My Thoughts on Smurfs in Gaming

SMURFS

Are smurfs bad for gaming? Have you come across smurfs or think you have? Do you get frustrated with them?

My Thoughts On Smurfs

For those of you who don't know what a smurf is, a smurf in the context of gaming is basically a player who is playing on a new account to deliberately play at a rank with players who are less skilled or knowledge about a game. Many players have different opinions on the practice. Some people think that it’s a scourge on gaming communities, while others feel that it's a chance to play against someone who is better than yourself to learn. Here are my thoughts.

Smurfs in Video Games

I'm of the opinion that smurfs are that bad for gaming. Sure, it can be frustrating, but you must look at it from another way. Instead of seeing it as unfair or almost cheating, you must look at it as an opportunity to learn. It easier to do this in some games than it is in others. For instance, from my experience, smurfs in CS:GO aren't a good example of a good smurf because the major differentiating factor comes purely down to your ability to aim. It is clear what you must do better, and you aren't learning anything by going against this smurf. The game is relatively simple enough where you can't make an unorthodox entry or a crazy flash or smoke. There's simply a door you must walk through and there are certain predefined spots for utility. From a certain rank onward, and its pretty low rank, players should know how to do these things or at least be aware that it’s a possibility. So smurfs in this situation would not be a good opportunity to learn how to do new things.

CSGO Smurfs

A game that I don't mind going up against smurfs in is Overwatch. Overwatch is a game less about personal player skill as it as about your ability to work as a team. Smurfs in Overwatch have a better understanding of the game, but it is extremely difficult to single handedly carry a game. Sure, you'll occasionally come across a crazy good Genji or Tracer that just goes ham on your team, but on those cases its a chance to learn. The time to kill is not that high in most cases, and even in those cases you'll either must adapt or die. Learn to read how this one player is catching you off guard and do something about it. If you play support, stay closer to your tanks and let them know that they need to peel for you. Don't go anywhere alone. Have a plan of where to go and what to do. If you want to rank up in Overwatch, you're going to have to learn how to do this sort of thing anyway.

A game that has a balance of the two is Rainbow 6 Siege. Siege isn't as straight forward. Because aim skill is just as important to the game as it is in CS:GO it has the same limitations to learning how to improve, however Siege does have more variety in play from the game's destructibility to its multiple Operators, all allowing you to develop a better understanding of the game and adapting to your team and opponents. You'll even come across a way of clearing a room or control an area in a way that you've never seen before and you can try that in your own games.

A Different Way of Looking at it

While I have stated that the type of game is important for me on whether it is acceptable for smurf to be in a game's multiplayer, I must be mindful of not using it as a crutch or excuse. You're going to come across them in almost every multiplayer game where ranks are involved. You just must deal with it. There's really nothing you can do about it and there's very little that game developers can do about it either. If smurfs are consistently playing above their skill level, the matchmaking system should bump them up in ranks in no time. The problem comes down to when these smurfs specifically throw games to stay at the rank they're currently at. I personally have never come across this, on my team or on the opponents. Maybe I haven't noticed. You'll win some games out right and you'll lose games badly. In the long run, if you're improving your own game, these smurfs will not have that much of an impact on your games and progression.

Look at it differently

Another acceptable occasion for smurfing, within reason, is having another account to play with friends that either aren't as good as you are (you baller) or don't play as much as you do, ending up in a situation where you couldn't play with them even if you wanted to. If a player is going to the point of buying the game again just to play with friends they shouldn't be penalized for doing so, if they're not being abusive.

Conclusion

Smurfs are here to stay. After all its fun to own in games and where there’s fun, the people will come. You just must change the way you think about it. It can be frustrating, and it can be a little unfair, but you just must learn how to deal with it, and by doing so you'll be a better gamer.

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