 | During any competitive game, whether it is played online or in person; most players are bound to experience some level of toxicity which could lead to poor user experiences. Toxic behavior in games is when a player with a bad attitude is abusive in some way to the other players. For example, calling the other players names, using hate speech, or some sort of harassment. Although reporting players is a preventative option, this does not remove all toxicity from the game. |
With the rise of video games and more specifically, first-person shooters (FPS), these challenges have recently gotten worse. From the second Riot Games announced the release of Valorant, it became one of the most sought-after games among the FPS community.
Valorant is a multiplayer first-person shooter game that involves two teams of five attacking one another to win. The game consists of thirteen rounds where one team plays the defensive side and the other plays the offensive side; after the thirteen rounds, they switch. Players on the offensive side have the objective to either take out all the opposing players or plant and defend the bomb for forty-five seconds before it explodes. Defensive players on the other hand do the opposite. Their objective is to either take out all the attackers, defuse the planted bomb, or defend long enough for the round to be over; the first team to win thirteen rounds wins.
Between the teams and the competitiveness of the game, many players can become very agitated, causing toxic behavior towards other players. Valorant’s broad demographic of gamers, coiled with the anonymity of players and competitive nature, causes the gaming platform to be a breeding ground for toxic behavior.
Valorant is a multiplayer first-person shooter game that involves two teams of five attacking one another to win. The game consists of thirteen rounds where one team plays the defensive side and the other plays the offensive side; after the thirteen rounds, they switch. Players on the offensive side have the objective to either take out all the opposing players or plant and defend the bomb for forty-five seconds before it explodes. Defensive players on the other hand do the opposite. Their objective is to either take out all the attackers, defuse the planted bomb, or defend long enough for the round to be over; the first team to win thirteen rounds wins.
Between the teams and the competitiveness of the game, many players can become very agitated, causing toxic behavior towards other players. Valorant’s broad demographic of gamers, coiled with the anonymity of players and competitive nature, causes the gaming platform to be a breeding ground for toxic behavior.
Demographics, Diversity and Skill Gap
It is not a mystery that most people who play video games tend to be on the younger side, and there is no difference with Valorant. In addition, to a large portion of their demographic being younger, they also have players from all over the world playing the game with different personalities and skill levels. With Valorants main demographic being younger players, there is a clear disparity in maturity levels between many of the players (Kowert, 2020). For example, some younger players may have limited social experience causing them to believe that making fun of others is normal behavior in games (Kowert, 2020). This could cause them to make blind decisions and impulsively act out in toxic behavior such as calling other players names or slurs.
Moreover, forty-five per cent of all gamers are women, hence adding to the diversity of those who play Valorant (Fillmowicz, 2023). However, with that large portion of the community being women, studies have shown that women are more likely to be targeted for toxic comments more often than men (Kuznekoff & Rose, 2013). There could be many reasons why this happens, possibly being that people approach conflict resolution differently. For example, men use more competitive and assertive resolutions, while women tend to use cooperative and accommodating approaches (Fillmowicz, 2023). Regardless of the reason behind the toxicity, these actions lead to women not using in-game voice chats as often, affecting the communication and performance of the team (Kowert, 2020).
In addition to age differences and a diverse player base, the skill gap is a large contributor to toxic behavior (Kowert, 2020). Valorant has two main game modes, a casual game mode which is meant for casual players who want to relax and a competitive game mode which allows players who are serious about the game to play against other players with similar goals. In the competitive game mode, each player is assigned a rank that is based on their skill level, this ranges from the lowest, Iron to the highest which is Radiant. These ranks are used to allow players to be matched with other players who are at the same skill level as each other, allowing for fair gameplay. It is expected that as the players progress through the ranks, their communication and in-game decision-making will become better as the player builds on their skills.
However, even if the players do improve their abilities and strategies, the in-game scoreboard that tracks each player’s statistics (kills, assists, and deaths) ranks each player from highest kills to lowest. The scoreboard displays how each player is performing, which allows the lowest-performing player to be targeted for offensive comments. This further confirms that the skill gap contributes to toxic behavior (Kowert, 2020). Some terms toxic players will use consist of telling the player that they are “getting carried”, calling them “washed”, or other toxic ways to offend the individual about their skills. This issue carries on throughout each rank of Valorant and is due to the hierarchy made by the scoreboard.
Furthermore, if there is a player at the bottom of the scoreboard and their team is losing, the player’s teammates will likely be frustrated and take that frustration out on them with negative remarks. Even in lower ranks, players who perform at the bottom of the scoreboard can expect to be made a target and be put down by the other players and called names. With the young ages of players and the differences in demographics and skill levels, Valorant has become a place where toxic behavior is largely prevalent.
It is not a mystery that most people who play video games tend to be on the younger side, and there is no difference with Valorant. In addition, to a large portion of their demographic being younger, they also have players from all over the world playing the game with different personalities and skill levels. With Valorants main demographic being younger players, there is a clear disparity in maturity levels between many of the players (Kowert, 2020). For example, some younger players may have limited social experience causing them to believe that making fun of others is normal behavior in games (Kowert, 2020). This could cause them to make blind decisions and impulsively act out in toxic behavior such as calling other players names or slurs.
Moreover, forty-five per cent of all gamers are women, hence adding to the diversity of those who play Valorant (Fillmowicz, 2023). However, with that large portion of the community being women, studies have shown that women are more likely to be targeted for toxic comments more often than men (Kuznekoff & Rose, 2013). There could be many reasons why this happens, possibly being that people approach conflict resolution differently. For example, men use more competitive and assertive resolutions, while women tend to use cooperative and accommodating approaches (Fillmowicz, 2023). Regardless of the reason behind the toxicity, these actions lead to women not using in-game voice chats as often, affecting the communication and performance of the team (Kowert, 2020).
In addition to age differences and a diverse player base, the skill gap is a large contributor to toxic behavior (Kowert, 2020). Valorant has two main game modes, a casual game mode which is meant for casual players who want to relax and a competitive game mode which allows players who are serious about the game to play against other players with similar goals. In the competitive game mode, each player is assigned a rank that is based on their skill level, this ranges from the lowest, Iron to the highest which is Radiant. These ranks are used to allow players to be matched with other players who are at the same skill level as each other, allowing for fair gameplay. It is expected that as the players progress through the ranks, their communication and in-game decision-making will become better as the player builds on their skills.
However, even if the players do improve their abilities and strategies, the in-game scoreboard that tracks each player’s statistics (kills, assists, and deaths) ranks each player from highest kills to lowest. The scoreboard displays how each player is performing, which allows the lowest-performing player to be targeted for offensive comments. This further confirms that the skill gap contributes to toxic behavior (Kowert, 2020). Some terms toxic players will use consist of telling the player that they are “getting carried”, calling them “washed”, or other toxic ways to offend the individual about their skills. This issue carries on throughout each rank of Valorant and is due to the hierarchy made by the scoreboard.
Furthermore, if there is a player at the bottom of the scoreboard and their team is losing, the player’s teammates will likely be frustrated and take that frustration out on them with negative remarks. Even in lower ranks, players who perform at the bottom of the scoreboard can expect to be made a target and be put down by the other players and called names. With the young ages of players and the differences in demographics and skill levels, Valorant has become a place where toxic behavior is largely prevalent.
Anonymity of Players
Anonymity by playing online video games, fuels the possibility of toxic behavior (Kordyaka et al., 2020). Like all online multiplayer games, Valorant also hides the identities of their players. The gamer IDs are made up of a custom username and a tagline, for example, Riot#123. Unless the player chooses to use their real name as their username, they will remain anonymous. In most cases, unless the player gives another player their information, it would be almost impossible for others to deduce any information about them.
Similar to other games, Valorant gives its players a sense of anonymity because it is mainly played online and on a Personal Computer (PC) or laptop. A PC is a computer that is set up on a desk with a mouse and a keyboard and uses a high-definition monitor allowing for more immersive gameplay (Fillmowicz, 2023). Individuals playing games behind screens authorize the bad behavior or frustrated players to act out, fueling their toxic behavior toward other players. This is due to the reduced accountability from being anonymous (Kowert, 2020). The players who want to act out and make toxic comments can do so with little to no consequences in the real world.
Moreover, studies have shown that having one player act toxically, influences the other players to also act in toxic ways in future games due to them thinking it is a normal part of gaming, creating a butterfly effect (Shen et al., 2020). In addition to players having anonymity, the intense gameplay mixed with the anonymity provided by playing remotely allows players of Valorant to get frustrated more often and lash out, acting toxically towards their other teammates. This behavior is intensified when there is a toxic player on the team that is losing, giving more opportunities for players to get under the skin of their teammates.
The toxicity could be due to an array of reasons, from being so immersed in the gameplay to having clashing personalities between teammates leading to conflict between teammates. All the reasons are intensified by all the players being anonymous (Kowert, 2020). For example, when the toxic player is on the losing side and their team is collectively performing poorly, the player could simply leave the game, making it harder for their team to catch up, or calling their teammate different insults about their performance or other slurs that could inhibit the others from enjoying the game. While there are benefits to being anonymous online, it is one of the main sources of why toxicity is such a large issue in Valorant.
Competitive Nature
Most online multiplayer games have a sense of competitiveness that goes along with them and this is the case with Valorant. As previously stated, Valorant uses an extremely competitive ranking system for players to go against other players who are in the same skill level. They take a step further by giving players who are at the top of the ranking system a numbered rank, which leads to more intense gameplay. For instance, players who play in the rank, “Radiant,” get a numbered rank, such as Radiant #200 NA. This means that they would be in the top two hundred in North America. Having an elaborate ranking system is a good way to keep competitiveness high because it allows players who have already built up their skills and abilities to compete with each other. On the other hand, players in lower ranks work on their decision-making and skills together.
Anonymity by playing online video games, fuels the possibility of toxic behavior (Kordyaka et al., 2020). Like all online multiplayer games, Valorant also hides the identities of their players. The gamer IDs are made up of a custom username and a tagline, for example, Riot#123. Unless the player chooses to use their real name as their username, they will remain anonymous. In most cases, unless the player gives another player their information, it would be almost impossible for others to deduce any information about them.
Similar to other games, Valorant gives its players a sense of anonymity because it is mainly played online and on a Personal Computer (PC) or laptop. A PC is a computer that is set up on a desk with a mouse and a keyboard and uses a high-definition monitor allowing for more immersive gameplay (Fillmowicz, 2023). Individuals playing games behind screens authorize the bad behavior or frustrated players to act out, fueling their toxic behavior toward other players. This is due to the reduced accountability from being anonymous (Kowert, 2020). The players who want to act out and make toxic comments can do so with little to no consequences in the real world.
Moreover, studies have shown that having one player act toxically, influences the other players to also act in toxic ways in future games due to them thinking it is a normal part of gaming, creating a butterfly effect (Shen et al., 2020). In addition to players having anonymity, the intense gameplay mixed with the anonymity provided by playing remotely allows players of Valorant to get frustrated more often and lash out, acting toxically towards their other teammates. This behavior is intensified when there is a toxic player on the team that is losing, giving more opportunities for players to get under the skin of their teammates.
The toxicity could be due to an array of reasons, from being so immersed in the gameplay to having clashing personalities between teammates leading to conflict between teammates. All the reasons are intensified by all the players being anonymous (Kowert, 2020). For example, when the toxic player is on the losing side and their team is collectively performing poorly, the player could simply leave the game, making it harder for their team to catch up, or calling their teammate different insults about their performance or other slurs that could inhibit the others from enjoying the game. While there are benefits to being anonymous online, it is one of the main sources of why toxicity is such a large issue in Valorant.
Competitive Nature
Most online multiplayer games have a sense of competitiveness that goes along with them and this is the case with Valorant. As previously stated, Valorant uses an extremely competitive ranking system for players to go against other players who are in the same skill level. They take a step further by giving players who are at the top of the ranking system a numbered rank, which leads to more intense gameplay. For instance, players who play in the rank, “Radiant,” get a numbered rank, such as Radiant #200 NA. This means that they would be in the top two hundred in North America. Having an elaborate ranking system is a good way to keep competitiveness high because it allows players who have already built up their skills and abilities to compete with each other. On the other hand, players in lower ranks work on their decision-making and skills together.
Consequently, a game that relies heavily on decision-making, skill, and map awareness creates a difficult game to climb in the ranks while creating a competitive environment. Therefore, the ranking system solves this issue where a competitive environment is constructed through alike players who are heavily immersed in the gameplay. However, while having a lot of players fully immersed in a competitive multiplayer game is not negative, applying a competitive ranking system to it designs an environment for players to become frustrated or angry due to performance issues of teammates or themselves (Nwanta, 2023). For example, if there is a player not playing well, the toxic player can call them several insults like “you’re trash,” and “you’re so bad”.
Another issue with having a ranked system is that sometimes players are not accurately placed in a rank due to “being carried,” which creates skill disparities between players. “Being carried,” is a term used for a player that plays with a friend or multiple friends who are lengths ahead in skill to easily climb the ranks of a game. This, coupled with the competitive nature of Valorant, creates an environment where “carried” players have targets on their backs, due to the high stakes and pressure made by the ranking system (Nwanta, 2023). This can increase the number of toxic comments to come their way.
Due to the extremely competitive nature of Valorant, having a ranking system makes players playing the first-person shooter value their abilities and time spent climbing up in the ranks. Players spend hours on end practising and familiarising themselves with Valorant to gain a slight edge over other players. This creates an environment where the competitiveness of the game can frustrate players causing them to direct toxic behaviour towards poor-performing teammates or teammates who are not playing at a correct rank.
Conclusion
While Valorant's player base gets bigger, the toxic behavior among players will continue to grow. As a large portion of Valorant’s population and player base have a younger demographic, it is not a surprise that there is a disparity in maturity levels. In addition to this, the game is available all over the world, resulting in the clash of personal differences due to the high diversity of players. Furthermore, this opens up the possibility of larger skill gaps between players.
The skill gap between players leads to toxic behaviour because it causes the better-performing players to behave toxically toward teammates who are not performing well. Additionally, the anonymity of playing online video games like Valorant creates an environment that fuels frustrated players who can easily lash out at their teammates with toxic behaviour. This is due to the lack of accountability from being hidden and anonymous from the other gamers. The competitive nature of Valorant is also an aspect of the game that additionally causes normal players to experience the toxicity of others. With the heavy emphasis on Valorants ranked game mode, many players immerse themselves in the gameplay and give a lot of meaning to their ranks.
In turn, this opens up the opportunity for frustrations over the inexperience of teammates, regardless of who is winning the game. With Valorant’s diverse demographic, anonymity, and competitive nature of players, it becomes a place where toxic behaviour becomes a normal part of the game. Valorant is a game that is enjoyed by many gamers all over the world. However, the players who believe that toxic behaviour is a normal part of playing games will forever leave a negative mark on Valorant.
References
‘VALORANT Rank Distribution (September 2023) — TRN Checkpoint’. Accessed 2 December 2023. https://tracker.gg/checkpoint/articles/valorant-rank-distribution.
‘Hate Is No Game: Harassment and Positive Social Experiences in Online Games 2021 | ADL’. Accessed 2 December 2023. https://www.adl.org/resources/report/hate-no-game-harassment-and-positive-social-experiences-online-games-2021.
https://www.wired.com/story/toxicity-in-gaming-is-dangerous-heres-how-to-stand-up-to-it/
Fu, D. (n.d.). A Look at Gaming Culture and Gaming Related Problems: From a Gamer’s Perspective.
Kowert, R. (2020). Dark Participation in Games. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 598947. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.598947
Kuznekoff, J. H., & Rose, L. M. (2013). Communication in multiplayer gaming: Examining player responses to gender cues. New Media & Society, 15(4), 541–556. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444812458271
Nwanta, O. (2023). The Impact of Toxic Behaviour on First-Person Shooter Players.
Shen, C., Sun, Q., Kim, T., Wolff, G., Ratan, R., & Williams, D. (2020). Viral vitriol: Predictors and contagion of online toxicity in World of Tanks. Computers in Human Behavior, 108, 106343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106343
Vuong `, D. `. (n.d.). “It’s just a game”: Toxic Triggers in the Competitive FPS Valorant. https://languagedlife.humspace.ucla.edu/sociolinguistics/its-just-a-game-toxic-triggers-in-the-competitive-fps-valorant/
Nwanta, Osita. ‘The Impact of Toxic Behaviour on First-Person Shooter Players’, n.d. https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/796622/Nwanta_Osita.pdf.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y#:~:text=Such%20behaviour%20can%20lead%20to,players%20and%20other%20negative%20consequences.
Shen, Cuihua, Qiusi Sun, Taeyoung Kim, Grace Wolff, Rabindra Ratan, and Dmitri Williams. ‘Viral Vitriol: Predictors and Contagion of Online Toxicity in World of Tanks’. Computers in Human Behavior 108 (1 July 2020): 106343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106343.
Türkay, Selen, Jessica Formosa, Sonam Adinolf, Robert Cuthbert, and Roger Altizer. ‘See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil: How Collegiate Players Define, Experience and Cope with Toxicity’. In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–13. CHI ’20. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376191.
Kordyaka, Bastian, Katharina Jahn, and Bjoern Niehaves. ‘Towards a Unified Theory of Toxic Behavior in Video Games’. Internet Research 30, no. 4 (1 January 2020): 1081–1102. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-08-2019-0343.
Another issue with having a ranked system is that sometimes players are not accurately placed in a rank due to “being carried,” which creates skill disparities between players. “Being carried,” is a term used for a player that plays with a friend or multiple friends who are lengths ahead in skill to easily climb the ranks of a game. This, coupled with the competitive nature of Valorant, creates an environment where “carried” players have targets on their backs, due to the high stakes and pressure made by the ranking system (Nwanta, 2023). This can increase the number of toxic comments to come their way.
Due to the extremely competitive nature of Valorant, having a ranking system makes players playing the first-person shooter value their abilities and time spent climbing up in the ranks. Players spend hours on end practising and familiarising themselves with Valorant to gain a slight edge over other players. This creates an environment where the competitiveness of the game can frustrate players causing them to direct toxic behaviour towards poor-performing teammates or teammates who are not playing at a correct rank.
Conclusion
While Valorant's player base gets bigger, the toxic behavior among players will continue to grow. As a large portion of Valorant’s population and player base have a younger demographic, it is not a surprise that there is a disparity in maturity levels. In addition to this, the game is available all over the world, resulting in the clash of personal differences due to the high diversity of players. Furthermore, this opens up the possibility of larger skill gaps between players.
The skill gap between players leads to toxic behaviour because it causes the better-performing players to behave toxically toward teammates who are not performing well. Additionally, the anonymity of playing online video games like Valorant creates an environment that fuels frustrated players who can easily lash out at their teammates with toxic behaviour. This is due to the lack of accountability from being hidden and anonymous from the other gamers. The competitive nature of Valorant is also an aspect of the game that additionally causes normal players to experience the toxicity of others. With the heavy emphasis on Valorants ranked game mode, many players immerse themselves in the gameplay and give a lot of meaning to their ranks.
In turn, this opens up the opportunity for frustrations over the inexperience of teammates, regardless of who is winning the game. With Valorant’s diverse demographic, anonymity, and competitive nature of players, it becomes a place where toxic behaviour becomes a normal part of the game. Valorant is a game that is enjoyed by many gamers all over the world. However, the players who believe that toxic behaviour is a normal part of playing games will forever leave a negative mark on Valorant.
References
‘VALORANT Rank Distribution (September 2023) — TRN Checkpoint’. Accessed 2 December 2023. https://tracker.gg/checkpoint/articles/valorant-rank-distribution.
‘Hate Is No Game: Harassment and Positive Social Experiences in Online Games 2021 | ADL’. Accessed 2 December 2023. https://www.adl.org/resources/report/hate-no-game-harassment-and-positive-social-experiences-online-games-2021.
https://www.wired.com/story/toxicity-in-gaming-is-dangerous-heres-how-to-stand-up-to-it/
Fu, D. (n.d.). A Look at Gaming Culture and Gaming Related Problems: From a Gamer’s Perspective.
Kowert, R. (2020). Dark Participation in Games. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 598947. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.598947
Kuznekoff, J. H., & Rose, L. M. (2013). Communication in multiplayer gaming: Examining player responses to gender cues. New Media & Society, 15(4), 541–556. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444812458271
Nwanta, O. (2023). The Impact of Toxic Behaviour on First-Person Shooter Players.
Shen, C., Sun, Q., Kim, T., Wolff, G., Ratan, R., & Williams, D. (2020). Viral vitriol: Predictors and contagion of online toxicity in World of Tanks. Computers in Human Behavior, 108, 106343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106343
Vuong `, D. `. (n.d.). “It’s just a game”: Toxic Triggers in the Competitive FPS Valorant. https://languagedlife.humspace.ucla.edu/sociolinguistics/its-just-a-game-toxic-triggers-in-the-competitive-fps-valorant/
Nwanta, Osita. ‘The Impact of Toxic Behaviour on First-Person Shooter Players’, n.d. https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/796622/Nwanta_Osita.pdf.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y#:~:text=Such%20behaviour%20can%20lead%20to,players%20and%20other%20negative%20consequences.
Shen, Cuihua, Qiusi Sun, Taeyoung Kim, Grace Wolff, Rabindra Ratan, and Dmitri Williams. ‘Viral Vitriol: Predictors and Contagion of Online Toxicity in World of Tanks’. Computers in Human Behavior 108 (1 July 2020): 106343. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106343.
Türkay, Selen, Jessica Formosa, Sonam Adinolf, Robert Cuthbert, and Roger Altizer. ‘See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil: How Collegiate Players Define, Experience and Cope with Toxicity’. In Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–13. CHI ’20. New York, NY, USA: Association for Computing Machinery, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376191.
Kordyaka, Bastian, Katharina Jahn, and Bjoern Niehaves. ‘Towards a Unified Theory of Toxic Behavior in Video Games’. Internet Research 30, no. 4 (1 January 2020): 1081–1102. https://doi.org/10.1108/INTR-08-2019-0343.
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