As absolutely fantastic as Blizzard’s competitive shooter is, there’s no denying that the “Overwatch” community can get awfully Toxic at times. “Play nice; play fair,” one of the developer’s core values, most of the time is nonexistent and prevalent on the PC version of the game, where the addition of an on-screen chat box triggers trolls of the many kinds to make gameplay rather intolerable.
While most competitive games have some degree of toxicity, an “Overwatch” match always has some annoying pricks lingering about, ruining the fun for everybody.
Yes, name-calling has been a long practiced “tradition” in Video Games, but when is “too much” too much? Competitive mode, with its higher stakes and the very real possibility of getting your number, dinged because some other player messed up compounds the issue.
And as if harassing teammates isn’t enough, rage quitters are also a cause for despair. This issue has blown out of proportion that many players have threatened to leave the game’s competitive mode because of people not acting like a team.
The problem with ego
It could be put down to a number of reasons as to why “Overwatch” grew so toxic over time, and while some trolls simply want to see the whole world burn, ego is probably the best contributor.
It goes without saying that a lot of gamers believe their game knowledge sits on the top shelf, when in fact, it may not be necessarily true.
Being toxic is just about your own ego and self-loathing when things don't go your way. Being toxic is about you not being able to function as an adult and deciding to degenerate to a 3-year-old who is throwing a tantrum, and that is not okay.
Toxicity is tearing the ‘Overwatch’ community apart
While toxic players are usually raging because they want to win, most people will play worse when they are uncomfortable. They may also take time away from the match in order to block and report the offenders. Some refuse to cooperate with a toxic teammate; setting their own boundaries and instituting their own punishment.
Blizzard has implemented certain measures in the past, but it seems it might have to deal with toxic players a bit harsher. The company has started hunting players with toxic behavior within the game, resulting in some players getting slapped by suspensions or bans.
Increased penalties insinuate that the punishments will probably be for a longer period of time to bring the hammer down to the toxic members of the “Overwatch” community. Over the next year, they should be able to make the punishment system fair and just.
