Twitch streamer Asmongold has slammed Twitch audiences for ‘metagaming’ – i.e. using chat to inform streamers of other players’ locations – on Rust, and claimed it was ruining the OfflineTV server experience.
The OfflineTV Rust server hasn’t exactly been free of controversy since its release. Fifty of Twitch’s biggest streamers, including xQc, shroud, and Valkyrae have been battling for control of the survival multiplayer map, which has had an unintended focus on PvP.
At the center of attention has been xQc. He’s frequently accused players of stream sniping to gain advantages and called out former OfflineTV member Edison Park. Park admitted to using ‘outside information’ to loot xQc’s team, which xQc condemned on Twitter.
But, using streams to gain info doesn’t necessarily need to be done by the players themselves. Some fans have been able to communicate info across streams through Twitch chat, a practice Asmongold is not happy about.
Asmongold on Rust ‘metagaming’
On his January 2 stream, Asmongold was not happy with the trend of fans metagaming with streamers. He described it as “annoying” and “loser behavior”, and encouraged fans to stop.
“You guys are cringe about this f***ing metagaming s**t. Stop doing that, it’s so annoying, and it’s just loser behavior,” he said. “It makes it not fun at all because people are just telling each other where they are.”
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“If I’m about to see somebody I’m about to see them. If I’m not about to see them I’m not about to see them. It’s just cringe metagaming that’s making it less fun for everybody.
“It’s so annoying, it’s so obnoxious, it’s so cringe, and nobody wants it. Just stop.”
It remains to be seen whether Asmongold’s rant will lead to a reduction in Rust metagaming, but it’s probably not worth holding your breath.
With a new roleplay-focused OfflineTV server set to be released on January 7, it will be interesting to see if the move away from a PvP focus will lead to less metagaming. With streamers at less risk of being ambushed and killed, metagaming might naturally fade away.