The difficulty of Normal Content in this game needs to increase.

[Deveryn]

EX trials (which I have to imagine are what you speak of) are not a middle ground. They range from completely brain dead to making savages seem like a vacation, with very few falling between these two options. Criterion on the other hand is just absolutely worthless by default, and no one should even waste the time with it until they give it some kind of proper reward structure.

You claim they range, so there IS a middle ground. This conversation gets to be so damned ridiculous. Just because you're of that opinion does not mean the middle ground doesn't exist. Even seasoned pros will occasionally run into stuff that takes some time to register. So what if some are easier than others, it's still that part of the game where you have to start paying attention to things like mechs and gear. Prior to that, you're supposed to be learning how to do mechs from the dungeon content.

[Absimiliard]

You claim they range, so there IS a middle ground. This conversation gets to be so damned ridiculous. Just because you're of that opinion does not mean the middle ground doesn't exist. Even seasoned pros will occasionally run into stuff that takes some time to register. So what if some are easier than others, it's still that part of the game where you have to start paying attention to things like mechs and gear. Prior to that, you're supposed to be learning how to do mechs from the dungeon content.

What I am claiming is that very little content falls into the middle ground between brain dead and savage. EX trials are generally either on roughly par with MSQ, in which case it definitely doesn't qualify, or dancing well across the line of what makes a savage savage, in which case it's well above what one would typically consider midcore. Very few EX trials fall into a middle ground between the two. In other words, if people want true midcore content, their options are limited to a select few trials that do meet their criteria.

When people request midcore content, they are generally not asking for a sliding scale. They are typically asking for content that firmly and consistently lands at some ill-defined mid-point between normals and savage. They are asking to be able to engage with content without having to hope in any given patch that SE introduces an EX trial that falls into the "sweet spot," so to speak.

Now, realistically, these people are never going to get what they want. That would require the development team to be spread even thinner than they already are, not to mention the allocation of even more resources. They should probably just learn to live with the few EX trials that fall within their preferred range.