An Open Letter to Smurfs

[RexOverwatch-1555]

@Kaawumba-1133

Looking For Group helps reduced randomness in matchmaking, which improves matchmaking quality. Further features along these lines could improve things even further.

Continuing in this theme, if Blizzard implemented a six-stack queue, where teams rather than players have SR, then the matchmaker would behave more like 1v1 than 6v6. The simulations above show how much better the system behaves in 1v1 mode. As a fall back, though, teams in the six-stack queue would may have to be matched against people in the regular queue when there aren’t enough teams in the six-stack queue.

Other possibilities include a clan system, or weekly or monthly tournaments for players that aren’t good enough for open division to be a positive experience.

Blizzard could do better with banning toxic personalities (throwers, boosters, ragers, hackers, etc.). With throwers and boosters, machine learning can help, but at the end of the day, all semi-credible reports should be investigated, and the investigator should be able to watch a replay of the game(s) from anyone’s perspective. Blizzard should hardware ban serial offenders.

Individual players can improve their matchmaking experience by using LFG or by playing with a regular group of people. They can also not playing while drunk, tilted, tired, etc.

these are from Kawumba post about match quality

Jeff recently said that they are going to have a system that detects smurfs when 222 role lock comes out, so we’ll see.

I don’t smurf, but personally I think it should be allowed. I think you should be allowed to shed SR with the click of a button. I’m around 1900sr. I think everyone that has an SR higher than that has not only the right, but also the duty, to shed SR with the click of a button and enter my games and stomp all over me.

I feel this way because I think stopping sandbaggers brings about more problems that it solves. Note: I don’t think Plats and GMs entering my games is that big of a problem.

Overall I’m happy with my match quality. I just have a different outlook/philosophy about how a multiplayer ladder should be administered.