In Overwatch , a few people are currently making a fortune by offering players a “Top 500” spot. Cheating or genius?
When Professionals in Overwatch Unveil Smurf Accounts
If there is any way to earn real money while gaming, it usually doesn’t take long for people to figure out how to maximize profit from a game. This has now also happened with Overwatch. Several providers on the Internet offer to boost the rank of your account.
Either to receive a large amount of “Competitive Points” at the end of the season or even to snag one of the coveted “Top 500” spots. Because those who have been in the top 500 at least for a short time during the current season will also receive a special icon and an animated spray logo. Many players are willing to dig deep into their pockets for such flashy cosmetics.
But how does this cheating work? Relatively simple:
The pro player with a skill rating of 75+ buys a new account. Here, he plays ranked games and continuously loses until he reaches a skill rating of about 40 or even lower. Now, he offers his services. Ideally, the “buyer” already has a skill rating of 60 or higher. The two sign up together, and this is where the problem arises: Overwatch calculates the average strength of the team at “50” (the average of 40 and 60), even though the player with the skill rating of 40 is actually a pro.
This causes the team to often be classified as the “underdog” – meaning that the team has a lesser chance of winning. However, if the team does win, it is rewarded with a massive increase in skill rating – so much so that the buyer can have a spot in the Top 500 with just a few wins.
Using such services naturally contradicts the terms of service and any sense of sportsmanship – and offering them does as well.
Mein-MMO says: Essentially, it was only a matter of time before such services appeared for Overwatch as well. The fact that the “underdog” mechanic can now be exploited for such services is quite frustrating. Whether and how Blizzard will respond remains to be seen – eliminating the “underdog” mechanic could indeed be the right step, although this would also make many matches less satisfying.
