You cannot provide a basketball game as an example, because that will have rules that explicitly state it’s not allowed.
OVERWATCH DOES NOT HAVE THIS RULE.
What definition are you providing that states what cheating is in the reporting system, when I have just outlined to you the terms and conditions of the, game, of which it does not say anything in there about smurfs.
And as I have just quoted you the Game Developer himself saying it’s NOT cheating. Who are you trying to argue with?
It is not practical or even possible to go through every single player manually being accused of being a smurf, and prove they are a smurf, and then ban them for doing so, especially when there’s no rules even against this.
So what magical solution do you suggest. (regardless of it not actually being cheating)
They know a bunch of people who have thrown down to low ranks to smurf the newbies, and are training a ML tool to detect it from their stats, they had a panel on it.
You don’t have to throw to end up in that place. You obviously have no idea how the initial matchmaking system works. You can place bronze, silver when you first get the game, if you are not great with the heroes you have picked.
You are still yet to give me proof. Accounts? footage?
A lot of people are complaining around here with no real evidence, and furthermore no real solutions
Right but these people aren’t starting in GM and de ranking.
As soon as you reach level 25, your initial placement matches are (I believe) based on your QP performance for the prior 25 levels.
No matter how well you do in your 10 placement matches you’re going to be placed based over all on your initial QP performance give or take a couple hundred SR.
And that takes me back to my original point. For example I play a Diamond, near masters Orisa.
But my Widow… honestly it’s probably bronze, silver, somewhere low down there.
If I did all my QP and placements as Widow, and ended up in Bronze, but decided to play the rest of my games as Orisa to get back up, am I cheating?
Your opinion is not proof. You do not have Blizzards formulas on how the matchmaking actually works. You don’t have any proof on how QP - Matchmaking works.
We go back to the original point that smurfing and de-ranking is not the same thing.
So you’re telling me I am Diamond level with all the heroes I pick?
Tell me it’s not technically possible at all, that someone can be GM with one hero and bronze with another.
Just tell me that.
I’ve explained to you. If I had a 2nd account, and played with a hero that I am only as good as bronze at, to then change to another hero I can play at a GM level AFTER placements.
You are trying to argue on the “anything no matter how remotely improbable” means we have to take stuff as true?
No way. You ban people on balance of evidence.
If someone goes off at someone and gets banned from chat for doing so, saying that they were talking in an obsure language which sadly, if looked at in english was a vial rant which would get you banned.
They would laugh you out, and leave you banned.
If a bronze to GM player said “I just had some bad games and got into bronze” it would not save them from a ban.
More importantly. People HAVE been banned for doing bronze to GM runs. Blizzard has EXPLICITLY banned them for doing so. because it is against the rules…
Stevoo never finished his sym bronze to GM run because of this.
No, not true. But you have to be 100% sure of what you are accusing someone of before you can impose a consequence.
If it IS possible that someone legitimately placed bronze, and decided to go back to their high-level hero, then to wrongly ban them for doing so is a sh&t storm for blizzard.
I am making my argument looking at both sides, because I hate smurfs too. But I also own 3 accounts. I have never attempted to exploit the game just because with some heroes I have vastly better knowledge than with others, neither do what I think I personally do is cheating.
I am also open minded to know that there ARE indeed some people that do make several accounts to exploit the game. But we cannot throw 5-6 different scenarios into one bucket and call it “smurfing” and therefore cheating. It’s not that black and white.
If an account has been proved to have been purposely de-ranked or thrown to get down to where it is, that IS against the rules.
If, like I have stated, someone has legitimately placed that low, trying a new hero they are not great with, that is NOT against the rules.
You can report someone on deranking.
But having multiple accounts isn’t against the rules.
So even a diamond can play in silver if he only plays heroes he is bad at.
It’s not up to me. Blizzard have said anything that affords an unfair advantage is cheating, and smurfing most definitely provides an unfair advantage. That is an irrefutable fact.
I don’t need to “come back to you” with anything because it’s not up to me. Blizzard have laid down the rules.
Also, very convenient how you dodge acknowledging the fact you’ve repeatedly misquoted Jeff Kaplan.