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Toxicity In WoW

viepaxviepax Member UncommonPosts: 2

Just something I Posted on the WoW forums

I have finally realised that WoW is no longer fun (I thank the powers that be it has happened, Shame it's taken so long),and not because of the gameplay, the game is no longer fun because part of the community is completely toxic. A few days ago I bore witness to two players wishing cancer upon each other because one didn't understand the tactics of a fight. I've seen Cancer first hand and I tell you that I would not wish that upon my worst enemy so I sure as hell wouldn't wish on a person that stood in the wrong place at the wrong time in a game. Are people so blinded to the fact that this is a game?

game

[ɡeɪm]

NOUN

  1. an activity that one engages in for amusement or fun.
    "the kids were playing a game with their balloons"


Are people so wrapped up in this made up world that they leave there civilatity at the login screen? Because i'm sure that these two would not have had this exchange face to face, watching the whole thing play out on my screen made me for the first time in a long while question my own relationship with WoW and it was as if i had woken up to the fact that the game is rife with disgusting player that think it acceptable to wish people i'll because they are still learning the game, from that point on i noticed so much toxicity, even on my guilds discord server i was shouted at for asking a question, because some players was in a hard mythic dungeon and instead of going to the Mythic Channel he stayed in General Chat, needless to say i left this guild, admittedly the Player in question did message me to apologise for his outburst, he explained that he got caught up in the moment and losted his s$^t. That was very kind and appreciated although I do believe the apology was prompted by his GM and not from any real sense of guilt. Don't get me wrong i am not an innocent i have myself told people to learn to play or to F*&K off on occasions, forgetting that i'm meant to be having fun, in real life i used to be a very angry and dislikable person, however over the years i have calmed and found a peace from not reacting and letting anger go instead of consuming me. Yet a few hours playing WoW and having to deal with players constantly slagging each other off it gets to me and I feel the old toxic thought patterns coming into my mind. And please no one waste their time to tell me there's an ignore list, because if i was to ignore someone for slagging players off i would probably have to block at least 80% of the playerbase, you think i'm exaggerating? Try it for yourself next time you're online, just watch Trade Chat or General Chat and make a conscious note of how many times people are abused. Although you most probably won't, it's like Cypher in the matrix said “Ignorance is bliss”( i'm sure someone more ponitant would have said it before but i love me a bit of Matrix Quotes) i don't blame you, trust me when i say the second you stop to take note of this is the second your life will change. 


I truly believe that if each and every player really thought about it, and i mean really thought about what they get from playing WoW or any MMO for that matter, the sense of Fun is not real, it's fake, the game and community brings us down to a level of mood that is borderline depressive and the only thing that boost our mood is the drop of a bit of gear or hiking up your ilvl all of which takes time, time you will never get back and it's time that you are mostly likely not having fun. Your Fun is the brief few seconds of dopamine that you get when you get your gear drop or down the hard boss, the time between these are spent stressed out and angry. 


There is no healthy competition in WoW, if you're undergeared you're made to feel like a Noob and that you need to learn how to play, which really means you need to spend more hours behind your computer to gear up. If you're well geared, you think everyone should worship you and listen to every bit of advice you have to give. 


My final interaction that pushed me over the edge (and i'm so glad it did) was being told to keep aggro in a low level dungeon, when the player telling me to learn to play was just hitting every mob they saw regardless of where i was. I would love to say that this is a one off but it is not, players are so impatient now that they can't wait for the tank to pull they have to rush through the content as quickly as possible.


STOP


 Allow me to stop right here a second, When we go to work the majority of us just want the shift to be over because work isn't very fun, I'm sure i'm not reaching here and that is true for most people, but when you back at home watching TV or Chilling with a book or whatever you don't sit there think i can't wait for this time to end so i can get back to work tomorrow. So why on earth are our patterns in WoW similar to the Work pattern? I need to get this Content don't as soon as possible, because it's not FUN and you don't want to waste any more time than necessary on it. 



FYI Comment all you want but i will not be returning here as i don't think WoW deserves another second of my time. My hope is that someone will read this and realise that they don't need this Toxicity in their life, if one person wakes up it was worth it . Also if anyone really takes the time to argue against this then they really need to rethink what is important in there life, because arguing against human rights and global warming and the like are causes that require time and don't get anywhere near the amount they deserve, WoW on the other hand doesn't deserve your time yet it takes it from your conscious mind every time you login, and you would spend even more time to defend it , that an addiction right there. 




Warmest blessings


Greying Noob Student of the Dharma


HuntSPMC
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Comments

  • TheocritusTheocritus Member LegendaryPosts: 9,976
    lol I discovered that 15 years ago...it never had a good community compared to teh games that came before it......WoW brought in a whole new kind of MMO gamer....Instant gratification and easy gameplay became the norm.
    Kyleran[Deleted User]Albatroes[Deleted User]
  • kitaradkitarad Member LegendaryPosts: 8,164
    edited May 2020
    One of the reasons I am having a tough time enjoying MMORPGs but it is part and parcel of these games and often you do come across a lot of decent and good people and that makes it all worthwhile.

    The 'cancer' curse they use in chat has become commonplace. I hear my son on discord using it too while playing. That and 'retard'. I scolded him but he says everyone says it and don't mean it seriously.
    KyleranAlBQuirky

  • AmatheAmathe Member LegendaryPosts: 7,630
    In WoW you either find a guild that holds members to some type of behavioral standard, and play only with them, or you play with strangers and take your chances. It is likely in the latter case you will meet some douchebags. Sad to say. 
    kitaradKyleranAlBQuirky

    EQ1, EQ2, SWG, SWTOR, GW, GW2 CoH, CoV, FFXI, WoW, CO, War,TSW and a slew of free trials and beta tests

  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,483
    Welcome to the Internet.  People often say stupid things around here.  But some districts are worse than others.  I recommend that you stay away from PVP games that have chat.  Also stay away from Twitter.
    AlBQuirkyAlbatroes
  • AkulasAkulas Member RarePosts: 3,028
    Ever since online games existed there has been people like that even in smaller games.
    KyleranAlBQuirky

    This isn't a signature, you just think it is.

  • KyleranKyleran Member LegendaryPosts: 43,975
    edited May 2020
    Akulas said:
    Ever since online games existed there has been people like that even in smaller games.
    It has always been there, OP just finally got around to noticing.

    Humanity sucks and deserves to be extinguished in a zombie apocalypse.

     ;) 
    AlBQuirkyIselin[Deleted User][Deleted User]NephethAnskier

    "True friends stab you in the front." | Oscar Wilde 

    "I need to finish" - Christian Wolff: The Accountant

    Just trying to live long enough to play a new, released MMORPG, playing New Worlds atm

    Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in airing their own opinions. Pvbs 18:2, NIV

    Don't just play games, inhabit virtual worlds™

    "This is the most intelligent, well qualified and articulate response to a post I have ever seen on these forums. It's a shame most people here won't have the attention span to read past the second line." - Anon






  • AAAMEOWAAAMEOW Member RarePosts: 1,617
    It happens often when you mixed veteran with newbies.

    vateran have an expectation that they want to go through the content smoothly in short period.  They felt the newbies are slowing them down.

    I usually run pug myself because I enjoy playing with random people.  There is a big discrepency on how long it take to complete a dungeon.  It can take short period if everyone knows what they are doing.  Or it can take 10 times longer with people leaving in and out.
    AlBQuirkyIselin
  • UtinniUtinni Member EpicPosts: 2,209
    This post can apply to any and every MMORPG. All of them have good and bad communities. Yes even LOTRO (I know one of you fiends will bring up playing instruments by a pond in the shire or something).
    AlBQuirky
  • WhiteLanternWhiteLantern Member RarePosts: 3,319
    Kyleran said: BMI nikki
    Akulas said:
    Ever since online games existed there has been people like that even in smaller games.
    It has always been there, OP just finally got around to noticing.

    Humanity sucks and deserves to be extinguished in a zombie apocalypse.

     ;) 
    Sorry, dude, we rolled "pestilence".
    QuizzicalKyleranAlBQuirkyIselin[Deleted User]Adamantine

    I want a mmorpg where people have gone through misery, have gone through school stuff and actually have had sex even. -sagil

  • free2playfree2play Member UncommonPosts: 2,043
    The trouble is the media method (text) and the redefinition of 'toxic'.

    If a stranger were to eavesdrop on a conversation between me and my brother they would think we hated each other to the core.

    Of course that requires a lot of ill conceived assumptions but so it goes. Until I know enough about a conversation I assume it's two people in a one up on stupid things to say. The worse thing you can do is take people serious on the internet. Especially in a video game.

    I'm pretty sure after a game has been around as long as WoW has, you are going to see some bittervet but that won't influence my perception of the game.
  • IselinIselin Member LegendaryPosts: 18,719
    edited May 2020
    AAAMEOW said:
    It happens often when you mixed veteran with newbies.

    vateran have an expectation that they want to go through the content smoothly in short period.  They felt the newbies are slowing them down.

    I usually run pug myself because I enjoy playing with random people.  There is a big discrepency on how long it take to complete a dungeon.  It can take short period if everyone knows what they are doing.  Or it can take 10 times longer with people leaving in and out.
    I saw this very thing play out in ESO when they started scaling instanced dungeons (which happened before full level scaling everywhere.) Letting everyone group with any other player sounds like a great idea in theory but in practice it creates toxic PUGs with different players wanting to run the dungeon at different speeds and for different reasons.

    Nothing that can't be fixed with a tiny bit of tolerance and compromise but that seems to be in short supply in MMOs especially lately.

    There has always been toxicity and asshats in online games but from what I see these days I think they breed faster than friendly and reasonable players :)
    KyleranAlBQuirky
    "Social media gives legions of idiots the right to speak when they once only spoke at a bar after a glass of wine, without harming the community ... but now they have the same right to speak as a Nobel Prize winner. It's the invasion of the idiots”

    ― Umberto Eco

    “Microtransactions? In a single player role-playing game? Are you nuts?” 
    ― CD PROJEKT RED

  • bonzoso21bonzoso21 Member UncommonPosts: 380
    I generally attribute the decline in popularity of the MMO genre to the fact that, as the internet and constant connection became a daily part of life, a lot of people realized that we just don't like each other.
    AlBQuirky
  • AlBQuirkyAlBQuirky Member EpicPosts: 7,432
    edited May 2020
    free2play said:
    The trouble is the media method (text) and the redefinition of 'toxic'.

    If a stranger were to eavesdrop on a conversation between me and my brother they would think we hated each other to the core.

    Of course that requires a lot of ill conceived assumptions but so it goes. Until I know enough about a conversation I assume it's two people in a one up on stupid things to say. The worse thing you can do is take people serious on the internet. Especially in a video game.

    I'm pretty sure after a game has been around as long as WoW has, you are going to see some bittervet but that won't influence my perception of the game.

    So you're saying if I come across 2 (or more) people "yelling at each other" who are NOT you and your brother, I should just try to ignore them as if nothing is wrong?

    PS I hope you 2 are the exception and not the norm...

    - Al

    Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.
    - FARGIN_WAR


  • WizardryWizardry Member LegendaryPosts: 19,332
    Utinni said:
    This post can apply to any and every MMORPG. All of them have good and bad communities. Yes even LOTRO (I know one of you fiends will bring up playing instruments by a pond in the shire or something).
    VERY true except still a problem.

    The worst thing for ANY game is to implement BRAGGING platforms,NOBODY wants to see or hear bragging.

    Pvp is toxic and always will be,there is NO need for it in a mmorpg.

    Ranks...world firsts are forms of bragging.There is NO NEED for it.

    AUTOMATED dungeon finder.I have been through it many times.There is ZERO communication and this is suppose to be a MMO,an online game.SO as another poster mentioned,you get this automated group mixed with not just vets but players who know exactly what do in that specific instance.

    I was in those,i was talking  to another player and the other 3 just started running,vee- lining right for boss a boss b etc etc and by time we got to the final dungeon boss they already had it 1/2 dead...sigh.

    When you as a developer create all sorts of non friendly environments,it creates a toxic game and Blizzard managed to add the MOST of any game.

    I can add even more and yet again proves the blizzard team or the original team that designed the game had no clue what they were doing.You can waltz through the game SOLO by doing quests.Well how the hell did Blizzard think that would relate to good grouping if the players are predominantly NOT grouping?

    Soooooooo yet again,it might be level 60 and all of a sudden a player wants to group and now is a NOOB at grouping,so again you'll mix noobs with grouping vets,,yeah BRIGHT idea Blizzard.


    AlBQuirkyNepheth

    Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.

  • AlbatroesAlbatroes Member LegendaryPosts: 7,671
    edited May 2020
    Judging by the things that drove the OP 'over the edge,' its no so much a toxic community thing as it is a poor game design thing (although I won't say WoW's community isn't toxic because it definitely is, probably one of the most toxic imo). He mainly talks about skill being determined by item level and any content below cap being pretty much pointless. Both of those are game design issues which have unfortunately existed in most mmorpgs at and after wow. Wow did used to have thresholds before Ion took, where there were consistently populated brackets for certain levels (mainly for pvp, it could get interesting making a twink and dominating various brackets).

    WoW's real problem right now to me is that its disjointed. Content doesn't even synergize with the entire expansion anymore, let alone the rest of the game. Every time a new patch lands, pretty much anything people did before that people was pretty much irrelevant with BFA probably being the worst its ever been in the game as new systems each patch pretty much made anything up to that point inferior. Couple all of that with 'catch-up' mechanics that can provide you with the 2nd highest raid tier gear of the new patch in some cases, you can get a raid geared toon just by logging in everyday without setting foot in the damn raid. It honestly feels like a gravity well that keeps every bracket of player in a circle with the illusion of 'progression' simply because every patch restarts everyone around the same point regardless of how you play.

    But if community is the only thing the OP is looking for, he might be better off playing FFXIV/ESO/hell even PSO2 (if you can even get the game to run and hopefully don't get unlucky when it decides to randomly delete itself when you restart your computer). PSO2 was pretty much personal experience with me having good group interactions with people up to 57 or so (when my game decided to delete itself and I didn't feel like redownloading it after manually deleting the 'hidden files' the game doesn't auto-remove if you uninstall the game), but FFXIV/ESO usually have people talking positively about their communities and their populations are on the higher mmorpg end.
    AlBQuirky
  • FrodoFraginsFrodoFragins Member EpicPosts: 6,050
    Well it all went downhill once they added cross server matchmaking.  There were basically no repercussions for misbehaving in pugs.  But I'm sure it's not THAT hard to find a guild somewhere with cool people to group with.

    I'm sure things like M+ only made it worse.  I tried using the built in tools and queues for DPS were insane.  And frankly, I didn't care enough to stick with it and left the game.  

    I've only seen two MMOs with excellent communities, LOTRO and Marvel Heroes.  The lack of damage meters probably played no small part, as did the fact they had smaller populations and a much more casual playerbase.

    I didn't stick around GW2 long but I assume it's not too bad.
    AlBQuirky
  • free2playfree2play Member UncommonPosts: 2,043
    AlBQuirky said:
    free2play said:
    The trouble is the media method (text) and the redefinition of 'toxic'.

    If a stranger were to eavesdrop on a conversation between me and my brother they would think we hated each other to the core.

    Of course that requires a lot of ill conceived assumptions but so it goes. Until I know enough about a conversation I assume it's two people in a one up on stupid things to say. The worse thing you can do is take people serious on the internet. Especially in a video game.

    I'm pretty sure after a game has been around as long as WoW has, you are going to see some bittervet but that won't influence my perception of the game.

    So you're saying if I come across 2 (or more) people "yelling at each other" who are NOT you and your brother, I should just try to ignore them as if nothing is wrong?

    PS I hope you 2 are the exception and not the norm...

    You ever heard the line, It isn't always about you?
    Yes, there are times when you need to butt out. If it's in a confined situation like a game PuG, you ask them to get a room. Not everyone is searching for a white knight to solve their problems.

    Or feel free to continue with the theatrics. People like you are usually the ones that end up on my block lists, not hooligans spatting in public.
    AlBQuirky
  • bonzoso21bonzoso21 Member UncommonPosts: 380
    free2play said:
    AlBQuirky said:
    free2play said:
    The trouble is the media method (text) and the redefinition of 'toxic'.

    If a stranger were to eavesdrop on a conversation between me and my brother they would think we hated each other to the core.

    Of course that requires a lot of ill conceived assumptions but so it goes. Until I know enough about a conversation I assume it's two people in a one up on stupid things to say. The worse thing you can do is take people serious on the internet. Especially in a video game.

    I'm pretty sure after a game has been around as long as WoW has, you are going to see some bittervet but that won't influence my perception of the game.

    So you're saying if I come across 2 (or more) people "yelling at each other" who are NOT you and your brother, I should just try to ignore them as if nothing is wrong?

    PS I hope you 2 are the exception and not the norm...

    You ever heard the line, It isn't always about you?
    Yes, there are times when you need to butt out. If it's in a confined situation like a game PuG, you ask them to get a room. Not everyone is searching for a white knight to solve their problems.

    Or feel free to continue with the theatrics. People like you are usually the ones that end up on my block lists, not hooligans spatting in public.
    I'm pretty sure in this hypothetical situation that there's a good chance you'd each end up on the other's block list, which brings us back to MMOs declining because many people just don't like each other.

    Our bubbles of people we actually want to spend our free time with get smaller and smaller as more issues divide us. When we talk and reveal ourselves to be incompatible with each other, it's a lot easier to simply go our separate ways. That's one reason that MMOs like WoW, in which people can kill things and get loot together without ever talking, have retained more of their popularity as the games that require communication and coordinated teamwork have become more niche. 
    AlBQuirky
  • Veiled_lightVeiled_light Member UncommonPosts: 855
    Is this 2005?
  • TheocritusTheocritus Member LegendaryPosts: 9,976
    If you want to see toxicity just turn on your TV to the local news...Of course some of these same people are in MMOs too.
    Tuor7Kyleran
  • delete5230delete5230 Member EpicPosts: 7,081
    free2play said:
    AlBQuirky said:
    free2play said:
    The trouble is the media method (text) and the redefinition of 'toxic'.

    If a stranger were to eavesdrop on a conversation between me and my brother they would think we hated each other to the core.

    Of course that requires a lot of ill conceived assumptions but so it goes. Until I know enough about a conversation I assume it's two people in a one up on stupid things to say. The worse thing you can do is take people serious on the internet. Especially in a video game.

    I'm pretty sure after a game has been around as long as WoW has, you are going to see some bittervet but that won't influence my perception of the game.

    So you're saying if I come across 2 (or more) people "yelling at each other" who are NOT you and your brother, I should just try to ignore them as if nothing is wrong?

    PS I hope you 2 are the exception and not the norm...

    You ever heard the line, It isn't always about you?
    Yes, there are times when you need to butt out. If it's in a confined situation like a game PuG, you ask them to get a room. Not everyone is searching for a white knight to solve their problems.

    Or feel free to continue with the theatrics. People like you are usually the ones that end up on my block lists, not hooligans spatting in public.
    This reminds me of a  typical WoW pug argument. 
    Imagine the irony  
    AlBQuirky
  • free2playfree2play Member UncommonPosts: 2,043
    Is this 2005?

    No. 2005 only saw over thinking at 5/10 where as 2020 sees it at 20/10
    AlBQuirky
  • AdamantineAdamantine Member RarePosts: 5,093
    Hrr, hrr.

    I like some basic ideas about WoW, such a the idea of being beginner friendly on low levels, but some things have always turned me off:

    - Graphics. Nothing is as cool as a realistic look. I can also manage with a stylized Manga style; thats still cool. However the ugly comic style of WoW just disrupts my enjoyment too much. Elements like riddiculously oversized shoulder armor are just annoying.

    - I am no fan of the idea of mages having to stand still for casting their spells. Why would that be the case ? It makes the game a lot less dynamic, too.

    - Respecing classes on the fly, and drastically. I have no problem to have the same class in different variants, and the player being able to switch between variants, but a switch of the subclass should be an involved process that takes times and resources, and shouldnt allow to derive the theme of the class completely. That means a Druid might focus more on healing or focus more on damage, and maybe they also have a transformation into something like a werewolf to turn into a decent offtank with medium defenses but fast regeneration. That all fits to the class vibe. But they shouldnt be able to be a full featured tank or a full featured healer, as its done in WoW, even less so at a moments notice.

    - Realm vs realm. I much more prefer that I can play whatever I like, and the conflict is between playermade factions, not between races or race alliances.

    - No bards. I dont play them myself, but them simply lacking from the game is just odd. I think there is a set of classes you should add to any fantasy MMO simply because there are fans of these classes who love playing them. That list is probably Paladin, Warrior, Ranger, Rogue, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Wizard, Necromancer, Enchanter. Theres some which are more optional, like Dark Paladin, Berserker, Monk or Shaman. And you can name your Paladin Crusader, your Enchanter Psion, your Cleric Priest, your Wizard Sorcerer etc. But I wouldnt drop any from the first list. Oh and yes, I have equal problems with Bards being healers in LotRO.

    - No housing. Given the massive success of WoW, I just dont understand why they never bothered to do housing.

    What the OP describes however is simply a bad community. I would simply try to find a nicer guild.



    AlBQuirky
  • GormogonGormogon Member UncommonPosts: 224
    It's not a WoW thing.  Any time players have to rely on other players to make progress there's the possibility for toxicity.  

    I was having a good time in GW2 the last couple days.   Hooked up with some good, friendly, meta-train groups.   Then Saturday morning ran into the fecal matter of the GW2 community doing dailies in the Plains of Ashford.  People flinging turds at each other for killing too many things too fast and I'm like, "I don't want to play with these people.  I'll go decorate my houses in ESO."

    And GW2's raiding and WvW community is perpetually awful. 

    WoW, GW2, ESO, FFXIV, I've had good and bad experiences with the communities of all of them.  As somebody who uses the block feature pretty liberally, the balance of my social interactions is positive, but every so often I will find myself in a cesspool and feel bad that I'm even associated with some of these people.
    AlBQuirky
  • Siris23Siris23 Member UncommonPosts: 388
    It's not WoW that's toxic, it's PUGs that are toxic.
    AlBQuirky
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