Don’t Be That Guy: The Noob-hater

[drizzt]

Sitting down for a few online matches can be a fun way to relax after a hard day at work or school. But it’s hard to avoid getting even more frustrated when we have to share our games with idiotic players.


In this column, we’ll talk about some of the worst offenders and how they end up corrupting the hell out of our gaming experiences, and we kindly invite you to…well, don’t be that guy.



While there are a lot of things to complain about in online gaming, like unreliable servers and online passes, right there on the top of everyone’s list are noobs.

People don’t seem to mind sharing their games with the foul-mouthed, misogynist, and outright disturbing players they frequently find online. But if they’re brought down by a guy hiding in a corner in any shooting game…that’s a real problem.

“That’s cheap! That’s not the way I’m supposed to be defeated!” They were felled by an honorless play, a pagan tactic only employed by those unskilled enough to fight like real men do—in other words, a “noob.”


I mean, there are people proudly quitting from online matches, while there are some assholes claiming that harassment is part of the gaming community. But being a noob, or being called a noob, seems to be the worst offense any player can bear.

Apparently, noobs are the ones responsible for sinking your team down in the scoreboard; they’re the ones not doing what they’re supposed to do, or the ones on the other team accumulating points by cheaply wasting your teammates (who’re also a bunch of noobs).

It’s a Matter of Skill, Right?

Yes, it’s true, rookies tend to adopt cheap tactics quite easily, but you can’t really blame them. You might not understand it since you’ve spent so much time in Halo or Call of Duty, and you no longer remember those first days you dared to try an online game.

Inexperienced as newcomers commonly are, they have to endure a good amount of beating before they realize that they have to do something different from just running and gunning. Yes, they’re going to camp, they’re going to snipe, and if they have an underbarrel grenade launcher attached to their assault rifle, you can bet they’re going to use it!

Tony Montana feels no shame in using his grenade launcher (aka. the “noobtuber”)

Outsmarting your opponents and devising less-direct confrontation methods is not only a very human behavior, but also the milestone of every military tactic in human history.

Of course, their newfound technique will only serve them well against other players of their same skill level; as they progress and get the chance to play against more experienced players, they’ll learn that their playstyle isn’t as effective as it used to be, so they will have to devise something different if they want to catch up.

And there’s nothing wrong about new challengers, except…

It’s Not Only About Their Skill, Right?

The second issue in this matter seems to be that a lot of people simply hate rookies, not only for their current skill level, but also because they’re the newcomers, and the locals feel obligated to treat them as harsh as they possibly can.

Dear haters: Online gaming isn’t and shouldn’t be an exclusive club. Whether you like it or not, we need newcomers if we want this medium to survive.

An online community without noobs…I mean, “rookies,” wouldn’t be that bad-ass utopia of competitive gaming many people dream of. First, you surely understand that less people playing online games means more time waiting in the lobby for a match.

Second, and more important, without newcomers the online community would surely implode because—you might not be aware of this—people give up on games all the time.



You’re approaching a noob-free zone; estimated time for the next match, 15 minutes.

This is why we should strive to be a more inviting community. If we endorse videogames as part of our lifestyle and expect them to exist for a long time, we need to have a friendlier attitude toward newcomers.

This is why I raise one for the newest members of our online gaming community, since they’ve always showed us that they’re enthusiastic enough in order to endure the hard time and harassment online gaming is undeservedly known for.

And while a lot of these people (especially easily impressionable teenagers) will end up emulating everyone’s foul behavior (like teabagging), the newer crowd will surely have a handful of great guys we’d love to share our games with, or even become good friends with.

And for those about to play, we salute you!

[CloudStrife7x]

lol this was a good read, nice share drizzt :)

[Cleric]

Nice drizzt, good share :) that actually changed my view of noobs, I don't hate them so much any more!!!

[thegutta]

I know right i always get pissed off when i lose a game cuz of them on MW3 but now i feel like i want to help them get better give them some tips lol this was a good read seriously i see then different now wow lol :D great share drizzt

[drizzt]

I know right i always get pissed off when i lose a game cuz of them on MW3 but now i feel like i want to help them get better give them some tips lol this was a good read seriously i see then different now wow lol :D great share drizzt

The guys with strikers running around spraying is what really gets under my skin, But bless it, it makes me a better player Ya know

[thegutta]

The guys with strikers running around spraying is what really gets under my skin, But bless it, it makes me a better player Ya know

I know same here fucking strikers lol but thats true I have build this defense system agains them just cuz they always got under my skin until i start it working on a strike back offense n now I keep fucking up there plan :D

[Serious_M]

noobs are noobs let them be noobs , nice share drizzt

[Emerald Lance]

You sound like a fellow Game OverThinker fan. Are you a Game OverThinker fan? I think you're a Game OverThinker fan. ^-^

That sounds exactly like what he said back in 2008 on episode 11. Mind you, I'm not picking on you for saying the same thing, rather the opposite: I think it's great to hear those words echo from someone other than myself (I quote him CONSTANTLY).

And with that, I'd like to add my piece. To serious players, video games are pretty competitive. That sense of competition is born from the desire for a stronger challenge coupled with the lack of variety from NPC enemies; essentially, it's the human reaction to being bored. And it can get pretty powerful, seeing as competition puts an emphasis on winning, and soon a competitive player just won't be able to enjoy the game without knowing they'll will; it's like a drug that, once your start, you won't be able to be happy without it. We pride ourselves immensely on our skills and/or knowledge regarding video games. So it's easy to see why, when somebody that doesn't inherently have both comes along, it really bothers us and messes us up. No, not as gamers, but as humans. And that "pissed offedness" isn't just unique to video games, but is applied to EVERYTHING: sports, comic books, TV, movies, literature, etc. The list goes on. What I'm trying to get at here is that getting upset at "noobs" is a perfectly natural instinctive response to having a "noob" on your team: if your team is losing then you believe it's their fault, and if you're winning then you feel it's only because you're carrying them to victory. So again, it's a normal instinct.

It may sound as though I'm defending the verbal thrashing of new players, but I'm not; I'm just giving a little insight on what's what. And here's where my real point is: it's isn't the job of the new player to just magically be better than he is, it's the job of the veteran to help him learn the ropes. While being mad at them all day is indeed a natural instinct, our ability to control how our instincts shape our actions is what separates us from animals. It's what separates whiny children who are just upset because they can't have everything their way from the adult men who are mature enough to take the hand they're dealt with a cigar and a lemonade: with class. It isn't manly to pick on new players, just as it isn't tough to beat up a 5 year old. It doesn't make you a badass. And it certainly isn't mature.

How many of you don't know how to mod games in a hex editor, and one of the reasons you don't ask for help is because you're so used to the environment where newcomers are bullied? The biggest reason I'm here is because our community doesn't have that kind of attitude, and you can ask any member here and you can bet they'll tell you that they'd leave the minute this became one of THOSE forums, the kind where the mods are trigger-happy with the hammer and where the "Rule of Post Count" applies. Us at the haven aren't rude to newcomers simply because they're new here, but we do our best to guide the new guys in the right direction. I think it's in line with drizzt's post to say that we should work to spread this patience to the rest of the gaming community, and the best way to spread is to do. The biggest reason "noobs" are such a pain in the first place is because they always feel the need to macho up, because they're always being picked on. If we get rid of the cause, the effect will fix itself.



And so, I leave you with words of wisdom from the Game OverThinker. Really, it's a great series of videos, and anybody that hasn't listened to this guy yet should really grab some popcorn and take an hour or two. Even his story in later episodes (with the exception of the annoying AntiThinker arc) is pretty good, and each arc serves as a surprisingly deep metaphor. And so I give you Game OverThinker, Episode 11. Enjoy ;)