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What are the benefits of being a "Hardcore" MMORPG player?
Inktomi
Member UncommonPosts: 663
Back in town for a few days and leaving tmrw morning again. Taking the time to read up on some past articles and threads I missed out on. One theme that struck me funny was the criticism of the "casual" gamer. The modern wow player who quits wow totally because it "eats up too much of his time" vs the casual gamer who plays very sporadically just to have a social network to catch up with her friends.
Having been at both sides of the dinner table I have to say, I am really not missing out on much when I am not totally engrossed in an online game. I like the freedom of being able to come and go as I please and not have to stay on my computer at 3am all bleary eyed for "just one moar run."
One the other side, I look at everyone in these huge raids wearing awesome ->looking<- gear and making headlines in the forums (sort of). I think to myself, "well, that once was me, I just don't have the time to dedicate to it anymore." I just don't have the will to sacrifice time somewhere else in my life to sit in front of a computer and press buttons for hours at a clip anymore. I enjoy parties that don't end when the final boss dies. I don't feel as compelled to do the new, NEW thing anymore. My time is like the tide, it rushing in where I have plenty of it, I can lurk here and there, play some games and then there are other times when I feel there isn't enough hours in the day nevertheless play a game for more than a few minutes.
Could hardcore MMORPG playing be a young mans game?Are the chains of adulthood finally catching up with me? Or is it the stagnation of the industry and there isn't a game around that makes me look forward to playing it.
What are the benefits of being a hardcore gamer?
Does anyone share the same experience I am going through?
Comments
completely agree, my "hardcore" abilities to play were done after University and getting my first job to start my career. I don't know if it is an age thing so to speak, but you definetly have to have enough free time to be a hardcore player. Mind you I don't regret my hardcore days at all, I look back with fond memories.
Hardcore players don't exist anymore because there are no hardcore games out there.
Back in WoW classic it was leaning way more to the hardcore game, if you were just a raider you could proudly be called a hardcore player. Not anymore though, everyone raids nowadays cause WoW is so easy that everyone can beat everything in a day (Guild Masters were the most hardcore back in WoW classic though, they had to gather 40 people all at the same time of day). If anyone that raids in WoW think they're hardcore, then I spit juicy red apple right in their melee mouths.
Funyuns and caffeinated beverages?
My theme song.
The rest of us can only dream of such richesHardcore play requare a special state of mind. When you worry much and/or have obligations you dont feel confortable going hardcore. Also when people around you judge you becouse of that.
First off, I don't use the term hardcore to mean someone who plays a game with little depth, but plays it 100+ hours a week. To me that's something other than hardcore.
I consider hardcore someone who seeks out a difficult game because it is difficult and they want the experience of the gameplay and the satisfaction of mastering it. I came, I saw, I conquered.
In response to #1, If you can't find something that presents an interesting challenge, then yes. The industry is failing you.
As far as #2, I'm sort of in that position. I'm not as much of an achiever as I am a socializer / explorer. I'm more interested in finding a game where the journey is still the main concept (not endgame) and finding a cool guild where I can participate in the world in my own way. Frankly the industry has failed me also. Just in a different way.
Haha, oh wow.
I'm gonna keep that in mind, that's just plain hilarious.
There are plenty of TIME SINK games out there. All you gotta do is quit your job, move back in with your parents and play for hours everday 24/7, that's pretty hardcore and talk about some dedication.
It seems that unless you are unemployed, retired, going to college, or simply work part time and live with your parents you have all the time in the world to play any game regardless if it's WoW.
Action, I tend to agree with your outlook. The vibe that I'm getting is that the "hardcore" mode of gaming really isn't labeled correctly. It is more of a competitve mode that a player dedicates enough time and energy to become competitive in the field. If your guild/clan/squad/community is trending over 100 hours per week, you know in order to keep up with the joneses you have to spend almost as much if not more time.
To me the competitive gaming mode was more of a lifestyle than anything else. Kind of like bodybuilding, marathon runners and many other competitive sports.
You get to experience all the content Ezmode before all the game balancing changes the game.
THe negative is you get to stand around twiddling your thumbs waiting months for content because you devoured it in two weeks.
Playing: Nothing
Looking forward to: Nothing
That came across as very basement dweller-ish, which is ironic to say the least. It is always interesting to see people try and shoot down the superiority complexes of self proclaimed hardcore players, as they invariably reveal their own superiority complexes.
@OP, I don't suppose there is any benefit per se, people just play in different ways and often, over time, their style of play changes.
"Come and have a look at what you could have won."
TBH I found it kind of amusing. I don't know what you think that says about me and it really isn't all that important. I am not looking for a MMORPG.com therapist.
As for the OP this sentence you posted pretty much sums up how many of us feel.
"I just don't have the will to sacrifice time somewhere else in my life to sit in front of a computer and press buttons for hours at a clip anymore."
It's not a matter of age. You have just reached that point in your life where chasing the endless carrot on a stick is not important. You see an MMO for what it really is ..just a time sink. Something to do when there is nothing else to do. It is not meant to be your life. It is not important because none of it is real. It is one big illsuion that is created to entertain. You are not supposed to move in and start living there. I think people get so lost in the illusion that they forget it doesn't really matter. Just my 2 cents but Im not a therapist nor do I play one on the forums.
That came across as very basement dweller-ish, which is ironic to say the least. It is always interesting to see people try and shoot down the superiority complexes of self proclaimed hardcore players, as they invariably reveal their own superiority complexes.
@OP, I don't suppose there is any benefit per se, people just play in different ways and often, over time, their style of play changes.
TBH I found it kind of amusing. I don't know what you think that says about me and it really isn't all that important. I am not looking for a MMORPG.com therapist.
As for the OP this sentence you posted pretty much sums up how many of us feel.
"I just don't have the will to sacrifice time somewhere else in my life to sit in front of a computer and press buttons for hours at a clip anymore."
It's not a matter of age. You have just reached that point in your life where chasing the endless carrot on a stick is not important. You see an MMO for what it really is ..just a time sink. Something to do when there is nothing else to do. It is not meant to be your life. It is not important because none of it is real. It is one big illsuion that is created to entertain. You are not supposed to move in and start living there. I think people get so lost in the illusion that they forget it doesn't really matter. Just my 2 cents but Im not a therapist nor do I play one on the forums.
I agree, it's about playing games for fun, not at the expense of your life. That's why people who brag how hardcore they are, generally ones who spend hours grinding out their hardcoreness make me laugh.That came across as very basement dweller-ish, which is ironic to say the least. It is always interesting to see people try and shoot down the superiority complexes of self proclaimed hardcore players, as they invariably reveal their own superiority complexes.
@OP, I don't suppose there is any benefit per se, people just play in different ways and often, over time, their style of play changes.
I find it interesting when people show their sense of superiority to people who think they are superior to self proclaimed hardcore players.
I am slightly concerned that my MMORPG changed overnight from Elite to Hardcore maybe you could help me with that too.You summed it up about right. I guess I am trading rat races from a virtual one to a brick and mortar. And you don't have to be a psychologist to talk about psychology. You know the psychology of a gamer, because you are one. Anyone who here is one and they know their habits better than anyone else would.
+10
PVE Side:
Well, you do get to see the last boss of Expansion X faster, even fastest if you're leading a given server.
And once in a while you get to get your ass chewed up by that overtuned end boss repeatedly.
Apart from that, it's bragging rights and Trophies.
But since Trophies are the ultimate motivation for a really healthy substantial porion of the player base, having the first gear or mount or title is...not bad. A little free egoboo, don't let it go to your head.
Mostly, you get to take a crew of your buds and go spend time learning the precision steps of the Dance.
PVP Side:
lol pwned u nub /teabag
Oh, and if you stick around long enough, you get to say things like "there is no hardcore any more, back in the day we...". That's a treat, a chance to get into the whole "whose is biggest" measuring contest for the hopelessly insecure.
Ad Antiquitatem works marvelously well for all kinds of things.
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
Its easier to save your virginity for the wedding night?
Really? This game sucks and Im not having fun? Im going to unsub right now. Thanks for the tip.
I guess the upside of being a hardcore gamer is that, you can brag to others. And thus gives you and Euforic feeling.
"You resist. You cling to your life as if it actually matters. You will learn."
I'm not sure, really. Of all the things I can think of being hardcore about, gaming isn't it. Don't get me wrong... whatever you're into doesn't have to look like it could have its own Mountain Dew commercial to be "hard-core" worthy, but just the idea that you could devote years and years of your life to a game just to have it just shut down and wipe...
...even WoW will, at some point, shut its servers down for good, and every acheivement made by every player will go up in smoke... and that's VIRTUAL SMOKE!
I've put PLENTY of my own time into an MMO(very recently, matter of fact), but I would never put that kind of time into a "hardcore" Lineage 2-esque grinder, nor would doing so in ANY game be in my mission statement in life.
Now I'm curious. Using the most basic labor statistics and applying them to the number of hours played by players in WoW, I'm curious as to how much could have been build if those hours were used to create something real. I bet it's beyond my imagination...
The advantage of being a "Hardcore" playing is that nothing is handed to you on a golden platter. Your games are challenging, and not everyone and their MOTHER can do them (granted a term that will change in the next 20years, since my mother plays PS3 RPG games).
WoW, does NOT under ANY circumstances have ANY "hardcore" gamers. It may have people who play for 20+hours in one sitting, but that's NOT what dictates "hardcore". Sitting in one place with a BUTTLOAD of free time == POWERGAMER, NOT "Hardcore".
Powergamers are the ones you're talking about with a CRAP load of "Free Time" with their lack of age being a deciding factor.
Hardcore, and it's ironic "core", means a gamer who ENJOYS a difficult experience, or simply enjoys the challenge of the game more so than the journey itself.
Hope this helped you clearly understand the difference between "Hardcore", and what you're referring to, "Powergamer".
-Faded
The Theory of Conservative Conservation of Ignorant Stupidity:
Having a different opinion must mean you're a troll.
Best gear, active freinds, active clan and you dont get rolled by 12 year old noobs lol
Through definition of the word hardcore, I would say anyone who plays a game with extreme intensity.
Whether that is a good thing or not depends on whether you really enjoy the game that much.
Sent me an email if you want me to mail you some pizza rolls.
I really should be writing a blog about this but my image of hardcore is much different from yours. Not saying who is right and wrongs, just a different vision.
I don't think there's any "benefit" to it.
It's a different playstyle, that's all.
People place way too much stock in being "hardcore" or "casual" or whatever, IMO.
If people stopped worrying about how far along others are, or who did what on which server first, or how much farther along others are, etc.. none of those labels would mean a thing.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
1 benefit
You have a good chance of online romancing a housewife whose husband doesn't appriciate her any more.
The downside
She probably has 3 kids with 4 different Daddys. I know it seem mathmatically / biologically impossible. But never understimate the 'gitrdone' attitude of the American south.
I used to play MMOs like you, but then I took an arrow to the knee.