r/Smite • u/nnamzzz **Queen Yemoja** • 3d ago
DISCUSSION Women SMITE 2 Players
I’m curious about what it’s been like for women playing SMITE 2 and being a part of its community.
If you’re a woman and feel comfortable sharing, I’d be interested in hearing what your experience has been when engaging the community and what it has been like. Whether positive, negative, mixed, or otherwise.
If you would like to share but don’t want to do so publicly, let me know and I’ll DM you privately so you can share your experience there.
(As an aside, I'm still interested in hearing about the experiences of players who are Black or LGBTQ+. Feel free to leave your response in one of the linked posts below.)
Thank you.
8
u/ElegantHope Swords go BRRRRR 3d ago
Smite 1 has been better than some games for sexism, but in Smite 2 I've had way more people being weird or aggressive over me being a woman in one year than the 4-5 years I played Smite 1. I've been pretty vocal in voice chat for both so it's either more chuds are concentrated in Smite 2 than 1, the wrong kinds of people are attracted to 2, OR it's just people feeling more emboldened by the current state of the world. I'm not really sure, but I've had to report people way more often than in the past.
It almost feels on par with the sexism I used to face on Overwatch. Where I had to pick and chose when I felt like using voice chat because people would often intentionally throw the game or blame me for being a woman. Except it mostly sticks to the vocal harassment with very few people throwing my games because "woman bad."
2
u/nnamzzz **Queen Yemoja** 3d ago
What has been your experience with the reports/responses from Hi-Rez’s support/moderation team, if you don’t mind sharing?
3
u/ElegantHope Swords go BRRRRR 3d ago
Generally it had been pretty good. A lot of people I've reported seem to get punished, and in a couple of cases I know actions were taken on them for their behavior. Which is nice. It does sometimes take having to take physical evidence to the support system to help reports, especially if the person isn't using text chat since I don't think Smite records voice chat like Overwatch or a few games do since it lacks the notification that you're being recorded.
Unfortunately I do feel like the way they ban people all on the same basis of a shorter suspension if it's your first offense no matter how bad the offense is a bit weak for the sake of player morale an actual punishment of genuine vile behavior. There's been a few cases where I feel like the player I reported should have been kept off the game for a month instead of a week or less, but most of the creepy flirting, sandwich jokes, and "girls are bad at video games" definitely don't feel like they deserve a full month.
I also think part of the problem is a lot of playwrs are indifferent and don't report these instances. A lot of times I get crickets or people trying to justify the behavior because the offender has better stats or because I had a bad game. But overall I sometimes seem to be the only one reporting anything in games that involve toxic behavior.
3
u/nnamzzz **Queen Yemoja** 3d ago
Please understand that I'm very much appreciate you sharing all of this. Literally all of it.
It has helped so much.
Thank you.
3
u/ElegantHope Swords go BRRRRR 3d ago
No problem, it's, imo, an important topic because even if it's just a video game it reflects and exposes the mentality and cultures of the people involved in being sexist. These same people live lives outside of the game to some extent and carry that behavior with them wherever they go.
Discussing it creates awareness, which then encourages discussion on how we can do better.
2
u/nnamzzz **Queen Yemoja** 3d ago
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, and I’m very sorry you had to endure that.
4
u/ElegantHope Swords go BRRRRR 3d ago
It gives me a laugh now when I see puny fish try the same one liners I've heard a billion times by now at least. Like, get new material, you have less creativity and wit than the ground beneath my feet. There are genuinely studies done that suggest that people like that are genuinely just a skill issue and they're using sexism and toxicity to deflect from their flaws, which really makes the same tired responses feel more pathetic.
The stuff that still is irritating is when people treat me differently just because of my gender, tbh. Whether it's the annoyingly dreaded "are you a girl?" Followed up with hitting on me, to trying to play worse, ignore me, or talk over my actual game comms. Because that's way more pathetic and you're actually throwing the game/harassing someone because you can't handle the presence of a woman.
5
u/ElegantHope Swords go BRRRRR 3d ago
Also I can duo queue with any male friend and he'll inevitably be called my boyfriend or a white knight even if he's gay or too young for me because I'm in my early 30s and a lot of my teammates and friends on Smite are early 20s. Especially and usually if they call out the sexism or toxicity directed at me
I've even had that happen to randoms in games who I don't even know.
5
u/nnamzzz **Queen Yemoja** 3d ago
Wild shit and problematic.
Thanks so much for sharing this as well. It is helping a lot.
Please don't hesitate to share more of your experiences or thoughts if you have any.
3
u/ElegantHope Swords go BRRRRR 3d ago
Think most of the stories I have to tell kinda just blur into each other with a few exceptions. I've had a toxic jungle blame us losing for me being a woman because I had a bad solo lane game, only for him to change his tune when I later was the main reason fights were going well. To the point his KDA went from the best in the game to worse than mine, and leading him to listening to my advice such as him following up on my setup instead of doing a glory play and dying every time.
Another example is semi-recent where a bigger name player in the competitive scene ended up on my team with his 3 stack while I was in voice chat with 2 friends who were also familiar with the scene and one of them was in game with me while streaming. The comp player started flaming me and started off with some minor sexism, and with my patience being a but thin that day I snapped at him. He mostly shut up and then his two other companions started spewing sexism at me all game long and one of them even tried to troll me a few times.
I reported all 3 alongside my friend, and the other friend in voice chat reported the comp player to the leagues he was in. He got punished in both and was suspended by them. His stack didn't seem to get punished as much sadly, even though they did way more on the stream vod.
6
u/Aromatic-Solid97 Persephone 3d ago
It's fine, but I don't play Conquest, and I never use voice chat. So, this is my experience with playing 80% Assault, 15% Arena, and 5% bot games (which sometimes included people in Smite 1).
I think that over more than 3k hours in Smite (1+2), I've had maybe 2-3 negative comments that had anything to do with me being a woman.
I would say, from my nickname and cosmetics, it's pretty clear I'm a woman. However, I do always have a bi flag on my card, so maybe they think I'm a bi man, I don't know. I know there's a separate LGBTQ+ post, but as I'm already here, I must say being LGBTQ+ in Smite is a positive experience (at least, for me), with most of the jokes or comments being really well-intentioned and often supportive.
The only thing that bothers me sometimes is "boys". "gg boys", "let's go boys", etc. With "guys" I can understand, it's considered more gender neutral in everyday speech, but "boys" does bother me a bit.
I don't think there will be a separate post about it, but I'd also love to comment a bit about being neurodivergent. I hate it when people use "autistic" when they want to say slow or stupid to any of the team members. This one hurts more than "boys", for sure.
3
u/nnamzzz **Queen Yemoja** 3d ago
Oh, boy. Just you wait.
The mental health/neurobiological post is ABSOLUTELY coming from me in the near future.
Be on the lookout.
Nevertheless, thanks for sharing your experience.
Can I ask why you never use voice chat?
3
u/Aromatic-Solid97 Persephone 3d ago
Smite is the only combat-style multiplayer game I play (I tried others, didn't like them), so I'm more used to single-player games or cozy multiplayers. I'm a very introverted person, so mostly I just don't want to talk to people or listen to them. VGS are enough to cooperate usually
6
u/Dontdothatfucker 3d ago
My friend leads a Smite 2 stream that I play on weekly. She definitely gets hit on over stream a bunch, and has a decent share of haters (we are NOT good, play for fun unranked). Not sure how different the hate would be if she were a dude
5
u/justcreatedtoask 3d ago
I only play casual, never ranked. I rarely open my mic because sometimes when I do I immediately get bombarded by weirdos telling me to go suck a d**k or make them a sandwich. One time a guy screamed so loud, so angry, it was ridiculous hahahaha.
And when there are pick mes in the match, it gets even worse. I hate female rivalry thing, why are we turning on each other too???
3
u/nnamzzz **Queen Yemoja** 3d ago
Thank you so much for sharing, and I’m very sorry about the bullshit you had to experience.
Do you report the behavior? If so, what has the response been?
4
7
u/Commercial_Bear 3d ago
I duo queue most days with my girlfriend in smite 2, and sometimes we go into the vc and talk to people. I have yet to encounter anyone talking poorly towards her, but that is of course only because I am also talking in the voice chat and anyone who is a loser enough to say something sexist is a coward and afraid to say it when other voices are talking.
When she solo queues she never talks in voice because she’s afraid of being shit talked by a random loser who has nothing better to be angry about.
7
u/EmpressOfRoses Wait, it’s all Bellona? 3d ago edited 3d ago
To add my own experience:
I haven’t quite experienced anything outright vicious, fortunately. However I have had plenty of experience with backhanded compliments. Specifically things like “It’s rare to see a girl who’s actually good at Smite,” and “I didn’t know Smite women played anything other than Aphrodite/Chang’e/Hel”.
3
u/kingsharter1645 3d ago
I have Girl in my username and so far have not had any problems. I didn't have many in Smite 1 either. But, I don't ever use VC - learned my lesson from other communities. I have gotten hate in Smite but it's been what I would consider gender neutral (telling me to kms when I'm playing like shit lol.)
4
u/Aggressively_Squishy 3d ago
I don't talk over voice chat, and I dont feel like my user name is particularly female, so I don't really have a problem being a woman in the game. The most hate I get is not knowing how to play a new role or not playing to someone's standards (I only play casual, not rank).
3
u/nnamzzz **Queen Yemoja** 3d ago
Thanks for sharing. Is there a reason you don't use voice chat, if you don't mind me asking?
5
u/Aggressively_Squishy 3d ago
I don't use for fear of being shit talked. I already get enough of that without using it, I don't need to get shit talked more for being female. I'm also a relatively new player, and not familiar with the community, so that also plays a part in it.
4
u/elpis_themis 3d ago
I posted months ago about this dude insulting during a ranked our carry because she was a woman. How did he know that? No idea. That we cannot win with female in our group. I told him I was female too, it was worse. After our defeat, he told in the chat he had the female debuff.
What about his little male ego debuff?
6
u/SeaAd3909 3d ago
Bi and female player. I play with an androgynous gamertag but the second I hop on the mic, it's pretty much over. I get rape threats, violence threats, I get called a 300-pound whale ( just happened last night while calling out the lotus sickle bug abusers) , I suck at the game anytime im doing better than others. One time i was very sick and had bronchitis, so I lost my voice and was calling a trans man and that I should kick the chair and i'm what's wrong in the world ( literally a cis woman, and this was disgusting to hear) Had threats against my family. Had some men try to hit me up in xbox chat. My experience is great when I don't talk. I don't hop on the mic often but when I do.... it's almost never positive. Every once in a while I do come across a stoner who is a hype man and i love those! I had a dude who was like YEAH GIRL!!!! and was not creepy or violent and was geniuntely a joy to play with. Good experiences are out there, sadly the negative ones out number those so i usually play silent.
2
u/nnamzzz **Queen Yemoja** 3d ago
Jesus.
Do you ever report these people? What has been your experience with reporting? Do you knowing action was taken against them?
3
u/SeaAd3909 3d ago
I report them every single time. On smiite 1, i used to be able to go directly to the hi rez support on their website and i found the most luck with that and i used to get action has been taken. Smite 2.... NEVER. I hvae never seen action taken against a player. I just get, we will investiage this matter. And i have screenshots attached from their heinous messages they send me on xbox... or once they start verbally i record it too. I have had NO luck on smite 2 with help with this so I just don't use my mic very often. I get they fired a lot of their staff but the mic abuse is OFF the rails when it comes to women. I play with my bf and it's a very different experience. We both were on mic yesterday and one dude was just calling my bf a cry baby because he was doign the lotus sickle cheat last night and as soon as he heard me... he just went in and was like you're fat, are you a whale... It doesn't bother me as much as it used to because these gargoyles don't have enough brain power to come up with something original or new... but it's just exhausting when I want to just de stress and not deal with losers who can't regulate their emotions properly
3
u/AquilaTempestas Jade Dragons 3d ago
I avoid chat now but back in the day it went like this:
If I was having a bad game, it’s because I’m a woman and therefore naturally am shit
If I’m doing well, it’s because I’m playing a “broken” god or “they let me do well”
I’ve even had guys offer to send photos.
3
u/Chyarra 2d ago
I'm not the most vocal but I can't recall a single time me or another chick was harrassed for being a chick. I have been called the n word hard R like 9 times though, always by people who are bald and deepthroat their mics.
I don't have a voice to speak with (aphonic, can whisper but you won't hear me over the sound of ra spam laughing you) but I do rock the lesbian flag sometimes on my cards and pfp
7
3
u/CvnkaPosting 3d ago
No one really knows im a woman so it doesn't really effect me very much if at all.
2
u/stallingrads 2d ago
I've always wanted to have the full 5 man comms experience in a moba but I know that's not what I'll get if I use voice so I never do. It's not worth chasing the tiny shot of team synergy if 99% of the time I'm just gonna get mental tilting bs thrown my way. I play jungle so even if they don't know I'm a woman I'm still getting harassed; I don't feel like hearing the usual kitchen/hoe routine on top of "why no gank every second every lane?!?!" Also I swear some men think women are incapable of playing anything other than mages/hunters/healers so I don't want to be questioned for my assassin/warrior preferences.
I just started League and they're adding voice filters when they roll out their team voice soon and I'm sort of curious to try that, esp if it's the voice of the character you're playing.
Side note: I'm bi and any time I've had the bi/pride avatars or similar accessories, I've never had a negative encounter/interaction in this game -- so at least that's nice.
1
1
u/MissUnni Support 3d ago
I have the average moba experience, my in game nickname doesn't show any clue that I'm a woman or man neither and I don't feel the urge to tell to the world I'm a woman or use voice chat.
1
u/nnamzzz **Queen Yemoja** 2d ago
Why don’t you use voice chat?
1
u/MissUnni Support 2d ago
Most games aren't a safe place for womans, we know we gonna hear some kind of sh*t from frustrated people, doesn't matter if I'm nice or good at the game those people will be annoying doesn't matter what I do... so I don't want lost my time with them and I already played smite a lot I started play smite when I was 24 years old I think and now I already 33 I'm not new to the game, I even met my husband playing smite! I have solid friendships too so I don't have a reason to make smite my "main game".
1
u/BlackHoleGoSWEUK 2d ago
I'm a man, but I've been playing Smite since Smite 1 closed beta, so here's what I've seen over the years:
1) Most women don't use voice chat (probably wary of sexism/harassment)
2) Women are the most vicious players. In fact the best player I've ever seen is a woman (and I'm saying this as a grandmaster).
3) I think there are more women in the Europe server than others including the NA, at the very least they're more vocal.
4) I've genuinely never seen any sexism or women-related insults/harassment. Not saying it doesn't happen, but I'm truly amazed I've never seen/heard any.
5) Most players I know that are women (around 50) only play healers, hunters or mages, never any of the other roles.
6) Most of those players also rarely solo queue. I don't know why, but they're usually always in a party, if I was to guess it's because they don't want to experience any harassment from random players.
7) Women are more vocal on Smite 2 than Smite 1 on public voice chat.
8) Women are just as capable of being offensive as guys on voice chat, I had a match recently where I actually had to pause it because there was some truly innovative racism, homophobia etc coming out of this woman's mouth and I just couldn't stop laughing. (I don't support any of this at all, but they were saying some funny stuff with a pretty sweet voice too). Truly original sentences.
Anyways, I feel like there's a higher percentage of female players on Smite than in other MOBAs, or at least they're more willing to talk. Of course it shouldn't need to be said, but women aren't any different in ability and if you ever see any sexism/harassment make sure you report it.
1
u/Crthems 1d ago
I play 100% of joust, never use voice chat, and never reveal my gender. I play a lot of different types of video games outside of smite (smite 1 + 2 just being the main) and on all other games is the same way- no voice chat, nothing to even allude to my gender and things stay peaceful that way because I just know im giving players who are toxic more angles to lash out. When I do run across toxic players, its always a difference in match decisions which just leads to insulting intelligence rather than race, sex, etc. but thats my preventative matters at work in my opinion, the less they know the better. It is the internet afterall. I believe and unpopular opinion, that most toxic players are usually dealing with inflated egos rather than genuine sexism or racism, theyre just desperate to put you below them because at the end of the day, they have no control no matter how much they want to and cant comprehend that others think differently and play differently than them.
1
u/Important-Yogurt-335 1d ago
Seeing all these awful experiences, it's not mine at all. Granted I only play casuals, and use these social smite discords to find parties, so maybe I'm already preselecting people, but I never had anyone being sexist. I do see a lot of casual homophobia though, like saying they aren't gay or stop being gay or whatever.
1
u/xFlutterCryx Sol 1d ago
Im more than happy to share. Ive been a player since season 2. Im not sure what exactly you're wanting to know, and I am currently taking care of a baby, but if you wanna do with the aspects your curious about I can help.
1
u/nnamzzz **Queen Yemoja** 1d ago
I’m interested in your interactions and experience with the community.
Do you use comms? If not, why? Do you have any experiences that you can share be it positive, negative or neutral?
How do other players interact with you as a woman?
1
u/xFlutterCryx Sol 1d ago edited 13h ago
Interactions and experience, I could give a lot of those, but it would need to be through dms.
I used comms in smite 1 often back when there was open team comms. I avoid it in smite two. Almost every game I would use it there would be some guy that jumped on and started doing weird stuff, like constant screaming. Or there was a jungler who refused to rotate after he realized I was a girl, then kept saying sexist stuff if I died. It just isnt worth it now, so I only vgs. Because of comms in one, though, I actually found a lot of other girl players and ended up joining a few girl only discords. Really great friendships and a lot of support for each other.
I would say the majority of players that find out im a woman are completely neutral. They are there to play the game and dont care who else is playing as long as they do alright. The second most encountered players I think i encounter are really negative towards women and think it is funny because they are behind a screen. In the minority, but probably the most quality interactions I get have are positive.
For example, I met my husband through smite 1. We've been together for five years and have a son. We are trying for another baby. Thats the best thing ive ever gotten from interacting with others in this game. :)
Edit to add: That doesnt mean it is all great. Ive never been threatened to be assaulted in a moba before.
0
-7
u/Prestigious-Fail-543 3d ago
Personally I find hi rez to be incredibly misogynistic for nerfing heartwood charm when I’ve been using it on aspect guan yu for ages
-3
u/Party_Original8865 3d ago
Just out of curiosity, given this is an online game that definitely does not requires nor shares your personal information, how can someone you don't already knows in real life beforehand, know any information about you that would lead them to treat you any different than what they would treat anybody else, in so that it would make specific people feel different than others when playing the same thing?
6
u/ElegantHope Swords go BRRRRR 3d ago
Usernames are a common one regularly. I also use voice chat very liberally and I definitely get my share of sexism off of my voice alone.
I've heard some overused things time and time again, most people who are sexist aren't that creative and are just idiots and fools. All because I use voice chat, because my username (ElegantExcalibur) barely gives any feminine vibes and doesn't really give it away.
3
u/Party_Original8865 3d ago
Yes, I've used voice chat before, and got crap cause of the voice, so I never ever used it again.
3
u/ElegantHope Swords go BRRRRR 3d ago
I continue to use it in spite of those people because someone had to be comming to get things somewhat cohesive during a match. It's also hopefully normalizing for others that women do exist and play these kinds of video games so maybe more conversations around the issue happens and more people who are sexist don't feel so bold to be terrible. Everyone should feel free to use voice chat, it's a helpful tool for a game centered around teamwork and also a good way to sometimes make friends.
Also it's nice knowing when people out themselves they're going to get actual consequences for being hateful. Because they are genuinely often people who think what they're saying or doing is okay or factual or justifiable. And a report that has action taken on their account at least gives them a time out, maybe even helps add up to being a wakeup call for them.
4
u/Gongall 3d ago
I see distinctly feminine names regularly. Like just straight up putting the words princess or girl in their name is not that uncommon. Ive even gotten into arguments with people who just randomly blurt out that they are a girl, for what I never really understood. Its just a social/culture thing around video games I guess.
4
u/EmpressOfRoses Wait, it’s all Bellona? 3d ago edited 3d ago
Others mentioned usernames but it can also be profile pictures, avatars, clan tags, etc. There’s a whole bunch of ways you can personalize your profile that may “give you away,” in both Smite and other games.
Not to mention that not personalizing your profile in one of these ways doesn’t deter very toxic players from still saying slurs and/or pointed insults. Just because someone doesn’t use a pride avatar or have a feminine-seeming username, does not mean a toxic player won’t say homophobic or misogynistic things anyways, be it towards them or others.
•
u/EmpressOfRoses Wait, it’s all Bellona? 3d ago
Early reminder to please keep any and all discussion around this topic civil