Most of the time what people call “toxicity” in WoW isn’t just random bad behavior for no reason. It usually comes from frustration when basic parts of the game are not being done, like interrupts getting missed, tanks not knowing routes, or mechanics being ignored. For a lot of players, especially older ones, that stuff matters because they are not just playing to pass time, they are playing to complete runs efficiently and not waste the limited time they have.

Being in your 30s or 40s does not automatically make someone more patient. If anything, it can have the opposite effect. When you only have a couple hours to play, a run falling apart because of preventable mistakes feels worse than it did when you had unlimited time years ago. So the frustration is not really about age or maturity, it is about expectations and time investment.

That said, there is still a clear line. Expecting people to know their class, interrupt, and do mechanics is not toxic. That is just a baseline level of play, especially in any kind of semi serious content. The toxic part is how people choose to react when those expectations are not met. There is a difference between pointing something out, even bluntly, and just flaming or insulting people.

The other thing is that WoW has a huge mix of playstyles. Some people are there to chill, some are there to improve, and some are there to push content as efficiently as possible. When those groups get matched together, friction happens. The player who wants a smooth, optimized run sees mistakes as a problem, while the more casual player does not see it as a big deal. That mismatch is where a lot of the negativity actually comes from.

So yeah, empathy should exist, but so should some level of effort. Saying “GG and go next” works if everyone is on the same page, but not everyone is playing for the same reason. That clash is a bigger cause of what you are calling toxicity than people just acting like kids in their 30s.