Smurfs are bad. I recently started paying attention to peoples overall performance after the match and found that 9 times out of 10 a games win or loss came down to which team had the most smurfs. Basically anyone below level 100 that was hard carrying everyone else.
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I love the amount of people that complain about smurfs but when asked what they would do about it they reply with something like
Do you not think if there was something blizzard ( or any company behind a game that deals with smurfs ) could do that they would do it already?
You can’t report someone over-performing because we’re all entitled to a good day. That’s not evidence enough to report.
I used to get called a smurf of a daily basis on other games. I don’t smurf. The ranks I have in the games I play are the ranks I’ve earned.
But the other players aren’t going to know that.
Where’s your proof that “most accusations are false”?
Rhetoric question because it’s clear you’re just making an assumption based on no evidence of your own.
You’re not in my matches. You don’t see the 3 stack of smurfs intentionally throwing so as to derank. You don’t see the guy on his smurf account boosting his girlfriend on her account. You are just making assumptions based on your own play experience but your play experience =/= anyone else’s.
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You cannot know for certain whether someone reported of smurfing was doing so or not because you were not in the game wherein they were reported. You do not have the necessary context to make the claim that “they are not” smurfing.
You clearly don’t play on console where smurf accounts are free and easy to make, and that fact has led to there being zero player accountability for one’s actions.
Throw and grief on one account and it ultimately gets banned? No problem! Just make another free account, level it up in game, and continue on your throwing and griefing ways.
It’s been years and Blizzard have done nothing about this problem. The fact that they admitted it was a problem a year ago and still haven’t done anything about it is telling.
I have zero faith that their most recent claim that they’re working on a solution to the smurf problem will bear any fruit given that the problem is out of control now. Implementing a solution in a year or two’s time when Overwatch 2 eventually releases is far too late.
I don’t recall them explaining “how basically smurfs are not a significant issue” at all.
They are the single biggest issue the game has on console to date.
You cannot possibly know that for certain since you aren’t in every match wherein someone is reported for being a smurf. You are merely making an assumption based on your own play experience when your experience =/= anyone else’s.
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Sounds like some Comp players I know! 
Blizzard absolutely can do things about smurfs on consoles. Overwatch is Blizzard’s game, not Microsoft’s or Sony’s. Blizzard can decide who they let play their game, and if they want to force authentication or some other form of identification to ensure that a given player is only playing on one account then neither Microsoft nor Sony have any say in the matter.
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This is about smurfing on PC, I wasn’t talking about console.
It’s not even a priority for them, they only mentioned it when someone asked and said something like “Yeah we are going to do something”.
Like I said before, I only speak about PC. Blizzard has no power when it comes to console, everything needs to be approved by SOny or Microsoft and they are a pain, even the devs have suggested that.
Everytime I’ve asked someone for a replay to prove their claims they are exposed as being mistaken. Also what you say can be applied to you and others, how do you know that a player is a smurf? The devs explained in the AMA that sometimes players just have a good match or a good day and just because of that others report them a smurf. I have been called a smurf and a hacker so many times it’s funny, only because I outplayed them in a match, people prefer to jump at the conclusion that others are smurfing because it’s easy than facing the truth.
Please provide the data that you analyzed to come up with your 99% number.
As for smurfs being a better player, of course they’re better because they’re playing against players that are typically far below their actual rank. That’s the whole point of smurfing!
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Well I’m talking about console since I don’t play on PC.
Please provide a link to where they stated this.
And I only speak about consoles, specifically Xbox, since that’s the platform I play on.
They 100% do. It’s Blizzard’s IP, not Microsoft’s and not Sony’s.
So because you did that a few times it means that every instance is “mistaken”?
Of course it doesn’t mean that. Your sample size is infinitesimally small.
You said yourself you don’t play on console. Smurfs on console are incredibly easy to spot through a combination of in game level, gamer score, gamer name, profile information, and even sometimes gamer profile picture.
Because, as I mentioned previously, there’s zero player accountability on consoles due to smurf accounts being free to make, more often than not they don’t even try to hide that they’re a smurf. They make it extremely obvious since they know they can just make another smurf account for free if any of their accounts gets suspended.
Incorrect. If they were not an issue, Blizzard would not be working on a solution.
And, as I’ve previously mentioned, it is the single biggest issue with the game on consoles due to the fact that smurf accounts are free to make.
They’ve previously stated that a solution for smurfing is not an easy fix given how account creation works on consoles, and since development work on Overwatch has all but ceased outside of bug fixes they noted the solution would be implemented with Overwatch 2. Then COVID happened. Then Jeff left. Then they did the recent AMA and reiterated that they’re working on a solution.
That’s not for you to say as you’re not an Overwatch dev.
They may not be an issue for you personally. That doesn’t mean they’re not an issue in the game at all, and the fact that Blizzard have acknowledged that smurfing is a problem and stated they’re working on a solution is evidence to the fact that it is an issue in the game.
It’s in the recent AMA I don’t care enough to go look for it, specially since you are talking about console and I’m not.
Yes… I got that. We are talking about two different things here.
I don’t think you understand how things work there, please go and research it, every time Blizzard wants to do something to the game on console they have to go through Sony or Microsoft first.
It’s been more than a few times.
It does, it shows that people don’t know how to even recognize a smurf, they will jump at the conclusion because it’s easy.
Again, I’m not talking about console.
You don’t have to create two separate replies, don’t get the anger get to you. The devs have already stated that smurfing is not a significant issue. What they talked about on the AMA is not a solution to a “problem” it’s a way to help with whatever smurfs are there, that doesn’t mean is a significant issue, if it was they would’ve worked on it years ago, but they didn’t and they still haven’t, it might take them years to implement whatever they are planning for OW2 whatever that may be.
I’m not talking about consoles so I will ignore anything that you mention about consoles from now on.
Everything objective points towards smurfing not being an issue ON PC.
As stated before, if smurfing was a significant issue they would’ve worked on it years ago, but they haven’t and they really aren’t right now, it’s not a priority because it’s not a significant issue.
I read through the AMA and did not see anywhere that anyone from Blizzard stated it’s not a priority, hence why I’m asking you to provide a source for your claim.
You stated you’re PC, not console.
It’s still not every instance. You are merely making assumptions based on your experience which, as previously noted, is not the same as anyone else’s experience.
It only means that to you because it backs up your claim. For the majority it doesn’t mean that at all.
You asked how I know a player is a smurf. I answered how.
They have not stated any such thing.
Early last year, before COVID, Jeff Kaplan publicly acknowledged that smurfing in Overwatch is a problem and said they’re working on a solution. Even back then he said not to expect anything until Overwatch 2, but again that was before COVID. Now in the recent AMA the devs reiterated that they’re working on a solution to the smurf issue and again the expectation is that it won’t be implemented until Overwatch 2, since development updates on Overwatch (outside of bug fixes and event cosmetics) have long ceased.
This thread is not specific to PC. I talk about consoles since that’s the platform I play on. That all said, smurfing is an issue which affects the game as a whole, regardless of platform.
Please provide proof of your claim.
Regardless, it’s not your place to state that smurfing is not an issue “ON PC” for everyone. It may not be an issue for you but, yet again, your game experience =/= anyone else’s.
You cannot make such a claim with any degree of certainty since you do not know everything they have been working on over the past few years.
Your words, not theirs.
I’m not sure Blizzard reads reports at all anymore since the pandemic started.
Used to be I’d get 1-2 messages thanking me for my reports and that action has been taken. Now? I still report problems but haven’t gotten a message in months.
Just like the game’s lack of content, I’m not sure if Blizzard actually has anyone even working on this game anymore. Maybe 1 part time guy for the balance changes.
It’s implied that it isn’t a priority, they haven’t done anything in almost 6 years of OW and is not a priority work in OW2, you are free to believe whatever you want though.
That doesn’t mean I don’t know how it works, the developers have stated what I mentioned I’m only informing you of that, if you are so stubborn as to refuse information thats your problem. Go check it out yourself, complaining to me won’t help you at all.
I don’t need every instance.
I’m not making assumptions, it’s a combination of information, basic math and the statements from the devs as well as my and my friends experiences.
Because it’s the truth.
Hmm I don’t think you did, would you be so kind as to explain to me in detail how you know that a player in a match is smurfing, and also, would you please define smurfing?
They did.
“Smurfing – and I know this isn’t what you want to hear – isn’t really that big of an issue.”
This is taken from Jeff Kaplan himself, I’m sorry brother but you are wrong.
Another wrong thing, this is what Kaplan said:
“Boosting is bad and we are very actively working on preventing and punishing this behavior.”
I’ll throw this as a bonus:
“I’ve also personally witnessed a few cases of players assuming someone is smurfing when they are not.”
All from Jeff Kaplan himself.
No it doesn’t, not on PC. I won’t comment on console.
I have discussed this so many times with so many people, I don’t care to prove anything to you specifically, go and read the hundreds of threads on the matter, I’m there talking about this in case you are really interested, which I suspect you aren’t. In any case, prove me wrong, prove that smurfs run rampart in the game, please do I’ll wait.
I am free to express myself in these forums just as you are. If you do not agree with my statements that is fine and you are welcome to discuss them with me.
I’ll put this one again because it fits:
“Boosting is bad and we are very actively working on preventing and punishing this behavior. Rules like the 500 SR differential in Comp above Diamond exist because of Boosting. There is nothing about Boosting that is acceptable and we want you to know that we are taking great efforts to minimize the impact on “fair” players.”
Please inform yourself before posting.
The reporting system is fully automated. Once an account receives a certain number of reports it is automatically silenced or suspended.
The only time a Blizzard rep ever reads a report (and even then it’s debatable) is when an appeal is made against a silence or suspension.
You are quoting a years-old post from Jeff, one that was superceded by him publicly admitting last year that smurfing is a problem and that they’re working on a solution.
Yes, as evidenced by the above, you really should.
I’m done engaging with you. You’re clearly a waste of time.
I’m sorry that you are wrong and I exposed you, it is what it is. I do strongly recommend that you inform yourself before posting to avoid these kind of situations in the future.
All you exposed was your own failings.
Again, you cited a years-old post by Jeff that was superceded by another post he made last year confirming smurfing is a problem.
You should take your own advice so as to not publicly embarass yourself further in future.
Source for this info?
It is common knowledge. There are numerous posts, articles, and videos on the subject. Feel free to look them up.
I exposed your ignorance on the matter.
Source.
I’m not the one embarassing myself here brother, you are.