The community of World of Warcraft has a bad reputation. But is that really true? Newcomers have completely different experiences.
When you ask people why they haven’t given World of Warcraft a chance yet, a common answer is: “The toxic community.” Similar to many other online games, World of Warcraft has a relatively bad reputation in that regard. Players are said to be unfriendly, and newcomers have a very hard time if they want to find their footing in the game. This deters many, and they don’t even try WoW.
But is that really true? Is the WoW community really that bad?
Not always. At least that’s the experience of TonTonOwO in the WoW subreddit. In his post “As a new player, I find that the players are not as toxic as I read online,” he describes his experiences and first steps in World of Warcraft.
I am a complete newbie in WoW and play as a tank. I have messed up several times, but each time the group consisted of helpful people who calmly explained the mechanics to me. Everyone says that the community is so toxic, but I have seen very little of that so far. I previously played Final Fantasy XIV, and that is hardly different.
The reasons why the community has such a bad reputation and why the actual experiences can often differ are then actively discussed below the post.
Ihatepaladins writes:
On Reddit (or in other forums), you only hear about the bad experiences, rarely about the good ones. I have been playing for ages and am only very rarely insulted or see others getting flamed (except for obvious trolling, of course).
A much more pragmatic opinion comes from Mosgos1:
The reason you see mostly negative posts [in forums] is that the remaining players don’t care or are busy playing the game.
Or as epicgeek describes it:
Normal people make up the majority of the characters, but the minority in your chat window. Toxic people are the minority of players but the majority in your chat window.
Others believe that there is indeed plenty of toxicity, but mostly only in certain areas of the game – such as in PvP or the LFR.
Ironically, many believe that the toxicity in retail has decreased since the different classic versions of the game came out. fryerandice, for instance, says:
Classic is a wonderfully isolated area for the worst people I’ve ever dealt with in this game. On the other hand, retail is a breath of fresh air.
In fact, there will likely always be a kernel of truth to all the claims. Personal experiences can, of course, turn out negatively, but newcomers do not necessarily have to have a fundamentally bad experience in WoW – and if they do, it might be due to other factors that Blizzard is also recognizing.
Cortyn says: Of course, I cannot speak for everyone and can only share my personal experiences. However, I have largely had good experiences with other players so far. Sure, there are a few “complete idiots,” like the very angry “heroes” during the Plunderstorm event.
In dungeons, raids, and the open world, I have mostly found that the vast majority behave decently. Only in the LFR, which is also affectionately known as “idiot lottery,” are there always one or two people who can’t wait fast enough and who think they have the wisdom in spoonfuls.
When I hear that others have had so many bad experiences, I often wonder if it’s a “you get what you give” situation. Because if you join a group with the expectation that everyone else is just mean, you probably won’t behave very considerately yourself. But that’s just my assumption.
However, I also play on an RP-realm, and the interaction among players is generally a bit more harmonious – at least as long as no one starts a discussion about what constitutes “good RP and bad RP.” Because then the logout button is probably the healthier choice for one’s mental health.
In general, in WoW as in most other MMORPGs, it is advisable to find a stable group in the form of a guild or another community. Because then the chance is significantly greater that you will have exclusively positive experiences – even if you make some truly terrible “noob mistakes.”
Or how do you see it?
Also fresh in WoW is the Season 4 of Dragonflight – this is the perfect time to get started.
