What Is A 'Skill Issue'? The Meaning And Origins Of The Slang Term Explained

If you've played a fighting video game, you've likely encountered this scenario: You're getting smacked. Your opponent seems to have every unfair advantage in the book. Their attacks all seem to lead to inescapable kill combos. You can't get in and when you do, your opponent has a defensive option that easily reverses the situation and you're right back on the ropes. All the while, your opponent says the most aggravating phrase: "skill issue."

But, you think, it's not an issue of skill. Their character is clearly unfair to play against. The situations they put you in are unwinnable.

"Simply an issue of skill," they say.

This article will explain how this aggravating refrain came to be, and hopefully, you will one day be able to say "skill issue" right back at your opponent.

What Is "Skill Issue"?

"Skill Issue" is very similar to another gaming taunt, git gud. However, there's a small difference.

While "Git Gud" is most infamously used by the Dark Souls community to chide players complaining about the games' difficulty, "skill issue" is more often used to troll, particularly in a fighting game or another sort of competitive game. When your opponent harps on your "skill issue," it means they know they have that heavy advantage going into a match and are preempting any excuse you might have. "Skill issue," though it sounds like an analytical assessment, can be interpreted as, "I know what I'm doing is unfair, but objectively you could win if you were simply skilled enough."

What Are "Skill Issue" Memes?

With the sarcastic definition of the phrase "skill issue" growing solidified, memes using the phrase are often meant to be as taunting and infuriating as possible. In many cases, the phrase is used in the modern-day equivalent of a trollface or rustled jimmies meme.

However, you'll most often see "skill issue" dropped in conversations on social media, often in response to a person complaining about a certain game's overpowered character. For example, in the Super Smash Brothers community, a sizable contingent is discussing bans of the characters Steve and Kazuya. While those in those camps will argue they have an unfair advantage to the 87 other fighters in Ultimate due to their low-risk, high-reward tools, their defenders will often fall back to "sounds like a skill issue."

aight so people in this thread are saying “idc if the charge shot was a bad idea, he shouldn’t have lost his stock at 0%. Kazuya is dumb.”

It’s a ground-only reflector that requires a command input. You can also bait it so that Kazuya kicks too early.

Skill issue. https://t.co/syeWzUBnF6

— Gresh (@GreshGANG) June 3, 2022

How Is The Phrase "Skill Issue" Used?

"Skill issue" is almost never used earnestly, and a video game player using it is almost certainly trying to rile up their opponent with a tongue-in-cheek troll. That being said, if you ever get your opponent in an unwinnable situation, drop a "skill issue" on them for that sweet, sweet salt.

For more information, check out the KnowYourMeme entry on 'skill issue'.