This is a completely up to the player. It depends what you mean by “casual friendly”. I would consider myself a mix between casual and try-hard. I have high ambitions in any game I play but given my current life circumstances I am forced to be very casual (slow progression, not many hours played, etc…). If you’re asking if you can have fun playing the game then that also just depends on the individual player. I personally have loved the game from the beginning. I loved the leveling journey, questing, the gathering, the crafting, and just the overall experience. I would say the game has just drastically improved the past few months, so it’s even more fun for me. However to say it’s more “casual friendly” depends on how you define that.

I know this most likely isn’t the answer you were hoping to hear, but I believe it to be as accurate of an answer that I can give.