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Re: Question About Smurphing

@Midnight9746 

When they added the smurfing report function, some Apex pros/streamers asked if it was bannable to solo Q run from Bronze to Pred on alt accounts on twitter and an employee on Respawns security department answered very explicitly that they would not ban people for playing on multiple account, like solo Q ranked runs. He said that the targets specifically are players who create new account after account after account to get into the starter lobby and desperately try to get a 20 kill/4k banners etc.  You can find this twitter conversation by googling some smart words =)

So I guess smurfing is OK but not too much =)

16 Replies

  • E9ine_AC's avatar
    E9ine_AC
    Hero+
    3 years ago
    @Balladalidila The way it was told to me by respawn devs was a player who purposely tanks their stats to be placed in low-end lobbies. When pro players or very good player make alt accounts they are good enough to where they fly through lower end lobbies and eventually make it way past that point. With the new system now as an example I'm bumped down to bronze this season. I had 1 game where I won and had 5 kills and 4 assists for 501 rp. This quickly gets them moved to the proper area they belong.

    Repeating account creations also could be considered it but I have explained a few times that you may use and create alt accounts there is no rules against that. I am sure smurfing is a hard thing to work with.
  • Balladalidila's avatar
    Balladalidila
    Seasoned Ace
    3 years ago

    @E9ine_AC 


    Hrmm oki. So that Respawn dev indirectly confirmed that there are low-end lobbies based on recent games KD or something like that? Or did he actually suggest that some players actually lose ranked several matches in a row to stay in low rank lobbies? Seems so much work. You would literally have to lose 20 silver matches in a row to make up for one win 

  • E9ine_AC's avatar
    E9ine_AC
    Hero+
    3 years ago
    @Balladalidila How exactly it works is not known to me. I should have worded it as they did which was to deliberately keep yourself at low rank to stomp on new players.
  • Balladalidila's avatar
    Balladalidila
    Seasoned Ace
    3 years ago

    @E9ine_AC 


    Seems like the new ranked system put all new players in one big lobby anyways, or rather two possible lobbies: Rookie to Silver1 and Bronze4 to Gold1. So basically; Rookies never play with golds but other than that, its everyone together. So smurfing in low lobbies is almost meaningless now. I think the average skill level of those lobbies rather is connected to WHEN during the split you play. When all hardstucks Plats and hardstuck Diamonds are tired of getting smashed in Pred lobbies, they start to smurf and the average skill level of those lobbies increases significantly. 


    This assumes that there are not two types of the same rank lobby, like two types of silver lobbies etc etc.  Doublelift (ex-pro and now LoL streamer) confirmed that LoL uses three types of ranked queues:

     Normal ranked queues, which prioritize players wh doesnt have any weird MMR vs rank deviations.

    Smurf ranked queues, which have way to high MMR for their current rank, i.e clearly smurfs.

    And lastly what he called "recovery ranked queues" which is for accounts who once had a much higher MMR than his current rank reflects but how signs that he has gotten worse, like old players coming back to the game.  So if a LoL Challenger from S4 and quit playing the game and then come back now and your account has been reset to Silver, he would probably not play that many games with "true" silver players, but rather in silver recovery queue.

    So perhaps there are something like that with Apex too.

  • OldTreeCreeper's avatar
    OldTreeCreeper
    Hero+
    3 years ago

    @Balladalidila from the horses mouth so to speak 😃

    So hideouts is very specific about continuous new account smurfing,  who farm low level lobbies, getting banned. 

    And as @E9ine_AC mentioned, hideouts second comment leaves the door firmly open for tanking smurfs, who farm low level lobbies, getting banned too.

    Why the report function for smurfing is there, I don't know,  as there's no way for a player to discern if a Smurf is just passing through or not.

    The official smurfing in ranked is farcical. That was proven conclusively last season. I don't think a 6 tier demotion each split is the answer. Fortnite's answer is to put everyone back to square one in their ranked,  I'm not a fan of that either.

    I think is apex's case a demotion to any achieved level IV is appropriate each split,  with the caveat the you have to improve by at least 2 tiers to get the next split rewards. This would keep everyone roughly where they should be. 

  • Midnight9746's avatar
    Midnight9746
    Hero+
    3 years ago

    So, "farming lower lobbies is bannable", yet makes it possible for diamonds and up players to derank down past plat. I had ran into at least 3 players yesterday, who had all 3 badge slots be a master's badge, and their rank was Rookie IV. With a bunch of other players being previous diamonds, masters, and pred players, but their curent ranks are all Rookie to Bronze.

    This sounds like another way of saying "we put in a report option, so you can feel like we're doing something about it." I'm not saying deranking is bad, but diamonds and up players should be locked at being unable to drop below at least plat. While these low level accounts should just be put into their own lobbies, since there's way too many of them. The issue I'm having is that this isn't "skill base matchmaking".

    There's no "skill" involved in the matchmaking's calculations when your teammates are fresh off the tutorial (gameplay wise), and the enemy teams are just levels 10-30's mowing through everyone.

  • NickBeam27's avatar
    NickBeam27
    Seasoned Ace
    3 years ago

    I haven't mentioned this before,  here we go again - picture the poor guys that are the fodder for these guys while doing the grind. Explaining Conner's words to them will not make the obliteration feel any less impactful. How is getting farmed ok in any aspect whether its just passing by on the grind or to farm repeatedly? Then add a report button for smurfing....why? 

    Why have it there then say, oh we watched it and we feel this time is ok to be stomped cause hes solo'ing a grind so...sorry? 

  • OldTreeCreeper's avatar
    OldTreeCreeper
    Hero+
    3 years ago

    @NickBeam27 what needs to happen is once you get to "say"  diamond,  you stay there! End of all the problems right there 😃🥳

  • NickBeam27's avatar
    NickBeam27
    Seasoned Ace
    3 years ago
    @OldTreeCreeper Maybe so ole tree, but not an optimal fix, nor does it support a ranked theory. But I guess for some its an option....sadly.
  • OldTreeCreeper's avatar
    OldTreeCreeper
    Hero+
    3 years ago

    @NickBeam27 

    You are gold going into season A. 

    you get to diamond II from gold at the end of split 1

    then reset to diamond IV for split 2

    you are get to diamond III again at the end of split 2

    then reset to diamond IV for the season B. 

    You get your diamond reward for season A. 

    But the caveat being that you don't get the diamond rewards for season B unless you move up a tier or 2 within diamond either split. 

    Should to keep it competitive and interesting and you are playing your peers 😃

  • E9ine_AC's avatar
    E9ine_AC
    Hero+
    3 years ago
    @Awhoo_Thunder That most likely will be punishable. That would fall in the line of Hideouts mentions of creating a lot of smurf accounts to farm lower skilled player lobbies.
  • @E9ine_AC
    How you wanna proof its meant to farm lower rank lobbies ? I mean you dont have to proof anything, but in that Twitter statement this was pretty clear to me, you can do Ranked smurf challenges with every hero... This is clearly allowing smurfs to smurf. :D There is also no problem to stream that as challenge on Twitch or is it ? I mean just to be sure to not get banned...

    There should be clear NO or clear YES to smurfing, this is seems more like a YES but please dont abuse it too much.

  • StelioRokos's avatar
    StelioRokos
    3 years ago
    @OldTreeCreeper But "farming" isn't necessarily the problem.
    As it stands, 500,000 experienced players can all make smurfs and dominate low level lobbies. How many matches does that ruin? How long does it take for a smurf to get out of low-experienced pubs?
    From what I've witnessed, a smurf doesn't get out of low-experienced pubs until they reach level 100 regardless of their prior performance.
    And when those first 500,000 are out of low-experience SBMM, another 500,000 could decide to start smurf accounts, and then another 500,000 could decide to start smurf accounts, and then another 500,000.
    All of this leads to what Apex is right now: Completely inaccessible and unplayable for anyone who is new or average at this game.
  • OldTreeCreeper's avatar
    OldTreeCreeper
    Hero+
    3 years ago

    @StelioRokos clearly farming is a more serious problem to be dealt with, that probably why hideouts mentioned it.

    Just having the same account on different platforms creates a Smurf situation.

    Ranked demotion creates a Smurf situation. 

    Changing platforms creates a Smurf situation. 

    But sbmm will put you into higher lobbies very quickly,  from what I've been told here on the forum, if you come top 5 in a few matches. 

    What you can do within the rules, and what you choose to do within the rules, is up to you. I choose to play one account only. 

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