What is Midcore? Why does it matter?

[Sebazy]

IMHO Arguing about what defines Midcore vs Casual or Hardcore is kind of missing the issue here.

The big problem is there isn't really any kind of consistent step up group combat content to build a new player up into Extremes and beyond. Roulette dungeons, alliance and normal modes are a face roll with next to 0 personal responsibility. Flail about on the floor as much as you want, it won't matter outside of potentially making things slower.

Suddenly you hit Extremes where enrages are a thing, personal responsibility is a thing and the need to communicate.... is also a thing. All of these pressure points all land at once.

SE have done better here. In 2.0, dungeons taught you personal responsibility, they taught you about enrages and they taught the need to communicate but most importantly, they spread these lessons out across multiple bosses and dungeons.

IMHO Alliance raids should reward players for a basic level of contribution. It doesn't have to be orange logs for loot. Just enough of a nudge to let players know what is an acceptable standard of play and what isn't. This could be something like a potency per second ranking at the end of the instance to remove gear from the equation and the reward could be as little as a simple S-F style tier ranking or as much as getting drop token towards an armor piece perhaps with more being granted for better performances? I don't think the level of the reward matters, what's important is letting players know what the game is going to expect of them as they progress through the tiers of endgame content so they are better prepared as they step up to Extremes etc.

[Jeeqbit]

IMHO Arguing about what defines Midcore vs Casual or Hardcore is kind of missing the issue here.

It is sort of relevant because it is actually fair to say that extremes are pretty midcore and many people do them that wouldn't do savage.

The problem is when someone says they are not doing any "high-end" content, either due to time or anxiety, and are left with practically nothing else to do. The problem is also when a raider wants to relax and not do something as serious or organized as a raid, but that isn't as boring and samey as the same expert roulette dungeon for months.

Having something that transitions people from the normal content to high-end content would be good and all, but it's not even all about getting them to do the high-end content, because some people just want normal content that requires more effort and time and teamwork, but that isn't asking you to go and form a static or suffer PF wiping to the same mechanic for months when you can get through it easily. What they achieved with Eureka and Bozja was something that fit that pretty well and it made the expansions feel alive, unlike where we are now where we can solo a lot of the EW content and also be done with it pretty fast.

[ZephyrMenodora]

It is sort of relevant because it is actually fair to say that extremes are pretty midcore and many people do them that wouldn't do savage.

The problem is when someone says they are not doing any "high-end" content, either due to time or anxiety, and are left with practically nothing else to do. The problem is also when a raider wants to relax and not do something as serious or organized as a raid, but that isn't as boring and samey as the same expert roulette dungeon for months.

Having something that transitions people from the normal content to high-end content would be good and all, but it's not even all about getting them to do the high-end content, because some people just want normal content that requires more effort and time and teamwork, but that isn't asking you to go and form a static or suffer PF wiping to the same mechanic for months when you can get through it easily. What they achieved with Eureka and Bozja was something that fit that pretty well and it made the expansions feel alive, unlike where we are now where we can solo a lot of the EW content and also be done with it pretty fast.

Another good take - definitely need some transition content between being able to essentially be carried by competent players and your presence not even mattering in all the normal-level content, and content where your personal accountability and skill needs to be at a certain level - while at the same time not being so challenging that people can't figure it out within a couple hours and succeed in a pug.

[Sebazy]

<snip>

Dropping the Bozja ball this expansion was a mistake for sure =(

Hopefully the positivity in the recent Famitsu interview results in us getting one for 7.x++

[TaleraRistain]

IMHO Alliance raids should reward players for a basic level of contribution. It doesn't have to be orange logs for loot. Just enough of a nudge to let players know what is an acceptable standard of play and what isn't. This could be something like a potency per second ranking at the end of the instance to remove gear from the equation and the reward could be as little as a simple S-F style tier ranking or as much as getting drop token towards an armor piece perhaps with more being granted for better performances? I don't think the level of the reward matters, what's important is letting players know what the game is going to expect of them as they progress through the tiers of endgame content so they are better prepared as they step up to Extremes etc.

I don't see this ever happening because SE expects more experienced players are going to help the less experienced players. This runs counter to that idea. They let their encounter design determine any standard of play that they want to establish. Any other standards are community driven and I find it unlikely they're going to start implementing in-game recognition of that, especially because these standards deviate widely depending on the segment of the playerbase being considered.