Originally Posted by
hensatri
I apologize, I think the intention of my comments were lost, or maybe just not expressed clearly, to be fair though it was a long opening rant.
My point is not that the game is too hard, or needs to be easier. My point is that I like the way the game is, the direction its heading, and the way it strikes a wonderful balance between hardcore and casual, and it urks me to see player who, for reasons I do not understand, feels that another player having an easier time leveling, getting +50% xp boosts, or having less grindy AAs, somehow diminishes the joy you did get out of doing it the hard way, or the joy you can still get out of running whatever content is difficult for your power level.
I don't understand what is wrong with a gameworld that has a casual leveling structure, but allows difficult content to exist along side the casual. It's literally a win/win, everyone gets what they want, you get a broad base, lots of business, lots of happy customer and big full servers. The only unhappy players are those who for some reason can't be happy unless it's not just hard for them, but hard for every body else too. I do not understand this frame of mine, but I see it in every MMO. If there is anything done to make it easier on casual players, even if the hard content remained soul-crushingly difficult, the hardcore players get upset not that they can't still find a challenge, but that other people don't have to do it like they did.
I wasn't asking for any change, I wasn't expecting anything, this was just a discussion. Why is this? Why can't people be content to run their own marathon and not get mad because the 5k is even an option for others? Is there any design reason, business reason, or good reason at all why a game can't be both?
Oh and I'm a second time re-sub. I leveled to 50 back in '08 at launch. I left for the same reasons as many others, no need to go over that, then I came back and leveled to 70, had a great time, but life drew me away from MMOs for a long time, now I'm back. So I don't have an intricate understand of the end-game, but I have experienced the game at three distinct phases of development, and think I am well equipped to say that the game is great, and better now than it once was.
Now here is a caveat. It has always been my impression that AOC has some of the hardest dungeons/raids of any mainstream MMO. If that has changed, and there is no challenge anymore, and there is no good content for the Hardcore players, and only for the casual now, then I suppose I will eat my words.