4 ms·

This is a thing with Fortnite, but is not a phenomenon with all games that have a similar revenue model. A few years ago I played DotA 2 a lot (like, 10 hours a

This is a thing with Fortnite, but is not a phenomenon with all games that have a similar revenue model. A few years ago I played DotA 2 a lot (like, 10 hours a day every day, while enrolled in school). I did eventually buy some skins to show off, but ultimately it was pointless and everyone knew it. When you saw another player in the game, you didn't think about their skins, aside from maybe ogling at the fancy particle FX for a bit, or maybe some complaining in chat about how it unfairly made hero X look like hero Y, etc. My friends similarly bought skins but ultimately didn't care. The situation is similar in the MMOFPS Planetside 2. In that game skins are more correlated with skill, and I have gotten a few comments about playing well for someone with no skins. But there is absolutely no negativity. My younger brother plays Fortnite, and they (he + his friends) have some impressively horrifying obsession with skins. Labeling something or some action as a 'default' is an insult commonly used in real life. I have only played the game a tiny bit, and have no idea why this is the case. Even my college aged friends really care a lot about the skins.

ImaCake 7y ago
>I did eventually buy some skins to show off, but ultimately it was pointless and everyone knew it. This was my experience with League of Legends as well. Skins were admired but not considered a mark of skill. I personally didn't play with many skins and was not judged for not having them.
- JakeTheAndroid 7y ago
  I recently had this discussion here regarding CSGO, more regarding loot boxes, but a similar enough conversation. In CSGO, people really do care about skins. Now, you normally don't get flamed for having default skins, but people look closely at your knife, your AWP, your gloves, etc. If you have good skins, people generally like you more (in a random queue context). You are also expected to generally not suck. On the flip side, you set yourself up for pressure by having nicer skins, because people then say "all skins, no skill". So oddly enough the skins in CSGO do play into the culture. Especially because the running joke is the better the skins, the better the player.
  - hermitdev 7y ago
    I played the original CS quite a bit in college, some 20 years ago, when you didn't have any customization. If you were good, people would accuse you of hacking and/or rage quit. The community got so toxic, I stopped playing the game. Wasnt fun anymore. These days, I rarely play anything online that isn't pure coop. I dont like the toxicity that competition brings out in games online (in the US, in my experience). I'm playing a game to relax after work or on the weekend. I am nearly 40, and don't need or want that negativity in my life. I remember when it was "gg" after every match, but now it's more likely a racist or sexicist comment, followed by "get guud". Fuck that. Don't want to be screamed at by a little shit spouting racial epithets or questioning someones sexuality.
    - JakeTheAndroid 7y ago
      They removed the end/half time voice chat, so that is no longer an issue. People still call you a hacker, especially if you start the first couple rounds out doing well. The game is now F2P so the number of hackers is also way up as it is. I still enjoy the game, but I basically mute my team unless they are cool and helpful. I prefer to play on Faceit and with my friends. And I no longer am invested in rank or winning, just trying to improve individually. You're point is dead on about the game though, I understand why people hate it. Voice chat is full of kids thinking they are edgy by dropping racial slurs or homophobic stuff, people don't work together, and there are hackers in so many games. If there was a better competitive shooter for PC I would probably play it. R6 Siege just doesn't do it for me, and all the other games are king of the hill style games now (Apex, PUBG, Fortnite, even CSGO Danger Zone). COD on PC was never fun for me. Really it's Battlefield but people don't really play that as competitively. If there was another option I would probably play it.
      - int_19h 7y ago
        I just don't play competitively anymore. Online co-op can still be lots of fun, and even competitive in some ways (showing off along the lines of, "look what I can do!"), but it takes off the vicious edge that produces all that toxicity. Although you still get griefers.
de_watcher 7y ago
In Dota2 they just silently think that you know what you're doing if you've got an unusual cosmetic. So they flame you less.

ImaCake 7y ago

>I did eventually buy some skins to show off, but ultimately it was pointless and everyone knew it. This was my experience with League of Legends as well. Skins were admired but not considered a mark of skill. I personally didn't play with many skins and was not judged for not having them.

JakeTheAndroid 7y ago
I recently had this discussion here regarding CSGO, more regarding loot boxes, but a similar enough conversation. In CSGO, people really do care about skins. Now, you normally don't get flamed for having default skins, but people look closely at your knife, your AWP, your gloves, etc. If you have good skins, people generally like you more (in a random queue context). You are also expected to generally not suck. On the flip side, you set yourself up for pressure by having nicer skins, because people then say "all skins, no skill". So oddly enough the skins in CSGO do play into the culture. Especially because the running joke is the better the skins, the better the player.
- hermitdev 7y ago
  I played the original CS quite a bit in college, some 20 years ago, when you didn't have any customization. If you were good, people would accuse you of hacking and/or rage quit. The community got so toxic, I stopped playing the game. Wasnt fun anymore. These days, I rarely play anything online that isn't pure coop. I dont like the toxicity that competition brings out in games online (in the US, in my experience). I'm playing a game to relax after work or on the weekend. I am nearly 40, and don't need or want that negativity in my life. I remember when it was "gg" after every match, but now it's more likely a racist or sexicist comment, followed by "get guud". Fuck that. Don't want to be screamed at by a little shit spouting racial epithets or questioning someones sexuality.
  - JakeTheAndroid 7y ago
    They removed the end/half time voice chat, so that is no longer an issue. People still call you a hacker, especially if you start the first couple rounds out doing well. The game is now F2P so the number of hackers is also way up as it is. I still enjoy the game, but I basically mute my team unless they are cool and helpful. I prefer to play on Faceit and with my friends. And I no longer am invested in rank or winning, just trying to improve individually. You're point is dead on about the game though, I understand why people hate it. Voice chat is full of kids thinking they are edgy by dropping racial slurs or homophobic stuff, people don't work together, and there are hackers in so many games. If there was a better competitive shooter for PC I would probably play it. R6 Siege just doesn't do it for me, and all the other games are king of the hill style games now (Apex, PUBG, Fortnite, even CSGO Danger Zone). COD on PC was never fun for me. Really it's Battlefield but people don't really play that as competitively. If there was another option I would probably play it.
    - int_19h 7y ago
      I just don't play competitively anymore. Online co-op can still be lots of fun, and even competitive in some ways (showing off along the lines of, "look what I can do!"), but it takes off the vicious edge that produces all that toxicity. Although you still get griefers.

de_watcher 7y ago

In Dota2 they just silently think that you know what you're doing if you've got an unusual cosmetic. So they flame you less.