So this is something crazy that started to happen to me lately.
I started to play Overwatch about 6 months ago and got my initial placement in Gold. I played Ana and life was good. I started to lose SR but I’m not angry about that, I’m clearly bad and must get better.
Recently I went down to 700SR. Yeah, from Gold to 700SR in about 6 months.
And here’s the thing: people started to call me a smurf. Not only players on the opposite team but my own teammates as well. I’m threatened to stop smurfing or face being reported for anything… but I’m not smurfing, I kept losing for past 6 months. I really tried to win those matches, I’m kinda sad I didn’t and now I’m threatened with reports because someone assumes I did it on purpose.
One of my own teammates changed to Mei and started to put a freaking ice wall in front of my face wherever I went. He said it’s “karma” for smurfs like me. Once I got let go of Ana, to not get them more angry how I’m smurfing good with her, they still weren’t happy about my sheer existence and refused to heal me at all.
It’s amazing to me that as a person who’s already feeling bad about a 6-months losing streak I have to face abuse from vigilante justice warriors and worry if I’m going to get banned… I may just be hoping your report system is human-manned and not automated but latest departure of 800 community workers doesn’t fill me with confidence.
I have to things to say:
Blizzard - please do something about this smurfing problem. Even if it’s not a real problem, if you have secret stats that track smurf accounts somehow and amount is low for example, it clearly still is a problem because of a perception throughout your player base. I’m taking a break from Overwatch because I can’t play at my ELO, where your MMR system put me, because I get harassed out of play… clearly something is not going well. I have no answers to this but, on the flipside, I guess if you have got rid of community support it may mean you already have ideas how to address those issues with game design itself.
Players - please keep in mind not everyone good at a certain hero is a smurf. You can be a great annoying-as-hell Genji who cannot carry at all because in the most important critical moment he does something wrong. Stop being fanatical anti-smurf hunters and don’t seek smurfs where there is none. Just play the game.
I’m confused.
If you’re playing well enough that they think you’re a smurf, how did you drop to 700 SR from Gold?
I mean 700 SR should be where all the hamfisted players with reaction times measured in minutes are playing. If were placed in Gold and you lose enough games to drop down there, something is very wrong.
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Its pretty common for people new to the game. Lucky placement and you are gold easy with bronze skill.
But he is lvl 157 and profile private so who knows.
I made profile public for the sake of transparency.
I guess initial placements may have had a bad day but it’s also possible that thousands other things are wrong with my gameplay and they just started to surface after first few lucky comp matches which happen to be placement, dunno.
In most recent season I tried to flex more and pick DPS as well to find a way to carry out of Bronze, as I was unable to carry out from Silver to Gold with Ana at all, so you’ll see a bigger hero pool used.
Its still private, hmm doesnt matter i believe you. Are you interested in getting better? I can help.
This is impossible.
Games are divided in 3 categories:
- you will win
- you will lose
- you may win
So, losing 100% for 6 months is impossible
Even the forced 50% WR will make you win
Trolling 0/10
Of course I don’t mean losing 100% of games. It’s a figure of speech. It means that my SR has been going down on month to month basis. Obviously I won some games in that time but I lost more. A downtrend. (1, -1) vector of SR.
I can see my profile in Overwatch Tracker (t00l#2293, can’t include links for some reason, thanks Blizz) so I assume it’s made public correctly?
@Life I do, that’s the best fun but I don’t have that much time to spend in organised training. I’d rather play slowly one or two matches a day without and just don’t get trolled.
MMR should not exist. I have 2 accounts within 100 SR of each other.
First account, plat border, hardstuck gold, I have to fight tooth and nail to survive, plat SRs in matches, people can aim.
Second account, bronze border, currently 70ish SR lower than main, people tripping over their own feet, silver SRs in matches, I get 3+ golds, POTG, hard carry, still lose matches if I can’t carry hard enough.
These accounts float around the same SR, swap positions, but always within 200+/- each other. Same hero pool, used to play one drunk, one sober, now whichever, whenever. MMR has made a judgement and though they should have equal matches, they do not.
You could do what I’ve done in the past with a coach. Rather than talk one on one you record a game and send it. They make notes with timestamps to help you understand what is going on
thx for clarifying (20 chars)
You can only hope that those are just threats and not actual reports because the system is pretty much automatic.
Unfortunately, sub 1000 you have every type of bad play possible in the game, including people that can’t tell smurfs from non-smurfs. A level 161 with a ~50% win rate on their most played hero is not a smurf, in any toxic sense (throwing or boosting).
I’d suggest leaving your profile public. Some people will try to trash you based on your profile (some people will try to trash you based on anything) but most people will trust you more.
P.S.
There are a lot of silly theories about MMR and SR on these forums, and in this thread. See How Competitive Skill Rating Works (Season 14) → Summary if you care about this sort of thing.
P.P.S.
That Mei walling and harassing you is bannable. Report that when it happens.