@Kayllnn If you have conflicting interests, it’s about finding the right guild who have the same in-game goals that you do. The same level of dedication that you do. If you value the friendships that you have made, I can testify that you can retain those friendships even if you join another guild to raid. Then you get the best of both worlds

@drug If you say “it’s all about results” isn’t that the same as saying success-driven? I know that I don’t enjoy WoW if I’m not making progress. That means wiping a hell of a lot but getting the boss to 60% if your early attempts got him to 80% makes me happy. Sounds strange, but I’d say that’s success-driven. Make me sit under an umbrella and eat a picnic to gain a “happy” buff? That’s cute, but it doesn’t make me enjoy the game.

There’s no doubt, I fit into the Hardcore box nicely.
.-= vok’s last blog … Account Hack E-mail =-.

Both hardcore and casual are considered insults because when they’re used, people assume they refer to the extreme. If you’re hardcore, you’re a jerk with no life, if you’re casual, you’re a n00b that can’t play.

I stubbornly still use the words hardcore and casual because, to me, they serve to give a context to what I’m saying. Hardcore means more towards the hardcore end of the spectrum, casual means towards the casual side of the spectrum. But I expect those who read me to see the words as spectrum sides and not extremes.

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You article was an interesting read but how do people balance when they have conflicting interests?
.-= Kayllnn’s last blog … Know Your WoW: Shamans =-.

I know it’s awful to boil things down to cliches. But that’s just the personal experience I’ve made. I’m sure though, that many folks out there are part of great and social hardcore guilds. That just isn’t the way I experienced it.

I’m also not sure if it sure if casual vs. hardcore evolves around fun vs. success driven. Actually I guess every PuG raids to succeed. And everyone in hardcore guilds will tell you again and again, that he’s really having fun. I’m having fun working out a new strategy for a new boss and make it work. But I lost nearly all interest in gearing up my character. I’m I fun- or success-driven?

For me it’s all about the results.

If someone is in a guild who has beaten Algalon25, I’d say that’s pretty hardcore. Someone who raids in a guild who only succeeds at normal mode raids or very simple hard modes, I guess I’ might label him/her casual.

Now what defines a guild is a) the success and b) the ways they achieve it.

If I look at very successful guilds and very casual guilds, I always found to have most fun somewhere in between. Casual guilds drive me crazy, most of the time they lack all the dedication and organization required to make the game enjoyable for me.

The only really progress-driven guild I’ve been in, has though very much proven true every cliche I had concerning hardcore guilds. And I’m not a bad player. It wasn’t me who got yelled at. I wasn’t one of the many players who quit during the time I was there. I’m absolutely no one who thinks successful raiding gives you the right do look down on other people. But yet, that’s what I found, paired with myself raiding much more than I consider healthy.

I know it’s not really a nice image of hardcore raiding I paint, but it’s rather a case study than the truth. I guess there is a lot of truth in what papanasty says: the bad experiences and bad examples will stick in your head, that’s what gives negative connotations to both terms, hardcore and casual.
.-= drug’s last blog … Mastering Shaman Healing =-.