Please allow difficulty adjustments for Solo and small group Cooperative Content

Greetings,
with that many threads about PvP and Player Killing, I wanted to call into memory, that there are players, too, that prefer challenging and even difficult small group cooperative and solo PvE content.

What I don't want to see in Shroud of the Avatar is a phenomenon, I experience in many other MMOs, namely the dumbing down of solo and small group content to a point, where it's nearly impossible to fail in quests or get killed. And I hate that.

One example would be Lord of the Rings online, where there is nearly no quest on the map left, that has some kind of challenge. Everything is dumbed down and made ridiculously easy for the so called "casual" player. I'd call myself a casual player, too, because I have no time to play all the time. But when I play, I want to see challenging and not easy mode content.

I'd like to see the small group and solo PvE content to be as demanding and such also as rewarding as the raid and PvP content. I always hate it, when the community gets split up in "hardcore" players and "easy mode casuals".

As soon as a particular player group (raiders/PvPers, etc.) get better items than the other players, the particular content of this group must be made harder (to adapt it to the player equipment) and the other content gets too easy for the particular group (because it is overequipped). This results often in arrogance from the better equipped players, that look down contemptuously on the "casuals", that are "too stupid to play the "real" content". And the "casuals" aren't happy, because they get the feeling, that they are only second class players.

All quests should be a challenge to the player, disregarding the size of the group or if you do PvP or not. I'm looking for clever monsters, that swarm, ambush, call for help, etc. and not the deaf and blind WoW-critters. I'm looking for quests, where you have to think, where you have to consider your answers and don't rush through, just to get a level better and to get to the "real" content.

What is my suggestion? One possible way would be to give the player a lot of options to regulate the difficulty (only at safe heavens), so beginners don't get pushed too hard and advanced play can adapt the difficulty to their skills. If I get the chance, I'd set my difficulty level to a level comparable with Dark Souls. Difficult but also rewarding (not in form of more or better items, titles, etc. but the feeling you achieved something special).

I attach high value to to solo and small group gameplay and want it to be as demanding and attractive as the other styles, and if I should get the feeling, that the developers see me as some kind of ?********?, who is not worthy of demanding and even difficult content, I would be very unhappy.

Cheers,
Andreas