What is casual / hardcore player?

[weeble]

no never played it before my main mmo's were ffxi and warhammer.

as for segregation server to server take diablo3 they are keeping hardcore and regular mode on same servers. only difference will be they both have separate auction houses to use. that would be awesome if they can somehow combine multiple types of styles of game play and layer then into the same servers so we can play together for alot of the content still in some form or fashion. or at the very least still chat and emote each other.

[Chezen]

no never played it before my main mmo's were ffxi and warhammer.

as for segregation server to server take diablo3 they are keeping hardcore and regular mode on same servers. only difference will be they both have separate auction houses to use. that would be awesome if they can somehow combine multiple types of styles of game play and layer then into the same servers so we can play together for alot of the content still in some form or fashion. or at the very least still chat and emote each other.

Ok, sorry, I just knew someone else named Weeble Wobble.

Do you not think this game is making efforts to do that? I thought this game seems to be making an effort to accomodate a lot of different playstyles. Unless I'm misunderstanding what you mean.

[weeble]

i have no idea really what the game will be like in 2.0. but you can't really make a mmo in my opinin for casual and hardcore. you can have some elements of both for different things but in long run i don't think it works. most mmo's are being build for casual, but then adding in "hardcore" elements into them. but this is a cop out in my opinion.

[totallynotme]

Then there are those of us who really don't care what the labels are and just wanna play the game.

I think you by chance just wrote the perfect definition of "casual".

People seem to confuse all these terms, I guess it's jealousy for some, narcissism for others. I would think "hardcore" simply means that you are devoted to learning deep game mechanics and optimizing your efficiency. You "aim higher" and hold yourself and your peers to a higher standard. It has nothing to do with time invested, although that is of course a common side effect of this way of gaming.

[Chezen]

i have no idea really what the game will be like in 2.0. but you can't really make a mmo in my opinin for casual and hardcore. you can have some elements of both for different things but in long run i don't think it works. most mmo's are being build for casual, but then adding in "hardcore" elements into them. but this is a cop out in my opinion.

I guess that's true. That would be because most people would consider themselves on the casual end though (at least that would be my belief) and companies will build what will make them the most money, which, I guess, is what the argument is about.

Note that, I would probably pick a "hardcore" game over a casual one, but I would have to like it in terms of themes and graphics. I'm not one for blood spurting everywhere, or excessively dark and dreary games.

I think you by chance just wrote the perfect definition of "casual".

People seem to confuse all these terms, I guess it's jealousy for some, narcissism for others. I would think "hardcore" simply means that you are devoted to learning deep game mechanics and optimizing your efficiency. You "aim higher" and hold yourself and your peers to a higher standard. It has nothing to do with time invested, although that is of course a common side effect of this way of gaming.

Except that I tend to "aim higher" in regards to myself. I just don't hold anyone else to that regard. Most people are trying the best they can, not to mention it's not my place to tell them how to play.

[PSxpert2011]

I suppose. I just get tired of people segregating themselves over meaningless titles that are never accurate in the first place. By different people's definition, I am casual, or hardcore. To me, I am me, and nothing else...

That's all that's important. People can label each other but in reality, it it doesn't bother you, they are just labeling themselves. Like Porom told Palom in "FFIV After Years", "You don't just obtain a title, everyone of the world gives it to you for your long time hard work". (I'm paraphrasing BTW)

Giving yourself up to your goal earn you the title.

[Atoli]

Casual players = less time to play, logging on for short amounts of time/just a few times a week/month
Hardcore players = Lots of time to play.

It got nothing to do with how hard content is.
There are many casual players who enjoy hard content and hardcore players who like easy content and also hate time sinks.

Making a game casual friendly means to have content which gives the player a feeling of success in a short amount of time and gameplay mechanics which make it easy to - for example - find a party fast.

A 24 hours battle in which you have to press the same buttons over and over again is not really "hard" in terms of content, but no casual player would have the time/motivation to stay online for such a long time.
A battle which has to be finished in one hour can be done even by people who don't have a lot of time though.
Making this battle hard or easy by gameplay mechanics got nothing to do with it.

[MeowMeow]

Also touching on something in one of your earlier post I think it's hardcore gamers who look down on casuals. MY "no life" post are all a result of people bashing casuals. I was once someone who spent a lot of time playing games but now I have more stuff to do. The only ting preventing me from being a "hardcore" player is lack of time to play.

Trust me, there is NO WAY at all the "Casual gamers are noobs" argument sprung up before the "Hardcore players have no lives because they beat things before i do, and already have all the gear before i even know how to equip it."

Casual gamers have always looked down on hardcore gamers in general with this same sort of attitude. The hardcore hate on casuals is relatively new in comparison. Don't believe me? Ask your parents what they thought of the kids who played arcade games, or atari/NES for 10+ hours a day. I bet they'd say something along the lines of those kids being losers back in their days. Now go ask one of those "losers" what they thought about the kids who didnt play video games as much as they did... Bet they wouldn't call them losers. The hate started with the casual and non-gamers.

As a gamer i find people who do things like paintball, airsoft, gokart racing, R/C operating and similar hobbies to be quite odd. I don't like any of that stuff. I like games. Why get hurt playing paintball when i can just kick peoples ass on a FPS game? Why race a gokart when i can drive a Ford GT? Does that mean i think people who do those things are stupid? No... They do what they love, and so do I. Gaming makes me happy. Except when I get my ass kicked, then I get mad.


Btw, roughly 70% of all Americans and Europeans play video games. I can't find statistics on marriage in Europe as a whole, but 48% of Americans are currently married. That stat includes kids and widows as unmarried, pushing the number of married down in comparison. In other words, about 1/3rd of all American gamers are married. American gamers also log nearly twice the hours online than any other online gamers. I'd say another third at least are dating. I wish there were more stats on europe as a continent, though. I don't have time to go through and add it up country by country. As a European I can vouch that most people aren't as likely to game 8+ hours a day here as they are in America, but it certainly isn't rare. And it definitely isn't rare for them to be dating or married (usually to another gamer).

[TheFatHousecat]

Trust me, there is NO WAY at all the "Casual gamers are noobs" argument sprung up before the "Hardcore players have no lives because they beat things before i do, and already have all the gear before i even know how to equip it."

MY "no life" post are all a result of people bashing casuals. I was once someone who spent a lot of time playing games but now I have more stuff to do. The only ting preventing me from being a "hardcore" player is lack of time to play.

You know, guys, sinking down to someone else's level just to make a point makes you just as bad as them. This and many other threads on this forum would benefit if people stopped flaming/trolling each other over stupid sh*t.

[Vanguard319]

Obv. what is hardcore/casual is objective. A typical depiction is that hardcore players are elitist jerks with no lives who ruin the game with aggressive competition, while casuals are people with jobs who play the game at their own pace and expect things to be handed to them. But that's sort of biased, isn't it? :L

I feel like the best description would be:

Hardcore = players who have the skills to understand the mechanics of and defeat high-level bosses before the majority of the player base. Like Rentahamster said, this can also sometimes mean that these players simply have more playtime than others. While this is somewhat true, I also feel that there are usually enough people per sever who can dedicate large enough amounts of playtime that you'd be able to differentiate between those who play a lot and get things done, and those who play a lot and don't. There are some stellar players who have full-time jobs and families, but are able to complete endgame content before the majority of the server because of these skills.

Being hardcore also means being quick on the uptake of new ideas and strategies, understanding your role within a battle, understanding your job well enough to min/max your character in stats/gear/etc, as well as having the ability to work well with your guild-mates and take constructive criticism where needed.

Casual = This can describe people who simply have so much on their plates, be it work/family/etc, that they're unable to play the game as much as others; putting them at a disadvantage when it comes to job level and gear sets.

'Casual' can also describe players who just aren't concerned with being the best DPS/Tank/Healer/etc. that they can be, and completing endgame content before everyone else. These people play the game at their own pace, and don't feel the need to necessarily excel at playing the game as long as they're having fun.

Then again, a 'casual' can also mean that the player is simply not skilled or fast enough to compete with other, hardcore players. They might not be able to pick up on new strategies as quickly, or might not understand new stat/gear builds in order to min/max their characters. Some of these players might just not have enough experience in gaming or MMOs, and with some guidance can improve, while others are, unfortunately, a lost cause.

I hope I didn't offend anyone with this xD

I agree with this one, but would add that you can play very little, and still be considered hardcore simply by being able to adapt to new play mechanics faster than the average player. Conversely you can spend an inordinate amount of time logged into the game for months, and be nowhere near endgame if you are that bad, or that disinterested.

Personally, I think of the hardcore as being the people who insist on being first to beat new content, or they must have the best gear, and they will be merciless to anyone or anything that gets in thier way. (they thrive on adversity, and love bragging rights.) Casuals are unable, or unwilling to devote the same amount of time to the game, they generally are the ones who want to socialize outside of endgame play. (They thrive on social aspects of MMOs. and love meeting new people.)