Go to any Overwatch #lfg in Discord - every second message is about someone looking for people to smurf with. It’s getting ridiculous to the point where GM people are looking to smurf in bronze. What are they even accomplishing by doing this? Smurfing in plat not doing it for them anymore? It would be so painstakingly obvious that they were smurfs if they smurfed in bronze, but they’re doing it because they’re allowed to do it. It’s like Discord isn’t being moderated to ban smurfs at all - and Overwatch isn’t doing anything about smurfs either.
Just yesterday I had a game where (luckily?) two smurfs were on my team, called “Ashe” and “Mercy” on brand new accounts. I had picked Mercy at the beginning of the game and it was defence on Hollywood. Both smurfs started shouting at me to switch off Mercy so they can smurf together, like “Go back to spawn right now and give him Mercy”, I was like dude chill, I’ll go Moira if I die and you can have your Mercy (though technically I should be under no obligation to switch unless someone asks nicely). Well, they weren’t having it and were about to throw the defence on the first round unless I walked back to spawn and switched off Mercy. The game was starting in like 10 seconds so I would have been throwing if I went back and switched, but they were throwing and refusing to play anyway, so I did what they wanted. After that, we won, of course. I didn’t enjoy the game, even though it was a free win. I’d like to win by skill and not by luck, also, I know that in some next game the smurfs will be on the enemy team and it will be an even more unenjoyable game and an automatic loss.
We all know that reporting smurfs as “cheating” and writing detailed descriptions about them through the game client does nothing. We have all wasted so many hours of our lives writing reports on something that should be easily detected and policed. Someone had said on Blizz forums a while ago something along the lines of “how can you say you have a competitive mode in your game when people are allowed to smurf freely” and I totally agree with that. The whole premise of competitive is to improve your skills and win by using your skills and communication. Well, how can we use our skills when games are unevenly matched in the skill department? How are we supposed to communicate and teamplay with vile people who believe they are entitled to playing certain heroes and don’t even talk to us because they’re too busy smurfing?
What is even being done about smurfs? What can be done about them? The new and lower price of Overwatch has only encouraged them to buy new accounts en masse. The problem has always existed, but it is now completely over the top. If the cheater and aimbot detection built into Overwatch is so good, why isn’t there a good smurfing detection in the game as well?
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Smurfs are the worst. It was SO hard for me to climb out of bronze, because if I didn’t have a leaver, there’d be someone on the other team smurfing.
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Sure, I get what you’re saying - if you don’t like something, just don’t participate, but how is that going to fix competitive for everyone? 
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Partly why I stopped playing competitive and only do qp.
However the same issue is in qp and if that’s not enough, something changed lately making it so you play against people with 4000+ sr when you are only 2500.
Every game has extremely high ranked people and I can only assume that it’s the declining player base? Been getting more difficult to enjoy ow even casually for me.
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i really dont want to be mean, but mathematically speaking if you are bronze it means that you are not as good as silver players. I was in bronze for a long time (im plat rn) and trust me i understand your frustiation, i really do. The only thing you can do is embrace the randomness of low ranked games and learn how to deal with it. What is being judged is not your ability to play ow, but your ability to adapt to the game and come up with something that is gonna make you win. Hope you understand
I know, i know, mathematically speaking sure. and yet-
here’s the thing, i’m in silver now, and approaching gold, and it is SO much easier to get wins now.
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look man, in my experience there is not a rank that when you reach it you solve your problems of smurfing, bad TMs, throwers etc. If you’ve found it easier tho I can only say good for you, I cant deny your personal experience, as much as you cant deny mine
I think ive typed the same thing now multiple times. you. cannot. do. anything. about. smurfs. these people are paying money to do this. short of blizzard not accepting money what do you want them to do? offer solutions not just complaints.
Eventhough i agree with alot that being said about smurfs, i actually see that being a good thing because if you want to improve you have to play against better players. When i lose a game and i believe that they were smurfs i go instantly watch the replay afterwards to see what they are doing and look in what ways i can improve my gameplay. Ow is not just have good aim but also posinioting, picking the right targets at the right times, knowing when to back off or when to push hard and by watching a alot of loses mainly with smurfs in the game I have learned alot. 2 months ago i was low bronze now i am gold because of it. Think in the other way instead of complaining about them try to learn from them, trust me you will learn alot at least i did and i continue to do so
There’s playing against better players.
Then there is being totally f’d over by GM players in gold.
The later requires the GM players to derank a lot and/or buy pre-levelled accounts…
At that point they need to be perma banned.
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be sure %95 of them is not smurf. they are just cheaters who boost new accounts and sell them and boost friends etc.
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I guess the best thing to do is not to play this game, and not buy Overwatch 2.
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If you don’t want to play and don’t want to buy OW2 then that certainly is a plan you can take action on.
I wish you well with your future plans, and hope you find a little joy in other games.
Nothin. smurfs = new accounts = new income for blizz = let it fly boys! Drinks on me!
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Don’t make it so easy and FREE to make a new account. Maybe charge them? Reward players with higher levels instead of just the avatar colors change. I still report them even though Blizz isn’t even looking at them to keep me sane.
If you are just blindly reporting low level accounts… then I feel sorry for you.
Free accounts can only get to lol 20, they have to buy the account to go higher.
You sound like a smurf lover you suck at your level so you need to move down too feel better about yourself
So serious for a smurf not to say you sound like a console kid with such a dumb statement