Why is toxicity seemingly accepted in this community?
Let's first define toxicity, so that we're on the same page:
- Slugging a survivor and bleeding them out for 4 minutes, even when there are hooks nearby and no threat of sabo
- Camping and tunneling on purpose to be toxic, and throwing the game in the process, as long as the survivor dies (Camping and tunneling isn't always toxic, sometimes it's a strategy albeit a damaging one)
- T-bagging in the exit gate and or doing rushed actions to get the killers attention when they've lost
- Hitting on hook multiple times, and not just to stop the scream
- Being nasty in the end game chat
Any time a survivor or killer is seen doing these things, the general consensus is to "grow thicker skin" and "get over it" however, this is just not helpful. I find myself trying to ignore these things, but when they happen over and over, it is THE one thing that makes me want to Alt + F4. And I'm not the only one.
There are other games where this type of behavior is not allowed and where you can even be banned for it. Why is that not the case here? Why doesn't BHVR try to at least encourage people to be good sports and be kind to the people they face?
The killer you just demolished is a real person, with feelings. You don't have to rub it in. Neither do you need to rub it in when you tunnel one person out of the game at 5 gens and hit them on hook as they die, only to tell them "loop better" in the end game chat.
I know, I sound like I'm whining. And yeah, I am. It's because I just cannot understand why this has been going on for so long and still no attempt has been made to try to rectify the problem. Toxicity is a very detrimental thing to online games, but also mental health.
It keeps people who simply do not have the means to "have thick skin" from playing a game they bought and are trying to enjoy. I can personally say that the one thing burning me out of this game is not the sweaty "high MMR" players who 4k or escape every match, it's the toxic ones that go out of their way to ruin my gameplay experience.
It's not difficult to be a kind person. There is no excuse and it should be cracked down on.
Comments
I've taken many breaks from this game, even one where I didn't play for a year. But the problem is that I love this game and I want to enjoy it. When I constantly meet insufferable players who has the mindset equivalent of a 12 year old's it's hard to enjoy the game.
I am aware that I can't control what other people do and can only change how I react, but in all honesty that still isn't helpful and in my opinion it's still a problem that BHVR doesn't do anything at all to combat toxicity. It's not as easy to just "turn off" your feelings.
I'm a broken record at this point, so I'll just agree to disagree with people who think "you shouldn't let it bother you" is helpful advice. That's what teachers say to victims of bullying, and that hasn't made the bullying any less traumatizing.
Not very nice to boil down the genuine advice I'm trying to give you as "you shouldn't let it bother you". You know full well I'm not just saying that.
Sure, the devs could do more to combat toxicity, but I don't think at this point there's any evidence that they will/are going to put a system in place for it, especially one that works.
So ultimately you can't control the people who kill your enjoyment for the game, you know they're still going to be there, so it becomes a situation where you determine what effect they have on your experience. I'm not saying it should be that way, but that's how it is. You don't want to keep throwing yourself at a brick wall in the hopes that eventually you'll smash through it. It's not worth it.
If you play DBD you're going to run into toxic players. It's inevitable. You need to decide whether or not it's worth still playing the game you enjoy even if you run the risk of having toxic games.
(And as someone who was heavily bullied growing up, that comparison isn't warranted. Bullying is a consistent, systematic form of harassment that interrupts your everyday school life and can mess you up growing up. Toxicity in a video game can be upsetting but it's very easy to remove yourself from that upsetting environment. Bullying can feel almost inescapable.)
I'm sorry, it wasn't aimed at you. I genuinely just kinda released all my thoughts on the replies in this thread as a whole into that post. I apologize. The first paragraph was aimed at you, the last two were not.
As for the bullying thing, it wasn't meant to be a comparison. It was just meant to highlight that when people say "don't let it bother you" it's not helpful. I was also relentlessly bullied as an autistic person with ADHD. I know what it's like, and yeah it's nowhere close to toxicity in a video game.
People on the internet are ***holes when they can be anonymous. The ***hole factor goes up when the competition of online gaming is added. It goes up a notch further when the game in question's entire existence is based on us vs. them.
So it is just a perfect storm to witness toxic behaviour.
We have a toxicity problem because there are so many people that label just about every killer strategy as ALWAYS toxic (camping, slugging, tunneling, 3 gen, etc), and demand BHVR to fix these things, and expect the solutions to be 100% nerfs on the killer side.
Meanwhile, the list of survivor toxic stuff doesn't even include literal bully squads, that purposely revolve their entire gameplay around making the killer as miserable as possible. In fact, the list of survivor toxic stuff is usually a bunch of useless things that don't really affect gameplay, like taunting at exit gates, or being mean in post game chat.
It's okay! :) I understand that it can be frustrating. I hope your experience with the game fares better soon.