The gaming world is full of friendly and toxic gamers. It is balanced actually. The reason why friendly and toxic gamers exist is because there are gamers who do not take video games seriously while there are some gamers who take video games so seriously.
Toxic gamers have lots of terms for gamers that are not that good in a certain game. There are toxic gamers in all online video games like League of Legends, Valorant, Dota 2, and more! One of the terms toxic gamers use to call a bad player is “cancer”.
I heard the term “cancer” all the time when I started gaming. I was confused during that time and I was wandering on the internet to find the meaning of it. If you are a new gamer, you probably don’t know what the term “cancer” means in gaming.
It is important to know what every term gamers use in the game so that you will not look like a newbie and you will identify whom you will mute inside the game. So, what is “cancer” in gaming? Let’s find out!
“Cancer” Meaning In The Gaming World
Cancer in gaming is an insult to other gamers. This is usually given to gamers who are very bad in the game. When someone calls you a cancer in the game it means that you are not playing the game well. The term “cancer” is usually used in online games that are competitive like League of Legends, Valorant, CS:GO, and other online games.
If you still don’t understand what I am saying, let me give you three examples of being a cancer in an online video game. This is just an example. Ok? Don’t imitate this because you will surely get called “cancer”.
The first example is League of Legends. Let’s say you auto-lock Yasuo but you don’t know how to use Yasuo. Your game stats are really bad! You always die, cannot last-hit creeps, or you can’t build an item. You are not playing the game well and you are the main cause why your team is losing! This is one example of being a cancer in the game.
The second example, let’s go to Valorant. Let’s say you auto-lock Jett or any duelist but you don’t know how to entry or you have no aim. Duelists are required to be top fraggers. They need to always kill an enemy in every round to create space for their team. But you fail on this and you are on bot frag and every time you die, you always blame your team. This is a cancer trait in gaming.
The third example is Dota 2. Let’s say you chose Invoker but you just started playing Dota 2. We all know Invoker is no joke to use and it requires you to have a fast hand. If you are a beginner, I am sure that you will get a lot of deaths playing Invoker. If you get a lot of death because you chose Invoker even if you are just starting, your teammates will call you “cancer”.
Now, do you get what I meant? If you don’t perform well in a game, your teammates will call you cancer. What does cancer do in humans in real life? It destroys them. Right? Same with gamers that don’t perform well! They destroy the team. They are a parasite to the team.
Now that you know what the term “cancer” means in gaming, you probably want to know how to prevent other gamers from calling you that term. Well, let me give you some tips on how not to be a cancer in a game.
How To Not Be A Cancer In Any Video Games?
Below are some things you can do to avoid being a “cancer” in any video game.
Perform Well
The first thing you need to do to avoid being a cancer in any video game is to make sure that you perform well especially if it is a competitive or ranked mode. If you don’t feel like playing on a certain day or you feel that you will not perform well, don’t play ranked or competitive mode.
If you play while feeling that you will not be able to perform well, you will 99% will not perform well. This feeling usually kicks in if you are tired or not in the mood to play. Remember, gamers call a player “cancer” if the player is not performing well and contributing to the team.
However, if you still want to play even if you are not confident on that day, just play normal or unranked mode. In normal or unranked mode, there are fewer serious gamers out there playing since it is not rated or it will not define your rank.
Also, aside from not playing if you don’t feel like you won’t perform well, one thing you can do to perform well is to never do something that you are not confident enough like picking a Champion in League of Legends or an Agent in Valorant that you are not used to.
If you are playing these kinds of games, make sure to pick the Hero, Champion, Agent, or whatever the game calls their characters you are used to. Avoid testing the waters in a rank or competitive mode because I assure you, you will not be able to perform well.
Avoid Trolling
The second thing you need to do to avoid being called a “cancer” is to make sure that you don’t troll on competitive or ranked games. Trolling is very annoying. Imagine you are playing seriously and want to win, then one of your teammates doesn’t give a damn and just does whatever he thinks is fun.
Avoid trolling in competitive or ranked games because you will surely receive lots of hate comments from your teammates. If you want to troll or want to have fun, play in unranked or normal mode. Most online games have that kind of mode.
Never Trash Talk
The third thing you need to do to avoid being called “cancer” is to avoid trash-talking your teammates. I know that still losing while doing your best to win is frustrating. However, you don’t have to be so toxic and say lots of swear words to your teammates who are doing their best as well.
Trash talk ruins your teammates’ momentum and confidence. Your teammates have a high chance of getting tilted. You are considered a parasite to this team because you destroy your teammates’ morale and focus on the game.
Final Words
To conclude, the term “cancer” in gaming refers to players who are not performing well and running the team. Just remember what cancer does to a human’s body. You are doing the same as what cancer would do to a human body to your team if you don’t perform well or are toxic.
