'You Don't NEED A 4K!' - The Toxic Mindset
I heard this just yesterday or so.
It's this mindset from Survivors that Killers are toxic if they play to win. Or toxic they don't let the last Survivor go.
It's this mindset that Killers are supposed to think of Survivor fun, and play accordingly.
It's this mindset that Killers are to be shamed (called 'sweaty' and, of course 'toxic') if they don't put Survivors, THEIR OPPONENTS, first.
But you know what? It never works in reverse. I've never seen someone say 'You don't NEED a 4E!'.
I've never seen Survivors give the Killer a kill if they're all going to escape.
I've never seen Survivors shamed for playing for a 4E, or not thinking of Killers feelings.
It's a BS double-standard that underlies a large part of the community: That Killers are responsible for Survivor fun. That Killers can try 'too hard'. That Killers are supposed to give up Kills (and thus BP), because Survivors demand it.
You can see it in anti-camping threads; Whatever valid points there are, there is ALSO this reasoning of 'This person is being removed from the game, and that's unfair'. Except...The Killer's whole goal is to remove people from the game? That's the risk in a PvP game with no respawning?
This is the ONLY PvP game I've ever seen where people say it's unfair if they lose too fast.
You don't see people in a battle royale saying 'I died too fast because everyone found a gun first! So unfair! The last people to find guns should be immune to damage so they can have fun!'
Now, I'm not saying camping is not an issue. I'm saying that one line of reasoning is flawed, and based on this double-standard thought of 'Killers are being mean/unfair if they do their goal before I want to lose'.
Let me run over a few matches that show just why I'm very nearly burned out with this game and this double-standard. These are games I have actually had:
Example 1:
I try to 3 hook everyone. Hell, I don't really try to kill so much as I just play to have fun and get BP.
Survivors twerk at pallets. Clicky-click flashlights. Twerk at the exit gates.
End game chat: GGEZ noob! You suck! Baby killer! Uninstall scrub!
Example 2 (Before Hatch changes):
I play to 2 hook people. Turns out; 2 Solo's and a 2-man SWF. SWF does not save solos. Solos die pretty quick.
I hook 1 of the SWF. His buddy says 'I found hatch.' SWF 1 dies on hook ASAP while I'm looking for SWF 2, just jumps into hatch the picosecond it opens.
SWF 1 & 2: Noob scrub! Could not get a 4K! Why are you playing?
Me: You only got away due to sitting on the hatch.
SWF 2: So? That's because you suck! Uninstall, scrub!
Example 3:
I just try to kill. Not facecamping, but I stay near a hook if I know someone is nearby. I'm not giving any quarter. I get a 4K.
Survivors: Freaking sweat harder! We got 2 gens done! Scrub! Ever hear of giving hatch!? I was not struggling because I expected you to carry me to the hatch! Sweatlord!
It's this raging flood of toxicity. Try too little? Insults. Try too hard? Insults, coupled with this feeling of being entitled to an escape because 'something, something, fair play'.
But that fair play only goes one direction. And gets treated like a golden rule.
Many Survivors EXPECT this preferential treatment, and combust if they don't get it. Hell, I was playing in an SWF with a friend once, and we were insulting each other if we got hit, and even lying about where the Killer was to prank each other. We were not trying, at all.
My friend STILL exploded when he was the last kill, and the Killer did not give him hatch. Not in chat; he just started swearing over the mic. It was just built into him to expect it. I don't think it ever occurred to him that he would NOT get the hatch. Like, he seemed to think it was his reward for being the last Survivor.
I guess, what my point is (I'm bad at communicating), is that there's this flood of toxic thought in this game. And yes; it goes both ways. I'm not saying it does not. I'm not saying it's this 'us vs them' problem.
But it's compounded with this almost casual idea baked into many people now that Killers are supposed to cater to Survivors:
Don't kill too fast; that's not fair!
Don't camp; that's mean!
Be a good sport & don't go for that 4K; that's being a tryhard!
Don't play Killers we think are OP/toxic! (Known on the forums as 'I Disconnect when I see <x Killer>')
It's never:
Stop popping gens; the Killer only has 1 hook!
Don't 4E; that's being a tryhard!
Don't bring 16 meta perks; that's mean!
Sometimes, I want to just tell my friends that I'd rather stick toothpicks under my fingernails instead of play anymore. The toxicity just eats away at any goodwill either side attempts.
Comments
Precisely.