Tyler “Tyler1” Steinkamp is a leading Twitch streamer for the MOBA League of Legends. However, in recent weeks he has been active in World of Warcraft. But his guest appearance in the MMORPG ended tragically: His warrior died during a boss fight and was thereby lost. Tyler1 is quitting WoW and is confronting the players of his Twitch guild, OnlyFangs.
Why is Tyler1 so angry? Over the weekend, Tyler1 led a raid on a hardcore WoW server. The goal was the raid “Molten Core” from 2004. Tyler1 was leading the raid, even though he is a newcomer to WoW, only because he had seized leadership of the guild in a duel after the actual guild leader, Sodapoppin, had sadly died.
But Tyler1 died himself during the fight against “Baron Geddon” and lost his character. From his perspective, his team had abandoned him:
Baron Geddon had only a little health left, but cast an area damage effect around himself, which dealt increasing damage the more often one was hit by the ability:
- Tyler1 called for an attack, ran towards the boss while he was casting, shouted for healing, and ultimately died
- Many of his fellow players ran out of the damage and took cover
Tyler1 confronts teammates who let him down
This is what Tyler1 says: Although Tyler1 initially saw part of the blame with himself. He thought he had made the call to stay on the boss too late. But a bit later, when he watched the clip again, Tyler1 was then in rage mode (via YouTube):
Fuck the guild. Fuck it. I’m not continuing. Fuck the people, pussies. I don’t care. There are a handful of good people, but these WoW players are all pussies. They can like themselves.
He then explained that 39 people should have listened to his call, but 30 of them ran away. He had done so much for the people: spent his private time with them and spent hours with them in dungeons, and then they left him hanging like that. He was done with the people.
His ego is hurt
This is how the guild leader reacts: The actual leader of the guild OnlyFangs, “Sodapoppin”, an experienced WoW player, defended Tyler1 on one hand, but on the other hand, he also criticized him:
- The call to attack the boss was bad. WoW players are taught to avoid damage and not run into area effects. Such a call cannot just be made and expect everyone to act against their instincts in fractions of a second
- On the other hand, Tyler1 deserves credit for leading the raid without much experience. In any case, Tyler1 has been an asset to the WoW guild, contributing a lot to the entertainment
But Sodapoppin now views Tyler1’s outburst critically. Sodapoppin believes:
Tyler1’s uncontrolled outbursts could lead to the members of OnlyFangs being attacked by Tyler1’s fans and labeled as “roach.”
Sodapoppin says:
This will now ensure that people are called roaches by fans of Tyler1. But that’s simply wrong and annoys me. Maybe Tyler1’s ego is hurt, and yes, that’s silly. He didn’t necessarily make a bad call, from his experience – but he learned the hard way what happens in the situation.
Sodapoppin says he understands Tyler1’s frustration; the Baron was indeed very close to dying, but Tyler1 simply does not take into account the psychology of the other players. That annoys him.
Don’t stand in the fire
This is what’s behind it: Sodapoppin elaborates on the fundamental problem that Tyler1 expects players to “run into the area effect and risk their lives,” while every player in WoW is taught from day one: “Don’t stand in the fire.” Avoid area damage whenever possible.
The general consensus regarding the pull of Baron Geddon and Tyler1’s death is: Yes, the Baron would likely have died, and everyone would have survived if the entire raid had listened to Tyler1 and immediately attacked the Baron with all their might.
But the call to attack with full risk came very late, and the natural instinct of players to run out of the fire is understandable. Even if, from the perspective of the LoL player, they are all “pussies.” But when Tyler1 dies in LoL, he respawns at the fountain. When he dies in hardcore WoW, it’s game over: WoW: Guild Leader “OnlyFangs” dies in raid, is betrayed by all, and is also insulted by Blizzard
