How do you handle friends who suck the fun out of a game?

At least they aren't actively killing the team.

Well don't play that game with them? Find another people to join you:)

Just quietly find other people that you enjoy playing it with and play with them instead. I understand that you may not want to hurt anyone's feelings... but at the same time you are not enjoying the experience, so there's no point in dragging it out. And if they ask you about it just be honest and let them make their own decisions about stuff. That's really all you can do.

Private vent server, good friends, many good times in other games.... Tell them they are sucking straight up, maybe it is them, maybe it is their cpu, maybe it is even their isp, but do tell them as nicely and truthfully as possible for chances are you'll learn why right after you do so (no guarantee on niceness back).

Really close net friends, pick a night of the week they must entertain themselves and you play that game.

There is always a solution, sadly the effectiveness of said solution often decreases exponentially with those it affects by the degree it affects them.

I have this one friend that kept talking about spoilers, collect objectives immediately instead of letting me and another friend read its objectives, etc. In Borderlands 2. I now find any excuse I can to not play with him in that game and he wonders why. He also sucks the fun out of Dungeon Defenders as well, hogging up the defense units just because he "knows a build" when we are playing on easy. What puzzles me is he uses apprentice, which has virtually no builds anyways... baffling.

I make them know its no fun by falling asleep at the computer. Sometimes witht the mic still on ;)

What kind of friends are these people?

Do you know them in person, only online etc?

Bottom line, if you're not enjoying the game while playing with them then something needs to change immediately. I suggest bringing up something like "let's talk strategy before we jump into the game tonight guys", might work. If they just blow you off then it might be time for a more direct approach.

You seem like a nice guy, so it might be hard for you to confront these people but in the end, gaming is about enjoyment, it's not like it's your job and they're your co-workers, you deserve to have fun too!

Tell them they suck, you want to play competitivley and help them shape up for the game.
OR, play the game without them and tell them they'll have to play that game without you.
OR, you can play competitive with other people in another match and then play with your friends, alternating every, say 2 or 3 games.

Give it to them straight up. I play MOBA games (usually 5v5) all the time and it sucks if you have a teammate who just doesn't learn or doesn't want to be helped. Make sure you've tried at least a few times and explain to them that you're trying to help them play better with the team. They can either take it or leave it. If you're friendship is shallow and worthless then they'll get pissed and never talk to you, if your friendship is decent and valuable then they will understand and find another game while you play yours :)

If they're really quiet then try constantly engaging them in conversation and talk to them directly. like "hey -name-, where you at?" "do you see anyone?" "what gun are you using?" etc (idk what game you're playing so w/e makes sense to ask them). I can't really speak for them obviously but I used to be really quiet because I was shy and afraid to talk. Everyone else would seem so tight knit and whenever I talked I felt like I was some stupid intruder in the conversation. Maybe that's how they feel? If so, just becoming better friends with them might be the solution.

Also, whenever a situation arises where something could have been prevented by them speaking up, let them know. Obviously, don't rage at them but just calmly say something like "-name-, [you need to/it'd really help if you] call out enemy positions". Perhaps they're just not aware that their silence is costing you.

You didn't mention what kind of friends they are. Real life friends, online friends etc.. Also if they are online friends, maybe they don't know English well or whatever language you speak. They might not have mics or just shy.

Also if they keep dieing, maybe they are more casual players or might not like the game you are playing as much as you do. Perhaps ask them what game they want to play once in a while. Also instead of jumping straight into PVP, it might be worthwhile to do some bot training first assuming the game has them.

Don't just keep pushing them to play the game with you and talk in the mic etc. If they don't like the game, maybe find some other friends to play that game with while you play some other game with them.

If you want more accurate help, you need to provide more info like what game you are talking about, what type of friends they are etc.

If I had a friend who never talked and wasn't putting in the time and effort to get better at a game, I would interpret that as him not really being interested in the game. Why are you forcing your two friends to play a game that is obviously not for them? The only thing worse than playing a game you're bad at and wish you could quit is being forced to play it because your "friends" want you to do so.

You need to find out what's going on with them. Talk to them outside of the game. Find out what's in their heads. If they'd rather not play that game, don't twist their arms. Find alternates to fill their spots. If they really do want to play the game, then they'd better put in some time and energy to get better. It really is that simple.

I expected to hear about douchebag teammates rather than "quiet" ones. The type who taunt the enemy team constantly, play as dirty as possible, and generally have a negative attitude towards others. I have plenty of experience playing with those sorts of people and trying to apologise to the opposing team is something I'm quite sick of.

So next time you get frustrated with your quiet friends, just remember that it could be MUCH worse.

I guess if it was me handling this situation I'd tell them exactly what you explained to us.. tell them how their way of playing and their inability to participate in a real team-play effort kills the fun and actually the purpose of playing the game. Some feelings might get hurt but it's the only way the situation gets resolved in a any way.. be them leaving the group or trying hard at changing their ways.

It's a good question.
Maybe one solution would be to also kind of ignore the game and actually talk to them about non-game things while playing. They're probably playing somewhat absentmindedly, so maybe find out what other things they actually have going on that are possibly more important (though not necessarily more fun) than playing the game?

Hye, at least you guys can find a game to play together. My gaming friends all have different games they'd rather play than what everyone else wants to play. So we can't decide what to play until the rest of the group decides to join one's because boredom gets the best of us.

When playing with said friends, play the games that are fun to play with them.
When playing said game, play with other friends :)

Suck it up and keep playing with them or stop playing with them. I played with people like this and they will almost never get it through their heads that sometimes the things they do messes up s** for the team. You can try some sneaky mind-tricks and while you're watching videos/live streams of the game bring up how these people play and how "we" can all get better. Probably still won't hear what you're saying. smashes head onto his desk*

Don't find some other game, find some other friends. Even when I play with my friends who don't talk I have some around that do so we can at least make fun of them for not talking or for sucking. Actually makes their badness kinda fun :)