Telling people how to think while selling out to cash in and claim their ticket to fame. These people cause a ton of issues with the WoW community. Not all are bad, but a lot are just an overall bad thing for the community and most games.
It breeds a bunch of negative behavior and toxicity all in the name of viewer numbers. And clearly the rules don’t apply the same to them as they do the rest of us cause of money. It’s frankly disgusting and disheartening to see how far Blizzard has fallen at times.
Yeah, I get where you’re coming from. A lot of influencers end up shaping the community in ways that aren’t always great—whether it’s pushing drama, toxic behavior, or just chasing trends for engagement. Some do good by providing solid guides, lore discussions, or actually helping new players, but a lot of them just amplify negativity because it gets them more clicks.
And Blizzard definitely plays favorites when it comes to who gets access, who gets banned, and who gets to bend the rules. The amount of times certain streamers or content creators get a free pass for things that would get a regular player suspended is ridiculous. It really does feel like they prioritize money and marketing over the integrity of the game and its community.
Do you think there’s any way Blizzard could fix this, or is it just too far gone at this point?
Don’t takes like this ignore the whole point of influencers? You are still beholden to their opinions and influence even if you don’t watch. Their perspectives dictate advertising, consumption, and consequently decision making at very high levels.
It isn’t by accident that some big influencers and social media personalities are paid big bucks by companies. They aren’t doing that out of a sense of altruism.
From where I am sitting “Just don’t watch them” really misses the mark.
There are definitely some streamers who have contributed to toxicity in the WoW community, whether through drama, elitism, or just generally bad behavior. Here are a few examples of streamers who have been controversial:
1. Asmongold
One of the biggest WoW streamers, Asmongold has a huge influence on the game’s community. While he has done a lot of good (like calling out Blizzard for bad decisions), his community can be notoriously toxic, often brigading players or developers he criticizes. He also tends to farm drama, which fuels negativity in the community.
Example: When he rants about certain aspects of the game, his fans sometimes take it too far, harassing developers or other players who disagree.
2. Mitch Jones
Back in his peak WoW days, Mitch was known for being part of the PvP scene but also for stirring up drama. His streams often featured toxicity, trolling, and arguments with other streamers.
Example: He frequently got into fights with other players, sometimes encouraging a toxic atmosphere around PvP and arena gameplay.
3. Sodapoppin (in his WoW days)
While not as active in WoW now, he was known for trolling and sometimes being outright rude to random players. His humor was often at the expense of others, which encouraged bad behavior in the community.
Example: He would sometimes mock players in LFR or random dungeons, which encouraged others to do the same, making casual content feel unwelcoming.
4. Venruki (Sometimes Encourages Elitism)
A great PvP player and knowledgeable, but sometimes pushes the “get good or quit” mentality, which can make the PvP community feel unapproachable.
Example: When discussing PvP balance, he sometimes dismisses casual players’ concerns, reinforcing the idea that only high-rated players’ opinions matter.
5. Tips Out / Some Classic WoW Streamers
Some Classic WoW streamers, including Tips Out and others, have promoted the idea that “Classic players are superior” and sometimes mock retail players. This has fueled a divide between the two communities.
Example: During Classic launch, some streamers encouraged the mindset that Retail WoW players were “soft” or “lazy,” leading to unnecessary hostility.
Of course, not all of these streamers are bad all the time, and they each have their moments of being positive influences. But their behavior and their communities often contribute to the toxicity that many players are frustrated with.
Who do you think is the worst offender when it comes to WoW toxicity?
Influencers have the ear of developers and the like in a way you couldn’t imagine in just about everything. We are just the consumers of a product, they have a role in making that product. This whole conversation is starting to remind me of when I used to teach back in the day and I was trying to get kids to recognize that their consumption patterns were dictated by popular opinion. I had a student indignantly say “No one tells me what to wear!” completely ignoring the fact that they had no choice in the matter. Their wearing jeans and LA gear was entirely because of popular consumption patterns.
When Blizzard is making decisions about what direction to take the game, they have to try to gauge opinions and perspectives from somewhere, and that doesn’t always speak to the totality of the playerbase, hence why sometimes raiders, mythic + doers, or delvers feel left out, as evidenced by umpteen million threads on this very forum.
And, as fate would have it, more often than not they are going to listen to influencers. Why wouldn’t they? It seems much easier than trying to, say, poll the entire playerbase. Even better, many players develop their tastes and perspectives from the influencers rather than just giving voice to them. Why invite this brewmaster monk to a +3? Dorkii tells me that’s not meta and I don’t want that. Boom, that influencers opinion in some random podcast just impacted a person’s experience.
I’m not here to defend the OP’s take. I think it was overall poorly articulated. Maybe mine was, too. But come on. We all have to acknowledge that the development and trajectory of this game is hugely impacted by what the loudest voices have to say.