebulous and almost lost any concrete meaning. From playing both this game and PvP MMOs, and having dealt with statics and players from both kinds of games though some behaviorial patterns emerged that stood out to me.

I would contend that in this game one would see a lot of "closet" hardcore players, that is players calling themselves "mid-core" or whatever other catchphrase, but they truly aspire to and act just like a "hardcore" player. I think once you really think about it you'll be able to come up with a lot of examples in your head: the player who uses a lot of slang, complains a lot about "X is bad, these Y players are sh***rs, don't you hate it when...," the liberal use of slang insults like "autism" and "re***d," etc. On a less vocal level, at least in this game, a lot of passive-aggressive behavior in VOIPs in raids rather than simply calling someone out for perceived poor performance.

To me the less vocal behavior stands out because in PvP MMOs in particular, people have no problems directly calling someone out, insta-guild kicking, and other harsh in-your-face treatment. Here, you don't see that nearly as often because "hardcore" has quite a negative connotation. Hence if you openly act like what people perceive a hardcore player to be, that label is going to stick. Anecdotally and "on-the-street" in FF14 I would contend you can tell that there's a negative stigma generally associated with "hardcore" players, and some of it honestly deserved even though those players produce the results to back it up.

In PvP games, results practically mean everything and the tolerance of the player base is generally high. Consequently, hardcore players are viewed more highly and such behavior is more acceptable. Here, in a mostly PvE game that tries not to pander to base competitive instincts and seeks to be more inclusive, the stereotypes of hardcore players tend to stick.

In sum, when you really think about it, there's a lot of so-called "mid core" and even "casual" players that are really just wanna-be hardcore players or just afraid of being open about it because of the stigma. It is an interesting dynamic for sure but also makes it harder on the community at-large, because as they say like-is-attracted-to-like, and when people aren't vocal it's harder to get a read on them in advance, which leads to bad chemistry all over the place.

Seems like you are equating "hardcore" with "elitist"

Originally Posted by Kaurie

Seems like you are equating "hardcore" with "elitist"

Arguably a very fine line as these two demographics are fraught with denial, blame-shifting, and other defensive psychological traits.

Originally Posted by Auteur

Arguably a very fine line as these two demographics are fraught with denial, blame-shifting, and other defensive psychological traits.

Indeed, I would definitely argue against your comparison.

Seems you have a very different definition of hardcore.

I'm pretty sure most people would agree that "hardcore" is referring to how much a person devotes to the game. Playing a lot, researching fights and classes, going for all the best gear, tackling the toughest fights. These are the qualities of a hardcore player.

Quite frankly, I am starting to doubt the relevancy of being hardcore in this game and even more so at if people are actually deliberately avoiding said label. For someone to actually pretend to be midcore to avoid the stereotypes associated with the term means that player\\'s long term environment is a place of toxicity and judjement. Think about it. Typically, hardcore players in mmo relish the hard parts of the game on a consistent basis. Since its an mmo, they would most likely band up with others who share that interest, maybe as a guild or close-knit friend list to complete those hard contents of the game. Henceforth, there\\'s really no reason for said player to pretend to be midcore.

Unless
.

A) The group/guild itself is a place that dispenses prejudice on their own label or
B) The group/guild is known infamously to be a bunch of asshats and the player has no choice to be "casual" in his immediate environment or
C) The player is a lone hardcore player who devolves into being full time casual because other people\\'s obsession with the stigma will not accept the player\\'s so called hardcore status

Either way in all these cases, as a poster said, casual or not, terrible people will be terrible and I can bet you in this game particularly, no one immediately thinks of those labels when someone is being, well, terrible