Idea to remove smurfing

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@Xubunnytwo wrote:
@Baws_Fredgy
I imagine they use in game monitoring (game moderators) to some degree. That is the best defense, since a human can't be hacked. There are some tasks that we cannot trust automation. Over at Amazon, there is a job called a "Mechanical Turk", you can sign up to get paid to do work a machine cannot do. They call the jobs HITs (Human Intelligence Task) and pay anywhere from a penny to a few dollars for each HIT.

If you set up a database to flag on the criteria you mentioned above, then they place the user on a "watch list". A GM could be placed in the team, or monitor the chat remotely.

I don't play ranked, I am still learning the game. From what I read, aren't they going to change the rules, in the next season, for accessing the ranked event? Making a new rule set might not be a popular idea for everyone, but sometimes simple changes work the best.

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Well yeah, they are changing things in the ranked system but nothing what could've an impact on those smurfs honestly.

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@RaginSam wrote:

Improve the game design so that people become less interested in smurfing. Stop thinking of ways to patrol it. Come up with solutions that would persuade people to not do it. 

The game gets boring when you solo que at Diamond and keep getting potatoes for teammates. Either they don't do damage, don't communicate, or just push everything and die quickly after the first fight. It's the same story throughout all of ranked, but my patience wears out by that time. I play because its currently the best shooter. I love Battlefield, and loved Destiny 2, but those games are stagnant and are clueless with direction (that's whole other topic). It's an escapism from boredom and every day life. Ranked plays much different the pubs, and you are working towards a goal. It's far more rewarding to play ranked.

With the new improvements to Season 13 maybe those changes will help. I really do think it's too easy to climb and some people get carried far beyond their skill level. The game is designed to reward people that get some kills with good placement. You should have both skills to progress. Be able to win some fights, but also learn how to get decent placement. Play the circle and defend your position. Aiming is one skill, game sense is another. You should have both to progress. 

In my opinion, the climb should be more linear and lower ranks should have similar point distribution as the higher tiers. 

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Well, I can understand what you mean but honestly don't think it will make that big of a difference (s13 ranked overhaul).

I hit diamond every split of every season, never really tried to go further to masters honestly. Mostly do it solo too. I like the game and honestly it's enough challenge already with * teammates most of the time.

It just gets ruined too by those smurfs. 

I like to get challenged and to play against good players, but those top preds who get in our servers via a smurf account is just 0 respect for the game and players itself

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@BlairNines wrote:
@RaginSamThe only thing that stops smurfing is outright punishing it.

All day, everyday, I get dominated by level 100's with 1500+ kills and their 4k/20-bomb badges.
The reason you're getting potatoes for teammates is because they've had no chance to learn the game. Throwing yourself at enemies is the fastest, most efficient way to rank. Sometimes you get kills, sometimes you get killed.
Apex is about luck until you've played enough to be a pro. Any sort of strategy will just give a hyper-smurf an opportunity to swing in and obliterate your whole team in two clips.

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Correct, although, as referred above, needs to be thought about to not punish the real split accounts (father /child /..).

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@HappyHourSumwur wrote:

In Ranked, just increase the level minimum.  Seems so obvious and simple, not sure why Respawn hasn't experimented with it.

Otherwise, I think they'll need to change how they measure 'skill' in their SBMM.  They'll never tell how they do it because they consider it a 'secret formula' but moving players up quickly in lobbies (i.e.-dropping a 20 bomb at < level 100) might limit the issue.

I don't really know how to fix it.  All I know is that I absolutely hate smurfs.

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Well this might be a good workaround for NEW smurfs.

For example level 50 or even 100 to go into ranked. Takes some time and would demotivate those players.

Although, those who already have their smurf accounts since years most probably have reached a higher level already and so would be able to bypass this modification

@BlairNinesI completely disagree. You're all over the place with your statement.

The quickest way to get better is to hold W and push everyone? I disagree, it's learning how to drop far enough to get loot, but not so far that you don't see anyone all game. If you lose a fight instantly, what have you learned? Trying to stay alive while fighting is the biggest skill. Learning how to heal mid fights, rotating damage between teammates, and drawing enemies past your squad mates are all good skills to develop. I could go on and on. For raw mechanics, probably 1v1 in the firing range would be a lot more helpful.

The game really isn't luck at any level. There is luck involved, especially in how you choose to drop. If you drop with three teams on a small area, it's a gamble of what loot you're going to get. I personally hate those drops, but even so, you can always punch while your teammates shoot them. Assume everyone is equal skill to you, what are you going to do to get the edge? Over confidience is the single biggest mistake I see people make over and over again.

There is a difference between smurfs and people that just straight up cheat. There is a cheating problem in this game too. This season has been better than pervious ones for me, but that's anecdotal.

I get potatoes for teammates well into platinum lobbies. It's too easy to climb or get carried, something. Once you reach Plat, you should really know the map, have decent aim, game sense, when to rotate with the circle, how the game works. 

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@HappyHourSumwur wrote:
@Baws_FredgyNew smurfs are what you want to address. An "old smurf" is no longer a smurf.

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Honestly? Not sure.

SMURFING is when a highly-skilled player creates a secondary account as a disguise to play against less proficient opponents. This almost always results in the Smurf steamrolling their lower-level adversaries, which might be hilarious for the better player but usually leaves their victims bitter. 

It doesn't matter if the 2nd account is a new or old account. As long as he remains a low level on it, it's called a smurf. 

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@RaginSam wrote:
@HappyHourSumwurExactly.

How many of you have actually made a "smurf" or a second account? I don't think it plays out how you think. Your first game in a pub is like playing bots, but after that, you will literally see Players with Pred badges and lvl 500's in the very next match, lol. It's very short lived and not worth it for that. I've made a couple accounts playing with different friends introducing them to the game. Just being a "body guard" more than trying to show off.

It really is a team based game. The skill gap is really compressed in this game since it's been out for quite a while at this point. There's also a good amount of aim assist. I would argue it's tuned too high. Then there's a ton of videos on how to improve. After watching higher tier players, the big difference feels like they just never miss. Which honestly hardware is playing a big role. The game gets very choppy unless you have a pretty decent rig to smooth it out.

They are adding a rookie only tier. Once you leave, you can't go back. That's great for new players. A real smurf will blow right past that.

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Well here you talk about pub games. Ranked is different. You move up the ranks together with others from that rank.

Pubs is mostly based (I assume) on different criteria which is combined in the sbmm. This way they will put you up against preds from the games to come.

Ranked is not like this imo.