Poll: What's the worldwide definition of casual?

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  1. #1
    Immortal Zandalarian Paladin's Avatar
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    Definition of Casual?

    Happy christmas eve everyone!

    So I've been wondering what does casual really mean. There's a lot of definition to it, and many use it with many variations, sometime as insults, sometime as qualities and sometime just as a title. But I can't help and feel there's no true definition to it.

    I've been seeing the word casual used in many way. When we say someone is casual, usually people mean someone who's not playing a lot or at least not seriously, right? Now, when we go deeper into it, some people are linking casual with being bad; in other words, some people will say "he's a casual dumbass who can't play". Are we referring to the 1st definition of casual, or are we having a new one?

    If we move to a larger definition of casual. When we speak of a casual guild, do we speak of a guild more social, not serious, or do we speak of a serious raiding guild who just doesn't have as much time to raid as the big hardcore guilds? Some people could also use casual to say "It's a casual guild, they're bad."

    So I've been wondering, is there a worldwide definition of casual, or is it always depending on context and the writters' mind?

    I'll try to add a poll to this topic.

  2. #2
    Elemental Lord clevin's Avatar
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    There's no common definition, but I don't use it as a pejorative. To me, it's just descriptive but there are dimensions to being casual:

    Casual in playtime: Someone who doesn't spend a lot of time in game. They might be very serious about raiding or Arena, but they don't spend a lot of hours playing.

    Casual in goals: They might spend a lot of time or they might not, but they're not serious about raids, Arena, etc. They might raid LFR or even normals, but they do it purely for fun vs driving toward a goal (server firsts, clearing heroics, high arena rating, etc).

    Casual in how they play: They don't care about min-maxing, don't care if they top meters (if they're DPS), might leave gear unenchanted, etc. They know the basics of their class and they have the right gear, but as long as things die and they're pretty much carrying their weight, that's as much as they care to do. If they are DPS and hit the dummies it's just for 5 or 10 mins to get used to a new rotation, not to try out, say, different trinket combos to see which is slightly better.

    A lot of people lump the last category in with people who are actually bad.. who don't know their class, don't know rotations or how to gear and who do not carry their weight. The pally who rolls on caster cloth (and wears it) or the hunter with leather on. The DK who auto attacks. These people aren't casual, they're bad. True casuals still want to do decently, they just don't care to put in the extra time and effort to move from good to great.

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    Legendary! Rivellana's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by clevin View Post
    True casuals still want to do decently, they just don't care to put in the extra time and effort to move from good to great.
    I can't even agree with that statement in full. There are tons of people, myself included, who might be great players and care enough to research what they need to know and put it into practice, but don't have the extra time to raid for many hours a week with a progression guild.

    Not that they "don't care to put in the extra time" as you say, but just don't even have the extra time available to put in.

    I'd anticipate most people who visit these forums who would be considered casual are a mix of casual in playtime and casual in goals.

  5. #5
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    Someone who plays less than me or who doesn't seek challenge as much as me.

  6. #6
    I would say a casual player is one who does not raid according to a schedule. Whether it's twice a week or six times a week, if I come and raid on a set schedule, I am a raider, not a casual player.
    I guess, regular RBGs with a set group, or highly competitive arena also "free" you from the casual status, in my eyes.
    Last edited by Zubacz; 2012-12-24 at 08:11 PM.

  7. #7
    There's definitely lots of overlap in these categories.

    There's also definitely people who claim to be casual but play as much/more than "hardcore" players and simply can't accomplish as much ingame. There's really no excuse for that imo. I raid for fun and because I like the people I raid with, and by happenstance we are good enough to be the best 10m on the server.

  8. #8
    someone who doesn't put 15-30 hours of raid time in.

  9. #9
    Quote Originally Posted by beanman12345 View Post
    someone who doesn't put 15-30 hours of raid time in.
    Yep. I would never, ever consider being hardcore. If even 12 hours of raiding a week is low enough to put someone into the casual checkbox, then I'm super-casual at my usual 6 hours.
    Soothing Mist:"Healing them for a minor amount every 0.5 sec, until you take any other action."
    Jade Serpent Statue: "The statue will also begin casting Soothing Mist on your target. healing for 50% as much as yours. "
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  10. #10
    Brewmaster juzalol's Avatar
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    I think casuals as people who don't really care about their performance. They think it's just a
    game and play it the way they want.

    Hardcore people tend to optimize their gear, build and performance.

    I don't think time has anything to with being hardcore or casual.

  11. #11
    Elemental Lord clevin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rivellana View Post
    I can't even agree with that statement in full. There are tons of people, myself included, who might be great players and care enough to research what they need to know and put it into practice, but don't have the extra time to raid for many hours a week with a progression guild.

    Not that they "don't care to put in the extra time" as you say, but just don't even have the extra time available to put in.

    I'd anticipate most people who visit these forums who would be considered casual are a mix of casual in playtime and casual in goals.
    Same thing really. Want to, have... for whatever reason you don't (and I'll note that there are guilds that raid 2 nights a week and are 16/16 Normal which I wouldn't consider a a casual level of progress). The point is that virtually everyone COULD be serious in some facet of the game if they wanted to (even if they can only play 6 hours a week) but they don't care to be; it's mostly an attitude in how they approach the game. Sure, there might be a few people who really can't even play 6 hours a week but that's a different set of people to me.

    Casual, serious, hardcore etc are all, to me, about the attitude with which someone approaches the game.
    Agreed that most people are a mix. For example right now I'm a mix casual. I enchant and gem everything and try to play as well as I can when I do... but my raiding is LFR and heroics because I don't feel like being tied to a raid schedule. So... progress? Casual. Play style? Pretty serious. Time... somewhere in between. I log in most nights but sometimes I spend 3 hours on, sometimes I do 30 mins of dailies, chat with some online friends and log out.
    Last edited by clevin; 2012-12-24 at 08:26 PM.

  12. #12
    Spam Assassin! MoanaLisa's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by beanman12345 View Post
    someone who doesn't put 15-30 hours of raid time in.
    I don't know if this definition works. It ignores PVP entirely and with MoP there's a new possible class of player who specializes in challenge mode dungeons. That certainly wouldn't be casual and doesn't require any raiding at all.

    In any case, casual and hard core are more about attitude than time in game or what you do in game.
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  13. #13
    Definition of casual?

    Looks like a lot of people forget what a dictionary is.

    http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/casual

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by Freedom4u2 View Post
    Happy christmas eve everyone!

    So I've been wondering what does casual really mean.
    Casual used to be a good word! Occasionally playing some Q3 or CS with friends, or Playing some MK3 on Genesis with friends.

    Nowadays, thanks to companies like Blizzard, "Casual" is associated with retards, who can't get out of the fire ._. such a shame...

    Shit, even going to gaming hubs and playing some Metal Slug or Samurai Showdown 4 was casual...

    P.S. Merry Xmas!

  15. #15
    Overused as an insult, just like "Elitist"

  16. #16
    Pit Lord Thulvaso's Avatar
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    I put "progressing more slowly than average" that's what I play the game like now. Not enough time to dedicate a lot to the game now, I still play and enjoy but at my own pace.

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by ablib View Post
    Definition of casual?

    Looks like a lot of people forget what a dictionary is.
    Just like they forget that words evolve and simple terms used within a subculture take on different meanings.
    Soothing Mist:"Healing them for a minor amount every 0.5 sec, until you take any other action."
    Jade Serpent Statue: "The statue will also begin casting Soothing Mist on your target. healing for 50% as much as yours. "
    [What's half of minor?]
    "Statue casts Soothing Mist at a nearby ally for toddler healing."

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by ablib View Post
    Definition of casual?

    Looks like a lot of people forget what a dictionary is.

    http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/casual
    probably because they are creating new idiotic words like "herp derp"

  19. #19
    Scarab Lord Nicola's Avatar
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    Someone who plays for fun instead of progression, regardless of skill level, a casual can either be bad or as good as a hardcore raider.
    This doesn't mean a casual can't have everything down on heroic, but a casual will take his time for it instead of rushing it as fast as possible

  20. #20
    Deleted
    The definition for most wow players seems to be someone who plays less than them:P. While someone who plays more is called a no-lifer^^.

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