He's trash.
All he does is blockwhore!
The only way he can kill me is a scrap.
Such phrases have been uttered among us so often that they are instantly recognizable. Indeed, we have words and terms to profile each player in accordance with how they play; a high camper, a blockwhore, spawnkiller, taunter, scrap fighter, opportunist, scrub, garbage, try-hard, etc. The list abounds.
I want to tell you why this mindset is not only wrong, but a disease and a hindrance upon you and your gameplay.
//--
When we shame someone with a disgraceful or dishonoring insult or title, in effect, it is done both from a point of self-righteousness, but also as a defense mechanism. Let me explain.
Imagine my name is Jack and I have played soccer for years and have worked hard to become a good player. Every weekend, I setup a game with some of my best buds. Trevor, a new kid, only just began to play soccer a few months ago. This is his first time playing with us. I have heard Trevor is a natural at the game and has been learning quick, but I'm not easily impressed.
We square off in a match, which goes on for awhile until it comes down to the nitty gritty and the next point wins. I have the ball and am making a push for their goal in preparation to score, but in a few swift moves, Trevor steals the ball from me and knocks me down in the process. As I rise to my feet, I realize he is too far away and has scored, thus, winning the game. I witness defeat and am left with scuffed knees and sore hands.
After the game, everyone is talking about how good Trevor is and that he has dethroned me. I become resentful and declare "You only won because you tripped me!" And so a war of comebacks and insults ensues. My team sticks up for me and Trevor's team for him.
Then a voice of reason pierces the discord. "It doesn't matter!! When you play the game you are bound to fall or even get injured. We all accept this each and every time we play. Jack, how many times have you tripped people like that just to win?"
He's right. I have done it too. I keep my mouth shut.
"So then why all this fuss about it? ... Just use it as reference for the next time we play"
In effort to avoid embarrassment of losing the ball to Trevor and losing the game, I tried to shame Trevor with my contemptuous statement. I was prideful and wanted to defend my honour. I thought myself to be above Trevor and also understood in that moment I looked inferior and so... I used the statement as a defense mechanism for my own self-righteousness, which let me be clear, is a vice, not a virtue.
//--
Don't we all play the Jack card sometimes? "You can only kill me because _____________!"
Fill in the blank; you scrap, you camp, you play cheap, whatever. But this sort of mindset is soaked in folly; mere excuses given to justify an occurrence or playstyle you disagree with.
I have shown you where these reactions and statements are derived from. Now, let me me show you why you have no right to say them.
Much like sports players stepping onto the field with the acknowledgment and acceptance of certain conditions, such as coming into physical contact with others or falling and becoming injured, you too step into a server where you will certainly and inevitably be met with opposition of all sorts. Getting dirty is part of the game! Whoever said competition is supposed to be a nice game of My Little Pony where everyone plays by the rules and doesn't step on anybody's toes and it's all rainbows and kittens and happy time? That is the silliest thing I have heard! And yet people think that's how things should be in warfare.
Yes. Warfare. Because that's what it is! Do you really think the gladiators in Rome when forced to fight against one another stopped to get on their computer chatboxes and complain, saying "Hey that's not fair! This guy cut off my arm when I wasn't looking! I want him hung!" Of course not. They understood that they were stepping on to a battlefield where there really were no rules other than...
1. Kill enemies
2. Stay alive
3. Keep your allies alive
Do you really think NFL Players go up to their coach and say "Coach, they keep hitting me and pushing me around out there. They won't leave me alone!" Of course not!! And even if they did the coach would tell them to suck it up and play or to go warm the bench.
So my question to you is: Do you want to play in the game or would you like to warm the bench?
Each and every time you enter a server you step on to a battlefield. Yes, that server may have rules such as no pulling or no shooting or what have you. However, your primary objective is to win. Winning can be simplified down to 3 little steps; kill enemies, stay alive, and keep your teammates alive. Depending upon the circumstance, one step may take precedence over another. So long as you play within the sphere of these basic principles and obey the specific rules pertaining to each server, what does it matter how you play to complete your objective? More importantly, what does it matter how others, namely you enemies, play in their attempts to win?
It doesn't.
If you simply accept that the game is the way it is and people are going to use cheap tactics and exploit certain game elements and that you can do nothing worthwhile to change it, then what do you have to gripe about? You may prefer people play in line with your personal "code of honour" but by doing so, in principle and whether you admit it or not, you are designating yourself as a sort of absolute authority in the game. You could not make such statements if this were not true. But your preferences are not absolute, no matter how respectable and true and worthy they may seem.
Therefore, the only viable options you have are to grumble ... or embrace.
//--
When you grumble - and we all do at some point - you usually do so out of frustration or aggravation or anger; all emotions and responses that can be traced back to an attitude of disagreement with someone or something. If you dynamically disagree with something, more specifically perhaps a playstyle or strategy, it does not necessarily make it wrong. In fact, in most cases, it is not wrong. How can I say that? Aren't there rules or guidelines we are to follow?
Beyond the set rules of a server, there are no rules. Let me say that again. Beyond the set rules of a server, there are no rules.
As long as I obey the limitations the server admin(s) has imposed upon me, then what difference does it make how I approach my objective to win?
This is where people get hung up and start to complain and whine and show contempt for other people, simply because they disagree with a playstyle or a utilized tactic. These people have their own specific "code of honour" (which they demand others must follow) and self-pride that they have created within themselves that dictates how people should and should not be playing, how long they can block or camp or run away, whether they should be choking or if they are over-using sprint attack. This mindset is a disease. It truly is. Why? Because it is full of excuses! It ignores the obvious and blatant truth; the server is not a play-pin, it is a jungle.
If you are thrown into the jungle, what shall you say? "Mother, I can't be here! This is not fair! There's lions and tigers and bears, oh my!" ... of course not. You are going to fight to survive. You are going to get creative. You are going to embrace the jungle and use its elements to your advantage. Otherwise, guess what? You're dead.
It is the same with this game.
How can you cry out in woe against an enemy when you have the same tools readily available to you? You who loathe Scrap fighters, do you not also scrap? You who hate campers, do you not also camp? You who gripe when others flee, do you not also flee? How then can you say "Damn you! You are a fiend and a cheat!" when you yourself are also guilty? By doing this, you make a hypocrite of yourself with your grumbling and negative profiling of others. Open your blind eyes and witness your folly.
//--
You need only see the game for what it is. The beauty of embrace is this; you are free of limitation and liberated to play as you please and free to allow others to play how they please.
A grumbler says "Obey my preferences or perish!" but one who embraces says "Let it be. I shall overcome."
I sincerely hope you will choose the path of embrace. And please remember, it does not occur overnight, but rather is a cultivated attitude. One must first possess discipline in order to understand embrace.
~Mr. Mortelfeign
