Why be toxic to other pet battlers?

[Vonisengard]

I was chipping away at my family battler achieves today and found a humanoid team that was doing well, got about four wins in and hit a team that was stacked poorly against me, in their favor. It happens. It’s why the achieves are a challenge.

I continued to tweak my team between queues, try different combos. I haven’t done a ton of pvp battles this xpac so I figured it was good practice, and hey, someone is getting wins.

Then I came up against them again and they had changed their pets’ names:

Ucantbeatmeu
Humanteamof
Morons



Ok, why? The community at large pokes fun at pet battlers pretty often. Why be snotty to someone with the same in-game interest as you? Let them beat their head against your strong team, what’s it to you?

Is this seriously a thing people do?

[Spinning]

Hello Vonisengard.
Well, a short answer would be - people suck in general.
Long answer... Wow prospers in anonymity. You had a bad day, you have a stressful job, you cannot release negative emotions, you suffer from a bad case of misanthropy - you will release all this toxicity in wow simply because you can. A lot of pet battlers that pvp are mean people and there is nothing that can be done about that. Just be strong and kick their ass repeatedly until they quit the queue.

[Gráinne]

Yeah, there are always a few, and unfortunately those are the ones you remember.

Actually, Spinning, the player in question specifically doesn't want to be anonymous, at least not in-game anonymous. He is making every effort to tell everyone who he is, and actively seeks attention from as many people as possible. He has made a thread about it a few hours ago on US in which he asks whether it's possible to taunt an opponent, currently keeping that team with those names in his armoury.

No, I have no idea why anyone would do that.

So I'd say the policy of making players unrecognisable in PvP battles is helping rather than hurting.

Vonisengard, I would say that in general it's probably best to switch your teams often while in the queue. When someone sees you running all Mechs, for example, they are likely to include an Elemental in their next team to counter you. So by the dynamics of the queue, plugging away on Humanoids with the same team is always likely to result in you meeting counters at any time.

While in general it's probably best to keep rotating teams between families, in this case that Kid/Serp/Teroclaw team is so OP and Paint-by-Numbers simple to play that you're probably just wasting your time, and exposing yourself to unnecessary toxicity. BTW, I no longer blame players for using OP teams. I blame the game for not giving disincentives for mindlessly spamming OP pets in every battle. And that's a longer conversation. But naming pets to be insulting is the responsibility of the player, not the game.

These things happen. Don't let it bother you. Come back another time, and/or make an alt on a far-flung realm to see whether you get into a different meta.

[Rosqo]

Players that use the most overpowered pets or teams as a default are not good enough to win any other way. They lack skill, planning and imagination. Far far too many claim to be ‘pro’ or ‘the best’ when actual fact their team is carrying them. Throwing a TH, F imp and TCS and winning lots of games says one thing your playing a bully team designed to pick on newer players.
The favourite thing about these only overpowered playing pet teams is when they face an actual decent player get stomped. I will actually go out of my way to farm overpowered teams again and again and again. Pet PVP should be rewarded by good play and team building not how easy it is to win with. Don’t think lesser pets can beat overpowered ones today I comfortably beat bs, m corgi & teroclaw with sand kitten, s/s autumnal sprout and Oasis Moth.
First game of this video https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=7Mnq2vCvGLk ws & double teroclaw.

[Vonisengard]

Grainne, thanks, that’s actually super advice.

[Rosqo]

I really wish I was in Zazon’s meta.

Same. Thing is he’s team is countered by triple foxes even the laziest player could put that team together

[Vonisengard]

Thank you so much for the encouragement, everyone. It’s really appreciated. Normally, something like that would roll off my back but I am personally going through a lot right now, so it frustrated me more than it normally would.

I did take the earlier suggestion and rotate around my teams last night. I finished my beast family achievement, as well as knocking out some kills on three others.

I took a peek over the official forms, and wow, you guys are right. I think people behave that way really have something very negative going on in their life, and that makes it much easier to let that behavior go.

Obviously, this is a very positive community, I’ve been a member here for very long time but never really frequented the forums, I think it something I’m definitely going to start doing.

[Starling5767]

Sorry to hear you are going through a lot lately! I hope things get better for you soon!

Sad for me to hear that even Pet battlers are toxic. Due to the overall nastiness of a lot of players in WoW I have turned my attentions more to pet collecting. I do not understand why people are toxic over WoW...It's supposed to be fun...

I have yet to do many PVP battles. Will try to get courage up to do more some day. Will have to look through these forums for advice.

[Tekulve2018]

Hiya

People often forget games are meant to be fun. When the fun can become a positive, social experience, all the better!

We all know certain people look for outlets for their need to be cruel. I actually figure the world might be a safer place if these petty people battle their demons in a virtual world like WoW. Personally, I won't grant them any of my attention..just smile and move on to the people who deserve your time..I have found there are lots of good folks in WoW. I even get chuckles from reading the insanity of trade chat.

Best of luck in your endeavors.
Tekulve

[Harpooha]

<Raises Hand>

I have been known to name pets in a way that reflects my disgust for teams I see repeatedly. However, it's always in the context of the other team being the OP variety. This was especially true during the Graves Epidemic. There was also alcohol involved, which doesn't lead to the best judgment

At the beginning of this expansion, I joined a pretty good guild and decided that I didn't want to do anything that reflected poorly on them. I also noticed that sometimes those names linger in the Armory, even when you've changed them in your pet journal.

Now, I just put more effort into trying to defeat them. Actions speak louder than words.

[Mehetabel]

People can be so horrible.

Players that use the most overpowered pets or teams as a default are not good enough to win any other way. They lack skill, planning and imagination.

You've pretty much just described me. I HATE pet battling. There are few things in this world that I dislike more. I truly truly suck at it too. Unfortunately, I have to do them for the achieves and related rewards, meaning the OP teams are pretty much the only way I can win anything.

[Spinning]

People can be so horrible.

Players that use the most overpowered pets or teams as a default are not good enough to win any other way. They lack skill, planning and imagination.

You've pretty much just described me. I HATE pet battling. There are few things in this world that I dislike more. I truly truly suck at it too. Unfortunately, I have to do them for the achieves and related rewards, meaning the OP teams are pretty much the only way I can win anything.

if you hate it why do it? i specifically like to farm people like you, who are just bad and play op crap

[Rosqo]

People can be so horrible.

Players that use the most overpowered pets or teams as a default are not good enough to win any other way. They lack skill, planning and imagination.

You've pretty much just described me. I HATE pet battling. There are few things in this world that I dislike more. I truly truly suck at it too. Unfortunately, I have to do them for the achieves and related rewards, meaning the OP teams are pretty much the only way I can win anything.

if you hate it why do it? i specifically like to farm people like you, who are just bad and play op crap

I’m with Spinning on this, it’s exactly the reason the queue is soo toxic and uninviting for new players. I too specifically go out of my way to beat players trying to farm wins with OP teams.

[Gráinne]

I refer m'lurned friends to the title of this thread. Don't pile on poor Mehetabel. This is exactly the situation the systems of the game dictate. Call it Tragedy of the Commons, call it perverse incentives, or call it badly thought out, but don't call it the player's fault. There are, what, maybe a half-dozen people across US and EU who identify as PvP pet battlers? Great. Why isn't that a half-million?

Mehetabel, I've just looked at your collection. You have worked really hard to get all those. That is an absolutely insane collection; I'm jealous. However, your breed choice for a number of the best battling pets is off in several cases. That will make it much harder for you to get PvP wins. I see you have a "one pet per species" policy. I have no doubt you could make pet PvP a lot easier on yourself, and learn some new tricks, if you're open to

a) replacing some of your existing pets with a different breed of the same species
b) entering the queue for fun instead of feeling under pressure to win and
c) working a bit on learning the basic mechanics of pet PvP and practicing teams

We're both on EU. I'd be happy to recommend a dozen pets or so that you should replace with different breeds, and work with you on developing and practicing some teams. Unfortunately, there really isn't a better resource for learning basic mechanics than hitting the queue, but a few duels with commentary can't hurt.

If you're interested, pop into the Discord here: https://discord.gg/FBtGdKU and drop me a message. Also, join in the chat.

[Mehetabel]

I think this thread is starting to prove the OP's point. So much for Warcraft Pets being friendly to all pet collectors/battlers, regardless of skill/experience.

if you hate it why do it? i specifically like to farm people like you, who are just bad and play op crap

Why? Because I collect pets and achievements obsessively. Any suggestions on how I can get those WITHOUT doing pet battles?

[Mehetabel]

Thanks Gráinne!

I must admit, I've never really paid attention to breeds, I'm a collector first and foremost.

I've not quite got myself to the point where I'm willing to tackle the new pet battle achieves but when I do I'll definitely give you a shout in the Discord. Thanks!

[Gráinne]

Fair enough, but since you have to battle to collect, you might as well pick the breed that helps you most often in battles.

Here's a list of 20 pets that have a breed that is clearly better, mostly for PvP, but usually for PvE as well:

Wicked Soul S/S
Fiendish Imp S/S
Alpine Foxling S/S
Emperor Crab P/P
Nightshade Sproutling S/S
Scalded Basilisk Hatchling H/S
Junglebeak P/P
Autumnal Sproutling P/P (S/S is also interesting)
Bronze Whelpling S/S
Ore Eater S/S
Crusher P/P
Bonkers S/S
Death Adder Hatchling OR Rose Taipan S/S
Iron Starlette H/H and/or P/S and/or P/P
Qiraji Guardling S/S
Frostfur Rat S/S
Nether Faerie Dragon S/S
Emerald Proto-Whelp P/P
Nexus Whelpling P/P
Spectral Spinner S/S

[Quintessence]

A quick reminder to keep discussions friendly. Player Vs. Player (in any game, really) naturally brings out the competitive side (and sometimes the worst) in some people, so the least we can do is to promote a civil environment here on WarcraftPets. Also, keep in mind that the tone and intent of a response can be tricky to translate through text alone.

OP: If you come across inappropriately named battle pets during PVP matches, I would definitely take note of the time of day, the pets involved, and report it. Unfortunately, people can skirt the edge of what's "ok" and what's not, and still have some pretty rude pet names. You could switch teams frequently, as others have suggested, or take a break, or just ignore the pet names and treat them like a generic trainer.