Dealing With Toxic Players

Everyone who plays competitive games online knows what kind of players I am talking about. The players that instantly insult you, whine about the way the game is going or outright throw the game by feeding.

I play a lot of Dota 2 and I believe it is one of the games that attracts these kinds of players a lot. You will nearly every game have one person in your team that already starts insulting his teammates pre-game. And sometimes, these people will get to you. They make you play worse and after the game is lost, you may be tilted yourself. I will refer to a lot of cases that constantly happen to myself when I play Dota 2. So if some things like pinging the map aren't a thing in the game you play - good for you!

So today I want to show you a couple of ways you can deal with these players. Let's get to it!

1. Don't feed the troll!

It is one of the oldest rules of the internet and it surely applies to gaming as well. Sometimes you will play with people who just want to create chaos. They will write useless stuff pre-game and continuously ping you in-game. In some cases they will feed and just throw the game. In this case there is nothing you can do to stop them. They won't stop being a dick because you convinced them that losing games on purpose is just stupid. In this cases I just proceed and mute them (if it is possible in the game you play). I mute them and I play my game like I always would. Sure it sucks to lose for no reason, but at least you can get some practice in. So if you encounter a troll, mute him and move on. That is all you can do.

2. Nobody can insult you!

You are a machine, not a human being! At least that's how you should behave when encountering other players that insult you and try to get to you. Just keep your cool. Don't give them what they want. They want you to respond to them. They want that you acknowledge the great joke about your mother they just made. Always think about it this way: There must be a reason they do this. Often times it is because you are just a better player. I am serious. A lot of times the people that start to trash talk really suck playing the game. And their way of coping with their flaws is by insulting the opponent. Just keep cool and always keep in the back of your head that you are a better player (and human being). Don't forget the mute button - it works magic!

3. You play for fun!

Why are you playing video games? To have fun! I know sometimes games get so intense that you really invest yourself into it. If you lose you feel like shit. And of course you want to become better. But always remember why you play games to begin with. You want to have a good time. Don't let these people ruin something you enjoy to do! I don't have a lot of free time anymore to play video games, so if I do, I want to have a good time. And of course it feels shit if someone insults me and ruins the game, but you always have to keep cool and just remind yourself what you are actually doing here. This isn't your work. You don't have to earn your money by winning, in my case, Dota 2 games. Always remember this! You want to have a good time - and that's what you should do!

And that's already it! It is really that simple. Don't let these people ruin something you like to do. Keep your cool and I promise you, you won't get tilted by these people.