People that never played classic EQ

[Stormlight]

I think people call it "hard" because it's a simple way to describe it, even though it doesn't do a very good job. EQ doesn't pander to you the way most MMOs do, so you have to work more. People actually care if they die in EQ. Experience loss and travel time mean you have to be more careful when you're deep in a dungeon. This type of thing is what they mean when they say it's hard. Hardcore is a more appropriate term probably.