the normal content is too easy

[Ronduwil]

While I don't touch savage or extreme content most of the time due to the huge leap in difficulty (my fear of screwing things up, even after watching a guide), normal content should be NORMAL CONTENT!!! Not easy content.

"Easy" is subjective. After years of algebra, trigonometry, and calculus, arithmetic is easy for me. What sense would it make for me to complain that teaching arithmetic to first graders is a waste of time because they should have figured that easy content out in kindergarten? Different people find different activities easy. Many high school kids never go beyond rudimentary algebra, but they still go on to lead productive lives. We don't demand that they take basic calculus before finding gainful employment. Why would you want to hold players in a pay-to-play video game to higher standards than real life activities do?

Challenge the playerbase and it will improve. Keep handicapping them, and all you'll get are below average vanilla players. I hope Yoshi-P figures this out eventually.

I don't think you understand how averages work. You'll never get "all below average vanilla players." The average will always be average. Tomorrow's average player may be better than the average player of today, or they may be worse. The fact will remain, however, that they're average. I'm confused by what players hope to achieve by raising everyone else's standards for what constitutes average. It's like they won't be happy until everyone else considers them a bad player, which is the logical conclusion to this design strategy. Look at what WoW has become by adopting this philosophy. It's now a toxic cesspool of elitism with a player rating system that's literally built into the game. It's no longer even fun to play because every single run is packed with elitists who rage and drop group for every little mistake. In this game, on the other hand, players can screw up in the biggest way, and as long as they acknowledge and apologize for their mistakes, everyone's supportive. This is the type of game I prefer to play. I'm glad that Yoshi-P understands that.