If I read the definition provided by the Blizzard report system cheating is defined as “…engaging in any activity that grants an unfair advantage”.
Judging by that definition smurfing is indeed a form of cheating . Creating an account ranked far below your actual skill level to carry friends or just to annoy those who are less skilled provides an unfair advantage for the player smurfing (and also the premades profiting).
I know smurfs generate money for Blizzard but thats still no excuse for the normal playerbase to suffer from this rampant abuse that is going on ever since the game is available for very little money. Even ignoring this problem Overwatch is on its path to decay so please dont make the rest of us quit.
Isnt cheating basically doing something that gives you an advantage over others? Dunno how “being good” falls in that category but in order to smurf you either have to play another account or throw your way down. Both is banable so …
You have misinterpreted what “unfair advantage” means. An unfair advantage would be doing something that other players cannot normally do, regardless of skill, such as exploits or hacking. If it meant other players aren’t allowed to be better than you I dare say everyone but the absolute worst player would be cheating at some point.
You also have to take into consideration that he system can match you up purposely against a stronger player, either because you have a strong player as well on your team or that your team overall average is higher in order to compensate for it and if the strongest guy pops off in such game, well…
The term “unfair advantage” actually has a rather specific meaning when it comes to sports and gaming. An unfair advantage is one that cannot reasonably be overcome throughout the course of a match that is reliant on something that exploits the game or makes use of something outside of the game to give a player an advantage than an equally skilled opponent could not match without having access to the same thing. (Aimbots, exploiting the game to hide inside walls where you can’t be attacked, etc.)
Being placed in a game with someone that is better than you and repeatedly destroys your team is not the same as cheating… although it can be equally as frustrating. We can’t reasonably punish people that outperform you through raw skill and know-how.
That said, there is a part of smurfing that is absolutely reportable and bannable - the throwing of games that it took to land them in a bracket that is far below what they are capable of. For obvious reasons, that’s impossible for someone unfortunate enough to find themselves on the losing end of a smurf popping off to be able to report on. It’s further compounded by the fact that lesser skilled players probably wouldn’t even pick up on the act of throwing unless the smurf does so in the most obvious fashion.
TL;DR: Smurfing (not alting) can partially be reportable, but not in the way you think. It’s a pretty despicable act, either way.
