[Greymain]

I think it is wrong to use adventuring as the measure of dedication crafters and merchants can be just as enthusiatic and if memory serves right will produce the best gear in Vanguard granted using rare raid loot as components.

Could we perhaps explore another definition of casual / hardcore namely attitude.

Casual - No commitment to the game. Got it for Christmas only play cos nothing else to do. The account is shared with a few mates and they gather to have a bit of fun. they just to muck about or show off. They are the ones who cant be bothered to give their characters a proper name they spam and grief. They crave instant gratification, They join guilds and steal guild gear. When their reputation is bad they just create a new alt. They dont hang around very long or get banned then linger on the forums as trolls.

Hardcore - At the other end of the spectrum we have the fanatic who lives the game. Hypercritical of those less able than themselves. Here we find small elite guilds paramilitary in nature whose only contact with the lower orders is to show off.

I played in a fun guild we played hard but would take time out to help low level members. Always ready to cast the odd heal on struggling players and share gear around the guild. We raided but very rarely because there was not enough online to do guild raids and we had to mix with other raiders who took things far to seriously.

On raid gear in Vanguard.. Situational gear could mean Raid gear that is only really useful on raids. For instance a poison blade while affects a specific mob. AC1 armor with very high fire resistance. This would not reduce the "boast factor" but would stop none raid content becoming too easy.