I see many people didn't really read original post, but the point is that MMOs mainly consist of simple tasks that only take much time to complete. Which of course is nowhere near hardcore. But the OP's assumpion that there are no hardcore elements in any MMORPG is a way off.
Let's take for example everyone's favourite whipping boy: WoW. It's true that reaching lvl 80 or grinding daily quests and instances for emblems so you can eventually afford gear that compensates for players' lack of skill by giving gameplay changing qualities(stats) is the very definition of all non-hardcore elements of MMOs.
But there still exist challenges that allow hardcore players to distance themselves from the average crowd. While every instance and raid is beatable on regular difficulty(so everyone can experience and see the content) there exist some artifical challenges(hard/heroic modes) that really are beyond average players' reach. The hardest modes are still only being beat by top guilds which achieve it with skilled players who devote the time(time spent for learning the encouter to beat it, not time to grind out some stat advantage), but are not beat by your average retard you stumble upon in pick-up groups.
There also goes PvP where everyone can truly show how skilled/hardcore they are, but it appliles as long as the game system allows overcoming advantages given by means of grinding easier tasks.
OP is right, MMO's are designed to be made mostly of easy tasks that are supposed to be repeated for hours/days/months to be accessible for masses. But he forgot to admit that there's exeption for it in every game, which made many players butthurt and flame him forgetting about the point of discussion.
So the thread title should rather be "There's little "hardcore" about MMORPGs".
The problem with ‘hardcore’ is symptomatic of the way many words are being used in media hype mode. Many words like Hardcore, Sexed up, Hate, Love etc are being used in the most tenuous of circumstances.
Do character classes really get ‘loving’ when they get an improvement? Are we ‘haters’ when we say we dislike something about a new MMO. Or ‘fanboys’ when we say like an aspect of a MMO?
The words ‘hardcore’ and ‘hate’ feature in loads of threads on this website. We have hardcore crafters, solo play haters, fluff lovers, it goes on and on. Way past time we woke up and stopped this hyperbole use of more and more words from our language.
Comments
I see many people didn't really read original post, but the point is that MMOs mainly consist of simple tasks that only take much time to complete. Which of course is nowhere near hardcore. But the OP's assumpion that there are no hardcore elements in any MMORPG is a way off.
Let's take for example everyone's favourite whipping boy: WoW. It's true that reaching lvl 80 or grinding daily quests and instances for emblems so you can eventually afford gear that compensates for players' lack of skill by giving gameplay changing qualities(stats) is the very definition of all non-hardcore elements of MMOs.
But there still exist challenges that allow hardcore players to distance themselves from the average crowd. While every instance and raid is beatable on regular difficulty(so everyone can experience and see the content) there exist some artifical challenges(hard/heroic modes) that really are beyond average players' reach. The hardest modes are still only being beat by top guilds which achieve it with skilled players who devote the time(time spent for learning the encouter to beat it, not time to grind out some stat advantage), but are not beat by your average retard you stumble upon in pick-up groups.
There also goes PvP where everyone can truly show how skilled/hardcore they are, but it appliles as long as the game system allows overcoming advantages given by means of grinding easier tasks.
OP is right, MMO's are designed to be made mostly of easy tasks that are supposed to be repeated for hours/days/months to be accessible for masses. But he forgot to admit that there's exeption for it in every game, which made many players butthurt and flame him forgetting about the point of discussion.
So the thread title should rather be "There's little "hardcore" about MMORPGs".
The problem with ‘hardcore’ is symptomatic of the way many words are being used in media hype mode. Many words like Hardcore, Sexed up, Hate, Love etc are being used in the most tenuous of circumstances.
Do character classes really get ‘loving’ when they get an improvement? Are we ‘haters’ when we say we dislike something about a new MMO. Or ‘fanboys’ when we say like an aspect of a MMO?
The words ‘hardcore’ and ‘hate’ feature in loads of threads on this website. We have hardcore crafters, solo play haters, fluff lovers, it goes on and on. Way past time we woke up and stopped this hyperbole use of more and more words from our language.