Guild Wars 2

Just me or did the community get rather toxic these last 4 months? I guess it comes from how cheap the game got, or maybe the SW “grind”?

Even the forum have changed, those who usually did write were people could/would want to help progress a question, it would normally be a post that would give a great explanation of why it can/cant happen, now it is simply negative posts because it is easier to be negative, and can mainly just be answered by copy/paste the first post…….

Now it is rather immature answers that could as well have been written on a youtube chat, that sometimes dont answer the question/discussion………It have even come so far that the people who write the comments haven’t even read the whole post so it is like a repeat answer………

Why is that, simply because “grind” or cheap game?

I don’t typically have too much issue with toxicity. Only if I’m hanging out in pvp or dungeons. Even wvw is….better, than it was. At least from my experience. Yes, you do occasionally find an kitten in the open world, but no where near the same extent, imo.

it’s because a good bit of the community doesn’t have a a sense of humor,overly sensitive,hate everyone but themselves, and think they’re so mature, they have to look down on everyone else, or they feel themselves are as smart as einstein. Honestly, those kinds of people shouldn’t be playing video games at all.

The forum has always been somewhat negative toned. I don’t see any difference to be honest. It is only human behaviour to write down and complain what is bothering your, not bout what one like. So thats normal.

Also in game I haven’t seen a change in tone. Obviously there is always some rotten apple around, but I’ve not seen it increase at all.

I think you just had a bit of bad encounters,

The forums have gotten worse, in part because they reorganized them so that the places where the helpful people went are now mixed in with the general disarray but I’ve also noticed that many of the more friendly and helpful users are gone now. I don’t know if they have stopped playing, got fed up with the forums, or somehow managed to acquire too many infractions (I will refrain from opining as to why that may be), but there is definitely a noticeable loss of presence.

Well you can’t ignore the content drought. There really isn’t that much to talk about, and the things people seem to want to talk about has been talked about to death (mounts… zerker…). So there’s a reason people get copy-paste answers.
Also what does cheap game mean?

I think it’s because people are bored, and frustrated, so they act more frustrated. It’ll change when the expansion hits.

CureForLiving.5360:

Well you can’t ignore the content drought. There really isn’t that much to talk about, and the things people seem to want to talk about has been talked about to death (mounts… zerker…). So there’s a reason people get copy-paste answers.
Also what does cheap game mean?

The game went on sale, meaning there was an influx of new players. I think the intent behind that comment was to imply that people who bought the game on discount are more likely to be of lower-quality than those who paid full price.

Steve, please re-read the post, I did not make it that long. My main concern is not the “trolls” that are rather fun, it is answers that do not coordinate with current posts, and only there for a negative impact without any form of information to help the post progress…..like yours.

You might be right Mercury, though I do see a huge increase in dungeon joining and getting mad if asking for some certain things, like no one shot….etc. and regarding my bad encounters….I haven’t had any yet….Kappa…

(That is how a troll should work steve).

Z: Honestly I think it is a very specific socioeconomic issue. The decrease in Price Point is a huge factor

As the retail price decreases (including the $10 sales), it tends to attract many who migrate from other more toxic games. The Helpful People Pool of which you speak is being diluted by the influx of a less helpful crowd. But fear not, I still see many who are known by name, that continually strive to uphold the beneficial helpfulness of the general community.

Then there is also a generational issue which comes into play but that is a discussion best saved for another time and place.

zengara.8301:

Steve, please re-read the post, I did not make it that long. My main concern is not the “trolls” that are rather fun, it is answers that do not coordinate with current posts, and only there for a negative impact without any form of information to help the post progress…..like yours.

You might be right Mercury, though I do see a huge increase in dungeon joining and getting mad if asking for some certain things, like no one shot….etc. and regarding my bad encounters….I haven’t had any yet….Kappa…

(That is how a troll should work steve).

I did read the post, and i gave you my view/thoughts on it. also, you said i was trolling, which, it..isn’t..? i gave you an outline of why most of the community is becoming toxic.

Yalora Istairiea.6287:

Z: Honestly I think it is a very specific socioeconomic issue. The decrease in Price Point is a huge factor

As the retail price decreases (including the $10 sales), it tends to attract many who migrate from other more toxic games. The Helpful People Pool of which you speak is being diluted by the influx of a less helpful crowd. But fear not, I still see many who are known by name, that continually strive to uphold the beneficial helpfulness of the general community.

Then there is also a generational issue which comes into play but that is a discussion best saved for another time and place.

This is a touchy subject.

I dont think you can outright say that the general positiveness of a players attitude is directly proportional to the amount of money they are willing to spend on a game. We have rich [expletives] too.

There is a certain validity to it though, when you consider that discounts bring gold bots, and people are less careful about permanent account banning if they paid little to nothing out of pocket for the account to begin with.

It’s a topic and theory worth exploring, but I’d rather just chalk it up to people in general getting worse from a societal standard over time and leave it at that.

How am I supposed to respond to this honestly without getting infracted?

party buddy.4956:

How am I supposed to respond to this honestly without getting infracted?

You just did it.

kudos

Vayne.8563:

I think it’s because people are bored, and frustrated, so they act more frustrated. It’ll change when the expansion hits.

It’s exactly this.

It’s not just you OP. These last couple weeks have been very toxic, especially in SW, and chat has been vile. I wish Anet had a report feature for people abusing chat. There is only Verbal Abuse for reporting, but i’m assuming that’s for people that directly verbally assault you.

There really isn’t a way to stop it though. The best thing to do is switch to combat tab or block the people.

steve.2945:

it’s because a good bit of the community doesn’t have a a sense of humor,overly sensitive,hate everyone but themselves, and think they’re so mature, they have to look down on everyone else, or they feel themselves are as smart as einstein. Honestly, those kinds of people shouldn’t be playing video games at all.

Even being the helpful guy I am, I have to admit to being in at least two of those groups. But I’m going to keep playing, because screw you

What I see a lot of on here that gets my blood boiling is all the kitten ed entitlement – players believing that they are owed something from either the game or other players that was never promised to them. This usually turns them into entrenched kittens with an inability to shut their mouths, and I have a strong tendency to reflect the environment I’m in (even if that environment is something as external and contained as an internet forum thread). Kindof a resonance chamber effect.

Blame the players, not the game!

Sariel V.7024:

steve.2945:

it’s because a good bit of the community doesn’t have a a sense of humor,overly sensitive,hate everyone but themselves, and think they’re so mature, they have to look down on everyone else, or they feel themselves are as smart as einstein. Honestly, those kinds of people shouldn’t be playing video games at all.

Even being the helpful guy I am, I have to admit to being in at least two of those groups. But I’m going to keep playing, because screw you

What I see a lot of on here that gets my blood boiling is all the kitten ed entitlement – players believing that they are owed something from either the game or other players that was never promised to them. This usually turns them into entrenched kittens with an inability to shut their mouths, and I have a strong tendency to reflect the environment I’m in (even if that environment is something as external and contained as an internet forum thread). Kindof a resonance chamber effect.

ily too.

Azure The Heartless.3261:

Yalora Istairiea.6287:

/snip

This is a touchy subject.
… /snip…

It’s a topic and theory worth exploring, but I’d rather just chalk it up to people in general getting worse from a societal standard over time and leave it at that.

Yes touchy indeed.

Let us just blame the fall of the overall societal respect for others on the Mursaat and be done with it.

nexxe.7081:

I wish Anet had a report feature for people abusing chat. There is only Verbal Abuse for reporting, but i’m assuming that’s for people that directly verbally assault you.

Oh I think it comes down to the same thing really.

I have a theory behind SW toxicity:

I know that a lot of people got sour over the portal drops/beta access, and I can understand why.

Many people devoted tens of hours to mind-numbingly farming in hopes that they’ll be able to get a glimpse of the new content. Bear in mind that we haven’t had any content for a while and don’t have a set date when we’ll see the next/HoT release, thus a lot of people really had their hopes set on playing in the beta.

So, when they don’t get rewarded for their efforts (hours of grind) in a game that they love, they feel betrayed. I get the sensation that a lot of players felt entitled to the beta.

And then, for those who did get the access key after hours of grind, they are left with a bit of a sour-taste because of the brevity of the beta. For many, the beta hours were during work/sleep hours as well and their efforts went to waste.

So- if you’re finding (more) toxicity in SW, I’m really not surprised. People are still farming SW, probably because it’s still fairly lucrative and doesn’t require much organisation or skill. Moreover, because communication is still necessary in the map and you rely on the efforts of others, tensions get high and there is a reason for disputes to arise.

Crimson Clouds.4853:

So, when they don’t get rewarded for their efforts (hours of grind) in a game that they love, they feel betrayed. I get the sensation that a lot of players felt entitled to the beta.

This makes more sense than i should, but players that cant understand rolling dice a billion times never guarantees a ‘1’ need to stay mad.

Just saying.

Just all around sad, Gw2 used to be known as the least toxic game out there, now it is common that returning players write that they won’t in forums anymore because the population got toxic.

Still dont know if it is a programmed issue or simply is people comming from some very known toxic games because price point, ignorance used to be very……very rare, almost non existance like a year back…Only honestly seen it a few times at this point I see it now, both in game party groups/PvP yeah even Map Chat, really hope that changes over time.

zengara.8301:

Just all around sad, Gw2 used to be known as the least toxic game out there, now it is common that returning players write that they won’t in forums anymore because the population got toxic.

Still dont know if it is a programmed issue or simply is people comming from some very known toxic games because price point, ignorance used to be very……very rare, almost non existance like a year back…Only honestly seen it a few times at this point I see it now, both in game party groups/PvP yeah even Map Chat, really hope that changes over time.

Internet rule #1: The more popular a community becomes, the larger the group of ignorant/trollish/toxic people in that community becomes.

(Note: This may not be rule #`1)

We used to complain about the gem store when the game was peaceful, now we’re paying for it every time they discount the game, lawl~

Still no where near as toxic as most mobas. I think everyone is just really really REaLLY wanting HoT to get here because of the content drought we’ve been having.

I’ve been more trolly and on edge myself I noticed, and my thief hate has increased as well in WvW. Probably because I’m just looking so forward to the expac and reaper for my necro. It’ll hopefully get better once HoT is released.

zengara.8301:

Just all around sad, Gw2 used to be known as the least toxic game out there, now it is common that returning players write that they won’t in forums anymore because the population got toxic.

Still dont know if it is a programmed issue or simply is people comming from some very known toxic games because price point, ignorance used to be very……very rare, almost non existance like a year back…Only honestly seen it a few times at this point I see it now, both in game party groups/PvP yeah even Map Chat, really hope that changes over time.

Why do people act like jerks, well I’d say one of the leading causes is frustration. And well, this game simply breeds that.

Lack of new content, point of frustration there, but it doesn’t stop with it. Because of the lack of content players get to the point of perfection, and because of ANet’s infinite wisdom of forcing players to all play together whether they want to or not the people who haven’t perfected things yet screw things up for those that have. Just adding to the frustration. But, it’s not just the people who know what they’re doing that are frustrated at that point, the new players are getting frustrated as well because no one has any patience left.

When things aren’t easy, and no one is expecting anything to go smoothly the frustration simply isn’t there, because nothing is falling short of any expectations. That’s why all games start out without these less desirable elements for the most part (there are just strait up jerks in this world).

I don’t think we should jump to the conclusion that the playerbase is currently more toxic than it has been before or that it is getting more so.

There have always been “pressure points” regarding impatience and aggressiveness, it almost always comes down to events that require teamwork and skill. People get agitated when things aren’t successful and will often externalise by blaming others (to make them feel better).

I for one can remember many arguments in previous Living Story updates, similarly as predictable too. For instance, the Marionette/Tequatl boss fights were always a melting pot. Things calm down when success is more frequent or when the initial frenzy dies and people move on to other content.

There have also always been people writing that they hate the community and are leaving the game. Many other forum-posters have said that they often will add these posters to their friend list- almost always they’re back in the game within a week or don’t even leave at all.

My point being: take everything with a pinch of salt.

A. With the $10 sales allot of troll accounts were bought so the ingame and the
forums came more toxic.
B. No bunny ears on sale for Easter when it was begged for well before Easter.
C. Still no SAB to keep us busy
D. Lack of info and when do get some its vague that leaves more Q’s than A’s
E. Lack of WvW tournement
F. Lack of Mini Games to keep us busy
G. Some of above
H. None of above
I. All of above
J. All of above and more
K. People need to go outside and get some sun

Honestly, given the age of the game people have done just about everything.
Not everyone, but a lot of people have.

So this leads to boredom. There is no events currently taking place (other than pvp, 1/3rd of the gaming modes [even less considering pve is generally 2 areas])

People don’t want to run AC to help Joe Blog Warrior and his friends. People would rather just sit and chat because they’ve done AC too many times.

As for forum warriors, everything has been discussed over and over. There is very few new topics or suggestions or even complaints.

We’ve read it all before and we’ve seen it all before. So instead of just replying over and over with the same thing, we choose to reply with.

“No /15 chars”
“No you’re bad kitten” etc..

I turn of mapchat more and more simply because of all the swearing and trolling going on, or no communication at all. and really, after the two last 10 dollar sales, it did get waaaaaaay more then it was before.

and do not tell me to put a filter on, because the filter is not there to give others excuses to swear regardless of this filter. one can show a little respect to the younger people and people that do not need/want to read the swearing in chat or *.

I’ve also noticed that forums seem more hostile since HoT was announced.

The game in general has become a little more hostile, from what I’ve noticed here are some underlying reasons:

-Toxicity from other games that require a subscription has spilled over to GW2, games like WoW. People think HoT will be the next thing so they buy GW2 and jump ship, they believe all games are the same and bring their toxic attitude from their previous game to this game.

-People are understandably frustrated at ANET for the lack of ANYTHING to do while we wait for HoT. We don’t even have a release date or season or year…. We are just stuck doing the same thing over and over again until a holiday pops up. For some of us, with the exception of dailies, there is nothing at all to do. Like me, I have every legendary for my Ranger/ Druid, I have Dragon in PvP, I have Dungeoneer and every collection achievement except BLC Weapons, I’m Silver Soldier in WvW, i’m sitting at 21,275 AP.

-Demeaning newbies, generally the real Guild Wars players, those who actually played since GW1 and even read the novels (yes there’s novels) does not care or wants to listen to how cool your previous game was or how the next mmo will destroy GW2. We just don’t give a kitten kitten kitten kitten about other games and quit kitten kitten kitten kitten kitten kitten kitten comparing it to GW2 we just don’t care. It’s like that annoying girl in school who moves from a different city and keeps talking about how awesome her old city is and how kitten kitten garbage this place is.

Then of course, you do have the minority that are overly toxic and troll way too much. The Guild Wars 2 community, the real Guild Wars 2 community, not the Wild Star/Archeage/ WoW crowd that jump ship every time a new game is flavor of the month. But the actual players who play even when the game has nothing to do, aren’t really toxic.

SW toxicity is simple. Dead ppl never port and upscale events for rest → Events fail. Fix sould be simple.

Jahroots.6791:

Vayne.8563:

I think it’s because people are bored, and frustrated, so they act more frustrated. It’ll change when the expansion hits.

It’s exactly this.

I speak for myself when I say that the reason behind my negativity is the “communication” policy. I wouldn’t care so much about lack of content if the devs actually spoke to us about minor topics/updates/what’s being worked on and such.

Wolfey.3407:

We just don’t give a kitten kitten kitten kitten about other games and quit kitten kitten kitten kitten kitten kitten kitten comparing it to GW2 we just don’t care.

I kinda want to know what was actually meant there.

Could have just cut it all down by putting “litter” I suppose.

When players get bored some end up on the forums grousing about every little thing that every annoyed them about the game. Endlessly.

Someday the new trait system will drop and they will at least have something new to complain about. Endlessly.

Miss Lana.5276:

Jahroots.6791:

Vayne.8563:

I think it’s because people are bored, and frustrated, so they act more frustrated. It’ll change when the expansion hits.

It’s exactly this.

I speak for myself when I say that the reason behind my negativity is the “communication” policy. I wouldn’t care so much about lack of content if the devs actually spoke to us about minor topics/updates/what’s being worked on and such.

I’ve seen more open communication policies bite developers in the kitten , though, and be just as harmful to the community. Players tend to latch onto even the smallest morsels and build them up, even without context and with caveats from the devs saying “this is a work in progress, all things are subject to change”. Then, when content does come out that doesn’t match the sky-high expectations players have built up from their endless speculation, they attack the devs for all sorts of things (from being lazy to lying). It’s frustrating not knowing what’s happening behind the curtain, so to speak, but I can’t blame the devs for not wanting to share anything until it’s as close to final as it can possibly be.

Yall are ridiculous. This game has the best community of any MMO I’ve ever played. The only place I’ve ever seen any toxicity is PvP and some of the elitist dungeon groups. Sometimes people get mad during VW but I’ve never seen more than maybe 3-4 lines complaining about people porting or a ‘fail map.’ That’s not toxic it’s just the internet.
(Also cussing isn’t toxic)

The GW community has always been the best one in my opinion, but there have always been negative and toxic people. It’s just that more of the better gamers, polite or nice gamers are leaving to find something else to play and the toxic players are more noticeable now.

what does the topic have anything to do with SW grind?

CureForLiving.5360:

nexxe.7081:

I wish Anet had a report feature for people abusing chat. There is only Verbal Abuse for reporting, but i’m assuming that’s for people that directly verbally assault you.

Oh I think it comes down to the same thing really.

I’m not sure it does, since it’s pretty vague. It even warns not to abuse the report feature, so i’m guessing it’s for harassment and verbal abuse to yourself, and not for general chat in channels.

Shivan.9438:

The GW community has always been the best one in my opinion, but there have always been negative and toxic people. It’s just that more of the better gamers, polite or nice gamers are leaving to find something else to play and the toxic players are more noticeable now.

See, I can’t help but feel that GW2’s community has been the worst of the games I’ve spent a lot of time in. Never have I seen people so ready to grief people just because they play differently. In other games they just stay away from each other, it’s quite nice.

LanfearShadowflame.3189:

Only if I’m hanging out in pvp or dungeons.

This has largely been my experience too, and it is why I will only do dungeons with guild groups.

Rozbuska.5263:

SW toxicity is simple. Dead ppl never port and upscale events for rest -> Events fail. Fix sould be simple.

When enough are dying for that to be a problem, it’s already going poorly. The sea of dead bodies is just the most visible symptom so people like to yell about it.

Rozbuska.5263:

SW toxicity is simple. Dead ppl never port and upscale events for rest -> Events fail. Fix sould be simple.

please. dead people are inactive people and therefore the event get scaled down accordingly to the amount of active people playing.

I see little to no difference in the player base itself. Some people are jerks, the vast majority are great.

I do see more people in the forums labeling any behavior or playstyle they don’t like as “toxic” though…

mcwurth.2081:

Rozbuska.5263:

SW toxicity is simple. Dead ppl never port and upscale events for rest -> Events fail. Fix sould be simple.

please. dead people are inactive people and therefore the event get scaled down accordingly to the amount of active people playing.

From what do you derive that conclusion? The received wisdom has always been that the more players in a combat zone, alive or dead, the more the opposition gets scaled up.

steve.2945:

it’s because a good bit of the community doesn’t have a a sense of humor,overly sensitive,hate everyone but themselves, and think they’re so mature, they have to look down on everyone else, or they feel themselves are as smart as einstein. Honestly, those kinds of people shouldn’t be playing video games at all.

Couldn’t agree more man.

Bugger Riot Games and their coining of that horrible term “toxic behaviour”.

Now every time there’s disagreement, debate or heated discussion online things are “toxic”.

joe.7684:

mcwurth.2081:

Rozbuska.5263:

SW toxicity is simple. Dead ppl never port and upscale events for rest -> Events fail. Fix sould be simple.

please. dead people are inactive people and therefore the event get scaled down accordingly to the amount of active people playing.

From what do you derive that conclusion? The received wisdom has always been that the more players in a combat zone, alive or dead, the more the opposition gets scaled up.

13:44.