On "Hardcore"

[Amyas]

Since it drops BiS gear, I'm going with the person skilled enough to beat it, since when it comes to content with varying tiers of difficulty, the best gear will come from the hardest version of the boss. Someone who plays casually (as in not aggressively, with time not being a factor) will generally not have the gear to take down the boss, nor will they have the experience and know-how for said boss fight. The hardcore person on the other hand will have gear that is up to par, and will have the experience to finish the encounter.

Playtime has very little to do with whether someone is casual or hardcore. IMO a casual merely plays for fun, with no regard for 'advancement' since being the best at anything isn't a concern to them. The hardcore person will strive to be the best at whatever they can, be it gear, damage, healing etc.

I don't get how 'skill' comes in when all you need to play efficiently is the ability to read, research, and listen. imho anyways. guess it is a skill to some folks, but I like to think most humans enjoy learning, s'why we've came far enough to play crazy ass games with each other around the world...

[Lux_Rayna]

I don't get how 'skill' comes in when all you need to play efficiently is the ability to read, research, and listen. imho anyways. guess it is a skill to some folks, but I like to think most humans enjoy learning, s'why we've came far enough to play crazy ass games with each other around the world...

I dont think its a matter of playing efficiently, but a matter of playing a tier above everyone else. There's a difference between the two. Anyone can be good, but not everyone can be "elite". And the question I'm wondering is where does this "elite" status come from nowadays? Clearly games are a lot different now than they used to be. "Hardcore content" in the sense of difficulty, or ridiculously harsh penalties, basically do not exist in most of mainstream popular MMO's. So without that, do we have "hardcore"? Or do we have, as you say, copypasting strategies and killing a boss efficiently until you're blue in the face?

Because really, just about everyone with functional brain cells can clear the hardest bosses in *most* of today's games. You don't really need godlike reflexes anymore, or the craziest character build, or any of that. So with that out of the equation, the playing field is more or less more egalitarian, with the obvious exception of time. Rewards are slanted more towards investment of time, than raw talent or mental/physical dexterity. Personally i think the change is more of a good business model than anything else. Its the old carrot on a stick.

[Amyas]

Anyone can be good, but not everyone can be "elite".

aaand on to the next thing, elite (in this games current state) = having loads of time.

All it takes to beat anything on here is the ability to read, research and listen, the rest is just a time sink.

Now with the Raven, Nevermore... the people who beat that are hardcore, elite superhumans with superior genetics than lowely oldtypes such as myself....

[Reiterpallasch]

I don't get how 'skill' comes in when all you need to play efficiently is the ability to read, research, and listen. imho anyways. guess it is a skill to some folks, but I like to think most humans enjoy learning, s'why we've came far enough to play crazy ass games with each other around the world...

Anyone can research a fight before hand; that's what they should be doing anyways. Whether or not that can utilize that knowledge to properly execute a proper strategy is where the skill comes into play. Not all fights as simple as "stand here, mash buttons, don't stand in the fire", though MMOs have their fair share of that as well. Obviously, these would require little skill since all you really need to know is FIRE BAD. Then there are some that have immensely complex mechanics, such in that a single mistake means you're going to lose.

[Shurrikhan]

Anyone can research a fight before hand; that's what they should be doing anyways. Whether or not that can utilize that knowledge to properly execute a proper strategy is where the skill comes into play. Not all fights as simple as "stand here, mash buttons, don't stand in the fire", though MMOs have their fair share of that as well. Obviously, these would require little skill since all you really need to know is FIRE BAD. Then there are some that have immensely complex mechanics, such in that a single mistake means you're going to lose.

Yet many of the fights that cause you to lose off a single mistake or non-ideal decision are thereby just as mind-numbing as the fire-fleeing ones. Though it may be hardcore rather than casual, inevitably neither will have either much choice or effect in player ingenuity.