Gaming is basically everywhere at this point, and within its culture there are a wide range of people. A lot of these people are pretty relaxed because, well, gaming can be a relaxing way to kill some time. But unfortunately, not everybody seems to enjoy themselves by having fun, joking around, and competing or allying with other people. Some would rather spew toxicity for whatever reason, and some communities are much worse than others.
So here’s our list of particularly notorious hives of scum and villainy in the world of gaming. Maybe be careful when wading into these waters?
Minecraft
Yup, Minecraft has a community that can be toxic. Now, I remember being a kid and having a total unwillingness to share my blocks, legos, tinkertoys, Lincoln logs, and what have you with anyone, because they were dumb and would probably mess up whatever I was making or something. But I was five and didn’t know what “the ‘C’ word” even was. In Minecraft , the players aren’t five, they do know the “C” word, and they’re largely more destructive than creepers. Minecraft is a virtual sandbox that people can apparently take quite seriously.
Overwatch
When Overwatch first came out, I was delighted. Somehow, there was a competitive experience that wasn’t soured by overly competitive people. Miraculously, that feeling persisted for a couple months, but before long, it all went south.
In the time that has passed, Blizzard has since implemented measures to try to curb the nastiness and their recent social systems, like the ability to make preformed groups before queuing up, has seemingly helped. But a toxic player base will always find ways to be toxic, and it can be hard to turn a thing like that around entirely.
League of Legends
Ah, League of Legends –the community fueled by hate. It’s a free-to-play MOBA with no subscription fee, and bans really aren’t that much of a deterrent. Right from the character select screen, you might be seeing people threaten to throw the game if they don’t get things their way. Sure enough, they keep their word once the game starts. This can amount to a ton of wasted time that, really, you can’t do much about. Banning players also doesn’t seem to happen all that often, and people troll without fear. What’s worse is that the matches can last forever, and quitting isn’t always a good option.
World of Tanks
Another free-to-play that is especially bad is World of Tanks . It’s almost like these two things can be related.
Something I’ve noticed in World of Tanks is that a lot of its playerbase seems to pride itself on its ability. When you take that too far and it becomes part of your identity, then the game stops being a game. There’s little friendliness towards players worse than them and pure animosity for players better. Which, if you do the math, doesn’t leave a lot of room for good will. The text based chat also seems to free people up to say whatever unspeakable thing they can think of.
If it weren’t deadly, I’d say fire up World of Tanks, then take a shot every time someone says something that would get them expelled if their eighth grade teacher heard them say it. The liquor costs would really add up.
Final Fantasy XIV
This is probably true to a degree in most MMOs, but Final Fantasy XIV is a game that seems to have a significant amount of angry, easily frustrated players. In this game, players can queue for dungeons, then be put into teams based on their roles. There is also a disproportionate amount of those wanting the DPS role, which means that players who are Tanks and Healers find dungeon groups almost immediately.
What this means is that they are hard to replace if they misbehave or, as is often the case, leave due to a different misbehaving player. Factor in the game’s insistence that you run a list of dungeons over and over, and you start to realize why people are so angry.
Additionally, new players can get a bit of a raw deal. A lot of people just wanna hurry up and go, but new players want to take their time, watch the cutscenes, and learn because, well, they’re new. This is, however, seen as an inconvenience, and they can be yelled at for it. Instead, they’re told to watch online guides or get carried through dungeons by their high level friends. None of this is what I was expecting from a cute, anime game.