One gaming-related insult I cannot stand!

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

It's usually given to somebody playing below their tier.

Like a professional footballer turning up to a Kid's Sunday Session.

The argument is that these people are simply picking on players that can't match them because they're afraid of defeat should they fight players of equal footing.

Tryharding is also a bit subjective, too. I tend to associate 'tryhard' with "people who use the more powerful equipment or upgrades for the purposes of getting a higher score". Y'know, like people who purposely have 3x Grenade and Noob Tubes in Call of Duty 4. Grenades are undeniably powerful and the only reason you're rolling a class like that is to get higher kills rather than for your own enjoyment (usually clan people who do it for the stats).

I don't mind being called it, I don't feel anything when I call people it, it's just a tool in the toolbox of internet name calling, but it's not one of the worst out there (at least for me, anyway).

this and this. It's usually for a person who is clearly playing below their class and/or using OP/cheap tactics (such as a pro playing in a casual youth league for any given sport) just for the sake of winning and not for the enjoyment of the game. I've played against plenty of tryhards IRL and online, and it always came down to them using dirty ass tactics for the sake of winning above all else.

not that the term isn't misused alot online, and there are plenty of other terms to cover just about every other area of skill level (noob,casual,scrub,etc...)

just have some thicker skin about it if you insist on playing online and/or using the mic.

 

[kalakashi]

I once went 39-4 on Modern Warfare 2 using just my knife and throwing knife, and shortly thereafter received a picture of a man sitting upside down on his couch, the focus on his cock and balls.

 

[kurokotetsu]

If the goal of the game is to win, it's actually the players who are deliberately not trying to win that are playing the game wrong. Now, that's not to say that they can't be having fun and, at the end of the day, if you're playing a racing game and driving around the track backwards and everyone agrees to it then it's all cool. But you're still not playing the game as intended and if someone wants to actually play it as intended, there's nothing about that which is insult worthy.

I do not fully agree with that. Let me state an example.

I play regularly UT2K4 with my friends. I'm not rearly the top player. BUt sometimes we are tired and then we start doing stupid things. Like everyone breaks the Shield Gun (a melée only option that isn't usually used inr egular play as a weapon, more as a shield) and try to kill each otehr in this stupid fashion. We also do this trying only to telefrag the other guy. But if someone refuses to play that way, well, he is ruining our stupid moment for the sake of winning without much competition. SO he is a tryhard (we don't use that word but it is the same feeling and we still trash talk him the omst). He isn't competeing in a fair manner, only caring about the win, which spoils the fun for the rest of us. It happens too un the Jiggleypuff matches in Smash Bros, the guy that picks his main is just trying too hard to win instead of having fun. If you are going against everyone elses fun just because you want to win, well, that is disrespectful and boring for the rest of the players. If you don't want to play that way, tell the others or look for another game.

ALso I would use it (I'm completely silent online) when people just are going for the win spoiling it for the rest of the server. In TF2 team stackers are this for me. It is okay that you want to win, but stacking the team against the team randomizer to only steamroll the other guys is just not okay. You are going "against" the game rules and you care only about winning, spoiling the fun of the other team. By all means, try to win and if you are goo, fine, but don't be a crybaby that needs to win all the time. If you are stuck in a bad team, try to do your best, a single good player can give a huge boost, and win. DOn't only go for the sure win, boring all the other players in the server, well I would call you a try hard.

In other words tryhard for me is another word for spoilsport. Good that you want to have fun and win, but try not to ruin everones elses fun while you are it. If you are steamrolling, playing against the stupid rules made up between friends or just ruining the game with your competitiveness (also to those trash talkers that go against a bad o normal player for not playing at their level) then you are trying too hard. You are a tryhard. Change tier, server, game or whatevere and play against people ike you, where you don't affect no one else, but get out of the servers fo those that aren't with that attitude.

 

[Ruwrak]

Not so much a bother as I can honestly giggle about it. I play Dark Souls with, well... I guess tuned gear is the proper wording. I get invaded by people actively seeking a fight. And when they end up with their backs to me it is a pretty one shot one kill story.

And then they call me a noob because of it. I never quite understood how that insult works on someone who is doing a lowlevel playthrough in maxed gear and knows what he is doing. If anyone else plays Dark Souls Im sure they can relate to backstab fishers and people aiming to one hit kills. . . If it happens to me I tell myself I am an idiot for allowing it, not calling the other cheap because I got bested. (though I can agree that one hit kills are a bit of a downer sometimes but egh. Not like the monsters play fair... right?)

 

[Depulcator]

Out of all the things I have and can be called online, that seems tame. And if your that offended by that phrase just don't play online. Find some offline game or something that cant offend you so easily/much.

 

[Ruwrak]

If you are referring to me, I am just puzzled by how people find it unfair and express that feeling by calling the other one new.
Not that I care that much, they make for entertaining messages every now and then, but not much more.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

Of course it's generally just used as an insult for "person who happens to be better at this than me for reasons I have no real way of knowing but shall accredit to a lack of social connections or alternative activities and whose performance I would totally emulate if I could".

Is it? I thought it was more of an insult used for "person who plays the meta and has an advantage over me because of the game's balance while making my more unique gameplay options less viable than they would be in a game where nobody took it that seriously".

Which is somewhat stupid unless the game is obviously unbalanced. For instance complaining about the Famas in Black Ops is less justified than complaining about USG/Hs in ACV.

OT: I think it's valid in a lot of instances, and I would be offended somewhat if called one because I tend to actively try to not play the meta. I would even consider some people I know one. But there is an insult for everyone and everyone has an insult they don't like.

 

[Fishyash]

Tryhard comes across as different meanings for different people it seems.

I've associated it with someone who tries too hard to be clutch while having no solid groundwork in their game.

IE a beginner who decided to main seth in SF4 and learn all the setups and combos while having an utter shit neutral/ground game.

Or a Halo 3 player who learns all the trick jumps and practices no-scope headshots with the sniper rifle while having no map awareness.

If someone calls you a tryhard just because they lost to you, well all they're trying to do is belittle your victory. They could've used any word really (no-life, cheater etc.)
If you're not being a bad sport about it, then really the word doesn't matter they're just trying to be a dick towards you.

 

[SlaveNumber23]

Most people seem to use it when they are jealous of another player's accomplishments, which is completely nonsensical and stupid. I like to use the term to describe someone who is taking things way more seriously than what is reasonable.

 

[Matthewmagic]

I'll make a deal, seeing as I can speak collectively for everyone being generally that awesome and all. Tryhard can go if n00b does too. It is okay for you and everyone else to try and win, so long as you are welcoming to new players and don't give them too much shit for sucking at a game they may have played for an hour.

Honestly that is what turns me off online gaming, I'm not very good at FPSes(except left 4 dead inexplicably) but I enjoy playing them. Just not with other people in the room I can not smack (yes we thank yahtzee for that one). So there is the deal, be nicer to shittier players and maybe they will stop retaliating.

 

[Jandau]

First of all, the term "tryhard" used to mean something far more specific. It was coined to describe a played who did EVERYTHING they possibly could to improve their odds of winning, even if they hated doing it AND also insisted EVERYONE else (at least on their team) do the same, as well as insulting or berating the people who didn't. This means playing very specific character or classes with very specific builds and nothing else, and refusing to acknowledge even the possibility of any differing playstyles. Basically, it wasn't so much an insult as it was a term for people who really did try so damn hard they sucked any and all fun out of the game.

The problem was that the cutoff point for tryhards is vague and extremely subjective. This has resulted in the term being overused and abused to describe anyone who puts in more effort than the speaker. It's like the old saying "Anyone who plays more/better than you is a no-life tryhard; anyone who plays less/worse than you is a noob scrub; for you are the perfect life form".

So the term itself has reasonable origins, but has been warped into something ugly by the internet.

 

[smithy_2045]

It's hard to really define a tryhard, but I'd say it's someone who tries to control how everyone else plays the game so they look better, whether through their team winning, them getting good stats, whatever. Trying to win in of itself isn't tryhard behaviour, demanding that everyone plays your way to try and win is.

 

[Gearhead mk2]

I always thought a tryhard was someone who blamed everything other than themselves if they die or don't do well. Like "I was reloading, that's the only reason you killed me." Or even blaming lag constantly and many other things.

No, I don't think that fits. Those guys are more the xXxMLGL3G1TPROGAMEZxXx type that make bad MOBA streams and wub-filled CoD kill vids. Is there a word for that?

OT: As far as I know, a tryhard is someone who want to get good at a game and have fun playing it. That's it. If it's used by an insult at all, it's probably used by people who think their teammates are stupid or those "No Items, Fox Only, Final Destination" tourney types.

 

[mindfaQ]

Why care what a random person says about you on the internet? Let their rage fuel your satisfaction.

 

[Eve Charm]

Hmm this is why I enjoy co op games, Try hards can at least be good there, or at least when they can't leave the team behind.

Anyway I think it's still to new of a term that people know what it means as apposed to an insult.

 

[DasDestroyer]

I've always used tryhard to refer to people who use cheap strategies in multiplayer games, regardless of how well they play or if they even win. Like if the enemy 5-stack in Dota 2 picks 5 pushers and goes 5 man pushing from the start, regardless of whether they win or not they're tryhards.

 

[Sectan]

I'll basically say what a lot of other people have been saying. If you are in a casual game and you take winning so seriously that you ruin other people's fun in the process, you're a tryhard.