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[nel e nel]

It's just my experience and you probably don't care or don't believe me but after 700 hours I remember exactly one situation when someone on PS4 told a Zarya player to kill himself.

I play solo, I play duo with a Mercy main (female player from UK, I'm from Russia), I play with friends. Every time we use a team chat nobody is so toxic or obnoxious that it ruins the game for someone.

Maybe that's because I'm on EU servers and everyone including me has every kind of accents, so people don't laugh at it. Or maybe it's because we are in Diamond, I dunno how bad team chat is in Gold or Bronze.

I'm in the same situation as you. I almost never have the type of toxic people that a lot of people in this thread describe. Of course it's not zero, there are always going to be assholes in life, but the amount I've come across is not enough for me to mute everyone in every game.

The plural of anecdote is not data.

I find it interesting that the sample size of games being talked about in this thread is pretty small and limited mostly to Overwatch, with Siege a relatively distant 2nd. Might as well make this the Overwatch complaint thread.

 

[jviggy43]

The plural of anecdote is not data.

I find it interesting that the sample size of games being talked about in this thread is pretty small and limited mostly to Overwatch, with Siege a relatively distant 2nd. Might as well make this the Overwatch complaint thread.

The most popular MP shooter right now is being the springboard for discussion; it could literally apply just as easily to destiny, halo, or any other game with serious competitive modes. I also added F13 where communication is imperative for surviving as the counselors.

 

[Xyzzy J]

The plural of anecdote is not data.

Well, what is the data?

That's not to say that you must be wrong because you haven't presented any. It's saying that nobody in this thread can really say for certain whether one game community is more toxic than another, or whether things have become more toxic over time.

 

[Mohasus]

Played 3 matches of dota 2 today.
Everytime someone used the mic was to complain or insult someone.

¯\_(&#12484_/¯

 

[Mr Fahrenheit]

Just had some ass Zarya cryin at us for not talking to him in qp and I thought of this thread.

 

[red capsule]

some of my firends would play games high
and blast music on their headphones at full volume while playing an mp game

if you're serious about winning op, squad up breh

Umm... because I'll get shit for sounding like a 10-year old girl? Yeah, no thanks. That already happened once and I don't want to get that again even if I want to talk to my teammates using mic most especially in Overwatch's Team voicechat. I only use mic when I play with my friends and that's only in Group.

this was a main problem for me during the early 360 days

i got torn to shreds in gears 1 mp each time i spoke a word,
even though i was trying to help out my team win the game

but i was just a squeaker to them who deserved to die

¯\_(&#12484_/¯

 

[Da-Kid]

Recently Ive been playing a number of MP centric team based games such as OW and Friday the 13th and have been becoming increasingly frustrated with the lack of players communicating and using mics in these games. In order to excel in both these games, communication with your teammates is an absolute must while refusing to do so will heavily stack the odds against you, and this is true of most team based multiplayer games.

Now I understand the common complaint most people have with communicating with randoms online is that they don't feel like dealing with rude, obnoxious players and as such its best to just use party chat and remain in communication with a few people you know. This baffles me that party chat is the relied upon means to circumvent this issue considering every game these days has a mute button which 100% solves this issue while allowing you to remain in communication with those who are genuinely trying to be helpful and would greatly help your chances of success.

The other argument Ive run into when presenting that idea is "Why should I be forced to communicate and play the game this way when I don't want to?", which I find to be a pretty tenuous line of reasoning. If it comes down to "Its my game I'll play how I want" then how is that any different from those trolling or throwing games who would argue the same line of reasoning, "its my game I'll play it how I want to". I'm not equating the two in practice as one is a direct hindrance to success while the other is just an opportunity cost, but ultimately non communication in MP centric games completely undermines and ruins the experience of the game if your goal is to do well, especially for those actively trying to communicate and work together. Thoughts?

 

[CraigerGamer]

Legendary Eagle Master and above, everyone uses a mic.
Also there's almost no trolls due to people wanting to win and be a team.
You just have to go up the ranks.

Distinguished Master Guardian is when you see a big difference.

I'm trying but I can play maybe a match or two a night if I'm lucky. Honestly, I don't care if I lose. I don't get salty and if they gave awards for upbeat, positive people regardless of score, I'd be fucking Meryl Streep. I just don't want to be at a huge disadvantage from the start because people don't share information, because in the end, CSGO is a team based game.

 

[jviggy43]

 

[Anbec7]

Tried on random OW was told my english is bad lol.
I only use it on comp with friends and if I play with you I'll try to have fun while trying to win, sometimes I say random spanish comments during the match lol.
That's why I usually play with some friends on those cases since communication is key but a lot of people get easily frustrated/triggered.

 

[Rmagnus]

If it is that important in comparative gaming would the developers already have forced voice chat for it?.
It's just a game in the end if you are that serious about it, get a clan or something. If wining is that important to you what are you doing ina pug?

 

[Vigilant Walrus]

OPs post is in poor taste and reek of elitism, but I think I understand the spirit of what he is trying to say. But I'd rather it was reworded like that MP teamwork games get ruined when people do not cooperate.

You do not need to talk to someone to understand them and work together as a team. In Battlefield 2 I was a highly effective medic because I was listening, and due to good UI and UX design in the game I was able to easily follow the orders and moves of the squad leader.

Games need to be better at allowing players to express in communicative manners. Both through character animation, voice commands, UI input, map input and so on.

There are lots of good reasons why people might not talk. Having everybody talk at once can make communication difficult. What you want is an easy adhoc method of plug and play voice software inside the game, so if a squad has one person with a mic, that person can lead a team and that can be quite sufficient.

Secondly, some people talking can ruin the experience for others. Sometimes people play online while listening to music and podcasts and they are not into the game for the sake of following orders or such.

 

[Trigonometrize.]

I think ranked modes of games past a certain threshold of teamwork as a requirement should ping for if someone has a mic or not. Don't want to make an attempt at communicating? Non-ranked is waiting for you where you can mute to your heart's content. Any person in ranked should be making as much as an effort as possible to win, and that includes communication for some games.

"Just play with yo friends!!!"

You really think it's a reasonable expectation that anyone who wants the most basic and quickest communication from teammates needs to find upwards of four friends that are at or around their skill level in the game and all be able to schedule around each other all the time? This is a terrible solution.

"But the bigots!"

Bigots seem to infest the text chat more than the voice chat. It's still a big problem, and I do think companies need to have harsher punishments for that stuff.

 

[Rmagnus]

I think ranked modes of games past a certain threshold of teamwork as a requirement should ping for if someone has a mic or not. Don't want to make an attempt at communicating? Non-ranked is waiting for you where you can mute to your heart's content. Any person in ranked should be making as much as an effort as possible to win, and that includes communication for some games.

"Just play with yo friends!!!"

You really think it's a reasonable expectation that anyone who wants the most basic and quickest communication from teammates needs to find upwards of four friends that are at or around their skill level in the game and all be able to schedule around each other all the time? This is a terrible solution.

"But the bigots!"

Bigots seem to infest the text chat more than the voice chat. It's still a big problem, and I do think companies need to have harsher punishments for that stuff.

Dood unless you are paying for my game I don't think you can tell me to play rank or unranked. So i cant play rank to test myself cos I don't mic up? Piss off

 

[Jubenhimer]

TBH, not many people really voice chat with randoms anymore from my experience. I imagine most people just talk to their friends these days. That is, unless using voice chatting with randoms occurs in other games I'm not aware of.

 

[Robot Pants]

Nothing beat the between round trash talk in Gears of War 1.
And party chat ruined everything

 

[Trigonometrize.]

Dood unless you are paying for my game I don't think you can tell me to play rank or unranked. So i cant play rank to test myself cos I don't mic up? Piss off

I don't see why you think you are entitled to play ranked mode for any reason you choose. In League of Legends, in order to play ranked, you need to be level 30. Do I need to piss off for thinking that's also a good requirement for having a healthy competitive mode? No one is playing to entertain others "testing themselves," they're playing to win and that's completely fair for ranked.

 

[Rmagnus]

I don't see why you think you are entitled to play ranked mode for any reason you choose. In League of Legends, in order to play ranked, you need to be level 30. Do I need to piss off for thinking that's also a good requirement for having a healthy competitive mode? No one is playing to entertain others "testing themselves," they're playing to win and that's completely fair for ranked.

Cos I paid for the game lol?

 

[Trigonometrize.]

Cos I paid for the game lol?

People who pay for games also still afk, feed, etc. Are these good things? What does paying have to do with anything when ranked is an optional mode?

 

[Off-Kilter]

I don't see why you think you are entitled to play ranked mode for any reason you choose. In League of Legends, in order to play ranked, you need to be level 30. Do I need to piss off for thinking that's also a good requirement for having a healthy competitive mode? No one is playing to entertain others "testing themselves," they're playing to win and that's completely fair for ranked.

So let me get this straight.

When you own a product you're somehow not entitled to play a particular mode? You're pulling the entitlement card? Really?

Nah fuck that. I bought this game and I'm "entitled" to play any mode I damn well please, with or without a mic. Not my problem that it bothers you.

Edit: and now we're equating mic use to afk-ing. lol

 

[Trigonometrize.]

So let me get this straight.

When you own a product you're somehow not entitled to play a particular mode? You're pulling the entitlement card? Really?

Nah fuck that. I bought this game and I'm "entitled" to play any mode I damn well please, with or without a mic. Not my problem that it bothers you.

Uh, yeah. Modes are designed with specific purposes, and if you're going against that purpose you should be funneled into modes that better suit the players in your company. Ranked is an option. In some games, even just playing with others is a privilege. In many MP games, even in normals, if you're griefing too much, your privilege is getting revoked.

"I paid for it therefore the entire game is my playground" is a bizarre statement to make. You can disagree with the mic mandate, but there are better arguments to make.

Edit: and now we're equating mic use to afk-ing. lol

I'm not equating them because they're equally bad, I'm equating it because its a thing that's regulated by communities and developers used to revoke privileges of having the full access to a game. That scenario disproves the simple argument of "Did I pay for it? I can play it"

 

[Rmagnus]

Uh, yeah. Modes are designed with specific purposes, and if you're going against that purpose you should be funneled into modes that better suit the players in your company. Ranked is an option. In some games, even just playing with others is a privilege. In many MP games, even in normals, if you're griefing too much, your privilege is getting revoked.

"I paid for it therefore the entire game is my playground" is a bizarre statement to make. You can disagree with the mic mandate, but there are better arguments to make.

No boo, if competitive mode is designed around mics it would be default mode and you can't turn off or mute. I paid for the game and I will play it with or without mic. Lol enttield gamer? Ever look yourself in the mirror.

 

[Talyn]

This is one reason I don't even bother trying to play multiplayer anymore. I have no desire to listen to other people talk and even less desire to speak.

 

[Trigonometrize.]

No boo, if competitive mode is designed around mics it would be default mode and you can't turn off or mute.

Devs are a lot more pragmatic than me so yeah, they don't make it the default mode. They'd be alienating a lot of people and pissing a lot of others like the ones in this thread. It doesn't mean it's not designed around it.

I paid for the game and I will play it with or without mic.

I mean, sure.

Lol enttield gamer? Ever look yourself in the mirror.

You got me, dude.

 

[ironmang]

It'd be nice if we could rate the comms of our teammates after matches in different games and then it'd factor that into matchmaking. That way all the silent and toxic players can get paired up away from the rest of us.

 

[FPS murderer]

I agree. In rainbow six siege communications are vital. Oven playing on pc and most people do use mics. Played some days in PS4 where almost no one does and it really ruined it.

 

[Rmagnus]

.

So basically a whole bunch of nothing. Trolling, afk gets you banned from competitive gaming, I don't recall any game that does that if the play has no mic and some how you beliving competitive mode is designed around team chat makes it true lol.

 

[Trigonometrize.]

So basically a whole bunch of nothing. Trolling, afk gets you banned from competitive gaming, I don't recall any game that does that if the play has no mic and some how you beliving competitive mode is designed around team chat makes it true lol.

I wasn't arguing for how the world is, I was arguing for how it ought to be. This sentence makes me think you didn't understand this discussion fully.

 

[Northeastmonk]

I just don't want to converse with young kids and teens when I play. Who wants to make goofy noises or quote Family Guy while they play Call of Duty or Halo.

When I play Elder Scrolls Online, do I really have to listen to some kid's family fix dinner or talk about what their mom wants them to do?

It's a huge gamble every single time. If you can make time to actually get your teammates to talk then God bless you. Otherwise I'm gonna mute team chat till the day I can't play anymore.

I've been voice chatting since the original Xbox and yeah when I was in high school it wasn't bad because I could goof off or I'd be playing with other serious players.

I'm just not in the mood to spend my evening gambling on rather or not it's gonna work the way it should.

I'm glad that there are tons of kids and adults gaming, but over the years there is only so much I want to listen to or be a part of when I play online.

 

[Prophaniti]

I love checking in and seeing how toxic this thread is. People should cooperate in cooperative games. I don't care if that means mics or not.

 

[jviggy43]

It'd be nice if we could rate the comms of our teammates after matches in different games and then it'd factor that into matchmaking. That way all the silent and toxic players can get paired up away from the rest of us.

See this is something that on its face would solve a lot of the issues brought up but on the other end, those trolls are for sure going to be rating and ranking us right back and people will get unfair ratings because some twitch troll and his followers downvoted a particular person.

I keep coming back to a rating system in order to cut down on trolls/toxic players, but its difficult to overlook the problems that would cause. Maybe if youre downvoted enough you lose the ability to vote until you get your rating back up?

 

[Rmagnus]

I wasn't arguing for how the world is, I was arguing for how it ought to be. This sentence makes me think you didn't understand this discussion fully.

Ought to be? Meaning alternative reality? Fact is if said game designers feel that voice chat is that high on the list they would have made it mandatory. Don't get confuse about what you wish things to be with what that's are supposed to be. The very fact that you feel that if someone don't mike up means that they should not be enttield to play rank mode makes me think you don't really have an understanding about human empathy.

 

[Trigonometrize.]

Ought to be? Meaning alternative reality? Fact is if said game designers feel that voice chat is that high on the list they would have made it mandatory. Don't get confuse about what you wish things to be with what that's are supposed to be. The very fact that you feel that if someone don't mike up means that they should not be enttield to play rank mode makes me think you don't really have an understanding about human empathy.

I don't understand how we're on human empathy but okay.

 

[shadow_shogun]

Sorry, but I don't wish to be a target of racial insults due to my accent. If the ps4 had a voice changer like the ps3 system did, I would get on mic.

 

[boondock18]

Not using a mic ruins the experience for some people? Even more reason not to use one then.

 

[Rmagnus]

I don't understand how we're on human empathy but okay.


"But the bigots!"

Bigots seem to infest the text chat more than the voice chat. It's still a big problem, and I do think companies need to have harsher punishments for that stuff

Maybe not wanting to get abused in voice chat is a thing but okay?

 

[jviggy43]

Not using a mic ruins the experience for some people? Even more reason not to use one then.

Haha cool!

 

[ironmang]

See this is something that on its face would solve a lot of the issues brought up but on the other end, those trolls are for sure going to be rating and ranking us right back and people will get unfair ratings because some twitch troll and his followers downvoted a particular person.

I keep coming back to a rating system in order to cut down on trolls/toxic players, but its difficult to overlook the problems that would cause. Maybe if youre downvoted enough you lose the ability to vote until you get your rating back up?

I think it'd still work out in the end or at least be much better than it is now. Toxic/silent players will get mostly 1 stars or whatever while people playing the game with teamwork and communication will rate each other 5 stars. And they could just have you rate your teammates after the match so nobody outside the game is allowed to rate.

 

[jviggy43]

I think it'd still work out in the end or at least be much better than it is now. Toxic/silent players will get mostly 1 stars or whatever while people playing the game with teamwork and communication will rate each other 5 stars. And they could just have you rate your teammates after the match so nobody outside the game is allowed to rate.

I could see that potentially working so long as the sample size of votes required to get a rating is high enough to filter out the BS ones.

 

[KHlover]

Premades not changing over to team chat when a match starts in ranked is actually annoying me more. Those people are communicating, just not with the rest of the team. Blizz should remove group chat from ranked and put everyone into team chat by default. Won't do anything if they use Skype or Discord, but it's better than nothing.

 

[RiccochetJ]

While I tend to avoid mic talk for online games like the plague, I'd highly recommend people turn on their mics for Friday the 13th.

Completely anecdotal, but I've found more people want to scream and laugh rather than be jerks for that particular game.

 

[Raylan Targaryen]

Edit: and now we're equating mic use to afk-ing. lol

Honestly, I would rather have AFKers than people who don't use a mic. Micless people are just as useless as AFKers. I think I have 4 teammates when I really have 3.

Countless times in CS I've been flanked from an area I thought my teammate was watching but they couldn't be bothered to say 5 words. At least if you're afk I know that area isn't being watched and I can plan around that

 

[EdLin]

I don't know about MP games being ruined without a mic, I played a lot of Quake LAN parties in college, with no mikes. If someone started cussing at you or acted like a jerk, we'd walk over and tell him to pipe down - it never happened though, no mikes needed since everyone could hear each other.

 

[King Gilga]

It'd be nice if we could rate the comms of our teammates after matches in different games and then it'd factor that into matchmaking. That way all the silent and toxic players can get paired up away from the rest of us.

So non mic players should be matched with toxic players?

You're a real asshole if you believe that.

 

[benzopil]

The plural of anecdote is not data.

I find it interesting that the sample size of games being talked about in this thread is pretty small and limited mostly to Overwatch, with Siege a relatively distant 2nd. Might as well make this the Overwatch complaint thread.

Because nobody cares about communication in COD, Battlefield and Titanfall. Most of the time you farm kills and win. Correct me if I'm wrong.

And in Destiny competitive mode doesnt have matchmaking. So OW and Siege (competitive only, I don't care about quickplay) are the only ones left. I mean popular games.

 

[AngryPuppyEsq]

While I tend to avoid mic talk for online games like the plague, I'd highly recommend people turn on their mics for Friday the 13th.

Completely anecdotal, but I've found more people want to scream and laugh rather than be jerks for that particular game.

I was worried about picking it up on PS4 since I'd enjoyed most of the beta on PC with a group of people from another online community, and I very much expected silence on comms in public games. I've been very pleasantly surprised by how many people are on mic and how many aren't completely insufferable.

I love games that do something 'interesting' with voice chat like proximity chat and how the Jason player can hear and taunt the survivors.

I think it helps that rather than being a true team 1v7 game it's at times more of a 1v1v1v1..etc. If someone is being obnoxious I can stay away from them and not hear them, lead Jason to them to distract him from myself or escape in a car and deliberately leave them behind. In general though I've found the player base surprisingly decent and most games have had a good atmosphere about them. Love the Chad role players.

 

[cakely]

I think ranked modes of games past a certain threshold of teamwork as a requirement should ping for if someone has a mic or not. Don't want to make an attempt at communicating? Non-ranked is waiting for you where you can mute to your heart's content. Any person in ranked should be making as much as an effort as possible to win, and that includes communication for some games.

"Just play with yo friends!!!"

You really think it's a reasonable expectation that anyone who wants the most basic and quickest communication from teammates needs to find upwards of four friends that are at or around their skill level in the game and all be able to schedule around each other all the time? This is a terrible solution.

"But the bigots!"

Bigots seem to infest the text chat more than the voice chat. It's still a big problem, and I do think companies need to have harsher punishments for that stuff.

You don't get to tell anyone else what modes they are allowed to play: that's simply not a choice you get to make. Anyone can join whatever mode they want, whether they use a mic or not. That clearly deeply hurts the TC, you, and many others in this thread, but that's how it is, and the way you're stating your position isn't gaining you any sympathy.

Here are your options:

1. If you want a team full of people using the mic, play with your friends. If one your friends doesn't use a mic, you can berate them in person.
   
2. If you want to play with on a team with randoms, you get what you get. Some people will be using mics and some people won't be.

That's it! Pick one option, just like everyone else, and try to have fun.

 

[ironmang]

So non mic players should be matched with toxic players?

You're a real asshole if you believe that.

You're a real asshole if you don't use a mic in the games where it puts your team at a massive disadvantage. I'd much rather have a complainer or blamer who makes calls than someone who just lets me get flanked without a word. There's just no excuse for most people who don't use a mic. Even if you mute everybody you can still make calls.

 

[creatchee]

So non mic players should be matched with toxic players?

You're a real asshole if you believe that.

Non mic players should absolutely be matched with toxic players. If you don't have a mic, you can't hear the toxicity. So what the hell is the difference? In fact, you're actually doing the community a service as you're absorbing the damage toxic players would inflict to those who do have mics, all at no expense or harm to yourself.

 

[xealo]

So non mic players should be matched with toxic players?

You're a real asshole if you believe that.

I thought we had already established that not communicating via voice doesn't matter to playing competitive Overwatch, per this thread. No one is forcing people to sit in the voice chat if they don't want to.

Or do voice communication actually matter, just as long as people don't have to take part themselves?