Skilled and toxic players

[Durries]

In discussions about community toxicity in any game I almost inevitably hear someone chime in about how people only being toxic because they suck or they're doing badly. In 15+ years of online gaming I've found that highly skilled and successful players who are utterly toxic are very much a real thing. Where does this idea that good players are amicable by default come from?

 

[Frindis]

If you look at twitch streamers, for example, you will find that there is a lot of drama amongst even the most popular ones. They rage hard and even smash screens, keyboards or throw stuff around. The difference between a "normal player" and a popular twitch streamer is that a twitch streamer has to be very, VERY careful about just how toxic he or she gets. A regular player can get away with a lot of nasty stuff just by the fact that they do not have hundreds or thousands of people following their every move.

There is a difference though and you will find that in the highly competitive league, those who play professionally for a living. In that area, there is not much raging going on as that would be utterly devastating for the team. That said, when they leave the competitive level, things might be different as it is easier to let out some steam.

 

[Dakkon]

Most skilled people in games are elitists who consider themselves better than anyone else.
I've been know to rage but hardly ever at other people.
It's more like self contained, self harming rage xD

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

FWIW in my recollection I've had as much grief from players who were beating me as from people who were losing to me. Mostly I've had positive to neutral interactions. TBF in the last few years that's mostly been in TW Warhammer and I think the community there at least used to be pretty chill compared to most.

 

[DXCHASE]

Toxicity knows no boundaries. Take CSGO for example, you can be a top fragger in 1 match and have the bottom one be the most toxic piece of crap to you and in the next youll be the bottom fragger trying to make it but the top fragger keeps calling you trash because you dont have the kills he does.

One skill we develop as gamers is dealing with toxicity.

 

[McStabStab]

Toxicity just reflects what's going on in someone's life. If people seek to put down others, grief, or troll, its usually due to their own insecurities. Doesn't matter what their skill level is. When I've had a rough day at work I've been known to befoul the Warzone death comms - I'm only human!

 

[Dan]

This is just why I rarely play popular 'esport' games nowadays. I don't have the time to play multiple of hours every day to stay good at the game, or to watch videos and keep up with the 'meta'. Yeah, I may be absolutely terrible, but you are in the same match as me with skill based matchmaking.

I'll happily stick to games with a much smaller community (Squad, Red Orchestra etc ). I'm not sure if it is due to the smaller community, or that they have player run servers with regular admins (or a mixture of the both) - but they are much more enjoyable for me.