Showing Posts For Valksy.9327:
I imagine that it is true to say that the majority of players would abandon ship in a hot minute if play to win ever came to Tyria – so are we really just talking about cosmetic gem shop (or gem/gold trading) items in terms of casual or hardcore?
OK. But there really is nothing hardcore about happening to log in at the right time as you seem to be describing (correct me if wrong, please) – Is it hardcore to log in at 3am on November 6th? No. Is it hardcore to log in for a period of time every day for a week? No.
Hardcore is a playstyle and a hardcore player as is widely understood could achieve more in an hour of play once a week than someone like me might manage in 5 times that (For example – I’ve never done a fractal, nor finished the story, as am simply not willing to inconvenience others because I’m compromised by ill health).
I’m not sure how reasonable it is to demand exclusivity simply for being able to log in on a specific schedule.
As for those willing to pay extra cash for frippery – I doubt this strictly counts as casual either, as it constitutes a real life investment (that I concede makes little sense to me). What’s more, this is exactly the kind of investment ANet courts and relies on and has from the start. If your objection is for people paying cash for cosmetics then this is outside the realm of casual/hardcore and is a feature from the start and also makes any assumption of expectation of exclusivity a suspect one.
It would appear, though, that we are talking at cross-purposes. Casual/hardcore are surely gameplay styles – controlled by both time and general proficiency. I don’t know either has anything to do with playing with the wardrobe options. I do think your blame is mistargeted, or at least mislabelled.
I think it possible you may be mistaken, this is not a “casuals” game either.
I’m about as casual as they come, often playing for a distraction when really quite ill (which is why I tend to keep myself to myself, it’s not fair to other gamers to expect them to accommodate) and expect pretty much nothing from this game. I don’t care about playing dress up, really just want to slowly plunk away in my own time and achieve something of some meaning, however minor it may be. Skins etc are totally meaningless frippery, and most gem items are QoL convenience at best – are these aspirations that people have, that keep them playing? Perhaps. Does it discriminate between casual or hardcore? Only in terms of gold earning speed potential if you choose to not break out real cash.
The time will inevitably come where fuzzy hats and mini pets are the brick wall that will be struck for you, and for me. There is nowhere much to go from this point. I know I lack whatever is required to get top of the range gear – I don’t need it, and the game will never just give it to me, whatever you may think of me as a “casual”.
So why do we (and many others) play? Habit? Boredom? The motivation/reward cycle that is really no more sophisticated than pigeon pecks button, pigeon gets peanut? I have my reasons. Do you have yours? And if they’re not good enough then don’t stay (amuses me that players will respond to comments like this with “OMG quit”, as if they think it somehow benefits the game to have players leaving).
But don’t think this game offers casual players Tyria, it really doesn’t. We are not the enemy. The enemy is a dearth of truly meaningful content, which can be played at whatever speed/proficiency the player can bring to the table. If something new should come along, you may well do it quickly and easily – or at a higher and eventually more rewarding level – while I dawdle at the back. Does that make me, as a casual, the problem? Is it not the case that hardcore players will inevitably munch content far faster than the gamerunners can ever hope to deliver it?
I think that what you are talking about has nothing to do with hardcore v casual, and everything to do with the lifecycle of the game and whatever content brick wall you have hit. To that end you must decide if it is worthwhile your even being here. As a casual, at a similar (if less proficient) position, I’m thinking much the same. What is there here to actually do. And if the answer is – nothing much (I’m thinking this after 15 mins into new patch and messing around with aspects I don’t care about) then there really is only one option left and it is neither my fault nor yours at either end of the casual/hardcore spectrum.
The issue is one of content: Meaningless fluff is not content. Fuzzy hats is not content. Neverending collections of junk for some mini pet reward is not content. But if people are willing to spend their time doing this, it’s up to them. But it’s neither casual nor hardcore.
After looking at my stable of characters (alt-aholic) and seeing what it would cost to equip them with decent runes just to try a build, I shrugged and logged out, and don’t see much of a cause to come back.
Anet can talk about swapping traits round on the fly all they like, but the sheer cost of having a good time exploring my options for various playstyles and uses across all my characters just makes it not a viable option (multiple armour sets is obviously a more sane choice than swapping runes back and forth, but it is still a HUGE investment for something I may not enjoy and may only play for an evening – I would just like to try by playing, is that not the point?).
And I am disinclined to be fodder for speculators – my leisure time is for my entertainment, not their edification.
It’s not what I consider fun and it’s not what I suppose Anet intended when they revamped the trait system.
I’m sure some will say the x6 sets are not necessary – but I’d quite like to find out for myself, and paying 1/10th of my gold to equip just one of my stable with a full set of six of what is probably the most viable and useful runes? Not happening, no way and NOT fun.