i wanted to ask the community about smurfing. there seems to be negative context for some reason. is every ones games full of GM master and diamonds smurfs? cuz i dont get why playing a gold smurfing in gold is a big deal but thats my op.
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It varies. During certain times of a season, it tends to be more frequent.
Smurfing adds a layer of randomness on top of everything else (synergy, DC, mood). I’m roughly Gold on my better heroes (maybe Plat, big maybe) and I’m playing with the bottom half of Silver like food on the table.
People kind of expect a reliable match quality, plus reaping the rewards of putting in the effort. But the correlation feels very poor, it’s often backwards. Lost 5 in a row with Tyrande putting in the effort, 3 matches DC. 6th wasn’t too good, I gave up mentally. One guy starting pinging, I started feeding, then we won. It’s a frequent experience, feeding causes wins. Don’t ask, I don’t know how. It just does.
Also, every smurf is required to start low, thus lower leagues are getting the worst of it. In Silver, virtually every smurf is either better than you, or a toxic forced to reroll being toxic.
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In lower leagues though, that means one side might have a smurf, both sides have a smurf, or none.
i played this account in EU to use as a practice account for SL and decided to play it more. in bronze the climb out is super easy and got up to gold (gold is my highest rank ever). i can assume form my own XP that most games in bronze back when i was legit a bronze 5 just go all aram. that’s asking for a complete toss up on who wins that match and really is RNG cuz if you climb from using aram you gonna fall also because of aram and if you climbed using aram then what did you learn?
The problem i see is peeps are mad at smurfs because they dont really try to learn about how to win. and again they might be smurfing in their own ranks again my view though
Yes every smurf is a grandmaster or a diamond player, you need to achieve that in order to go prestige and unlock your 2nd account
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A gold smurfing in gold isn’t a smurf. For him to smurf his alt would have to be in high silver or below. There’s very little reason for a gold player to smurf. The ones that do create a new account do so with the belief that they will climb higher with an alternate account. It used to work because of QM seeding, however now-a-days, whether or not it works I wouldn’t know.
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Because when people talk about smurfing being an issue it’s about crap that is so obviously out of place someone has to be atl east three tiers higher then their smurf account actually is
For example a bad smurf in silver will
Play an alarak that Never misses a combo even on small heroes
Have perfect stutter stepping even though most silvers don’t even attempt it
or any other number of B.S things that mean they are a plat or above while being in silver, basically stomping
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Again that sound like aram stuff. I’m sure alot of peeps here watch gms pros and old pros play on smurfs doin challenges to go form bronze to what ever their cap is or goals. We can see Fan miss skill shots or some times feed like a bronze 5 fresh out the gate. I watch these guys and when they are actually trying to win. they immediately soak because they all know they will lose otherwise if someone on the enemy team is soaking. (unless the enemy team is on a secret mission to give up free exp)
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You assume that the people I’m talking about don’t soak or don’t at least have a team that soaks because suprisingly it’s not THAT common you get a team that just refuses to soak
It’s not hard to see these mechanical prowess in team fights or even solo lane duels like for example Braxis Holdout
That’s the issue with smurfing and why i think anyone who partakes in this practice is a garbage human being.
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But smurfing can still be fair in one case. If I tank, I’m bronze elo. This isn’t even like me losing with my mains in bronze, I’m just horrendous at tanking
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I really never understood the point of making a Smurf account.
Everyone uses the saying “If Fan can climb out then the smurfs will climb to and won’t be there long”.
But watching the B2GM this season even the “world’s best” got hard stuck in silver/gold for a while.
There is 100% a smurfing problem at the moment but some people just want to put their head in the sand.
Not saying there isn’t some good things for the smurf (might balance out if they playing heroes they poor with etc) and I can understand the reasons sometimes but for the most part it isn’t good for the game. Especially with the lower pop.
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When you play a gold Smurf while your main account is diamond or whatever then it unfairly matches you against gold players. Gold may not be a big deal for you but it is for the real gold players.
Again, this would be the one exeption to the smurfing is bad. Some players ascribe to the “you need to play all roles equally well or you don’t deserve your rank”. I don’t fall into that category. I’m fact, I’m not a ranged assassin main. I’m hyper-specialized in marksmen
I so dislike that, because most players aren’t Fan and don’t posses his level of skill. There is some truth of course, put in more effort, read guides, look at your replays for your faults, get coaching, etc… Still I can do all that but I will never be Fan.
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And yet you’re better than silver/gold. You don’t need Fan’s level of skill. Every little bit helps. And he still does stupid stuff and depending on which hero he’s playing, can actually be not that great.
Smufing IS a problem, but hard stuck is definitely an exaggeration. The “a while” was pretty short, and he’s obviously not stuck anymore lol.
My opinion in the matter of course to all viewing is i dont care about smurfs personally. If i get to play against a real good player, that to me make this game more interesting. Along with seeing what i can do for my team to improve my win conditions. Im definitely interested though in hearing how it affects everyone else and why its a rampant issue because as i stated from my beliefs that both teams could potentially have a smurf. (even if some players cant recognize they might have a master on their own team)
What blows my mind some days in my way of thinking when peeps complain about smurfs as it would relate to them and ill will try my best to put in perspective so you see where im coming from. If I want to grind and climb up to say plat, or diamond, or even capping at gm. I have to play like it and against those players. I need to beat them to climb rank. if they beat me, then HOW did they do it? (the how is in the replays)
Ive noticed in my anecdotal experiences that there are alot of plat and diamonds between UR and SL that still make punishable mistakes that you would find in low ranks. The only difference in comparison of bronze/silver to plat and diamond is if our team makes a huge mistake then they KNOW how to take advantage. Even if its just one player they can clean house on the map. Let me rephrase this. “You” can clean house on the map if you know what “your” next priority should be.
Some of us aren’t masochists
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People are negative on smurfs because its easier to blame it on something else rather than their personal skill in playing the game.
For example a hard stuck gold/plat or whatever with over 100 games in his current division pointing fingers every game there is a GM smurf sneaking up on him rather then being honest with himself to realize that he is just not ready for next step yet.
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This mentality has helped me grow as a player. I hate the idea of being spoon fed wins that i had no impact on and at the same time i feel its completely moronic to believe its always some one else if i know i made a bad play.
You will have bad players and good players in games but gotta know when to recognize that some people; a silver player stuck in his rank might justifiably be his rank. a silver player
The thing is, this is true. What do you consider “long”? If I see a smurf, at my rank it is very rarely for more than a day or two, and they are off on their way to their true rank. The most memorable example was when CCL was first announced, and NA was suddenly treated to an influx of the world’s best players from EU and KR leveling accounts to buy heroes and prepare for the tournament. I encountered people like Dynough, Routzu, Tai, and Sake in Plat matches, and even with NA ping, they are so far above my skill level it is like watching Fan do his run. If they were on the enemy team, I would typically lose (although I have a very memorable match where my team beat Sake’s!). If they were on my team, I would typically win.
The thing is, it pretty much averaged out, and it didn’t last over a week before they were all back in Masters/GM. To me, the biggest issue as far as smurfing is concerned is how trolls and abusive people can just make a smurf and continue that behavior. In my personal experience, these types of smurfs have ruined far more matches than anyone from a high rank slumming it at my MMR. Yes, I have been stomped by a pre-made of what are clearly higher rank smurfs, and yes, it isn’t fun, but that happens so rarely I can’t see the point of changing things to deter them.
However, trolls, flamers, and habitual afkers can be perma-banned as far as I am concerned.