I made a smurf to see what it's like to be a new player

Hollabakatchya··165 votes·12,711 views

And tbh - not sure what would make a new player stick out out until 30. The amount of trolling, verbal abuse and general hating on someone with lesser mechanics is beyond belief. I'm only S2 so not great by any means, but it doesnt take a challenger lvl player to see how bad it is for new guys. Within the few games I've played:

-A gold smurf consistantly put down a new ashe by saying "you're bad", "you really suck", etc because she wasnt that great. How is it reasonable to expect a new player to be Faker?

-A lux didnt get mid in chat and proceeded to feed the entire game - literally just walking into lane or under their tower and dying. One of MANY examples of trolling that not only made us lose horribly, but made the experience what I assume to be terrible for the new players.

-Plus much more.

If you dont believe me, make a smurf and check it out yourself. I dont get why Riot allows clearly toxic players to keep their accounts.

125 Comments

Azuredragon65371 votes

When you make an alt account, after a few games, you will fight only other people playing on alt accounts.

Hyrum Graff33 votes

{quoted}

When you make an alt account, after a few games, you will fight only other people playing on alt accounts.

So much this. Really only your first maybe 3 games are representative of the new player experience.

After that you're playing just smurfs. Many of these smurfs are players who were banned. I don't need to say more.

Verxint8 votes

There are people who repeatedly make new accounts and can't even get to level 20 without being banned again.

Imagine the state of constant rage they must be in

WhiteGuyWannaBe9 votes

Yeah this is spot on. I had a brother who was new to league and the only time he had a huge influx of ragers was when he was playing with me on my smurf. When playing solo he just got placed with a bunch of newbies like him and could actually get fed and "carry"

Ziovi2 votes

that's true. However, that doesn't mean that new players' experience isn't terrible. I know because: 1- I still remember how it was when i was a new player. I was... well... quite bad, allright, but the amount of flame and rage i saw was just insane. Fortunately i don't actually give a fuck, so i just kept on playing. 2- More recently, just a few months ago, a friend of mine started playing league. I didn't play with him, nor he had any other premade that would mess up his match-making. However, he told me about how many people told him to "get cancer" and other things like that. At lvl 11 or something like that, he quitted because he simply didn't find the game enjoyable.

JARmates3 votes

I'm the opposite, when I first play this game back in S1 (3 months after lol was release), even as a new player I was the one raging at those that were probably smurfing. I accepted that no one is better than me and it still ring true to today. I have play LOL longer than "faker" and if he is better than me it cause he play in his pre-made team while I solo for most of my league career and didn't have those opportunity. I study in college instead of studying in league. If we had the same opportunity and if I took league as seriously as college, I would destroy him.

Hell I don't know who he is or care for. The pro players disgust me.

I'm the best at what I do and that all that matter. I have a 75% winrate.

ahferroin74 votes

How do you think he got on that team in the first place? You don't just get picked randomly in some raffle to be on a pro team, you have to be really good on your own before they even consider you. Are they better as a team? Yes absolutely. Are they only able to play as one? No, otherwise they wouldn't be there in the first place.

JARmates2 votes

It call "opportunity", if all you do is play solo and don't reach out to other then you are where you are. I also don't care for rank so that why no one has ever heard of me. Also if I'm not mistaken, he Korean or Asian which mean that lan party and hub run rampant in Asian country. I know, I'm Asian.

Probably the few people that play since S1 and still not yet even touch rank. I'm still a veteran of the game with too many hours put into it.

Dukues6 votes

{quoted}

It call "opportunity", if all you do is play solo and don't reach out to other then you are where you are. I also don't care for rank so that why no one has ever heard of me. Also if I'm not mistaken, he Korean or Asian which mean that lan party and hub run rampant in Asian country. I know, I'm Asian.

Probably the few people that play since S1 and still not yet even touch rank. I'm still a veteran of the game with too many hours put into it.

I mean that's cool and all.. but since you don't play ranked you cant really prove anything. So I mean think what you want your free to do so, just realize you probably won't be taken seriously since you have nothing backing up your "I'm the best" statement.

S H A Y C 05 votes

The experience described is the exact same experience i had when i first started last season about when gnar came out. Why stick around? Well i came from call of duty...so i was used to pissy little shits running their mouths, but directly in my ear...so the chat was easier to push aside, and i am an adult. Still, new player experience was awful, and awful enough that i actually remember it.

Sir Hammerlock17 votes

When my wife does play League, she often plays just bots. She doesn't care to get better at the game since she rarely plays, she just likes to have fun.

She used to play normals to try to have fun with other players, but that just turned out badly.

Often times there's 'Smurfs' that bitch out and yell at actual new players all day, and there are even new players that think they're MLG/LCS-PRO because they watched streamers and also act extremely toxic to other new players. It would often frustrate her and end up giving her headaches over how much of a douchebag players in League's community can be.

Thus is why it's always told that League has the most toxic community when it comes to online games.

AdderTude3 votes

[{quoted}](name=Sir Hammerlock,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=zrJ0uqMY,comment-id=0002,timestamp=2015-11-16T23:04:02.321+0000) Thus is why it's always told that League has the most toxic community when it comes to online games.

They've finally taken the crown from the HoN community. Not sure about the Russians on DotA 2, though...

doombotMECHA1 votes

at least the russians wont try to use gay as an insult (geddit because talking about gay stuff is illegal there nevermind bye)

doombotMECHA1 votes

honestly i do exactly this unless there's a special game mode/aram/i have a friend online to q with. it's just not worth the insults for the extra ip.

zmmby14 votes

MOBAS/FPS/Sport games generally have the most toxic community due to the fact of the little kids. You do realize that majority of the people in these genres are like 13-17 or something?

Why would i care when someone kill me and write: "rekt xD why s0 s4lty xD XD XD XD XD SKRILLEX <3 <3 < 3<3 sw4g huerrrerrr dueruererr" It's like, the person is already embarrassing himself with that kind of language so why bother really? (The terms "rekt" and "salty" are just plain boring, what happend to "pwned" "noob" "u mad?" I miss those times. )

Not often did i experience any kind of toxicity in MMOPRG/RPG games. It's a whole different level there. (You could have stupid kids and feeders on WoW for an example but the language and toxicity wasnt there. It was more like: "oops, my bad guys" Rather then: "YOU FUCKING SPANISH KID ILL FIND YOUR MOM AND FUCK HER LIKE A BURRITO"

Teamplaying games like Rocket League, or just plain GTA V Online isnt even on the same map as MOBA and FPS games. Look at CS:Go and the old versions for an example(1.5 jesus christ). Battlefield 4 etc. I have a co-worker that broke like 4 playstations controls over Fifa 15 due the rage lacking.

I merged to LoL for about 2 months ago from playing HoN in 5 years. (the game is much better then LoL and more advanced/high-skilled then Dota 2 too, but the player base is around 100k and they have really bad esports.)

The same thing is there too, but they have even less reports since the lacking of player base too. People can call death threats and troll/grief the entire game without any moderator giving a fuck sometimes.

Dota 2 is the same, and it will always be the same even tho how much you complain. You just have to realize that sometimes there's people who's depressed, lonely and in a bad situation of their life and they take it over random people over the internet. Cause they can.

Same thing with people who spoils stuff on release games. I just bought Fallout 4 last week, and when i watched the launch trailer, someone wrote the ending spoiler on huge caps letters just to piss people off. That's a example, you can either go on youtube and ragecomment, let him win the battle or you can just smile and tell urself that your better and more mature than that person. It's your choice.

In the end, all you can do is focus on yourself and mature. Believe me, when you've been playing HoN for about 5 years, you can pretty much soak up everything on the internet these days.

Some games are already lost from the start, and some people already have the attitude and perspective that they are gonna lose the game from the start but that's nothing you can do. Focus on being the better and mature person instead and help out the team, and yea i know its hard. It's fucking hard as hell.

Try playing abit less LoL if you feel that you cant handle it sometimes. 2-3 games per day is fine.

Truely Fabulous9 votes

I can relate. Not sure why people expect new players to have great mechanical skills

TeemoJenkins6 votes

I've played on my smurf quite a bit, only experienced that in one game where it was a Riven smurf bagging on people.... sounds like you have bad luck.

Blu3 Blood Blues4 votes

{quoted}

I've played on my smurf quite a bit, only experienced that in one game where it was a Riven smurf bagging on people.... sounds like you have bad luck.

Why would you have a smurf lol

TeemoJenkins27 votes

[{quoted}](name=Blu3 Blood Blues,realm=NA,application-id=3ErqAdtq,discussion-id=zrJ0uqMY,comment-id=00000000,timestamp=2015-11-16T22:57:35.132+0000)

Why would you have a smurf lol

When I encourage friends to play, I don't play on my main account, so I leave my account low level so I can show them the ropes without being matched against other level 30's - why wouldn't I have a smurf?

Blu3 Blood Blues2 votes

{quoted}

When I encourage friends to play, I don't play on my main account, so I leave my account low level so I can show them the ropes without being matched against other level 30's - why wouldn't I have a smurf?

Not true when I played with my friend when he was low level I was the only player past level 30 so it was fairly easy games for me anyways. Either it was that or they would have 1 lvl 30 as well. Still don't know why either of you need another account pretty pointless imo.

Truely Fabulous4 votes

He's got a point, when I did provisionals for the first time I got trolled on almost every game, so I made a smurf to go through provisionals again and I did a lot better. I do think the total amount of smurfs is getting a little out of hand though.

Toothierosprey39 votes

When I play with my low level friends I usually go against four below-30 players and one plat, but the problem is the Plat goes tryhard with Yasuo or some other snowbally champ (because why wouldn't he?) and just stomps the low levels. It's a lot easier to make a new account and play utility supports to make the game more fair.

Teemo or Feedmo5 votes

+1 for having ''teemo'' on the username!

Teemo i want you for teemo army!

TonyTonyMordecai2 votes

Can I join? I am Mastery level 5 with him :|

DarkSunSovereign4 votes

You monster...

Lithium Rosa7 votes

anyone with mastery lv5 on teemo should go to hell

kaltenashes2 votes
Lithium Rosa4 votes

No offence bro, by that I didn't mean Teemo players should suffer, but I was saying Teemo mains are absolutely evil demons, that's why you belong to hell.

Nunya Bezwacks5 votes

you guys keep saying "teemo" and all i can think of is "thats a weird way to spell "satan"

Cottontail Teemo1 votes

Penis ?

ZylotheWolfbane6 votes

I got to level 30 almost entirely on bot matches. Seriously. Bot matches generally have some chill dudes, and it's an easy place to sit back, mess around with champs, learn the basics, practice last hitting etc.

It gets you some bad habits, like not warding, not caring about objectives, chasing/baiting when you REALLY shouldn't, never having to counter build etc. But it's much more pleasant than trying to go through sub-30 normals.

Kid Sully3 votes

{quoted}

I got to level 30 almost entirely on bot matches. Seriously. Bot matches generally have some chill dudes, and it's an easy place to sit back, mess around with champs, learn the basics, practice last hitting etc.

It gets you some bad habits, like not warding, not caring about objectives, chasing/baiting when you REALLY shouldn't, never having to counter build etc. But it's much more pleasant than trying to go through sub-30 normals.

I just realized my entire Season 3 was spent on bots, just practicing champs and mechanics, while my brother (a Season 1 vet) guided me. You're absolutely right about the atmosphere in bots. No roles, no pressure, just practice and fun. I did get abused for going Shaco summoner 12 summoner 11, but that's because Lucian got donked on by DrMundo and JarvanIV :
Back to mid-Season 5; I get my girlfriend to start playing (@Rito, do I get a Summoner Icon for the achievement?) and create a new account to play alongside her. She did bots alone and draft with me and progressed much faster than I did at her level which was great to see. After hitting 25 and going into Team Builder I noticed a new problem. So I'm a Silver 4 Support Main, so I spend quite some time keeping team toxicity low and spirits high while trying to teach people, especially when I play with her at lower levels. The issue lies with the other smurfs, beating up on new players and abusing them, or new players learning those bad/toxic/losing habits/mentalities/strategies they pick up from "smurfs" (usually Bronze and Silver taking out their rage) who new players see decimate everyone carry roles. Eventually this cycle repeats itself, and is indicative of the low ELO struggle in general (New account>30>Bronze/Silver>Stall>New account). It's caused my girlfriend to go on an indefinite hiatus as soon as she hit 30. It happens to most of at some point, and getting shell-shock like that is just another plateau in one's LoL career to be overcome, but it doesn't have to be so severe. This is why at that I report mercilessly when it comes to players being toxic, trolling maliciously, harassing and abusing unskilled/inexperienced players, or otherwise making the come-up process something to be dreaded and avoided rather than a positive learning experience and a rite of passage that actually makes you a better Summoner. If they see this behavior go unpunished, or worse, rewarded, they perpetuate it. If you don't item 1083 the toxicity early, it just spreads. I guess the TL;DR is if we, the ranked and experienced players of any level, choose to 'smurf' or help new friends, then it's our responsibility to nurture and guide the people we affect, hold each other to that standard, and ostracize/report violators.

ZylotheWolfbane2 votes

See, I solve the problem easily. I just don't play Ranked at all :D

Arguably, that solution doesn't work for everybody, but hey. I know I'm terrible at the game, but if I just avoid playing in Ranked at all I can usually avoid most of the A-holes.

Shac Norris5 votes

That's why all chat is disabled when you first start the game

Only Play Darius5 votes

Don't forget the lvl 6 accounts who play Yasuo/Zed/LB each game and stomp legitimate new players for the fun of it.

Jhiny Neutron4 votes

I started in season 3 (a little closer to the end, but still playing for over 2 years). i STILL remember the experience I had when I started playing. The only reason it was bearable was because I was always playing with my friend who got me into it. I never played league by myself, as I was scared of the people who I was playing with (he explained the concept of smurfs, so i clearly could tell when people had played this game before, and were a much higher level than 10). I think the other problem is that the tutorial for league, sucks. Intro bots are a HUGE ste[ in the right direction, as it tells you what to do and when. I think a series of videos made by Riot about the basics of league (that you could watch while it was installing? i dont know, Smite does that and I thought it was cool). But this really needs some work. If done right, this could help player toxicity by a lot, as new players learn more important things faster.

PROJECT Katarìna3 votes

I played on a smurf account when I completely rekted another person who was obviously smurfing there were mostly plats. Most people flame cause on a smurf they dont care what happens to it. altough I did see people build some stupid things like 2 G.A.'s or 6 borks on a lissandra. I think that there should be a more in depth tutorial that you can go through like what champions abilities scaled off when I first started I did not know what the green and oranges numbers meant other than more damage. Most people dont get into league because they dont understand what they are building or why they are building it. or stress the importance of last hitting.

LatetotheRace3 votes

IP bans maybe? Toxic players should simply receive ip bans, simple solution?

Rendath2 votes

No, just match them with other players with the same ratio of reports to honors. Some people legitimately share their IPs and what you suggest is not fair. Plus, it's not hard to circumvent an IP ban - sometimes as simple as turning off the router for a while.

T RexHasTinyArms3 votes

When a friend got me started on this game he told me to play bots exclusively to at least level 15 or 20, then use mute all for the first 50 games I played pvp.

BEST ADVICE I EVER RECEIVED ABOUT LEAGUE!!!!!!!!

Paero2 votes

It is very unwelcoming for new players. I made another account on OCE (Since I am from NZ and back in Beta there was no choice of servers) and for the most matches up until around level 20, it was mainly Riven top smurfs with Lee Sin jungle smurfs.

I'm not the best player, I don't even play ranked as my ping on NA sits around 220-250 now, hence why I made a new account.

If thats how new players are welcomed into LoL, I really wonder how they are increasing their player base, if they are at all

Coccyx4202 votes

Hey how about this...until level 5-15...all chat is muted unless player unmutes it

Synx72 votes

{quoted}

If you dont believe me, make a smurf and check it out yourself. I dont get why Riot allows clearly toxic players to keep their accounts.

Someone in my last match just wished that i die of cancer and that not even cancer wants me. I made a ticket. If nothing gets done, I quit this game. Pre-season sucks anyway, combined with this unrivaled toxicity that riot doesn't do anything against that but lame excuses ( muh automatic revolutionary systems!) , its pretty infuriating. New player to this game? Be serious. Some mobas like HoTs provides a full tutorial about everything u need to know, in detail. Here it forces you to build Thornail on Ashe, come on.

Nunya Bezwacks2 votes

actually the worse part is the fact most of those games you actually get put with people currently in gold because they are playing with their friends which gets most of your team stomped making it boring for people who can't even get runes and masteries to try and keep up with the full runes and masteries a gold player should have.

doombotMECHA2 votes

honestly I am too busy buying new champs to be xpected to keep up with all of the prim&proper runes. I have a full page of ..something.

Nekusen2 votes

start game ---> /mute all ----> profit

Jalakins2 votes

This whole game revolves trolling. It's a shame. I try to play from time to time, but honestly, I prefer other MOBAs for that reason. Riot only cares about their pro players and games - at least it feels that way.

doombotMECHA1 votes

honestly, imo league is the least-shitty moba barring maybe smite. dota has about as many flamers, in addition to pudge and dwarven sniper. idk abt hots, but i stay w/ league because of the cool champion concepts. (and because msite is presently broken on my comp)

ADC Synergy1 votes

honestly its a online video game some of you kids take this shit to the heart when somebody calls you bad you need to get a job and step of the pc for a min

air tiger6 votes

Here's a classic case of victim-blaming.

Someone decides to get verbally abusive, with the intent on hurting Player Y. Player Y gets hurt. You blame Player Y, because they aren't impervious to abuse.

Weak.

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