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Please Do Something About the Smurfing Problem In League of Legends

EnigmaticMachine·4/29/2019, 8:45:28 PM·13 votes·10,137 views

This is not a thread to demonize all smurfs just putting that out there. So let me begin my discussion with some facts and links to the definitions of the words I will use. Words that might be confusing or not well understood. Smurfing (For Online Gaming)- https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/17209/where-does-the-term-smurfing-come-from

Now before we go any further into my thread and discussion please read the definition of a gaming smurf and why it is considered a bad practice in gaming.

First I would like to say thank you for commenting and reading my thread because all voices matter for a truly objective discussion and the goals the community would like to make as a whole.

Now let us get down to the meat of what I am talking about. So gaming and people are not perfect especially when mixed together in competitive games or even just the random new player who wants to learn and be satisfied with the core elements of a game. Now that includes the player and the game when I am talking about reducing the amount of smurfs. If you read the definition of a smurf it can be anyone who has had more experience in a game and decides to make another account for easier wins. This could also mean someone who just hits level 30 and didn't like their rank this season and decides to take out his or her anger on new players with a new account. Yes it can happen because it happens in all tiers of play. Just look at pro streamers. Now I did say I am not going to demonize or call out smurfing as a whole because in certain cases smurfing can be used for good. It can be used for coaching new players into the game mechanics and calmly teaching them what it means to be a team player and what a build path is and what it can do to increase your chance of success. I do not promote the use of smurfs when they just carry a game without the major assistance of a teammate. First it ruins the experience for half the players and maybe even more if the smurf is toxic to their own and it doesn't teach the new players jack squat if he or she either wins or losses. Smurfing this way is all about selfish gain and dishonorable sportsmanship. It is like playing dodge ball when one or maybe even three of your teammates are dressed up as toddlers when they are fully grown adults playing against probably other adults dressed as toddlers on the other team as well just crushing the actual toddlers who are new to the game. It doesn't help the toddlers grow it just embroils them to be like you, an unsportsmanlike player who doesn't care for the games integrity or for the fun of the game. Now if you are reading this thread and you are one of the small few who want to teach new players and keep them wanting to learn more then I salute you but let us all try to find a way to get selfish smurfs reduced in our gaming community. Be the bigger man and play the support role if you are not new on a new account. It helps bring new players together with experienced ones and overall makes for a more positive atmosphere for all players with all differing experiences. Don't be that guy who goes Zed or Yasuo and destroys games and uploads them to YouTube because you think that is fun to watch. Be that inspiring support who helps teach the game and makes new friends along the way. Gaming is much more fun when you play as a team not as a selfish smurf who only wants to make others time a waste. Thank you for reading and have a great day.

62 Comments

MordridtheBlack4/29/2019, 10:05:16 PM2 votes

sigh

they can't

there is literally nothing that Rito can implement into League (in this country) to deal with smurfs in any fashion

trust me, if there was, they would have done it by now

Mauros Piraths4/29/2019, 10:08:31 PM1 votes

[deleted]

XJ999999999999994/29/2019, 10:56:22 PM1 votes

"Don't be that guy who goes Zed or Yasuo and destroys games and uploads them to YouTube because you think that is fun to watch"

its what gets people views, and views = money. they dont care about what they are doing morally.

Light Burner4/30/2019, 12:40:38 AM1 votes

"This is not a thread to demonize all smurfs just putting that out there."

You're right this is a thread to demonize majority of smurfs not all.

MYSTlCFLOW4/30/2019, 7:49:24 AM1 votes

they actually just banned me, I'm a master player

I have a 65% winrate from gold 4 to diamond 4

I will be smurfing in iron once I reach level 30

I got banned, but I didn't spend any money. so on the + side they gave me free honor level 2. I only play one champion so losing champs isn't a problem, and I get more skins now than ever due to chests and keys :D

another + side is I get to get a 90% winrate by the time I reach diamond 4 by smurfing iron-bronze-silver-gold-plat-dia

roughvan4/30/2019, 11:29:28 AM1 votes

You guys are really funny, thinking that having phone numbers tied to creating accounts would stop smurfs. Firstly what to do with countless accounts already registered? Secondly, phone numbers are cheap, also you have whole family, why can't a smurf use his brother/sister/parents phone number to register account? that's like 4-5 accounts, plus count all the friends you have that don't play league?

Also i have 4 accounts, 2 on my main server and 2 on others, why shouldn't i be allowed to play on another server if i have good ping there just because i don't have their phone number?

Good luck playing support when you are smurfing, you'll lose all your braincells, let me say, i am not a toxic player but i just can't handle watching mistakes low elo players make, even less watching people level 1-30. I don't enjoy smurfing compared to other people that do, i just want to get to my rank as soon as possible to get quality games where i can improve.

There are quite a few benefits to having multiple accounts, you can duo on one and play for fun or when you dodge a game on your main, you can hop on to another and play instantly without waiting. Accounts on other servers if you have playable ping at around 100, anything higher can be a problem. This way you can compare what you rank is across multiple servers, also the benefit of playing with players from other countries.

BattleMaster7068/22/2019, 3:23:26 AM1 votes

So I have noticed once getting into higher ish gold that there are a lot of smurfs and it is really easy to identify a level 30 never ranked before account getting Quadra kills in gold Elo to be smurf account. It really is ruining the quality of my games, I get a silver on my team to compensate for the smurf because of matchmaking and so not only do I get a worse player the enemy gets a diamond or plat or whatever and it’s infuriating. I have been playing league for a 7 years and I honestly was enjoying ranked up until now where I feel like every other game has a smurf, making it hard to win. I really hate it because I understand it’s benefits but it really sucks for me as a player. I really REALLY want it to be bannable because I know it’s a computer that bans but if we had a person looking over accounts it’s pretty obvious. I also agree with the OP that not all smurfs are bad, look at somebody like pantsaredragon who has multiple accounts in challenger, he isn’t ruining games for anybody. Anyway I just wanted to rant cause I just lost to an obvious smurf and am sad that I may not continue ranked at this rate.

ØPP CATCHER12/3/2019, 1:11:20 AM1 votes

I started league of legends in Mid june of 2019 (S9)

After playing about 100 games, I noticed i was constantly matched with other players who were 100-200 and sometimes even 300 levels above mine. Many times I was also matched against people 5-6 elos above mine. Someone unranked and new to the game being matched with gold/plat players is obviously going to lose to do less knowledgeable of the game. And yet all we get told is to get good.

This becomes frustrating because at this point i go into every game just assuming i’m going to lose because it just seems like i rarely get matched with players my elo or slightly above. A lot of people say “its how you get better so stfu and play” in reality, they don’t understand the psychological effect it has on new players.

In conclusion, I understand its hard to catch every smurf due to the amount of players on this game, however I find that the current matchmaking is atrocious and something needs to be done. Its no fun getting whooped daily and winning 1 game every say 5-10 stressful games you play. And lets not forget about the flame you receive from the enemy team and your team due to your performance.

Being a new player who has never played a MOBA game before, i enjoy league of legends, however there has to be something done about being matched with people who are gold or even plat when its evident the unranked player is new.