Guild Wars 2

Is it just my server (far shiverpeaks) or is the community of GW2 generally toxic?

It seems that returning from a break from gw2 no one is willing to help each other; they rather just “troll” or flame in chat.

Simple requests like asking where a champion train is, asking for help on an event, asking how to do a dungeon boss – strangely seems to provoke the most vile reactions.

Rant over – worth changing servers or is GW2 just like this now?

There are good players and jerks on all servers.

My server has it’s share of trolls but is generally friendly and answers questions without trolling. I don’t quite know how FSP really is, but i know the server I used to be on was toxic, trolly, and unhelpful. When I transferred, it was a breath of fresh air, and it was like my guild wars 2 “life” had started over. It really gave me more drive to play.

I generally don’t look at chat but I don’t have the same impression from Aurora Glade. There is always someone who feels that because they can do something everyone else is incompetent that has not done it, but that is unfortunately present in all games I have played. Very helpful responces most of the time.

May be just the server. I don’t pay much attention to the chat, but I haven’t seen anything that stood out as venomous, when I do on Yak’s Bend, so I’m sure other servers have decent communities too.

I play on Gunnar’s Hold and this has not been my experience.

Generally people are a very nice and helpful bunch, the few times someone did pull a kitten in chat he got shut down pretty fast.

The attitude on my server seems to be fairly mature and live and let live.
I mostly see unpleasantness answered with- lol

Since I play alone most of the time I do pay attention to chat

Keep in mind that the popluation of you server that play in the same hours as you do is usually small. If you play for some time, you will notice that you often bump into the same person all the time. So each server at a certain time zone will always have the same thousand or so players (depending on which server and which hours you play). This is a small enough numbers that you can find a concentration of trolls on a particular server/time zone. Having a guild help, because a lot of people don’t really respond in the map chat, but will help you if you are in the same guild. I consider myself helpful, but i won’t always respond in the map chat for several reason : i’m busy, i didn’t saw the map chat, i didn’t really care about that particular subject, i’m not sure what to answer or i just don’t feel like it at that moment. But on the guild chat, i’ll always answer. Overall in my server, crystal desert, i had a lot more good situation than bad ones on the map chat. Even when people were trolling it was nice, respectful and this end up in several minutes of fun for everybody.

I mostly only see that kind of chat on overflows. When on my main homeworld, people are (most of the time) relatively nice and usually helpful to those that ask.

Probably kind of boring be in server where everybody try to be so nice and mature.

Im on FSP as well, and I have to agree. People are generally rude, and if not nobody even bothers to respond. I have even seen a few instances where I have asked a perfectly reasonable question while waiting outside LA, must have been 100 players standing there, and not a single person even answered lol. It’s not just that though, in general I get a horrible impression of people on this server, and while it’s an MMO trait for a large number of players to be those self-entitled morons you describe, this server does seem to have a lot!

Probably time for a server switch – really disappointing, the server used to have such a good community – very helpful and people took the time out to help people not as good, especially in dungeons instead of instantly flaming. Made a great change from other mmo’s.

Nice to hear everyone else seems to have a half decent community on their server – can’t really go wrong changing it seems

Try guesting on a few other servers before making the switch. I’m on Piken Square and the community there is, for the most part friendly. You do get the odd idiot who tries it on in map chat from time to time, but they get bored pretty quickly when they realise they’re not the centre of attention.

Irphilivey.2851:

Is it just my server (far shiverpeaks) or is the community of GW2 generally toxic?

It seems that returning from a break from gw2 no one is willing to help each other; they rather just “troll” or flame in chat.

Simple requests like asking where a champion train is, asking for help on an event, asking how to do a dungeon boss – strangely seems to provoke the most vile reactions.

Rant over – worth changing servers or is GW2 just like this now?

Idle mind is the devils playground.

Take that as you will.

not sure about other servers, but Dragonbrand easily has 90% decent helpful players who usually will answer questions in map chat or if you need help on a map may even come to assist (especially on champs .. the lootz)….. do we have a few numpties?, sure what server doesn’t, but I generally find most people are nice or at least “live and let live”.

as for dungeons etc.. it is best to get some guildies to try and walk ya through 1-2 times to get your feet wet (guild mates usually will be more patient and have a teamspeak program which is much better than typing) and the LFG tool in GW2 gets players from anywhere, not just your server (and you can run into the “L33T” crowd with gear checks)… a good guild makes all the difference in GW2

but guest on a few servers and see if you like the “feel” of that community before spending gems

Haven’t played much on other servers, but IOJ folks seem helpful and friendly for the most part. Sure, there are the occasional jerks…but I have to say that, coming from other MMOs, the players on my server are great.

Aww, I’m sorry to hear that I’m on NSP and I’m pretty social. Found the server to be really nice. It’s a really nice, fun, and helpful community. If you get picked on, people back you up pretty fast. I always feel welcomed there, especially with such nice guilds

Every server has its immature, rude people. Or so I would imagine; I’ve only lived on 2 and guested to maybe 5. Unfortunately, these people are often ones who are inconsiderate enough to shove it in people’s faces and use map chat vociferously. The nice people tend to operate under the “if you don’t have anything nice to say” adage and find arguing in map chat the ultimate exercise in futility. I didn’t notice a big difference in this from a low pop server to a (now) full server.

The general population can also be affected by guesting on larger servers, so it’s tough to know who’s a native jerk and who’s a drive-by jerk. I’ve seen a lot of kittenry from guesters verbally abusing the server as a whole (“I thought _ was supposed to be leet, lol, this whole map sucks why did I even guest”). But then, I’ve also seen polite, skilled and helpful guesters tell those people to kitten. So, you know. It’s going to be a mixed bag everywhere. A nice community one month could see the “nice” players move or play less, and then it’s changed.

My advice is always: Find a guild who promotes the kind of atmosphere you want to be a part of and engage with them heavily. Say hello every time you log in, ask questions about people and not just the game itself. If they’re on a certain server, go hang with them. If not, focus on guild chat and offering group spots there first instead of LFG. Or if you’re a newb looking for guidance, ask! Contact your guild leader or officers, see if they’d help spread the word that you’re looking for experience in certain areas so you can have a group at least mostly made up of guildies. Read a guide or watch a video beforehand, tell group members you’re looking for tips.

A good guild will make a huge difference. I promise.

Also, and I know I need to listen more to my own advice here, but the only way to counter a toxic atmosphere is to roll up your sleeves and help scrub. If you’re just doing your dailies or running somewhere, offer your assistance in map chat. Ask if anyone needs help, ask before a big event if anyone feels uncomfortable with the content and wants an(other) explanation.

I would suggest answering people’s questions as much as possible, but sometimes you see the same question four times in a row in events like this, a week after they’ve been going on. And you feel burned out. You wonder why these people waiting ten minutes for an answer don’t take a sec to alt tab and get the answer online (the way those answering probably did) or read Dulfy or… Sometimes, in large events like Marionette, it can be draining to answer those questions over and over. It’s so much easier to say “go look it up” because you’re busy and that’s what you had to do. You walked three miles in the snow to school and by god kids these days should, too, etc. Except that’s disheartening and wouldn’t it be nice to prevent your kids (server peeps in this metaphor) from having to do that three mile walk in the snow like you had to? So do your best to give a cursory answer before pointing to a Dulfy guide or the wiki. It at least shows that you aren’t trying to brush them off or imply that they should somehow magically know underlying mechanics just from in-game instructions.

The problem with asking certain questions in map chat is that it can come off as you thinking your time is more valuable. You only have to sit here and listen. The other person must have 1) experienced or read thoroughly/taught themselves on the topic to know what they’re talking about and 2) condense that knowledge into typed words that make sense to you and further answer any follow up questions. I personally feel anyone wearing a commander sigil should feel obligated to put themselves in the more burdened position of explaner, but at the end of the day the one who needs to learn it is you.

IDK, you probably know all that. This is just a tldr way to say good luck and that I don’t think a Perfect Server Community exists. Guilds are where it’s at.

I find that generally you get a few ‘good natured’ troll responses and the actual answer within a few seconds in TC.

I play on fsp aswell and I dont experience it as toxic. Sure there are some trolls but not to the extend you seem to be exposed to. Maybe its the time you play at but primetime seems pretty alright. Could be related to the current event where people are grouped up in zerg/citizen savers and afkr’s.

On ebay all the trolls are in queensdale. Its the new barrens chat it seems >_>

Angry Dutch.2439:

I play on fsp aswell and I dont experience it as toxic. Sure there are some trolls but not to the extend you seem to be exposed to. Maybe its the time you play at but primetime seems pretty alright. Could be related to the current event where people are grouped up in zerg/citizen savers and afkr’s.

Ditto. I don’t find the FSP community particularly bad, and it has even impressed me a number of times. Farm/zerg-heavy activity always seems to have a lot more unpleasant people around, though.

I think it is about as good and bad as every other mmo out there.
I would try to avoid Queensdale Tarnished Coast. Now, that is the most toxic community I have ever seen in a game.

Irphilivey.2851:

Is it just my server (far shiverpeaks) or is the community of GW2 generally toxic?

It seems that returning from a break from gw2 no one is willing to help each other; they rather just “troll” or flame in chat.

Simple requests like asking where a champion train is, asking for help on an event, asking how to do a dungeon boss – strangely seems to provoke the most vile reactions.

Rant over – worth changing servers or is GW2 just like this now?

Yes. If people are just going to troll you on your home server, it’s time to look for a new one. Try guesting on one of the tier one servers like Blackgate, Jade Quarry, and Tarnished Coast. There are more people and a higher chance of finding lots of help.

I especially recommend Tarnished Coast for a pleasant community.

I will point out that it is the nature of normal people to not pay much attention to chat and just go about their business in a calm manner, while it is the nature of angry people to angrily rant at zone chat and belittle others to get some kind of validation for whatever it is they are doing.

For instance, I was trying to have a conversation about an aspect of the game I didn’t care for, and the zone chat I was in told me to quit playing the game and go cry in a corner. I kind of rolled my eyes and quit trying to communicate. That’s just the kind of people you are going to find in zone chat, but it’s not all the people in the game or even the majority of them.

My advice? Join a guild, talk solely to them.

In general, on most of the servers I have guested to, along with my own, that there is a core group of “trolls” that tend to make the chat horrid.

Luckily, this does not reflect the general population, so if someone is continuing to go “out of bounds” then I block them. Solves most of the issues for me. Since beta, I think I have only had to block 3 or 4 people for being trollish. Once I got rid of them, the chat was really rather nice.

Guest around, and see if any of the other servers are more to your taste during your regular play hours. If you find a good one, then think about switching.