One of the common tropes held by MMORPG players is that PvP, particularly free-for-all environments prone to ganks, generates the worst type of behavior. But while it may be more common for PvP, I have also witnessed absolutely wretched behavior from all types of players, including psychological abuse from roleplayers, to say nothing of plane-jumping, ninja-looting, and greed from PvE gamers. The problem in my mind isn’t PvP as much as it is conflict and competition, which is something most game types engender. I bet you’ve seen the same.
Making that point is a story from PCGamesN this morning, which reports on a World of Warcraft player who’s apparently been DDOSing teammates to ensure himself a raid spot in the well-known raiding guild Limit. Limit has since booted the player.
https://twitter.com/Jeathebelle/status/940126010703597570
But I’m curious whether our readers are swayed by anecdotes like that one. Let’s take it to the polls for a quick Leaderboard, shall we?
Leaderboard: Which MMO gameplay type encourages the worst player behavior? (Choose three.)
- Free-for-all PvP (32%, 270 Votes)
- Battlegrounds / factional PvP (8%, 68 Votes)
- PvE raiding / endgame loot (14%, 117 Votes)
- Achievements / world firsts (4%, 30 Votes)
- PvE questing / farming (1%, 12 Votes)
- Global chat (10%, 88 Votes)
- Roleplaying (1%, 9 Votes)
- Economy / crafting (1%, 5 Votes)
- Guild life (1%, 12 Votes)
- Gearscore / DPS meters (20%, 169 Votes)
- Cash shops (4%, 33 Votes)
- Housing / territory (2%, 14 Votes)
- None of these (0%, 1 Votes)
- Something else (tell us in the comments). (2%, 15 Votes)
Total Voters: 397