Quote Originally Posted by Sasagawa View Post
Hardcore means both time sink and the ability to fell the hardest bosses in the game
Agreed. It also means that people actually plan and structure what they do in game. Just because they have a lot of time doesn't mean they want to waste it. Hardcore people know the quickest way to do X and the most efficient way to complete Y. Hardcore people are the ones who complete content quickly not because they have the most time to spend on game necessarily, but because they always plan to be ahead of the curve content wise. They're always working on their gear, their gil, and their stats. When the new content comes out, they've already got their group together, they go out and kill it and go back to making sure they're OP'ed for the next round.