There is a queue abuser in the game that constantly abuses the system to get to Grand Master X^ and then rank-sit it.
^(Everyone knows about the number that goes here, but for the sake of the anonimity of this individual we won’t specify)
This post is about two main issues:
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This problem isn’t just about a player violating several codes of conduct rules, namely Cheating and Behaviour (specified at the bottom of the post), season after season, without any consequences. It’s also influencing another player from NA to do the same.
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I want GM players to aim for GM1 and make it mean something. This way, there’s a small reward for them to queue up, aside from just practising for tournaments.
How the player abuses the system:
They play with one or more D5 smurf accounts to play the lowest MMR possible (for a 10k+ points Master player). There will be instances where his friends queue simultaneously, and if they are in the enemy team, they will throw the game for this player (win trade).
This issue isn’t just about denying a fair chance to better players; it also messes up match balance and leads to toxic games where people lose purposefully, not only for the benefit of this player but because some people will take this matter into their own hands, and if they get placed on the same team, they will throw the game to “balance the scale” and chip down on their “hard-earned” points.
Even though this player consistently maintains a GM1 rank across many seasons, their skill level is more like a Master’s. Everyone in the game knows about it; they’ve been reported multiple times, yet their account remains unblocked.
It’s frustrating that this player can exploit the game so much and still be prominently featured on the LeaderBoard. The evidence is evident through their in-game stats, the leaderboards, and heroeslogs. Please consider permabanning this account, especially since MMR isn’t reset each season, making it easy for them to maintain their rank with just 50 wins.
I get that playing in a group is fair, but not when it involves smurfing, stacking with a 20k MMR difference, and win trading.
Please note that reporting them in-game hasn’t yielded any results despite multiple reports.
I am fully aware that the report system is done through the game, but in this case, where the player is clearly breaking the rules over a long period of time, I believe there is plenty of reason to make an exception for this player. Blizzard’s In-Game Code of Conduct has to mean something, even for games like HOTS.
I can provide additional evidence through the Hotslogs link and screenshots. Some players have also documented and filed a lot of evidence.
(Edit)
I wanted to clarify that the NA player mentioned above is doing the same as well in EU, and another player has joined the trend as well. The data shown of the ratio of played games and win games makes it blatantly obvious of whom I am talking about.
This issue was supposed to be fixed with 2020 Heroes Patch.
- When queued as a party, Storm League now looks for matches based solely on the highest player’s MMR.
And here is a mention in reddit of it as well:
https://www.reddit.com/r/heroesofthestorm/comments/k4ruew/comment/geb1yva/?context=3
I know that dealing with this type of accounts one by one is not the solution, but at least it can be a short fix while you tweak and fix the change implemented in December 2020.
Thanks for reading till here, and thanks for the patches that have come our way recently.
Code of Conduct violations:
Cheating
- Engaging in any activity that grants an unfair advantage
- Account sharing
- Win-trading
- Queue up with smurfs with the lowest rank possible, Diamond 5, aka Boosting (Anything else that may degrade the gaming experience for other players)
Behaviour
- Throwing
- Feeding