More than likely, if you've ever picked up an online game, you've met an evil gamer. Here are five types of toxic gamers and what you should handle them.
1. The Drunken 8-Year-Old Sailor.
I've mainly encountered these in first person shooters. Far fouler-mouthed than many ogres, goblins, or public toilets I've met, these children tend to stream curses faster than a speeding bullet. Ranging from simple four-letter words to various and sundry references to their sexual exploits with your family members (usually referring to 'your mom'), these players are the most blatant with their unpleasantness. Now, I'm fully aware that not all the players who swear while playing games are children, it seems that a fairly high number are.
The most effective way of countering these gamers is simply to mute them. It's quick, fast, and you no longer have to cringe at the whiny, high-pitched voices attempting to sound tough. This is how I usually solve the problem. If I'm in a bad mood or particularly irritated by one of them, asking them why they aren't doing their homework and making a reference to them being in third-grade is enough to make them fume. If the person claims to be older than whatever age you peg them for, simply say they sound a lot younger on the mic. Then mute them.
2. Intentional Feeders
There's a difference between not being good at a game and feeding. Feeding is a term used to describe giving kills to the opponents. Sometimes it's done intentionally, in which case you have a toxic gamer, and sometimes it's just because the player is having bad luck. Intentional feeders are one of the most annoying types of toxic gamers because there is no way to get rid of them without hurting your team, but keeping them is worse.
There are two methods for solving the intentional feeder problem. The first is a vote-kick if the game allows. Many first person shooters allow a vote to be called to kick a player, whether it's for hacking, cheating, or feeding. This should not be abused as it can result in the person intializing the vote to be kicked via another vote. The other method is a report. League of Legends does not give players the option to boot another player out of a match. Instead, the players involved in the match must report the offender via League's Tribunal system.
3. Try-Hards/2Pro's
These toxic gamer's irritate me the most. I play games to relax and have fun. And while winning is much more fun than losing, I still enjoy the action of playing. However, a lot of gamers are extremely proud of their expertise in whatever game they choose. Whether it's a Call of Duty player whose unlocked every weapon skin and maxed out their prestige level, or whether it's an MMORPG player who rails on the party everytime they wipe, these types of players are so invested in their games they can't stand losing. And because they have mad-skillz, clearly it's their teammates' fault that they lost.
I'm still working on an effective method of dealing with these gamer's. The only way I've discovered to "solve" them is to not play with them any further. There's no sense in trying to vote-kick them, as many times they'll immediately try and vote-kick you if the vote against them fails. I've also had these players intentionally throw matches just to prove that they are the reason a team should have won. I've yet to figure out how shooting an ally is a good demonstration of that.
"One who purposely and deliberately (that purpose usually being self-amusement) starts an argument in a manner which attacks others on a forum without in any way listening to the arguments proposed by his or her peers. He will spark of such an argument via the use of ad hominem attacks (i.e. 'you're nothing but a fanboy' is a popular phrase) with no substance or relevence to back them up as well as straw man arguments, which he uses to simply avoid addressing the essence of the issue."
The most effective method of dealing with trolls is to not feed them. Don't respond to their posts, even if you think your opinion is valid or you have proof that what they are saying is wrong. I see a lot blatantly wrong posts or comments from my meanderings around the internet, but I rarely post because a lot of them are actually trolls waiting for a reaction.
5. The D**k
This is the type of toxic gamer I find myself sliding into on occasion. These are the types of gamers that simply make games less fun to play. While this category could encompass all the others, for me, this is the kind of person that simply enjoys watching the world burn. Did you just build an awesome base? Cool! Let's blow it up for laughs. Or, as I like to do, put mines covering every inch. Step one foot in that amazing base, and it, you, your stuff and everything for the surrounding mile will blow up. The server might even get a lag spike. My friends usually make fun of my fascination for traps until they wake up one day and I've put mines all around them (in game).
Other gamers that fit in this category on those who intentionally kill teammates. I've had many vehicles blown up by my own allies because I refused to get out and let them have it. I've had game lobbies that took forever to get into a match just end because someone couldn't have the character they wanted.
The only solution to these toxic gamers is to work to make the gaming community better. The League of Legends Tribunal system as worked to some degree. It took time, but a game that was infamous for one of the most vicious, toxic communities on the internet. I quit playing for almost a year due to consistent bad experiences, but I'm back, and the poison levels are down to tolerable for the most part. It's a challenge to make a community a positive experience in many games, but in the end, everyone who isn't a sociopath will benefit.
So what are some other types of toxic gamers you can think of? What has been your worst experience with one of these?
