Does Gw2 Feel More Toxic Lately?

[knives.6345]

22 minutes ago, Duglaive.5236 said:

In game, I still believe GW2 to have one of the best communities of any MMO I've played.

On the forums, however ... Yeah, not so much. To my thinking, one of the worst forum communities.

You should see the Diablo 4 forums. LOL

The word Chaos is an understatement.

[TheNecrosanct.4028]

I have seen nothing different within the GW community that I am not seeing in society at large. People have become more rude, entitled, unsympathetic and closed off to differing opinions and perspectives. You see it everywhere online (not that this is an accurate reflection of real life, but it also doesn't come out of nowhere). It is only natural that within the GW community the same symptoms can be seen.

Having said that, I rarely encounter it in game. It's much more obvious on the forum. PvP has always been toxic, which is one of the reasons I don't play PvP anymore. It's the nature of competitive play that has a higher chance of drawing in these kinds of people (and it's a lot safer to be toxic when people don't know who and where you are; most toxic people online won't be like that in real life, because they don't want to deal with or fear the consequences). Sometimes I encounter it in WvW, but rarely. And in PvE almost never. If I encounter it in PvE at all, 9 out of 10 times it's instanced content where it happens.

I don't feel like GW has become more toxic over the years. If it has it is only a reflection of what's going on in society at large, not so much a thing that's limited to the GW community only.

[Duglaive.5236]

19 minutes ago, knives.6345 said:

You should see the Diablo 4 forums. LOL

The word Chaos is an understatement.

Yeah, I can only imagine. But I quit giving Blizz money not long after the release of BfA, and haven't played -or paid attention to - anything from them since.

[Gibson.4036]

43 minutes ago, TheNecrosanct.4028 said:

I have seen nothing different within the GW community that I am not seeing in society at large. People have become more rude, entitled, unsympathetic and closed off to differing opinions and perspectives. You see it everywhere online (not that this is an accurate reflection of real life, but it also doesn't come out of nowhere). It is only natural that within the GW community the same symptoms can be seen.

Having said that, I rarely encounter it in game. It's much more obvious on the forum. PvP has always been toxic, which is one of the reasons I don't play PvP anymore. It's the nature of competitive play that has a higher chance of drawing in these kinds of people (and it's a lot safer to be toxic when people don't know who and where you are; most toxic people online won't be like that in real life, because they don't want to deal with or fear the consequences). Sometimes I encounter it in WvW, but rarely. And in PvE almost never. If I encounter it in PvE at all, 9 out of 10 times it's instanced content where it happens.

I don't feel like GW has become more toxic over the years. If it has it is only a reflection of what's going on in society at large, not so much a thing that's limited to the GW community only.

Pandemic make people meeeaaaan

[Jianyu.7065]

1 hour ago, knives.6345 said:

You should see the Diablo 4 forums. LOL

The word Chaos is an understatement.

The Diablo forums franchise wide have pretty much always been horrible. Especially the D3 forums, of which the D4 forums are a slightly uglier mirror image.

[Sobx.1758]

Not really, doesn't seem all that different from the previous years.

[Alsandar.7420]

People are really angry because of the balance apocalypse - whole specs with legendaries were balanced out of the game

People are upset so many devs were fired

People are upset that EOD received very little development after launch (they ignore season 1)

People are upset they have to pay $25 for Soto which is a mini expansion 

 

Edited August 2, 2023 by Alsandar.7420

[Tren.5120]

2 hours ago, Invecta.5321 said:

As someone who plays the game on-off for about 10 years now: No, the game isnt more toxic than it used to be. Generally, GW2 is still one of those games with an overall non-toxic community. 

Games are basically recycling the same players.  Many of the same people who play games like WoW and FFXIV also play GW2.  I can't say if it's more toxic than it used to be, because I'm not a snowflake and generally am unaffected by how random people behave in video games.  In the real world, people have differing personalities - likeability, agreeableness, empathy, compassion, etc. are all on a spectrum.  Gaming is no different.  I treat it like that.  Some things may be exaggerated due to the anonymity factor, but that is beyond expected.  No different than an internet forum.

I think the more toxic element is people projecting their expectations of how others should behave on entire user bases.  Frankly, the behaviors borne from that are likely to provoke "toxic" response, as people generally rebel against that and the attitude it presents with.

I know you would like everyone to treat you like a princess, but the world doesn't owe that to anyone...  It is unnatural to run around treating every sentient being like a BFF.  No one behaves like that IRL, but for some reason people expect it in gaming.  Weird and Cringe.

[Tren.5120]

1 hour ago, Jianyu.7065 said:

The Diablo forums franchise wide have pretty much always been horrible. Especially the D3 forums, of which the D4 forums are a slightly uglier mirror image.

D3 Forums weren't that bad, and frankly such a tiny portion of the player base ever used the D3 forums that using that as a view into the entire community for that game is basically intellectual dishonesty.  Certainly, there has to be a better example?

[Mewone.3247]

Maybe ppl are just bored because OLC is the only thing we got since EOD release

[Andy.5981]

Voted No. I don't think it has got worse. The overwhelming majority of people in game are decent and helpful. There are obviously exceptions to this but by and large bad behaviour in game isn't as common as in some other games.

If you do encounter rude/abusive players then it tends to be in PvP and WvW but even there I've noticed less /whispers than usual. You do get the odd person who wont quit but perhaps they have some real life issues, doesn't excuse their behaviour but you just don't know what they're going through.

The forums have a lot of helpful people, but they do have some individuals who would probably argue with their own reflection in a mirror. I think we all know who they are. Sadly they often end up derailing threads that get closed which is a great shame with many of the threads.

Overall the players tend to be a lot better behaved than other similar games.

Edited August 2, 2023 by Andy.5981

[Jedrik.3109]

This community has always been toxic to anything that doesn't fit thier gameplay narrative. Sweaty try-hards gatekeeping content will unrealistic requirements for what as seen generally as simple encounters. Die hard super casuals telling commanders to unistall for setting up sub groups for an open world event. WvW and Pvp well we all know how this goes..

 

If you stay in your own lane the perception is of friendly community is there but the moment you step out, deviate or try to bridge gaps between you will see that our community is not what it thinks itself to be. I am not saying that the majority is this or even half but trying to say that only a small percentage of the entire community doesn't have aggressive knee-jerk reactions to each other and the developers is a bit myopic. 

Edited August 2, 2023 by Jedrik.3109
Sp.

[Gravitron.7982]

19 hours ago, zolcor.2601 said:

I've been taking some time off lately from the game because I feel like 98 or 99 percent of the community has become so hostile and childish lately in their behavoir towards me and others. My question to you is 

The moment I actually gave GW2 the ole college try, and joined this forum, it's pretty much been nothing but toxicity (watch how many reacts this comment gets). But fortunately, only sticks and stones can break my bones. But I agree with you. 

[IAmNotMatthew.1058]

2 minutes ago, Gravitron.7982 said:

The moment I actually gave GW2 the ole college try, and joined this forum, it's pretty much been nothing but toxicity (watch how many reacts this comment gets). But fortunately, only sticks and stones can break my bones. But I agree with you. 

It might be time to reassess your views if there's nothing but toxicity. For example, confused emojis are not toxic.

[Gravitron.7982]

Just now, IAmNotMatthew.1058 said:

It might be time to reassess your views if there's nothing but toxicity. For example, confused emojis are not toxic.

My views are fine. The world is full of people with different views, I think GW2 is supposed to be an inclusive game that allows different viewpoints from all over to exist together. 

[Sobx.1758]

Just now, Gravitron.7982 said:

My views are fine. The world is full of people with different views, I think GW2 is supposed to be an inclusive game that allows different viewpoints from all over to exist together. 

...and it somehow doesn't?

[Gravitron.7982]

1 minute ago, Sobx.1758 said:

...and it somehow doesn't?

Prove to me that it does.

[Sobx.1758]

7 minutes ago, Gravitron.7982 said:

Prove to me that it does.

You just said something I disagree with and yet you were still free to express that. What other proof is needed here? You being uncomfortable with disagreement doesn't mean that colliding viewpoints aren't allowed to exist or that disagreement is somehow inherently bad/toxic. 

Now, prove to me that what you said is somehow true instead, I guess.

Edited August 2, 2023 by Sobx.1758

[Gibson.4036]

1 minute ago, Gravitron.7982 said:

Prove to me that it does.

Well if the forums were so one-sided, we wouldn't have looooong threads of people arguing...

[IAmNotMatthew.1058]

15 minutes ago, Gravitron.7982 said:

My views are fine. The world is full of people with different views, I think GW2 is supposed to be an inclusive game that allows different viewpoints from all over to exist together. 

Most games generally try to minimize or exclude toxicity,, when your view is that everyone and everything is toxic... that view will have problems existing in the game.

Edited August 2, 2023 by IAmNotMatthew.1058

[Gravitron.7982]

Just now, Gibson.4036 said:

Well if the forums were so one-sided, we wouldn't have looooong threads of people arguing...

I agree. But my point isn't that people don't have differing opinions on here, because they do. I am pointing out that if you don't have the "correct" opinion here, then this place can become toxic for you. It seems that if someone asks about why GW2 does XYZ, or has a complaint about the game, instead of "I see what you mean, but..." you get "No you're the problem...you're just playing the game wrong, try playing the game correctly" then they get berated and gas lit. 

It's as if people feel they must defend the game at all costs for some reason, as if the game can't stand on it's own and defend itself. That because they love the game so much, any kind of criticism about the game is seen as a personal attack against the game, and by extension is a personal attack on their decision to like the game so much, so they take it as a personal attack against themselves....which it's not. 

I mean, I totally get it...people like what they like, and some people really like this game. No one has any issues with that. But if you go to the ESO forums, and complain about light attack weaving (for instance) the majority of veteran players there will say "Yeah I know, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it's what you have to do if you want to improve your dps...". There are very few people there that will instantly jump on you and say " You either like it, or you leave....go play Hello Kitty Adventure Online..." 

Here, it seems to be the opposite....the most common response is "Well GW2 is amazing, and that's just the way it is, so fall in line or play something else..." with no room for any kind of discussion or discourse. To me, that seems pretty toxic. I'm aware that the forums might not represent the entire GW2 player base, but I'm specifically talking about the forums themselves.

[Sobx.1758]

3 minutes ago, Gravitron.7982 said:

I agree. But my point isn't that people don't have differing opinions on here, because they do. I am pointing out that if you don't have the "correct" opinion here, then this place can become toxic for you. It seems that if someone asks about why GW2 does XYZ, or has a complaint about the game, instead of "I see what you mean, but..." you get "No you're the problem...you're just playing the game wrong, try playing the game correctly" then they get berated and gas lit. 

It's as if people feel they must defend the game at all costs for some reason

So your opinion is a good opinion, but if someone has an oppinion going against yours, it surely is just because "they feel they must defend the game at all costs"? And you don't see anything wrong with what you just said here?

[Gravitron.7982]

Just now, Sobx.1758 said:

So your opinion is a good opinion, but if someone has an oppinion going against yours, it surely is just because "they feel they must defend the game at all costs"? And you don't see anything wrong with what you just said here?

I don't think opinions are good or bad, they're completely subjective. But if there is anything said here that paints GW2 in a bad light, it's seen as the "wrong" opinion, and the person who has that opinion is portrayed as the one with the problem. They are gas lit. Should we all just decide GW2 is the greatest game and fall in line? Or is there room for discourse here? Because it doesn't feel like there is room for discourse. 

I mean, you're a perfect example. You've responded to probably 100 of my comments now, how many of those times have you replied with "I get that XYZ can be annoying, but here is a work around...etc" or something similar. I'm pretty sure almost every one of your replies to me was dismissive, and tried to gas light me. Or is that not accurate?

[Sobx.1758]

15 minutes ago, Gravitron.7982 said:

I don't think opinions are good or bad, they're completely subjective. But if there is anything said here that paints GW2 in a bad light, it's seen as the "wrong" opinion, and the person who has that opinion is portrayed as the one with the problem. They are gas lit. Should we all just decide GW2 is the greatest game and fall in line? Or is there room for discourse here? Because it doesn't feel like there is room for discourse.

So why are you rolling every opinion going against yours down to a convenient "it's because those players are defending the game no matter what"? I'm pretty sure that's simply false most of the time.

Quote

I mean, you're a perfect example. You've responded to probably 100 of my comments now, how many of those times have you replied with "I get that XYZ can be annoying, but here is a work around...etc" or something similar. I'm pretty sure almost every one of your replies to me was dismissive, and tried to gas light me. Or is that not accurate?

No, that is not accurate. You've been provided with plenty of workarounds and justification for why I (and some of the other players) disliked what you've proposed and the only responses to those workarounds from you -as far as I remember- were boiling down to "but I don't want that, I want EXACTLY that other thing". Is that not true? Following the example from the recent "cosmetic items" thread, any proposal you got -not only from me but anyone- was met with "no because it requires me to type and I don't want to type" (despite writing xx posts in that thread alone) or "no because it takes x seconds instead of 2 seconds". What "workaround" would you somehow accept there? Because as far as I'm aware: none. (that said, maybe provide that "workaround" in the related thread instead of here, if something like that really exists)

But once again, disagreement isn't an insult or somehow inherently toxic. Bringing down anything anyone says to that "it's because they want to defend the game!" sure is convenient, but it's also false majority of times. Even people "defending" (or rather: liking) certain aspects of the game have issues with other aspects of that same game and don't have much of an issue voicing that whether or not others agree.

Edited August 2, 2023 by Sobx.1758

[Zephyrus.9680]

I quit for around 21 months and just came back. Feels moderately less toxic with certain bigmouths having disappeared, but WvW is where I spend the vast majority of my time in this game so maybe PvE is different. GW2 is one of the least "toxic" online games I've played, not even just MMOs. I get the impression the demographic is older than most similar games, as in, less kids play than adults.