[Nueinx]

hehe good point Pirotess. I'll offer my own definitions, and take them as you will. I will define them TOGETHER because in this context they must be (I feel) defined in conjunction with each other.

Casual vs. Hardcore - In EQ (atleast on my server, Povar) the line seemed to be drawn based on what era of content you focussed on. That's not to say that any guild that focused on expansion X was casual or hardcore, except in relation to each other. The hardcore player/guild strives to be the first one/s to "beat" the new endgame content. I.E. first to kill the Emporer, first into PoTime, etc, etc. Whereas the casual gamer/guild preferred to take things at a slower pace, and was maybe working on the "endgame" content from several expansions ago.

That's just my 2 bits on the definition. The problem I see with this argument is that people are inevitably basing their claims on old EQ and what they saw as far as "raiding gear." Now (again, based on my server), if I saw a fellow paladin who happened to be in Triton, certainly their gear made mine look weak, but they had also acquired it from a raid from the latest expansion, whereas mine was from an expansion or so earlier. In which case it certainly is a warranted "huge jump"... how can my group item from exp. 2 expect to be as good as raid item from exp. 4?

Regardless of that issue, I see NO problem with a raid item being a good bit more powerful than a group gained item. I don't think I could respect a game where a god uses a sword that is comparable to a simple dungeon boss from the same era. The increased difficulty lies in the fact that (assuming the loot dropped is THEIR loot) this being is far more powerful. They SHOULD use, and therefore drop, far more impressive items.