http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Ma...Difficulty
However, some games that should be relatively easy are actually quite hard. It could be due to shoddy programming, a Game-Breaking Bug, poor implementation of gameplay elements or time constraints, or the developers threw in something which makes the game harder, but which has nothing to do with the player's or AI's skills. This is fake difficulty.
Emphasis mine.
The "difficulty" that existed in early 2000s era MMOs was not challenging. It was not something you could get better at with practice. It was a logistical hurdle. That's not what I define as difficult. Beating a DPS check is no more "difficult" than getting +12 and masterwork and perfect stats on all your gear in TERA. Neither of these things require skill or practice, they simply require grinding. That's not true difficulty.
True difficulty is going up against a chess master. Yes, you're going to get curbstomped and hard. But if you train, play and practice for years, you have the ability to actually get better than that chess master and beat her. Logistical problems don't get better unless they get solved. Practice doesn't fix it, and thus these things are not true difficulty. Having to maintain a roster of 40 raiders isn't hard, it's annoying. Having to grind for resist gear isn't hard, it's annoying. Having to spend weeks ignoring the fifth boss in a raid so you can gear up from the first four that you've got on farm and can kill with half your raid asleep isn't hard, it's fucking annoying.
Annoying and hard are not synonymous!
However, some games that should be relatively easy are actually quite hard. It could be due to shoddy programming, a Game-Breaking Bug, poor implementation of gameplay elements or time constraints, or the developers threw in something which makes the game harder, but which has nothing to do with the player's or AI's skills. This is fake difficulty.
Emphasis mine.
The "difficulty" that existed in early 2000s era MMOs was not challenging. It was not something you could get better at with practice. It was a logistical hurdle. That's not what I define as difficult. Beating a DPS check is no more "difficult" than getting +12 and masterwork and perfect stats on all your gear in TERA. Neither of these things require skill or practice, they simply require grinding. That's not true difficulty.
True difficulty is going up against a chess master. Yes, you're going to get curbstomped and hard. But if you train, play and practice for years, you have the ability to actually get better than that chess master and beat her. Logistical problems don't get better unless they get solved. Practice doesn't fix it, and thus these things are not true difficulty. Having to maintain a roster of 40 raiders isn't hard, it's annoying. Having to grind for resist gear isn't hard, it's annoying. Having to spend weeks ignoring the fifth boss in a raid so you can gear up from the first four that you've got on farm and can kill with half your raid asleep isn't hard, it's fucking annoying.
Annoying and hard are not synonymous!
attractive enmity device
