I was hanging out in an MMO’s Discord channel a while back when I skimmed through a convo where some folks were grumping about a griefer and demanding that the devs do something about it. Another player chimed in with a comment that absolutely changed my perspective.
“Imagine how crap your life’s gotta be to want to run multiple accounts for farming fake currency in a private server version of a dead MMO,” he chuckled. “Trust me, they aren’t worth getting angry over.”
I’ve been stymied by players griefing and cheating in MMOs many times over the years, and I wish I could’ve shared that observation with my younger self to spare myself some frustration. Yes, I’m annoyed, but imagining how grim the life of the person who’s, say, corpse-camping newbies for eight hours straight must be – and what must have happened to him to put him in that unfortunate, useless place – definitely turns the tables and takes the edge off my immediate grumping. Pity is weirdly powerful.
How do you manage your frustration with MMO griefers?
Every morning, the Massively Overpowered writers team up with mascot Mo to ask MMORPG players pointed questions about the massively multiplayer online roleplaying genre. Grab a mug of your preferred beverage and take a stab at answering the question posed in today’s Daily Grind!
