We really need to deal with smurfs. And the big issue isn’t really the players who use alt accounts. But rather the players that use alt accounts in order to group up with others and boost them. See, the lone smurf, though very annoying, isn’t technically breaking the Terms of Service/Code of Conduct as far as I’ve read. However, the smurfs that intentionally use alt accounts at lower ranks to group up with others and boost them, well these are players who are intentionally trying to manipulate the matchmaking sytem in order to gain an advantage/easier games. And the Code of Conduct states “engaging in any activity that grants an unfair advantage is considered cheating.”
Now, I know some players want smurfs gone, every one of them. It honestly does affect the game in a negative way, and hurts the overall fun and fairnesss of OW2, especially competitive play. But I specifically want to focus on the players that use smurf accounts in order to gain an edge. These smurfs should 100% be treated as cheaters, and dealt with as you would a cheater that is using a 3rd party program (ex. ESP/walls or aimbot). But, we must also remember that these smurfs are grouping up with players, and these players are also using this alt account to gain an edge in the game, to be boosted. Which means that every one involved, the boosters and the boostees, should be punished as though they are cheating, because they are. They are, without a doubt, “engaging in an activity that grants an unfair advantage.”
One of the issues with smurfs comes from identifying individuals who are in fact playing on an alt account. Especially with private profiles. But, we all generally know when someone is playing at a level much higher than what they’re in. Regardlesss of the game, be it OW2 or Rocket League or Siege or CS, most players can tell when someone is much better than their skill rating says. And using something like, for example, TOTAL PLAYTIME can help identity individuals on alt accounts. So one solution would be to alter the way private profiles work. Allow it to hide certain things, like hero information, but TOTAL PLAYTIME and PREVIOUS RANKS should ALWAYS be visible. If you see someone with only 30 hours in the game, playing as though they’ve been playing for much longer, than it’s usually (but not always) safe to assume it’s an alt account.
However, this only helps identify alt accounts. We can’t tell if someone is playing solo or if they’re in a group (unless we try to invite them to our group post game, but even then we can only report the smurf for boosting, and not anyone else). To clarify, if we try to invite someone to our group and they’re in a group, it says “player already in group.” So we can use that to know if they’re boosting. But they could join a group post game, so even that isn’t a guaranteed way to know. So the only solution I can think of is a way to show groups in game. Be it the old way, with the lines connecting profiles, or a new way with matching symbols, like stars next to a name for one group, squares for another group, etc…
No player wants to be in a match against a cheater (someone who is using any means to gain an unfair advantage). It’s demoralizing, frustrating, and ruins the overall experience, especially in comp play. And most players would report anyone they see cheating (using aimbot or wallhacks, or any other means). But these players who boost or get boosted are cheating. And they need to be dealt with as such. The issue currently is that it is really difficult for us to identify these players. Regardless, they are ruining the game for everyone else. And I think it’s time we deal with them. Boosters and boostees.
I’ve listed a couple solutions to help identify these players, but Blizzard, please put out a notice telling these players that they are in fact cheating, and deal with them. There’s nothing fun or enjoyable in a game of OW2 where the enemy team has a 30 hour player or two, and they’re playing as though they’re GM level, and know every trick and angle and strat and whatever else. But it’s even worse when they’re using these low ranked accounts to intentionally boost others. Seriously, the boosters and boostees are all complicit, and should be dealt with as you would any other cheater in the game.
