Smurfs

From my experience while Riot games constantly ban everyone via their amazing AI automated system :) or simply by comparing how many mass reports by crying kids you got over X games, Respawn basically does not ban anyone since I have been playing (for years).

Only reports that I guess are taken into account are ones for chat slur, rest ... not really.

Also from my experience and official reply via support ticket Respawn confirmed that smurfing is as blurry as it gets:

• creating lower level profiles to "play with friends" is not smurfing for them
• streamers / pros creating new profiles to make those "bronze to pred" run videos is not smurfing for them
• having multiple profiles which has been a thing for very many who play ranked (reaching plat / diamond on main -> stop grinding hard lobbies -> switch to smurf) is not smurfing for them

Basically they said that only thing that qualifies as smurfing is going say to D4 and then dropping like 100 games to get back to Silver or whatever and grind back again. Even though I am 100% sure if someone would do that they would still get away with it.

Thing is that FPS industry created this term and abuse yet in reality I think noone is really doing much about it (except LoL, heard something about them actually banning smurfs actively). Also form business perspective I guess it makes no sense: more smurfs = more "active player base" data, some might even spend money on multiple accounts = revenue stream, more smurfs = faster queue times for lower ranked players etc.

Apex also is just a game where noone gets banned and you have to live with that.

Pros: crying kids with mass reports can't get you out of the game + you can trashtalk back via voice to defend yourself vs Riot insta-banning you if you do that e.g. in Valorant or Overwatch

Cons: loads of hackers, smurfs and slur talking people...personally I care only about the first category that has been a plague for this game