Is World of Warcraft toxic?

"The toxicity of our city."

Key art for the Siege of Orgrimmar raid in World of Warcraft.
Garrosh Hellscream, former Warchief of the Horde. Image via Blizzard Entertainment

Toxicity in games refers to players’ negative and mean-spirited behavior toward each other. During the early days of gaming, players generally showed a better effort when it came to treating others with respect. Most were amazed by the fact that they could connect with other people online to play gigantic games like World of Warcraft, but things took a turn for the worse as technology advanced.

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As online gaming became more popular over the recent years, players’ attention spans shrunk considerably. A decent majority became less tolerant of mistakes, creating a hostile environment for new and returning players.

Is WoW toxic?

World of Warcraft has its fair share of toxic players, but it’s also a matter of perspective. While it’s true that players don’t communicate as much anymore, and most will expect you to know everything from the get-go, it isn’t all doom and gloom out there.

If you’re satisfied with your pace through progressing WoW, you’ll likely find like-minded individuals in the game who might become a part of your journey. Compared to the late 2000s, finding the right group of people plays an important role now due to the competitive nature of WoW.

Many players will aim to complete all the new content as fast as possible while autopiloting everything else. But there are still players who take their time to read every quest description to submerge themselves into WoW’s atmosphere.

This situation sparks another debate involving how players can find others who are on the same page as them. It can be as simple as running into them while questing, or you can always search through Discord or Reddit to find guilds or communities with similar interests as you.

Author
Image of Gökhan Çakır
Gökhan Çakır
Staff Writer
Gökhan is a Staff Writer and Fortnite Lead at Dot Esports. Gökhan graduated as an industrial engineer in 2020 and has since been with Dot Esports. As a natural-born gamer, he honed his skills to a professional level in Dota 2. Upon giving up on the Aegis of Champions in 2019, Gökhan started his writing career, covering all things gaming, while his heart remains a lifetime defender of the Ancients.