How To Deal With Bad Apples?

[MrBarraclough]

I can sympathize with the temptation to torch the dudes in turn, but I would step back away from that path. I don't like the idea of using a marker as an instrument of justice, and honestly I wouldn't want to put that much trust into my own sense of restraint in the heat of the moment. Not to mention, giving them some of their own back might well reinforce their sense of this being normal behavior.

So who do you talk to first, the players in question or the field staff? I think that's a judgment call you have to make on the ground there, based on your impression of their demeanor and whether they're likely to respond well to a friendly reminder that they don't need to light up kids and old timers and it makes the game less fun for everyone. Maybe you give that a shot or maybe you skip that step and go directly to the ref. I can't say one or the other is necessarily more correct. Just depends on the situation. If you have to take it up with the ref and he's a squish who either does nothing or is just ineffectual, talk to the ref about it, privately. Ask if he doesn't think the owner will back him up or if he's worried about something else or whatever. Ask what you can do to help him do what he needs to. There might not be anything you can actually do, but knowing that you're behind him might help him be confident enough to deal with the problem effectively.

I think that same attitude might be useful in dealing with the problem players directly, as well. If instead of coming at someone like they are a problem you are trying to solve (even if that really is the case), you come to them like they have a problem you are trying to help them solve (even if the problem is their own behavior), they are likelier to respond positively. Easier said than done, I know.

Or, if you've got the hardware on hand, maybe present a friendly challenge to play some pump or stock class 1v1 or 2v2. If they accept, you've already won. If you beat them, you embarass them and make them self-conscious about using their electros as crutches, because everyone sees that now. And if they beat you, then they have proven they don't need to abuse their spacegun advantages to win. You need only point that out, and again they are made to be self-conscious about using their electros as crutches.

[MrBarraclough]

I have a hard time not torching them back every chance I get. But if it’s really bad I make it my mission to put as much paint on them as I can. This for sure escalates the situation. Often not the best way of handling it. People who can’t take suggestion and are out to hurt people often don’t take spoonfuls of there own medicine well.

Careful with that. Most jerks didn't just start being jerks that very morning. They've had years of practice at it. Playing them at their own game is likely a losing proposition. It's like the old saying about not wrestling with a pig: You'll both get dirty but the pig likes it.

[BrickHaus]

Youd be suprised at how many bonus ballers cant take the heat when you turn the tides.

[Chuck E Ducky]

I don’t recommend this method it’s a race to the bottom. I agree. Sometimes I can’t help myself in the moment tho. I’m for sure guilty of doing this. I don’t shoot electro in rec so it’s mostly xball issues. Rec I usually just try to out play them and give em a few extra.

[coyote]

I once switched sides to play with an overshooting player.

I told him the next time he abused another player I was going to " write my name on him". I then parked right behind him for the duration of the game.

The BS stopped.

I don't recommend this approach for all situations, but it has worked. We need to police our own.

[MAr]

Here we make them moderators

[Nish]

Really is no better way to make someone disappear.

[XEMON]

This type of issue is due to bad reffing (don't know any better or are just lazy) and bad (or don't care) field management ...

There is a local field I don't go anymore because they are simply unsafe, no velocity check and ref let people unload a loader point Blanc ... Last time I went I ended up bleeding all over the place while the ref was having fun, and no med kit available ...
A Nother field encourage high rod electro and people swiping paint ... Doesn't mash well with my play style ...

I've banded with rental plenty of times, honestly the most fun games ive had, but I always use SC with rental ...

[Jordan]

Here we make them moderators

So that's what I've been doing wrong.

🙂

[BrickHaus]

You could talk to the field owner about eatablishing a few "player refs" each game.

Splat Tag has done this with GBGs. I have been randomly selected to ref. I was side by side with a guy ramping the enemy in a semi only game. His finger game was weak so I could clearly tell he was ramping. I pretty much stood up in a hell fire and got elimenated to do the reffing job, but I pulled him with me, and made him set it to semi.

He did fight at first til I explained Im a player ref, and arguing the point will get him ejected from the event.

That works really well in larger games where you have some solid players to count on.

It also helps to know any rando player has ref powers so assholes are less likely to be themselves.

Otherwise not sure what else to do, fighting fire qith fire isnt usually helpful.


Another idea. If you are out for open play. take the whole group of non douche bqgs, and tepl the refs you want to open a private group on the spot.

Everyone would need to pitch in a lil extra to hire your personal ref out for the day. But simply start a game where the bad apples cant join.

That or get the WHOLE group to stop playing, and tell them you will play when x and Y are not here anymore.

They can stand in staging alone until they get sick of waiting for players to pummel.

Thats all I got for ideas. Lol

[MrBarraclough]

"Player refs" is a thing where I play as well. Sometimes they are regulars recruited by the staff to keep an eye on certain people or situations and sometimes they are actual refs who hop in to play a game either to fill out a team or just to take a break from reffing and get in some playing time. The head ref always makes a point of letting the kids know during the safety briefing that he has eyes and ears all over the field that they don't know about.

[ChoSanJuan]

A few of us are player refs at our home field. When a staff ref is leading a whole group up to the a specific field, they can't see any shenanigans going on in the back. The trusted players will yell at rentals and walk-ons to keep their masks down, get a barrel sock on/off, ramping issues during games, etc... It's a privilege for us to be that trusted by the owners and management. Not everyone can do it. It's not for the timid.

[FredMnkyDad10]

I think the biggest thing we could have done was see if the others would rather play without them. And then simply ask. But I suppose in grand scheme it’s up to the ref and owner to do the right thing. Sadly that didn’t quite happen while we where there.

This, i had similar experience at field. I had been playing for about 2yrs, soon after i show up to play and have my setup ready to play. A big group of first time rentals show and then a some sponsored team shows up. The team is completely decked out in team matching gear down to the markers, tanks hoppers, all high end.

they ask if we and the rentals want to play against them, we say sure. after 2 games of them just shooting ropes and lighting us up we take a break. I can totally tell the rentals hated the experience, i was the only other person that had my own gear playing with the rentals against the sponsored team.
So i walk over to the team, ask a few of them if they would mind mixing up the teams, some of them with rentals to even the games out. guys just turn and said "no we are a team, we play together, we are here to play as a team. I told them ok no problem, so i went over to the rentals and said hey how about we go play on the other fields and leave the speed ball field to those guys.
the other team just ended up standing around not playing, couple of them came over to ask if we wanted to play against them again, we said no thanks you guys can have your own fun and we will do the same.

i dont think they played another round at all, while we played the rest of the day.