What is the current definable term in everquest for the following? What defines a casual ? What defines a hard core gamer ? Is it the raid guild they are an active member in ? Is it the amount of time they play ? (time per toon, time it took to max their toon , remax ? )
Hardcore... learns to actually play the characters they play and utilizes all of the abilities the class has to offer. This doesn't just apply to their main, it applies to most of their alts as well. They will get good gear, good augs, max out all of the GOOD AA's for the class first and then just max out the AA's. Get all heroic AA's even though it's going back to old content. Casuals... generally don't care about most of the above. As long as stuff dies, and things are enjoyable - all is well. Note... neither is a negative. It's simply how the game is played by different people. The negativity comes into play with some people jump from EverQuest to Forum Quest and start making silly demands.
I see. It’s a study! I’m sure if you already know this you will get a broad spectrum of answers. All of which have been written on the forums countless times. Have my popcorn ready if people fall for the bait as it’s always fun to read though.
I think Smokezz pretty much covered my thoughts on it. Hardcore players take the time to tweak their play style/gear to get the most out of their chars. Typically hardcore players also raid, but that doesn't mean hardcore groupers don't exist. Casuals usually don't spend the time min/maxing their chars, they still go for gear and aug upgrades, but might not focus on that as much as a hardcore player does. Typically they don't raid, but that doesn't mean none of them do. Usually they have limited play time hence why they don't spend as much time min/maxing, the time required for the little gains wouldn't be worth it. Now this doesn't mean that hardcore players are always better then casuals, you could see a casual that due to RL had to stop playing at the hardcore level. They could easily be more skilled then a hardcore player, but due to time issues just can't min/max their char or raid anymore. I've seen several guildmates that due to RL just couldn't commit the time anymore, currently I would classify them as a casual, but they are some damn skilled players and quite knowledgeable.
Hardcore completes all group content in an expansion. They have the artisan aug. They are probably working on older expansions that are not complete. They have the best available group gear for an expansion if not raid, and most if not all the best group augs for an expansion.
It's all about time played. This game is easy these days, even the raids that use to be hard since the guides are out there for anyone to see. But hours still matter. Casual these days is about 20-30 hours a week. Hardcore is 10-15 hours a day.
I only make a few posts a month play a couple of hours/day, so that makes me a casual. I'm scheduled to have open-heart surgery in a couple of weeks, and if I'm playing EQ the day after surgery, that would probably promote me to hard-core. Also, anyone who trains all of their alts' combat skills to max. available before leaving Gloomingdeep is, by definition, a casual.
E EF EFF EFFO EFFOR EFFORT which letter are you? Reguardless of content raid or non raid.. group solo molo box etc..
I don't think its just a min/max thing but also a mindset surrounding what EQ is for each person. Some people play to be the best almost as if this game it is a competition where they are trying to prove that they are better than everyone else and this extends beyond gear and skill also. Some people flaunt their superior ability to make plat, decorate houses, craft like a champion, or just know every piece of EQ trivia known to Norrath. The casual player just wants to enjoy their experience. They see this as entertainment and while their passion a lot of times is no less than the hardcore crowd they don't believe in turning EQ into a second job even if they might devote as much or more time into EQ than they do their own job. They are happy driving in the right hand lane and enjoying the scenery as it passes by rather than jumping in the fast lane and trying to race to some illusionary end. I know everyone is going to have a different opinion on this since it really is subjective and depending on what group you stake claim to you are going to have your own defining qualities that you feel places you within that group and separates you from the other.
It's about the hours you put in. The game is simple, the time is what separates casual from hardcore.
Bzzzt, try again. There are plenty of casual type players that are playing all day long but really don't dedicate the time to learning their class inside and out. They just like to be online and playing EQ. They're still just a casual type player.
To me being Hardcore is soloing with out the aid of a Merc , trying do all Ach you can solo , some Ach you will need to group with other players though , also hardcore is being in a large raid following a set plan and beating all the Ach for that expacs raids and group content , ... Casual you are content in the best group gear you can get , and all group Ach, Yi Min
Time does not equate to hardcore, effort or result. A lot of times the hardcore learn to be more efficient and actually spend less time to accomplish more.
