I'm planning on playing FFXIV as a half-casual. That to me is 1-2 hours a day and more on weekends if I dont have other RL things to do first. If I am gaming on the weekends though it can easily be 6-10 hours on a single play session.
My weekdays I plan on rotating through 2 characters, one every other day. That way my first can cool-down on levequests and be fresh the next day I hop back on it. This may not be a factor at all anymore though if they lower the levequest timers as they hinted towards. If they do that I plan on focusing one character towards adventure and one towards crafting.
To be honest though, I really haven't much of a care how long it takes me to level either character up. I know each time I log in on either that they will be gaining xp and going up, its just a matter of time for them to progress. To me, this is what a 'casual gamer' is. Not the amount of time you play, more the mentality behind HOW you play the game. A hardcore player to me is someone who spends every minute in-game worried about getting maximum results and the best possible reward for thier time played. I have know people who play 2 hours or less a day, but are hardcore. They simply HAVE to twink every stat, every ability, and maximize thier grind to get the most done in the shortest amount of time. Its a mentality thing, the way I see it.
All that being said, it makes it difficult ot answer your question of is it viable to play casually and still be progressive. Guess it all depends on what you view as casual and progressive.
This is probably the most well written post i've ever seen on the casual vs hardcore debate.
I've grown older and with MMO's i've found that in order to progress I need a plan, I can't just log in and wait for things to happen. A persons ability to progress is dependant on more than time put in, there is also focus, dedication, efficiency and organization to consider....if you can incorperate those characteristics into your game time you'll find that there are very few hardcore games.
It's funny, because I have the exact opposite vision. To me, a "casual" player doesn't put much time in a game, yet it doesn't mean he/she doesn't play very well (twinking stats etc). A Hardcore player, on the other hand, puts many hours in the game, and if that time allows him/her to gain more knowledge—thus usually results in better "playing"—I've seen many hardcore players that are actually quite bad at what they do. The time poured into the game is the only reason they are beyond "casuals", yet less efficient time-wise.
I take my own history as a basis for that: I used to be hardcore, but work became the most important thing in my life at some point, and if I can't play more than 2 hours a day in average, I definitely try to make the best of those hours. It can be interpreted as a matter of efficiency, that's true, but ultimately it's a matter of pleasure: I like being good at games, that's my thing. I like reading a lot, theorycrafting and knowing as much as I can about the game.
So, am I a casual or hardcore player? I think the former. Which doesn't mean I don't play games as smartly as I possibly can. Hell, this is a FF forum, I don't think we see much more "intelligence" required for games as FF asks of us players.
I've honestly never really understood this entire topic lol.
Can't you be both a casual and a hardcore player?
Example:
Casual/Casual- Casual playtime with Casual ambitions.
Casual/Hardcore- Casual playtime with Hardcore Ambitions.
Hardcore/Casual- Hardcore playtime with Casual Ambitions.
Hardcore/Hardcore- Hardcore playtime with Hardcore ambitions.
By the sounds of it you and me would fall under the Casual/Hardcore crowd if you define Hardcore ambitions as having an eye towards progression and maximizing gameplay.
Maybe its defined by what you enjoy, some enjoy socializing, some enjoy progressing (crafting, leveling etc)and others might enjoy mastering their craft (the game itself).
You can't really define a "good" player or a "bad" player from the Casual/Hardcore classifications, the people with Hardcore ambitions might typically be better players based on game knowledge but not always just as a Casual player isn't always a "bad" player.
In my experience i've really enjoyed playing with what some consider to be "bad" players and yet played with some "good" players that I've wanted to beat to death with a shovel, I would always take the "bad" player over the "good" in this case and maybe thats what makes a casual player.
Maybe being Hardcore is defined by a how much a person is willing to tolerate or endure for the sake of progression and being Casual should be defined by making decisions with enjoyment as a priority over progression?
As I said I really don't understand this topic.... my brain hurts!
In the end can a person with 1-2 hours a day of playtime enjoy this game.... I'd say its entirely up to them.
I guess its follow your bliss do what you enjoy and in the end none of this really matters.
does anyone else find it funny that "casual" is being defined as 1-2 hours per day?
Thanks for all the responses guys; appreciated.
Haha yeah, I consider 1-2 hours per day casual for myself solely because back in the days of EQ1 my guild and I were spending 6+ hours per day, and god knows how many hours on the weekends...then age, work, and responsibilities came and that went to hell. Good news is 1-2 hours per day is still decent. Of course some weeks, my 1-2 hours per day will just have to be made up in 1 large sum during the weekend so long as my other half gives me the approval! Hahaha.
I know what you mean. before I was married I would spend 3-5 hours after work. Maybe 10 hours on the weekend. ahh hthe good old days. God only know how many i will spend once a kid pops out.. hmmm maybe I can have him play with me as an excuse lol...
I am a casual player by mentality and history. But now, due to changing circumstances in my life, I have the opportunity to cross over to the other side. I will be able to play 4+ hours a day...more on weekends. And I will still have 'a life'. I'm pretty happy about it.
I am going to go on a binge to end all binges...
...I promise to stay cool tho. I will not make every minute about min/max and I will not look down on casuals. It's about fun, just like it was when I was 100% casual. Binging on games is my idea of fun.
I do know that if I were a casual player, I would feel really reassured playing Final Fantasy XIV. After all, I have all this going for me:
Want to level up as fast as the hardcore are? No problem, with the Fatigue system, you can only get so many ranks per week, balanced around the idea of ~8-12 hours per week. Got more time than that? Do as the hardcore do, boost your verstility by ranking up other jobs on the side.
Only have maybe an hour or two a day to play? No problem, your quickest xp comes from Guildleves, which you should be able to exhaust in that much time easily. Got more time than that? Do the quests. Help out others with the Guildleves. The hardcore will be doing old fashioned grinding once they're down to the bottom of the barrel, but casuals need not.
Don't have time to appreciate the scenary trudging around the world? No problem, you need trudge but once, and after that you can teleport there (provided you don't go teleport crazy and exhaust all your anima).
Those are the big ones. There might be other little casual accomidations here and there.
It seems a casual player will be able to level a main job and another for extra abilities and still keep up with the curve. You might not be able to level a crafting and gathering job on top of it (they seem just as time consuming as fighting jobs).
But yeah, that's the whole point of the system. So casuals don't feel too left behind.
If nothing else, it seems more casual friendly than any other mmorpg if keeping up with the Legolases is a concern of yours.
Comments
I've honestly never really understood this entire topic lol.
Can't you be both a casual and a hardcore player?
Example:
Casual/Casual- Casual playtime with Casual ambitions.
Casual/Hardcore- Casual playtime with Hardcore Ambitions.
Hardcore/Casual- Hardcore playtime with Casual Ambitions.
Hardcore/Hardcore- Hardcore playtime with Hardcore ambitions.
By the sounds of it you and me would fall under the Casual/Hardcore crowd if you define Hardcore ambitions as having an eye towards progression and maximizing gameplay.
Maybe its defined by what you enjoy, some enjoy socializing, some enjoy progressing (crafting, leveling etc)and others might enjoy mastering their craft (the game itself).
You can't really define a "good" player or a "bad" player from the Casual/Hardcore classifications, the people with Hardcore ambitions might typically be better players based on game knowledge but not always just as a Casual player isn't always a "bad" player.
In my experience i've really enjoyed playing with what some consider to be "bad" players and yet played with some "good" players that I've wanted to beat to death with a shovel, I would always take the "bad" player over the "good" in this case and maybe thats what makes a casual player.
Maybe being Hardcore is defined by a how much a person is willing to tolerate or endure for the sake of progression and being Casual should be defined by making decisions with enjoyment as a priority over progression?
As I said I really don't understand this topic.... my brain hurts!
In the end can a person with 1-2 hours a day of playtime enjoy this game.... I'd say its entirely up to them.
I guess its follow your bliss do what you enjoy and in the end none of this really matters.
I know what you mean. before I was married I would spend 3-5 hours after work. Maybe 10 hours on the weekend. ahh hthe good old days. God only know how many i will spend once a kid pops out.. hmmm maybe I can have him play with me as an excuse lol...
I am a casual player by mentality and history. But now, due to changing circumstances in my life, I have the opportunity to cross over to the other side. I will be able to play 4+ hours a day...more on weekends. And I will still have 'a life'. I'm pretty happy about it.
I am going to go on a binge to end all binges...
...I promise to stay cool tho. I will not make every minute about min/max and I will not look down on casuals. It's about fun, just like it was when I was 100% casual. Binging on games is my idea of fun.
I do know that if I were a casual player, I would feel really reassured playing Final Fantasy XIV. After all, I have all this going for me:
Want to level up as fast as the hardcore are? No problem, with the Fatigue system, you can only get so many ranks per week, balanced around the idea of ~8-12 hours per week. Got more time than that? Do as the hardcore do, boost your verstility by ranking up other jobs on the side.
Only have maybe an hour or two a day to play? No problem, your quickest xp comes from Guildleves, which you should be able to exhaust in that much time easily. Got more time than that? Do the quests. Help out others with the Guildleves. The hardcore will be doing old fashioned grinding once they're down to the bottom of the barrel, but casuals need not.
Don't have time to appreciate the scenary trudging around the world? No problem, you need trudge but once, and after that you can teleport there (provided you don't go teleport crazy and exhaust all your anima).
Those are the big ones. There might be other little casual accomidations here and there.
It seems a casual player will be able to level a main job and another for extra abilities and still keep up with the curve. You might not be able to level a crafting and gathering job on top of it (they seem just as time consuming as fighting jobs).
But yeah, that's the whole point of the system. So casuals don't feel too left behind.
If nothing else, it seems more casual friendly than any other mmorpg if keeping up with the Legolases is a concern of yours.