Smurfing in Overwatch is not particularly tragic. At least the Game Director does not see it as a big problem.
If you play Overwatch regularly, you have probably encountered a player with a low account level who plays exceptionally well. The suspicion arises quickly that they might be a “Smurf” – a player who is actually using another account and has significantly more experience.
Smurfs are hated in most games, as they disrupt the normal balance of matchmaking. The fresh second account of a professional player cannot yet be perfectly ranked by matchmaking, so they often face significantly worse players, who then get crushed mercilessly.
In the official forum, players have been demanding for weeks: “Blizzard, when will you take control of your own game again? Smurfs ruin the fun!”
Jeff Kaplan, the Game Director, responded and explained that smurfing is not really a big problem. He wrote:
“Smurfing – and I know you don’t want to hear this – is not such a big problem. As an example, a few weeks ago we observed a pro player streaming with their smurf account. We were able to monitor their MMR [assessment of skill] internally and compare it with the MMR of their main account. Within 15 matches, these two values were identical. I know there is a very negative perception of “smurfing”. But the reality is that these skilled players rise back up from the lower ranks very quickly.”
Not every low-level player is a smurf
Furthermore, the community has come to the belief that every good player with a low account level must automatically be a smurf. Kaplan describes from his own experience:
“I have personally experienced a few cases where players accuse someone of smurfing when they haven’t done so at all. One of the people I play with is quite talented. He played a lot during the beta. He works on Heroes of the Storm and plays that game nearly every night.
But sometimes he stops by and we play Overwatch because he really enjoys the game. As an experience, his account level is significantly lower than ours. Most of us have 3-5 stars [between level 300 and 600] and he is level 30. Every time we play with him, someone claims he is a smurf. But he is not.”
What has been your experience with this issue? Are smurfs really that bad or do you often accuse someone “just for the sake of it”, even if it is just a good player who rarely plays?
