I still remember my very first time experiencing chat in Heroes of the Storm. This was my first real experience with a MOBA and I was nervous and apprehensive going in. I played the tutorial and then chose to start off in Cooperative, to learn a few things before moving on.  I was quickly surprised to find that my teammates were helpful, delightful, and full of pleasant small talk and helpful advice. Oh, who am I kidding? Chat in Heroes of the Storm is a cesspool of pure toxicity, utterly useless, and should be wiped out like a bad smell and done away with entirely.

Thicker Skin Incoming

Many players will argue that this type of thing was to be expected. That when coming into this type of game, we should anticipate to be called names, belittled, and taunted. It has been said over and over again that this is just the way the community works and everyone should get used to it. Get some thicker skin, learn to throw out some taunts myself, and generally just follow the path of least resistance. When in Rome, right?

I have managed to let the negativity roll of my shoulders, as many other players have managed to do, I even laugh at those players who get so worked up they feel the need to resort to name calling and yelling. Still, I refuse to accept that this should be the norm. While many will claim that taunting friends and foes is all part of the “fun”, I think many would disagree. Let's face it, debasing another player is only fun for one doing the debasement.

All Chat, Some Chat, No Chat?

To solve the problem, some players have suggested that chat should be opened up to all. They claim that this would allow for a more social setting, help negate frustrations, and help keep toxic players in their place. While I think this is a nice idea, I think it is nothing more than a pipe dream.

For starters, conversations in chat, even among team mates are rarely constructive. The negative far overrides the good. There aren't just a few toxic players in game, their numbers seem to be overwhelming. Opening up chat to all would just give an even bigger opportunity for more in-game taunting. The fact of the matter is, toxicity is an active attempt to rile up other players. Opening up chat to all gives toxic players more targets to pick on, as well as more players to entice into targeting the current victim of their barrage of insults.

Not to mention, the idea of wanting a more “social” atmosphere is laughable. When was the last time you went into a Heroes of the Storm match with the intention of having a thought provoking conversion while you played? Keep thinking, I'll wait. Being realistic, a Heroes match is not a great place for social interactions and it never will be. Add in the potential to grief allies with the giveaway of locations and all chat turns into a whole lotta fail in a real short time.

A Ping for Your Thoughts

So if all chat isn't the solution, what is? In a perfect world the entire community would come together and try to stomp out the constant negativity in game. However, we will probably have more success waiting for a zombie apocalypse. With toxicity so widely accepted, backing down, ignoring, and being totally complacent are the only options many of us feel we have without risking making the play experience even worse.

We could just stick with the current status quo, with players only able to speak to other teammates. At least then the calamitous behavior is kept to a minimum. Yet, I think it needs to be taken even further and totally eliminate chat inside the game. Instead, players could communicate using the ping function already in the game. It is already used with much success. With a simple ping allowing others to know your intentions, no other conversation is really needed.

While many will protest and say this takes the social aspect out of the game or that banter in game is fun, I would heartily disagree. Heroes of the Storm and other MOBAs are not places where many players are taking part in meaningful conversations or harmless banter. Instead, they are cesspools of toxicity that frighten away many and bring down the entire game experience for the grand majority of players.

The grand majority of the time the only people actually talking in a match are those barking orders or those throwing insults that are far from good-natured or playful. Sure we could grow thicker skin, pretend it isn't a problem, or ignore it as has been done thus far, or the problem could be eliminated almost entirely. Take away the platform these toxic players use to spew forth their vitriol and you have essentially cut the head off of the snake and rendered it obsolete.