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Make the game more easy for single players Please

1
AuthorMessage
Survivor
Feb 15, 2014
6
joined back on FEB 15 and got to say LOVE The game im up to level 47 but then BAM you run right into a wall when you either have to fight a 8,000 pt monster or 3 months with 1500 to 6000 each.

there is never anyone on when i want to play and finding people is very hard to do

love to keep playing but being stuck with no more QUEST besides these insane ones (and waiting and hoping to find someone who is doing the same one)

really dont see a reason to keep the membership going sad to say. Got till april 14 to figure if i want to stay or not but right now im thinking bye bye

Archon
Oct 24, 2010
4952
hull1974 on Mar 21, 2014 wrote:
joined back on FEB 15 and got to say LOVE The game im up to level 47 but then BAM you run right into a wall when you either have to fight a 8,000 pt monster or 3 months with 1500 to 6000 each.

there is never anyone on when i want to play and finding people is very hard to do

love to keep playing but being stuck with no more QUEST besides these insane ones (and waiting and hoping to find someone who is doing the same one)

really dont see a reason to keep the membership going sad to say. Got till april 14 to figure if i want to stay or not but right now im thinking bye bye
I feel your pain but it actually gets worse the higher level you are.
I solo everything due to the times I can play and have found it quite difficult at times.
I hope they figure this out because as mmorpg.com stated, any game that cannot be played solo will not last. And proof was given and is shown here almost daily.
A lot of us solo, either by choice or because of our schedule, and few of us have hour upon hour to spend on these huge boss battles and dungeons.

Archon
Sep 17, 2012
4162
RavenLady777 on Mar 22, 2014 wrote:
I feel your pain but it actually gets worse the higher level you are.
I solo everything due to the times I can play and have found it quite difficult at times.
I hope they figure this out because as mmorpg.com stated, any game that cannot be played solo will not last. And proof was given and is shown here almost daily.
A lot of us solo, either by choice or because of our schedule, and few of us have hour upon hour to spend on these huge boss battles and dungeons.
I disagree. It gets easier as you level up. Celestia is really the hardest point in the game for soloing. After Celestia solo play gets easier and easier as gear improves a lot. Also the new team up and dungeon recall features make it a lot easier. The recall is especially useful for solo players with multi-minion bosses. Just kill a minion without dying, if you die you recall and you have no minion.

Survivor
Jan 06, 2014
45
Well, you could post on Wizard101 Central and meet up with in-game so you could have friends to aid you.

Adherent
Mar 18, 2009
2737
Not sure what world you are specifically mentioning, but there is a definite spike in difficulty for Celestia and Wintertusk. With that said, KI has gone back and tone down some older worlds in terms of difficulty. I couldn't say if that makes it more soloable, but they have revised the difficulty for some older areas.

"Creatures wandering the worlds of Avalon and Azteca have weakened from all their travels and defeats, and now should present less of a challenge"

https://www.wizard101.com/game/community/update-notes/november2013

There was also a change in January that allowed players to access harder content at an earlier level....and that might be what you are experiencing.

https://www.wizard101.com/game/community/update-notes/january2014

Archon
Oct 24, 2010
4952
seethe42 on Mar 22, 2014 wrote:
I disagree. It gets easier as you level up. Celestia is really the hardest point in the game for soloing. After Celestia solo play gets easier and easier as gear improves a lot. Also the new team up and dungeon recall features make it a lot easier. The recall is especially useful for solo players with multi-minion bosses. Just kill a minion without dying, if you die you recall and you have no minion.
And I disagree as well. Try killing Belloq solo. Any number of recalls will not help you beat him. And there is no one around to 'team up' with.

The game needs to be able to be played by solo players as do all good MMORGs

Survivor
Feb 15, 2014
6
seethe42 on Mar 22, 2014 wrote:
I disagree. It gets easier as you level up. Celestia is really the hardest point in the game for soloing. After Celestia solo play gets easier and easier as gear improves a lot. Also the new team up and dungeon recall features make it a lot easier. The recall is especially useful for solo players with multi-minion bosses. Just kill a minion without dying, if you die you recall and you have no minion.
yea that does make the game easier . i just got up to level 49 and in dragonsphye or whatever its called. and going into STAY FOR DETENTION its a 2 hour maze. many people dont have 2 hours to play at one time. Love the level 48 fire spell and has made the game better....

hopefully get to level 50 by end of month and see then how i feel

Explorer
Feb 13, 2011
57
hull1974 on Mar 21, 2014 wrote:
joined back on FEB 15 and got to say LOVE The game im up to level 47 but then BAM you run right into a wall when you either have to fight a 8,000 pt monster or 3 months with 1500 to 6000 each.

there is never anyone on when i want to play and finding people is very hard to do

love to keep playing but being stuck with no more QUEST besides these insane ones (and waiting and hoping to find someone who is doing the same one)

really dont see a reason to keep the membership going sad to say. Got till april 14 to figure if i want to stay or not but right now im thinking bye bye
You are not alone in this problem. I hope kingsIsle is listening.
I wish there was a list to check to see who needs help and where. Maybe there is something I don't know yet about the new upgrade but it looks like we will still be standing around waiting for help.

Be sure to do the Pagoda and Winterbane dungeons to help level up.Have you tried going to the commons and asking if anyone will help. Also look for level 95 wizards they often have time and power to help. I have several high level friends who love to help. But I know that the hardest part is finding someone when you have time to play. I would never have made it to level 90 with out help. Last land, bunch of fun did it all by my self. Had so much fun.
With all its little faults this is still the best game out there.
Wish you luck.
mattie1010

Archon
Sep 17, 2012
4162
RavenLady777 on Mar 23, 2014 wrote:
And I disagree as well. Try killing Belloq solo. Any number of recalls will not help you beat him. And there is no one around to 'team up' with.

The game needs to be able to be played by solo players as do all good MMORGs
I beat Belloq alone on my Ice, Storm, Death, Myth and Balance wizards with no problem at all. Just gear up for balance resist and ignore his Ra. The gear needed is easily available in the Bazaar. Just because you can't handle it solo doesn't mean the game isn't able to be played by solo players. I have soloed the entire spiral on several wizards. Yes there are parts where solo is difficult, I would say the Ice boss in Khrysalis that mana burns every third round is one of the hardest. As for recalls helping on bosses like Belloq it definitely does help if you kill the minion. Starting at full power and the boss not having a minion makes it a lot easier.

Survivor
Feb 15, 2014
6
got to level 50 just to find out i have to redo the entire 2 hour dungon cause the last chest is there that i need to complete this 9 part item. Way to kill the game make people replay the same maps over and over

Archon
Sep 17, 2012
4162
hull1974 on Mar 25, 2014 wrote:
got to level 50 just to find out i have to redo the entire 2 hour dungon cause the last chest is there that i need to complete this 9 part item. Way to kill the game make people replay the same maps over and over
Everyone has to do that, but you don't need to complete the whole thing. Just enough to get in to talk to him, then you can walk over and open the chest. It's just the street bosses you have to fight again.

Archon
Feb 07, 2011
3175
RavenLady777 on Mar 23, 2014 wrote:
And I disagree as well. Try killing Belloq solo. Any number of recalls will not help you beat him. And there is no one around to 'team up' with.

The game needs to be able to be played by solo players as do all good MMORGs
I agree with this, 100 percent.

Cheating bosses have no place in the main quest line of a game that's aimed at casual players. Anything that's required to progress in-game should be completable by everyone, including solo players... I'm not saying get rid of the long/annoying/cheaty dungeons, but keep them optional (ie: Waterworks, Tortureus, etc.).

Eventually, people who get stuck become frustrated, and they *will* leave.

-von

Astrologist
Sep 19, 2013
1006
If you ask me, there should be some insurmountable challenges for solo players. The whole point of an MMO is that you play with other people. I used to play Toontown, and good luck soloing that! It was virtually impossible to heal yourself, and 5 story cog buildings would definitely kill you solo. I think the real issue is a lack of "quest overlap", or quests that have you fight the same thing. In Toontown, there was a much smaller set of mobs, and you would have to fight the same ones many times to pass through a playground. In Wizard101, you might have a quest to fight the same monster once or twice and never again. Any helping with quests would either be because of a chance encounter with someone on the same quest, or out of the goodness of someone's heart. This is what eventually may kill Wizard101, this lack of quest overlap.

Archon
Feb 07, 2011
3175
Robobot1747 on Mar 26, 2014 wrote:
If you ask me, there should be some insurmountable challenges for solo players. The whole point of an MMO is that you play with other people. I used to play Toontown, and good luck soloing that! It was virtually impossible to heal yourself, and 5 story cog buildings would definitely kill you solo. I think the real issue is a lack of "quest overlap", or quests that have you fight the same thing. In Toontown, there was a much smaller set of mobs, and you would have to fight the same ones many times to pass through a playground. In Wizard101, you might have a quest to fight the same monster once or twice and never again. Any helping with quests would either be because of a chance encounter with someone on the same quest, or out of the goodness of someone's heart. This is what eventually may kill Wizard101, this lack of quest overlap.
If things were "insurmountable for solo players", I'm willing to bet that's what killed Toontown. And it will eventually kill this game, too, if left unchecked.

That a game is an MMO simply implies that other people play it and that teaming with other players is an option. A group should *never* be required to complete anything in the main quest line. Stuck players are frustrated players, and frustrated players leave.

Whether due to their time-zones, schedules, etc., those who can't or don't want to find a group should not be punished for it.

(I'm guessing you're new to the game, because any veteran player would know that we're often forced to kill the same mobs many times... again and again, and again. And, if you haven't gotten there yet, you'll grow to hate it, just like the rest of us do. Trust me.)

-von

Survivor
Jun 08, 2009
29
Hopefully the new Team Up! feature will be used more and more helping solo players find questing buddies. Before you quit, please check the fan sites. We discuss strategy for solo play often and give tips for the cheating bosses. I wrote this directed toward the solo 1v3 battles we do for spells in Azteca, but many of the tactics I use all throughout the game. http://www.duelist101.com/other-w101-guides/w101-spell-guides/wizard101-1v3-solo-quest-strategy-breakdown/

I hope it helps you. It is really a fun game, even at higher levels when it becomes most difficult.

Hero
Feb 26, 2012
709
RavenLady777 on Mar 23, 2014 wrote:
And I disagree as well. Try killing Belloq solo. Any number of recalls will not help you beat him. And there is no one around to 'team up' with.

The game needs to be able to be played by solo players as do all good MMORGs
I agree with this also.

Seethe42 I really respect your contributions to these boards, but from your posts I also get the impression that you have lots of time to play -- great gardens, have done most of the hard dungeons like Aquila, are good at PVP, etc. You are obviously a very experienced player. Not everyone has your game credentials, and I don't think everyone should have to have those creds to enjoy the game and be successful at it.

Many of the instances in the higher worlds are crazy hard to beat solo for most players. I consider myself to be a fairly experienced player, but even so I know I have had a lot of trouble with the upper world bosses and dungeons. And as a still-working dad, I don't always have hours on end to play. Two hour dungeons (or more) are a royal pain for me to find the time to play. Boss fights that go on a long time are not much fun either. As an adult, I can afford crowns and henchmen when I can't find friends, but that is not always a good solution with cheating bosses and stupid henchmen AI. And many players simply don't have the luxury of crowns. And my daughter -- who started me playing -- just hates the difficulty of higher worlds. She stopped questing once she hit them, even with me to help.

I think the main storyline, and all instances on it, should be playable and win-able by the average solo player, even without the best gear and pets the game has. Average gear, average player -- still have fun winning.

Save the crazy hard stuff -- but keep it on the side quests and side-dungeons. Let people who go in there know before they go that they will need help. Reward them well for their efforts -- I have no problem with the uber-players being in the game.

But let the average players still have fun as well. Not everyone has the time, money, or desire to be an uber-player. In fact, the light, fun, whimsical feel of a kid-oriented game, is exactly what drew many of us to play in the first place. Personally, that is what I most enjoy about this game -- and many others are like me in this regard.

Survivor
Feb 15, 2014
6
well looks like i be saving 10 a month cause i think the kids are now tired of it. they just got to Celestia and there is almost no way to solo this. They just keep getting killed over and over and just told me today they can find a better use for the cash just to get slaughtered in the game.

sad they used to play the game every day for an hour or two but now have no interest in it

last 2 days they played maybe 30 mins

Astrologist
Jun 04, 2010
1008
RavenLady777 on Mar 23, 2014 wrote:
And I disagree as well. Try killing Belloq solo. Any number of recalls will not help you beat him. And there is no one around to 'team up' with.

The game needs to be able to be played by solo players as do all good MMORGs
This isn't directed at your opinion, as I agree that there are several storyline battles which are quite difficult solo, but... done. The key to beating him solo is accuracy enhanced DoT treasure cards and patience. That being said... I do wish that NONE of the main storyline bosses/quests cheated. I hate that.

Astrologist
Jun 04, 2010
1008
Oran of Urz on Mar 23, 2014 wrote:
Not sure what world you are specifically mentioning, but there is a definite spike in difficulty for Celestia and Wintertusk. With that said, KI has gone back and tone down some older worlds in terms of difficulty. I couldn't say if that makes it more soloable, but they have revised the difficulty for some older areas.

"Creatures wandering the worlds of Avalon and Azteca have weakened from all their travels and defeats, and now should present less of a challenge"

https://www.wizard101.com/game/community/update-notes/november2013

There was also a change in January that allowed players to access harder content at an earlier level....and that might be what you are experiencing.

https://www.wizard101.com/game/community/update-notes/january2014
Hopefully the team up will help as people start to use it. I try to use it on every dungeon now but I find that its rare for me to get additional team players unless I am willing to wait 30 minutes or more. I had posted this before:

https://www.wizard101.com/forum/the-dorms/option-for-the-meetup-38717

and I kinda wish that the new team up feature was a bit more like that... more configurable features and more like the practice PvP kiosk. I suspect that many people are avoiding Team Up because there is no way to filter (or even know ahead of time) the kind of player you will do the dungeon with. I'd love to be able to sign in, register my high level wizard at a Kiosk in the commons, then go about pet training, snack making, etc. while waiting in a queue for people who would like the assistance of an experienced wizard... sort of like a guide. :D I'd love to assist people here, but the delay between requests and responses is just too great to make it feasible. Central works for that... (I've helped quite a few there), but not here.

Astrologist
Sep 19, 2013
1006
hull1974 on Mar 27, 2014 wrote:
well looks like i be saving 10 a month cause i think the kids are now tired of it. they just got to Celestia and there is almost no way to solo this. They just keep getting killed over and over and just told me today they can find a better use for the cash just to get slaughtered in the game.

sad they used to play the game every day for an hour or two but now have no interest in it

last 2 days they played maybe 30 mins
Ok. I do have to concede that Celestia is evil. You go from the occasional power pip on bosses in DS to starting pips, power pips, and critical on the street.

@von I am in Zafaria, and I do notice some quest overlap, it is very small and does not affect the more difficult parts of the game. I am pretty sure what killed Toontown was part lack of any advertising, part no real updates for several years

Archon
Sep 17, 2012
4162
FinnAgainWindrider on Mar 27, 2014 wrote:
I agree with this also.

Seethe42 I really respect your contributions to these boards, but from your posts I also get the impression that you have lots of time to play -- great gardens, have done most of the hard dungeons like Aquila, are good at PVP, etc. You are obviously a very experienced player. Not everyone has your game credentials, and I don't think everyone should have to have those creds to enjoy the game and be successful at it.

Many of the instances in the higher worlds are crazy hard to beat solo for most players. I consider myself to be a fairly experienced player, but even so I know I have had a lot of trouble with the upper world bosses and dungeons. And as a still-working dad, I don't always have hours on end to play. Two hour dungeons (or more) are a royal pain for me to find the time to play. Boss fights that go on a long time are not much fun either. As an adult, I can afford crowns and henchmen when I can't find friends, but that is not always a good solution with cheating bosses and stupid henchmen AI. And many players simply don't have the luxury of crowns. And my daughter -- who started me playing -- just hates the difficulty of higher worlds. She stopped questing once she hit them, even with me to help.

I think the main storyline, and all instances on it, should be playable and win-able by the average solo player, even without the best gear and pets the game has. Average gear, average player -- still have fun winning.

Save the crazy hard stuff -- but keep it on the side quests and side-dungeons. Let people who go in there know before they go that they will need help. Reward them well for their efforts -- I have no problem with the uber-players being in the game.

But let the average players still have fun as well. Not everyone has the time, money, or desire to be an uber-player. In fact, the light, fun, whimsical feel of a kid-oriented game, is exactly what drew many of us to play in the first place. Personally, that is what I most enjoy about this game -- and many others are like me in this regard.
I agree experience plays a lot into battles, but that is because I've been through the battles and I take the time to use other people's experience to my advantage. Look up the bosses on central before rushing into a fight. Learn the cheats and prepare for them. Other players have gone to the trouble to figure them out so you don't have to. The average player has the same access to the internet as the most experienced (and I'm not by any means an expert player). I just look before I leap. I don't think crowns or henchmen are required for any battles, just preparedness.

Two hour dungeons are already completely optional.

As for average gear, aside from crafted gear which is completely available to every average player, I use gear from the bazaar. My current balance wizard hasn't run Waterworks or Tartarus even once and I'm most of the way through Khrysalis. You do not need the dropped gear or crowns to succeed in the game at all. Part of the "average" player frustration comes with the desire to wear one set of gear for everything. Get out of that frame and slow down a little. Dress for the fight and you will have a lot less frustration. The game is balanced in such a way to prevent anyone from being in a perfect setup for every battle. That is the biggest key to being a solo player in this game. If you take the time to dress, deck and prepare for the battle at hand, you can do it. I get through the game faster than most because I'm not in a hurry.

Taking away all challenge from the main questline would be a mistake in my opinion. Part of a MMORPG is the need for teamwork in certain parts. There needs to be certain "insurmountable" tasks at points. KI has balanced this very well in my opinion. There are only 1-2 in each upper world. More experienced players can solo these tasks, less experienced players team up and surrmount them while making friends in the process.

Just for the record, I'm only average at PvP. Everyone can have great gardens and pets without crowns but it does take time and patience. Gardens I personally thought were a waste of time for a long time. Once you have it going though, it's just a constant feed of snacks and cards and gold.

Survivor
Jul 25, 2011
29
hull1974 on Mar 21, 2014 wrote:
joined back on FEB 15 and got to say LOVE The game im up to level 47 but then BAM you run right into a wall when you either have to fight a 8,000 pt monster or 3 months with 1500 to 6000 each.

there is never anyone on when i want to play and finding people is very hard to do

love to keep playing but being stuck with no more QUEST besides these insane ones (and waiting and hoping to find someone who is doing the same one)

really dont see a reason to keep the membership going sad to say. Got till april 14 to figure if i want to stay or not but right now im thinking bye bye
Easy solution just become ice type. We have good resist and lots of health. We can take a lot of damage and hardly need to heal. I am in Azteca and have been soloing since Mooshu.

Hero
Feb 26, 2012
709
seethe42 on Mar 28, 2014 wrote:
I agree experience plays a lot into battles, but that is because I've been through the battles and I take the time to use other people's experience to my advantage. Look up the bosses on central before rushing into a fight. Learn the cheats and prepare for them. Other players have gone to the trouble to figure them out so you don't have to. The average player has the same access to the internet as the most experienced (and I'm not by any means an expert player). I just look before I leap. I don't think crowns or henchmen are required for any battles, just preparedness.

Two hour dungeons are already completely optional.

As for average gear, aside from crafted gear which is completely available to every average player, I use gear from the bazaar. My current balance wizard hasn't run Waterworks or Tartarus even once and I'm most of the way through Khrysalis. You do not need the dropped gear or crowns to succeed in the game at all. Part of the "average" player frustration comes with the desire to wear one set of gear for everything. Get out of that frame and slow down a little. Dress for the fight and you will have a lot less frustration. The game is balanced in such a way to prevent anyone from being in a perfect setup for every battle. That is the biggest key to being a solo player in this game. If you take the time to dress, deck and prepare for the battle at hand, you can do it. I get through the game faster than most because I'm not in a hurry.

Taking away all challenge from the main questline would be a mistake in my opinion. Part of a MMORPG is the need for teamwork in certain parts. There needs to be certain "insurmountable" tasks at points. KI has balanced this very well in my opinion. There are only 1-2 in each upper world. More experienced players can solo these tasks, less experienced players team up and surrmount them while making friends in the process.

Just for the record, I'm only average at PvP. Everyone can have great gardens and pets without crowns but it does take time and patience. Gardens I personally thought were a waste of time for a long time. Once you have it going though, it's just a constant feed of snacks and cards and gold.
Again though, you have the time to go look up all those posts and strategies. And your current balance wizard is not your first wizard through -- you know what to expect and what to prepare for. My later wizards have a much easier time of it than my first wizard did as well. They also benefit from "hand-me-downs" of equipment and pets.

You are also a well-educated adult (judging by your posts and quality of reasoning ability) who can figure out good strategies and who has the time to do that.

My young daughter -- who is supposedly the target demographic for this game -- does not have the time or the interest to spend looking up all the websites for strategies. Like many young kids, she has a very limited time each day to play anything on the computer -- due not only to her school and extracurricular activities, but due to parental limits on time doing "electronic activities." Usually about 30 minutes a day. Playing wizards for her was just a really fun, light escape activity from the stresses of her young life.

For me as a working adult, the same applies -- Wizard101 is a light fun escape from the daily grind of work and family responsibilities.

It was really nice, when we could share some light, fun, "down time" together.

Having to research strategies in order to play a game, is a bit silly. While it may be possible for everyone to do this work, most players don't really have the time or the inclination to work that hard in order to play a game.

And there are dungeons that take 2+ hours to complete, like Xibalba. And lots of others that can take an hour or more -- starting in DS and in most of the worlds after that. This is especially true for an average player who is running an area for the first time without extra time for research and prime equipment.

Astrologist
Jun 04, 2010
1008
FinnAgainWindrider on Mar 29, 2014 wrote:
Again though, you have the time to go look up all those posts and strategies. And your current balance wizard is not your first wizard through -- you know what to expect and what to prepare for. My later wizards have a much easier time of it than my first wizard did as well. They also benefit from "hand-me-downs" of equipment and pets.

You are also a well-educated adult (judging by your posts and quality of reasoning ability) who can figure out good strategies and who has the time to do that.

My young daughter -- who is supposedly the target demographic for this game -- does not have the time or the interest to spend looking up all the websites for strategies. Like many young kids, she has a very limited time each day to play anything on the computer -- due not only to her school and extracurricular activities, but due to parental limits on time doing "electronic activities." Usually about 30 minutes a day. Playing wizards for her was just a really fun, light escape activity from the stresses of her young life.

For me as a working adult, the same applies -- Wizard101 is a light fun escape from the daily grind of work and family responsibilities.

It was really nice, when we could share some light, fun, "down time" together.

Having to research strategies in order to play a game, is a bit silly. While it may be possible for everyone to do this work, most players don't really have the time or the inclination to work that hard in order to play a game.

And there are dungeons that take 2+ hours to complete, like Xibalba. And lots of others that can take an hour or more -- starting in DS and in most of the worlds after that. This is especially true for an average player who is running an area for the first time without extra time for research and prime equipment.
I have been pondering your post and I find that I remain conflicted. Speaking as a parent myself, I find that I often prefer to play this game with my kids in a whimsical laid back kind of atmosphere. On the other hand, I like to model how to solve problems with research and strategy. In particular, this bit stands out to me:

"Having to research strategies in order to play a game, is a bit silly. While it may be possible for everyone to do this work, most players don't really have the time or the inclination to work that hard in order to play a game."

I find that most cultures throughout the planet have traditionally used games to hone ones own survival skills. My father, for instance, used chess to teach me a great number of life lessons and actively encouraged me to research and study it for the purpose of improving my strategic mind. While I am not inclined to completely disagree with your points on 2+ hour dungeons and fun, light down time, I find I cannot completely agree either. From my perspective, we easily spend two hours or more going to a family movie when you include drive time, ticket purchase, etc. This activity is far more interactive than that, much cheaper, and doesn't require a change of Saturday morning attire. Further, I find it provides an opportunity for grandparents who may not live within driving range.

I guess I can see both sides. I will say this in addition to your points on long dungeons.. while I understand the purpose of cheating bosses and dungeons, I do NOT like them involved in the main storyline. I strongly feel that they should remain strictly optional as they do not (at least in my opinion) provide any light down time fun... only fun derived from strategic accomplishment. At any rate, I just thought I would weigh in with my perspective on the matter... ambiguous though it may be.

Delver
Mar 05, 2013
240
I played competitive backgammon in real life for 20 years and made quite a bit of money doing it. Note, I made money playing that game. I researched, practiced, strategized and it paid off financially. Now as far as Wizard 101 I pay real money to play this game. Membership, Crowns, etc. I use it as a way to blow off steam when I'm not doing my real job which pays money also. I like the storylines. I like the graphics. I like most of the people I encounter. I'm not prepared to devote the time it takes to get 20 different sets of armor for different boss fights, whether I get them by amassing Gold and purchasing them or amassing a million reagents and crafting them. I really have a limit of how much of my time I'm going to devote to this game. I'm only going to do a limited amount of research. I generally look on 101 before boss fights, mainly to find out their cheats and what spells they have.
I don't see any reason why KI can't strike a balance between the casual players and the non-casual players. Unless you're gaming to make money, when games become brutally difficult they become less fun. When games become less fun, people tend to stop playing them. If there were monetary incentives involved, trust me I'd study and research and practice and strategize with the best of them. But I'm buying here, not earning so it's a whole different ball game.

1