When people can hide behind an avatar and fake screen name, it’s easy to indulge in your darker tendencies. Sure, everyone engages in a little new-player grieving, or hogs the loot for themselves every now and again, but some people take things way too far. They may not always be annoying, or even something that you really notice, but the types of people that make up this list are the types that can slowly contribute to the poisoning of an otherwise flourishing community.
They may be inevitable, but consider it your duty as an MMO player to not only recognize when you might be slipping into one of these roles, but also recognize when others are abusing situations as well. The most frustrating part is that, sometimes, the person isn’t even trying to be difficult or annoying, which can make situations all the more cumbersome.
5) The Marathon Men
Out of all the types of players on this list, the Marathon Man can probably describe everybody at some point. Maybe this is your 5th alt and you just want to get through the content as quickly as possible, maybe you’ve remade this character four times already and you’re ready to see the above level-10 areas of the game, or perhaps you’re just the type that doesn’t care about story and immersion and you just want to finish stuff as quickly as possible. That’s all fine and understandable, to a certain degree.
)
Everyone plays games differently and enjoys them in different ways, so it’s totally fine that maybe you don’t care about the Vistas in Guild Wars 2 and you just want to get map completion as fast as possible. The issue is when your behavior and style of play impacts the enjoyment of others. Don’t rush someone just because they want to watch the cutscene, or go see what’s in that unmarked cave, even if it’s completely empty. Part of playing an MMO with thousands of other players is interacting with an accommodating the play styles of all of those other players.
4) Elitists
Look, I understand that you’re probably the most 1337 tank in all of Azeroth and you can easily solo dungeons with your eyes closed, but that doesn’t give you the right to demean and talk down to other players. You may be at the top of the proverbial food chain now, but you were swinging sticks at bugs in your underpants at some point too and you should remember that.
)
Reaching the top of the ladder is a great feeling, but with great power comes great potential for elitism. Exerting your power and influence over the lowbies of the realm is understandable, but don’t make others feel like lesser people just because they may not be as far along as you are. This type of behavior not only drives new players away from the game, but it creates a hierarchy among existing players that will eventually suck every ounce of the enjoyment out of the game all together.
