How Do You Deal With Angry Players?

[Zujx]

Tell them to suck it up and not throw a tantrum like a 10 year old girl
It's a video game

 

[Mike_Tha_Hero]

It's the same with life in general, as people who react that way have a poor sense of awareness and little to no sense of self. You practice for a reason and there's no reason to be shocked, upset, or outright angry by your performance. That means you're delusional about your capabilities.

As far as handling them, you don't. Player mentality can dictate the outcome in any fighting game and if someone doesn't know that going in then so be it. Feel free to direct them to to this article if you feel the need to help in some way.

 

[mtmaster]

It's the same with life in general, as people who react that way have a poor sense of awareness and little to no sense of self. You practice for a reason and there's no reason to be shocked, upset, or outright angry by your performance. That means you're delusional about your capabilities.

As far as handling them, you don't. Player mentality can dictate the outcome in any fighting game and if someone doesn't know that going in then so be it. Feel free to direct them to to this article if you feel the need to help in some way.

That article is making a lot of assumptions, although its not entirely wrong either lol .

 

[TimeSmash]

I guess that's better, but it reminds me of crazy eyes beating herself up, from, "Orange is the new Black."

That was hilarious.

I would say take a break for a second, like make up an excuse that you want to cook or something but if it's every match I would definitely say something. If you're of age, sometimes a drink can help. (Or not) Maybe you could get a punching bag or something haha, although a lot of people like to play FPS when they're mad. Which is okay but also not the best for obvious reasons

 

[mtmaster]

That was hilarious.

I would say take a break for a second, like make up an excuse that you want to cook or something but if it's every match I would definitely say something. If you're of age, sometimes a drink can help. (Or not) Maybe you could get a punching bag or something haha, although a lot of people like to play FPS when they're mad. Which is okay but also not the best for obvious reasons

You're right. I typically don't say anything myself as I don't want to sound like an ass. For my particular friend who gets really angry, I tend to hold back just a little bit. Just enough so that it doesn't seem like I'm holding back, and when he wins or it gets close, he kinda chills out. That might not be the best thing to do, but I don't like feeling like an ass lol.

 

[Iron Jawbone]

There's an unsettling amount of you that has obviously never been in this situation before, or have never had to react with it. Some people are reasonable, and these people can be reasoned with. Treat them gently, and treat them with respect. It's not hard.

Others either aren't reasonable, or are poorly wired and with something like EAD (Explosive Anger Syndrome). It's not just video games, this happens with everything. The only things you can really do here is to weigh how bad it is. If it's bad enough, ban them, because things can't/will not improve. Provoking and/or threatening them is the WORST thing you can do.

tl;dr: Reasonable people can be reasoned with, stay away from people who are mentally incapable of handling anger. Also, yay ignore button.

 

[mtmaster]

There's an unsettling amount of you that has obviously never been in this situation before, or have never had to react with it. Some people are reasonable, and these people can be reasoned with. Treat them gently, and treat them with respect. It's not hard.

Others either aren't reasonable, or are poorly wired and with something like EAD (Explosive Anger Syndrome). It's not just video games, this happens with everything. The only things you can really do here is to weigh how bad it is. If it's bad enough, ban them, because things can't/will not improve. Provoking and/or threatening them is the WORST thing you can do.

tl;dr: Reasonable people can be reasoned with, stay away from people who are mentally incapable of handling anger. Also, yay ignore button.

This is definitely a given. Clearly if people are irrational then yeah you probably shouldn't play video games with them, or really associate with them at all if their anger issues extends past losing in video games. However I like to think that most people are generally pretty rational, even though obviously some people have worse tempers than others.

 

[i1y]

I personally don't know how to handle others, but I can speak for myself.

I'm an angry guy when I play competitive games. In fact, it is the reason why I ignore most competitive games out there. The only games I seem to really play that require competition are fighting games such as these, and by far I feel like Project M is the one fighting game that I play the most.

So I do have to admit that I do get angry when I play this game and the way I get out of that state is to try to realize that it's not the other player that is the problem, it's actually yourself. See, some angry people like to blame everything else but themselves for their problems. "It's the controller, the game is conspiring, etc." And some like to blame themselves (like me) for their problems (petty excuses like "oh, it's not my day, I'm better than this, boo hoo), but are too angry to figure out why they are screwing up, and they keep doing the same tactic over and over again until they lose. Like hitting a brick wall with your head, it never works, because the other player has figured out to beat you. An angry person will keep doing the same thing they've done to win other games again and again because it's worked before, when obviously its not working anymore.

So when I realize that I'm angry and that I'm repeating myself the simple way I found for dealing with it is simply changing tactics. Try something else besides rushing an opponent, short hopping, and doing an aerial that gets shielded and turned into a grab you can't escape. Try something new, develop a different mind game, approach the enemy differently.

But for me at times, you can't even think like a rational person because you are just too pissed off. So the way of dealing with these people (and me) is to simply explain that their current tactic isn't working. Don't offer up suggestions, don't but gas into the fire, just state that what they are doing isn't going to work because you can see it coming from a mile away. And if they are still angry and won't listen to reason, kick their ass and let them pout. It's their fault that they can't realize why they lost after all. You can only get better if you realize what you need to work on.

In the end though, (and this is just me) I play better when I'm angry. I actually like it. I don't throw tantrums when I lose (because what the hell does that accomplish?), but when I figure out what I'm doing wrong and adjust, then win, then it feels good. Turning a negative into a positive, ya know. And if I do lose, well, that's how it is. Keep playing and adjusting until I win. You have to win sometime after all.

(I sometimes play Yoshi as well when I get angry at myself at a match because playing that dope brings back good memories of acting like a suicidal maniac and frequently committing SDs if I ever jump off the stage. The addition of a competent Egg Roll has only made it better. After all, it's only a game. )

 

[mtmaster]

I personally don't know how to handle others, but I can speak for myself.

I'm an angry guy when I play competitive games. In fact, it is the reason why I ignore most competitive games out there. The only games I seem to really play that require competition are fighting games such as these, and by far I feel like Project M is the one fighting game that I play the most.

So I do have to admit that I do get angry when I play this game and the way I get out of that state is to try to realize that it's not the other player that is the problem, it's actually yourself. See, some angry people like to blame everything else but themselves for their problems. "It's the controller, the game is conspiring, etc." And some like to blame themselves (like me) for their problems (petty excuses like "oh, it's not my day, I'm better than this, boo hoo), but are too angry to figure out why they are screwing up, and they keep doing the same tactic over and over again until they lose. Like hitting a brick wall with your head, it never works, because the other player has figured out to beat you. An angry person will keep doing the same thing they've done to win other games again and again because it's worked before, when obviously its not working anymore.

So when I realize that I'm angry and that I'm repeating myself the simple way I found for dealing with it is simply changing tactics. Try something else besides rushing an opponent, short hopping, and doing an aerial that gets shielded and turned into a grab you can't escape. Try something new, develop a different mind game, approach the enemy differently.

But for me at times, you can't even think like a rational person because you are just too pissed off. So the way of dealing with these people (and me) is to simply explain that their current tactic isn't working. Don't offer up suggestions, don't but gas into the fire, just state that what they are doing isn't going to work because you can see it coming from a mile away. And if they are still angry and won't listen to reason, kick their *** and let them pout. It's their fault that they can't realize why they lost after all. You can only get better if you realize what you need to work on.

In the end though, (and this is just me) I play better when I'm angry. I actually like it. I don't throw tantrums when I lose (because what the hell does that accomplish?), but when I figure out what I'm doing wrong and adjust, then win, then it feels good. Turning a negative into a positive, ya know. And if I do lose, well, that's how it is. Keep playing and adjusting until I win. You have to win sometime after all.

(I sometimes play Yoshi as well when I get angry at myself at a match because playing that dope brings back good memories of acting like a suicidal maniac and frequently committing SDs if I ever jump off the stage. The addition of a competent Egg Roll has only made it better. After all, it's only a game. )

You sir deserve a metal.

 

[CORY]

Which one of these two are you talking about? I've seen K9 play in person, and he strikes me as the quiet rage type lol. I regardless though, throwing a chair that a little ridiculous.

it wasn't either of them. it was an old school melee player, eddie. he had a temper, normally, but the flare up there was really bad because he had literally just been eliminated from the tourney in loser's semi's (i think) by an explodey barrel that rolled from offscreen.

so, partially his normal rage, and then partially, "oh god, why did we ever have items on tourneys? ;x"

 

[Japsy]

I typically let my friends know that they're welcome to get their own controllers (if they're using mine, which they usually are). Aside from that, though, it's a matter of personality for some players. Just try to make sure there's stuff besides game hardware for them to take frustration out on.

Yeah, last time I just made him use his own ****ty poverty controller since he kept throwing mine on the ground.
People getting angry just makes everything awkward, never really knew how to deal with it. The guy I usually play with makes johns literally (literally) every time he loses "oh I never use that character anyway"/"I dont know why my controller wasnt responding"/"Oh I was just used to how it worked in (other Smash game)"/"Oh well you're really good with that character anyway" etc.
I just learn to ignore it, I never make excuses since it kind of brings down the other persons victory.

 

[Chzrm3]

I have a cousin like that. I've pretty much stopped spending time with him entirely because it's just never fun to hang out with him. Whether we're playing video games, watching movies, or just talking, he's always angry, and it's pretty awkward/gross spending time with someone like that.

If this guy is a good friend of yours, you should consider talking to him about it. I don't really know the extent of your relationship, but if you're close friends and you feel like he'd want to know why you weren't hanging out with him anymore, it's definitely fair to tell him. Maybe he'll calm down if you do.

If he's just a practice partner and that's it, then maybe you should go to local smash scenes like college LAN sessions or a tournament and try to make some friends there.

 

[The_Altrox]

To people who say "Tell them to get over it, it's just a game," you have to remember that anger causes people to not think straight.
Sometimes, diffusing anger is important. At college, my friends and I loved playing PM, but the one guy loved Melee too. Only one of us could hold our own against him in Melee, but that guy stopped playing him in Melee because he got so salty when losing. That upset my friend, so he had to settle for stomping me.

 

[Zujx]

To people who say "Tell them to get over it, it's just a game," you have to remember that anger causes people to not think straight.
Sometimes, diffusing anger is important. At college, my friends and I loved playing PM, but the one guy loved Melee too. Only one of us could hold our own against him in Melee, but that guy stopped playing him in Melee because he got so salty when losing. That upset my friend, so he had to settle for stomping me.

I would still tell him to get over it it's just a game I dont care if he's not thinking straight.
I'm extremely competitive and I get very salty sometimes when I lose but I dont make a scene I shake their hand and tell them it was a good match. I play this game to have fun it's not my life.
I have zero sympathy for anyone over the age of 18 that can't handle losing at a video game its literally pathetic. I'm not gonna go out of my way to diffuse the situation If the person wants to act like a six year they can just leave. Especially the people that throw controllers they shouldnt even play this game they need counseling.

 

[The_Altrox]

Hey, I'm just saying, some people would like to keep playing with their friends, but when those friends are the extra salty type, diffusing that tension is useful. If I liked playing any given game with somebody, but they stopped wanting to play it because they can't handle losing, I still suffer from losing somebody to play with, especially if it's a game that nobody else around wants to play.

In my case, it's PM. I live in a very Melee centered area and I only have a few friends that will occasionally play PM with me. If they were the extra salty type, I would try to find away to get them to calm down and think straight because I wouldn't want to lose the few gamers that will actually play the game with me locally.

 

[MechWarriorNY]

Why make friends with (wo)manchildren? Factoring in small scene woes.

 

[The_Altrox]

Why make friends with (wo)manchildren? Factoring in small scene woes.

I don't make friends with people based on what games they enjoy or how they react to losing at certain games >__>

 

[Japsy]

I have zero sympathy for anyone over the age of 18 that can't handle losing at a video game its literally pathetic. I'm not gonna go out of my way to diffuse the situation

beat them harder

keep doing it

Shut your hippie mouth you touchy feely whore

I agree with all of the above
cuz *****
aint no oprah
aint yo mom
i just wanna paly
vidieo
games

 

[Japsy]

don't know those two guys

haha oh man you are missing out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD0hMvwLe34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVZipXe02EA#t=13m58s (13:58 if it doesn't take you there)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AoOEYuRHfU#t=4m3s (4:03)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOEAMA-ZeSQ#t=25m8s (25:08)

 

[mtmaster]

haha oh man you are missing out
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD0hMvwLe34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVZipXe02EA#t=13m58s (13:58 if it doesn't take you there)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AoOEYuRHfU#t=4m3s (4:03)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eOEAMA-ZeSQ#t=25m8s (25:08)

That guy needs download the Moisture pack and relax lol.

 

[MechWarriorNY]

I don't make friends with people based on what games they enjoy or how they react to losing at certain games >__>

Good!
Then you're already on the right track.

 

[mtmaster]

For real though I tend to put some chill music in my game to help calm people down including myself. How can you possibly be angry when you got smooth jazz playing on a stage?

 

[turtletank]

For real though I tend to put some chill music in my game to help calm people down including myself. How can you possibly be angry when you got smooth jazz playing on a stage?

Use this as a victory theme for extra salt

 

[mtmaster]

Use this as a victory theme for extra salt

I don't think I could be mad if I heard that and someone beat me lol. I would actually smile.

 

[turtletank]

Heh maybe, Try it with a Rolex shimmy - guaranteed.

 

[WIDL]

It depends on my relation to the person. On the hand, I am used to my friend raging a bit, throwing his controller to the ground. I usually just try to raise his spirits, because personally, I'm just really chill when I play (win or lose) - but if I am indeed losing, I tend to be quiet so I can see why I am losing.

On the other hand, if it is a person I don't talk to that much or have never met, I tend to get really uncomfortable. I guess it's because I often shy away from any type of conflict.

 

[Rizner]

It depends on my relation to the person. On the hand, I am used to my friend raging a bit, throwing his controller to the ground. I usually just try to raise his spirits, because personally, I'm just really chill when I play (win or lose) - but if I am indeed losing, I tend to be quiet so I can see why I am losing.

On the other hand, if it is a person I don't talk to that much or have never met, I tend to get really uncomfortable. I guess it's because I often shy away from any type of conflict.

Which is probably how others feel when playing against your friend. You should help those people by taking to your friend and having them realize it likely makes others uncomfortable.

 

[Zx2963]

Pick FD, pick Fox, spam lasers, when they come run to the other side, repeat until run in usmash kills. For my friend, I CG him into a 0 to death. After the 3rd CG, he dropped the controller and left the room.

 

[Deleted member]

If they're fuming and screaming and cursing up a storm like a moron, just ignore them. They will eventually cool down on their own. Confronting them will just make them angrier as well as give them the attention that they probably want.

If they start throwing things though, they need to be told, in a calm but firm manner, to leave. It'll be tough to control your own anger at them, but again, you're just going to end up making the situation worse if you blow up in their face.

 

[RogersBase]

If I'm playing someone who is easily aggravated, I always egg them on. Schadenfreude.

 

[himemiya]

For real though I tend to put some chill music in my game to help calm people down including myself. How can you possibly be angry when you got smooth jazz playing on a stage?

It also has to fit stage too you know?

 

[BigHairyFart]

>Be Sonic
>Taunt cancel "Come on, step it up!" endlessly
>????
>Profit

 

[mtmaster]

It also has to fit stage too you know?

My music generally fits with the stages they're attached to considering a lot of my music are just remixes with a few exceptions.

 

[himemiya]

>Be Sonic
>Taunt cancel "Come on, step it up!" endlessly
>????
>Profit

I think you mean "YOUR TOO SLOW!"

 

[mtmaster]

I think you mean "YOUR TOO SLOW!"

Admittedly if you change his voice to this one voice pack he'll say Catch Me If you can, which is just as bad if not worse.

 

[TheKmanOfSmash]

It's the same with life in general, as people who react that way have a poor sense of awareness and little to no sense of self. You practice for a reason and there's no reason to be shocked, upset, or outright angry by your performance. That means you're delusional about your capabilities.

As far as handling them, you don't. Player mentality can dictate the outcome in any fighting game and if someone doesn't know that going in then so be it. Feel free to direct them to to this article if you feel the need to help in some way.

100% agree with this (and that amazing article that Mike linked, thanks for that :3). As a competitor in Project M or any game, there's no point in trying to reason with someone who chooses to consistently be angry at every loss because his objective is the complete opposite of yours. No matter what he may tell you, he does not "play to win" as the article suggests.

As a competitor, if your objective is to play to win and you lose, the only appropriate response is to adapt and learn from your mistakes in time for the next encounter (or cry "buff/nerf/patch" to the PMBR ). How you choose to do this is up to you (practice, coaching, studying, theorycrafting, asking for advice from the player you lost to, etc.). As far as being a competitor is concerned, this is and should be the only way to find improvement.

People who get angry at losses aren't actually interested in the effort that is required to win. They "want" to win, but they don't "play" to win. They are only interested in the goal and not the destination. Like the article said, they had already set themselves up for failure before they even sat down to play.

If they consistently have shown themselves to not care about putting in the necessary effort to improve after losses, then there is no point in engaging with such people. Find other opponents who share the same objective as you and learn from them after your losses or even after your victories. If you have to meet said angry opponent in tournament, explain to him only one time what it means to "play to win" (preferably when he calms down). If his behavior continues in subsequent tournaments, let him wallow in his anger as you defeat him and move on to fulfill your objective.


However, if your objective is to just "play for fun" as either a casual or competitor, then the situation is different and some or all of what I said may not necessarily apply. Like if you're just screwing around in friendlies where nothing matters and he gets angry, personally I would try to calm him down and talk about it with him. Or if I'm in tournament but it's just a local where I didn't care much about winning, I'd still do the same thing. But at a national, no johns. If you get mad, too bad. I'm moving on. If you want to actually get better and improve, I'd be more than happy to sit with you later for an hour telling you everything I know.

 

[WIDL]

Which is probably how others feel when playing against your friend. You should help those people by taking to your friend and having them realize it likely makes others uncomfortable.

He's actually not that bad when playing with people whom he don't meet that often. But yeah, sometimes. I guess you're right - I should mention it.

 

[D-idara]

Yeah, last time I just made him use his own ****ty poverty controller since he kept throwing mine on the ground.
People getting angry just makes everything awkward, never really knew how to deal with it. The guy I usually play with makes johns literally (literally) every time he loses "oh I never use that character anyway"/"I dont know why my controller wasnt responding"/"Oh I was just used to how it worked in (other Smash game)"/"Oh well you're really good with that character anyway" etc.
I just learn to ignore it, I never make excuses since it kind of brings down the other persons victory.

Bringing the down the other person's victory IS THE POINT.
You people who keep saying to add wood to the fire...are you even reading what you're saying!? So if someone gets angry because of a legitimate reason (They lost) you should make fun of them? What kind of sick, twisted, horrible people are you? It's an instinct to get angry at whoever beats you at anything. Yes you should learn from your mistakes and try to fix them but enraging people who lose won't make them realize their mistakes, you'll just get them even angrier since you people seem to care so little about winning that you don't let losing get to you.

I used to make excuses all the time and I still get very angry when I lose, but I've learned to shake my opponent's hand while cursing their entire family and their future bloodline on my mind. You should help people control themselves, not make them explode, that's sick and horrible, and makes you look like an etilist who looks down on anyone worse at the game.

If you're a normal human being, you'll never view the person who just defeated you under a positive light, that's a fact.

 

[Zx2963]

Bringing the down the other person's victory IS THE POINT.
You people who keep saying to add wood to the fire...are you even reading what you're saying!? So if someone gets angry because of a legitimate reason (They lost) you should make fun of them? What kind of sick, twisted, horrible people are you? It's an instinct to get angry at whoever beats you at anything. Yes you should learn from your mistakes and try to fix them but enraging people who lose won't make them realize their mistakes, you'll just get them even angrier since you people seem to care so little about winning that you don't let losing get to you.

I used to make excuses all the time and I still get very angry when I lose, but I've learned to shake my opponent's hand while cursing their entire family and their future bloodline on my mind. You should help people control themselves, not make them explode, that's sick and horrible, and makes you look like an etilist who looks down on anyone worse at the game.

If you're a normal human being, you'll never view the person who just defeated you under a positive light, that's a fact.

You can, its called admitting their better then you. You can still respect a person after a loss, isn't that what sportsmanship is about?

 

[Stompu]

Today during the Evo stream I watched a guy lose a match and punch his leg pretty hard and didn't think to much of it. But after work today I was playing with a friend in PM and he did the same thing and also threw his controller to the floor. Usually I brush it off, but it kind of bothered me today.

How do you all deal with angry players? I've yet to encounter it in any sort of tournament setting, but my one practice partner is very angry when he plays. Not just when he loses either, in fact he rarely gets angry at the loss, but at himself for not playing the way he wanted to be playing. It makes me not want to play with him, but he's good competition and great for practicing so I usually let it go or try to be positive, but I feel like not addressing it will only further his bad habit.

I guess tell him off for it a bit. Like I know that'd get under his skin but if he values you as a practice partner he should respect you enough not to let his temper get the best of him