Does the community get significantly more toxic at higher levels?
Hey everyone,
I could really use some perspective from veteran players because I’m feeling pretty discouraged after recent dungeon runs.
For context, this is my first character (enhancement shaman, currently lvl 68) in a very long time. I never really learned the game back in the day,just messed around and had fun on retail 15 years ago. I finally decided to give Classic a real shot. I’m trying to learn as much about the game and my spec as possible because I genuinely want to be a good player, but I also want to stay grounded and actually enjoy the experience.
In the earlier levels, I met some incredibly kind people. I found forgiving groups who helped me out with gear questions, strategy, and even dungeon lore. It was awesome!
Lately, as I get to higher levels, I keep running into players who take the game so seriously, and it’s honestly making me feel terrible. I know I need to build up a thicker skin, but I’m wondering if this is just how the endgame community is?
Here is the latest example.. I usually deal pretty solid damage as enh. I’ve studied my rotation and I try to maximize my DPS, even though I know my primary role is utility/totem buffing rather than purely topping the meters. I’m usually top 2 in damage, or a very close 3rd on a bad day.
However, we were running Black Morass, and for some reason, this dungeon specifically gives me a lot of trouble. I just couldn't seem to output good damage. To make matters worse, the healer couldn't keep up, the tank kept losing aggro, and the whole team was under constant pressure.
Since I was struggling to pump DPS anyway, I decided to step in and help with off-healing. This actually saved us during a few fights, but as we progressed, we still ended up wiping twice.
After the second wipe, the Group Leader completely went off on me. He blamed me for the wipes, called me a complete amateur, and told me how shitty I was playing. I actually agreed with him that I was struggling and politely asked for some constructive advice on what I should be doing differently. Instead of helping, he just told me I was "wasting people's time" and left the group, so the team disbanded.
I’m the kind of player who tries to absorb feedback and apply it immediately. I've learned a ton from helpful players along the way. But interactions like this just make me sad. It’s disheartening that people treat such failures in a 15-year-old game as a devastating waste of their "precious time".
Is this level of toxicity and "sweatiness" standard as you approach level 70 and start doing endgame content? Do any veteran Enhance Shamans have tips for Black Morass specifically? I'd love to know what I was doing wrong.
Thanks for reading. Just trying to figure out if I should brace myself for more of this or if I just got unlucky with a few bad groups.
Oh and have a nice day everyone!