The things you "hate" about I Trials!

Originally Posted by Samuel_Tow [The Incarnate System is] Jack Emmert all over again, only this time it's not "1 hero = 3 white minions" it's "1 hero = 3 white rocks."

I'm not vip atm. Not worth subbing when new stuff comes out only once every 3 months or so.

I forsee more BAF/LAMs being ran in the near future.

The rewards are based around casual play - hardcore Trial sessions aren't normal - people can - and I'm sure have - run 10+ Trials in a day - but that's nowhere near casual play.

I happen to agree.

However, the more insidious problem, to my mind, is that so many folks think grinding is not only normative play, but desireable as well. As if without "the grind" there is no MMO. Well I'm here to say that grinding is not an axiomatic requirement of an MMO. But years and years of playing other "successful" MMOs have conditioned players to believe otherwise. Consequently, we will likely be subjected to a grind of one kind or another for quite some time to come. I am faced with two choices myself: get used to it, or stop playing. Past experience (with other MMOs) suggests I am incapable of getting used to the sort of tedium an MMO "grind" involves, so...

I don't think it really has that much to do with casual vs hardcore.

You either spend 20 mins doing a trial and get (depending on trial) 1-2 emps, a few astrals, a random component, and a handful of threads.

Or you spend 20 mins doing a DA solo arc and get a random component and a handful of threads (as far as I know you don't get the emps and astrals, but please correct me if I am wrong). If you're not getting emps/astrals here that is plenty to balance out the 'needs a team vs solo' discrepency between trials and solo content for rewards.

Either of the above can be done by "casual" or "hardcore" players. The only difference is you can do the trials as much as you want/have time for whereas there is a hard lockout on DA content, which I think is unfair to those that would prefer to do the DA content.

Perhaps implicit in the definition of casual vs. hardcore is the notion that casual players won't make doing the new DA content the sole focus of all their play time, i.e., they won't be grinding it, but rather interspersing it with lots of other missions/activities. Whereas hardcore players will focus on it with grim determination and do nothing else until they are tier 4 in all their slots. The 20-hour reward gate on the DA content will frustrate this kind of hardcore player, who would otherwise happily grind the new DA solo, as opposed to the iTrials, for four hours a day because they don't want to deal with 15-23 other yahoos ruining their fun.

Until I see a successful MMO that does not involve doing the same thing over and over again, yes, I will continue to believe this is true. People may not LIKE grind, but oh my yes it's necessary.

I understand your skepticism. It is human nature, I suppose. Thinking outside the box is not for everyone. The first step in creating a new reality is shedding the limitations (on creative thought) imposed by the present one.