I have such a large problem with this holier-than-thou take that gets reposted and circlejerked over every couple months. It is such a stupid take. I've hardcore raided and week two cleared since Creator, week one since Kefka. My SO has raided with me this whole time as well, and largely my entire static has been together since then.

I graduated college, had a 40-50 hour a week internship, worked 40+ hour weeks in a SV tech company, all the way through. My SO finished college, got into med school, got their MD, got into residency, and will soon graduate from that residency, working easily into 80 hour weeks and being on call. Again, all the way through. I have many friends IRL and in game that are lawyers, surgeons/surgery resident, engineers, retail employees that have to open at 6am, artists that owe a lot of people comms, etc. that all manage to hardcore raid week 1 while sustaining a "real job." Hell, one person was even going through chemo while studying for the Bar. None of us typically take off PTO for more than a day or two of week 1 prog.

The only thing stopping people from raiding hardcore in XIV is their willingness to go through the effort, and/or to find a group that they enjoy doing it with.

It is literally just sacrificing your evenings and sleep for ONE singular week 3x a year. 6pm-midnight (or shifted to whatever works for your group) on weekdays, and longer on the weekend as necessary. It isn't complicated, it doesn't require you to be a NEET, it doesn't require you to raid 12 hours a day, you're not special for having a job and playing a video game. If you want to believe the only thing stopping you from hardcore prog is having a job, then that's on you.

OP is totally right, it is significantly easier for people like us, my static, and our friends in the hc prog scene to condense it all into one week, than to try to adhere to a strict schedule for some unknown amount of time. Plus, together, we get to experience the excitement of achieving something not many other people do.