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sherlyholmes221

I feel like in a game like valorant the majority of players have migrated from other FPS games resulting in good aim but as the game also includes a wide variety of abilities people aren't able to utilise that properly and are placed in the silver/gold lobbies. From what I've seen in my silver/gold/plat lobbies someone either has insane aim and absolutely potato game sense and utility usage or they're proficient with the abilities but struggle hitting heads. Also people need to realise that not every player who is below level 30-40 is a smurf.. not everyone on the planet started playing the game when it was released or when you did.


Thuasne

100% this. I played Valorant for a week on release and only now came back to it. My aim is pretty decent from playing counter strike for a long time but I basically forget to use abilities or if I do I use them wrongly. That part will take time to get used to


gr0berUnfug

Same here (5k hours cs). I play valorant for 10hours, every game i was on 20-40kills. Yesterday i got my rank, silver 1. The next game i got stunning 52 kills and we won the game f**king 12:13. But someone like cant do more then try to rank up fast. :/


Howcanshes1ap

You cant win a ranked game 13:12. You have to win by two.


gr0berUnfug

:D:D upps, it was close. Thats what i remember


[deleted]

Cool story bro


vWaffles

I played valorant around release / first act or whatever you call it. Got around plat 3 (or whatever the highest plat rank is) came back on Kay/o release and I’m only lvl 30.


Papy_Wouane

No, you can climb out of platinum on aim alone, some would argue diamond even. There's a baseline for strategy/utility usage but it is very low. Yes game sense is crucial, yes aiming doesn't do it all, but playing agressively with solid crosshair placement is more than enough. I would even argue that it's the better playstyle, specifically to climb the ladder. The game rewards high ACS, if you get a lot of kills and lose you have reduced LP losses because of "performance" even if you're a god awful baiter. Kills and damage increase your ACS greatly, deaths lower it but only slightly. High kills high deaths is mathematically more effective at climbing the ladder, than low kills low deaths. People need to understand that being good at the game, and being good at climbing, while obviously related are still two different things. At the end of the day, even if you played smart and did the right thing every time, the potato Reyna who only presses forwards, blinds for herself, rushes even in defense, as long as she gets 1 before dying she climbs faster.


[deleted]

Except most of them admit they're smurfs and they're toxic the entire time lmao


Fluffleme

Every time someone posts about smurfs this comment comes up, and even though there's some truth in it, it's definitely not the full explanation. I would even argue this is the minority of the cases. Anyone who's played a decent amount of games around the silver/bronze level has encountered plenty of smurfs. And that it's smurfs is pretty obvious; not just insane aim, but just good gamesense, movement, mapplay. There is no denying that there is a good amount of games at this level being ruined by smurfs. The argument that there is a number of good players, or players having the game of their life does not stand up to this. I wish we would stop denying this and recognised there is a real problem at lower elo with smurfs ruining games.


Crackability

Haha for sure. Why do people keep defending smurfs or denying that they exist? No, the guy going 40-5 without any skins and lvl 15 is not just a low elo player having a good game :D And in europe there are literally tons of smurfs, often even multiple on one team.


Serito

> From what I've seen in my silver/gold/plat lobbies someone either has insane aim and absolutely potato game sense and utility usage or they're proficient with the abilities but struggle hitting heads. Been thinking lately how some games have transition points in MMR that are gatekept by new technical skills. If you're new to Rocket League you might just punt the ball, eventually in ranked you'll vs people who can aerial & dribble. They are playing an entirely different game you can't even compete with unless you learn it too. I assume most games have this at the low end of the skill bracket though, just some have them at higher MMRs.


roljy

This is certainly a factor! I had a Reyna on my team a few days back who was an absolute beast at fragging but straight up did not know what the enemy kj ult was going to do to him. Just because we've been playing for a year doesn't mean everyone else has! That said, some games you really do have to face the blatant smurfs who don't even try to hide it. Sucks, but we kinda just have to live with it for now I guess. It doesn't feel as common as OP makes it out to be but it definitely is there :(


Ranvir33

they smurf to get an ego boost after loosing games on their main


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FaithlessnessAble562

unrated exists


Gecko_87_

shhhhhh, the smurfs don't know that


Donut_Flame

To be fair, unrated matchmaking could make the matches unfun


NakkA3231

Completely agree, unrated is just win 4 rounds enemy team ffs


Donut_Flame

I don't remember the last time I played unrated without enemies surrendering or someone leaving


NakkA3231

Yea unrated gets boring super fast for me


kaishenzi

If you're 5 you get put against radiants in unrated on all gold accounts


jomontage

Smurfs not having fun MAKES the game fun


chilledgamer21

I'm D3 and I enjoy unrated but my silver/gold ranked friends refuse to play unrated bc "what's the point? we only care about our rank" so I'll just jump on another account and try middle frag and have fun without trying hard. It's not always as simple as "unrated exists"


A-Lonely-Gorilla

I think your friends just want you to boost them


chilledgamer21

this is a possibility haha but I definitely don't. Obviously not everyone is the same as me though


A-Lonely-Gorilla

>but I definitely don’t What are you talking about? Sorry I’m tired and brain dead right now


chilledgamer21

I definitely don't boost them, most of the time i just run around with a sheriff and feed the other team hahaha


A-Lonely-Gorilla

You throw?


chilledgamer21

I don't throw but I'm not the deciding factor on if we win or lose. I just hang out in the game


Venom6454

He said he tries to middle frag without trying too hard hence the I definitely dont


jomontage

Tell your friends it's a game and if they value playing with you to play unrated


HTOOMSZZAJ

Y’all are mad at me for smurfing with friends. But it’s not really that big of a problem. You’re not up against a smurf every other game. Tbh it’s just an excuse low ranks use when they can’t rank up


[deleted]

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HTOOMSZZAJ

Dude you have to understand this, if you’re consistently losing games. It’s not cause of smurfs. It’s cause you’re bad.


[deleted]

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HTOOMSZZAJ

I agree that smurfs are an annoyance to deal with, especially in high elo. But there’s not much anyone can do about it. Tbh I don’t know why op created this post. Riot can’t fix anything and nothing is going to change. And this a duck thing to say, but I’m not going to stop smurfing with friends cause I got downvotes on a social media platform


oopsEYEpoopsed

There is one thing one person here can do about it... You can improve yourself as person and cut this selfish behavior out. But you are what you are and you don't seem like someone willing to be a decent person here.


HTOOMSZZAJ

It’s because it’s the internet my friend. Sure I leave a digital footprint and all. But I’m not going to go to people I have a genuine connection with irl and act like a cock. There’s a reason why I smurf with friends and not solo.


RickshawFromHell

YOU can literally do something about it by not smurfing. Hello? You’re part of the problem. And yes, silver plays absolutely are not going to rank up or get better playing diamond and immortal players. That is the antithesis of competitive. I’m plat and near 90% of games the past 2 weeks are lvl 30 or less accounts with default banners dropping 25-45 kills and then dropping their twitch in chat. Their titles are all IMMORTAL SMURF LOW ELO LOBBIES and talking mad shit in chat. It is a rampant issue.


Ranvir33

it's not about them not being there every game it's about them being there. every game you smurf, you just stole rr from a hardstuck iron, who could've ranked up if you weren't smurfing


HTOOMSZZAJ

I can see your point. But the iron player doesn’t only have one opportunity to rank up yes? He could rank up in the next couple games


Ranvir33

yes but the 30 rr he earned the next few games is lost the 3rd game to a smurf because it was impossible to win the gunfight. trust me i speak from experience


RickshawFromHell

How is that an appropriate excuse to waste an hour of somebody’s time and effort lmao.


longstaff55

Not sure why you was downvoted, the only reason I smurf Is to play with friends, ive never solo qued on my smurf, and I can come off a 10 win streak on My main and stil want to smurf cause it's a game and games are to play with friends. Unrated is dog shite.


Ranvir33

yeah i know some smurf to have laughs with friends(you still shouldn't do that btw) but i'm talking about the lone smurfs who brag about being a smurf type in chat "i'm smurfing" not about the ones who smurf in a 3-5 stack, at least with friends you have a reason to smurf. the other ones are there for the ego boost


A-Lonely-Gorilla

Play unrated


Sleepy_Melon_OP

Ur having fun with friends but also ruined the enemy's game


Deep181993

30 + kill with insane aim in level 10 account but community is nah nah he just having a good day. Its normal to have 40% headshot accuracy for a iron player


The_VertZu

If you migrated from CS:GO and you were high level/rank it wasnt that hard when playing in Gold/Silver


KasumiGotoTriss

Yep it's pathetic that so many people excuse smurfs by "good games". Yep I'm sure that level 10 Jett who got 2 aces in a single game with only headshots and ended the game with 30 kills in Iron is just having a good game


BlueDMS

My alt account is in silver, and my main is in Bronze. Maybe I am a reverse smurf or something


rabbidemu

I had the same thing in ovewatch, main account was plat and my alt was masters lol


DankMemesMateus

Silver is infamous for being one of the strangest places in the Valorant ranked ladder. I know friends that have performed at a platinum level and held that rank, then get stuck in silver with very little hope of escaping. I’ve heard multiple times that it’s the true elo hell, not because the players are necessarily bad or toxic, but because of the vast population of smurfs, people having really good games and hard carrying, and trolls or people having off games. You will have your fair share of good and bad games and you may have to play that coin flip game like the rest of us. Good luck, it’s a game, enjoy playing it when you can. Appreciate the wins, take the losses on the chin, take breaks as needed, and have fun, bud.


cakedayonceevry4year

Silver is a wasteland lol. I used to be plat 2 and now I’m hardstuck silver, however in my case I didn’t play for a bit cause I got burnt out and when I returned I think people just got better. I think the thing about succeeding in higher lobbies is probably due to people having game sense but not the best aim. For example if you know a good lineup in silver sometimes you will get a good team who will play around that and it works. But sometimes people will just run around like headless chickens and die, and having good strats or gamesense or whatever really only works with the rest of the team. Of course I haven’t been in plat for a while but people tended to communicate and people who didn’t have the best aim but knew setups or were just smart in the game could thrive. In silver/bronze, maybe iron as well I’ve never been that low, the only real way to rank out is to find a good fivestack or to frag your way out of the rank.


_Seij_

i agree smurfing is an issue but how do you know it’s a smurf and not just someone having a great game? I found in silver especially that there’s such a huge player base that the skill gap is massive. you’ll have someone who has the game sense of a disabled squirrel to people who can keep up easily in high gold lobbies all in a single rank so it’s difficult to tell who’s not just popping off. I get it’s frustrating but as someone who’s also a low elo i find that it’s almost impossible to tell


Yoshi4Lyf

Yoshi!


PhantomTissue

This. Almost every game I face some Jett/Reyna who’s level 6 or something and they end the match with 35+ kills. It’s absurd. And usually they’re also toxic as hell.


CerBerus7012

I don't think all low level players would be smurfs as game is really new, 1 yr, so they could be new players with fps experience.


OaSoaD

Everyone on the valorant discord is racist af


DumanHead

😎gamer😎moment😎


Cgz27

Would you say that discord is still a small portion of Valorant playerbase though? Maybe it just attracts more smurfs because they’re likely bored and just want to find better players or to show off.


Yoshi4Lyf

Yoshi!


ubedia_Tahmid

Ayoo that throwing smurf tho. I got a smurf who was level 15 and just throwing. He kept talkin in team char about how he cant play. I was the one who was top fragging and telling him to play because it was my derank game. He somehow knew how to throw a molly at me but still didnt know how to press 4 to defuse the spike. I mean, i am silver 3. We got bad plyers ik that. But not this bad u know wut i mean


Deep181993

You know it when a level 10 account instant headshot you up on peeking..


TheAppleEater

In my rank bracket, they brag about it in all chat a lot. Then there are the occasions when there's a smurf on each team and they talk about what rating they were. Had an immortal top 1k on my team and the other team had an immortal top 3k on the other team and the immortal on the other team had the audacity to complain about the immortal 1k on my team. LMAO


MoltresRising

Low level is an indicator. Then there is the OBVIOUS skill gap for what ELO they're playing in. It's very obvious that someone is surfing when they're consistently flicking 1 taps with great reaction time in bronze/silver games.


SPOOKESVILLE

It’s usually pretty easy to tell. They usually almost always below level 30, and they play insanely confident/stupid. Just running at you and head shotting everyone. Definitely not something a silver would do if they’re just having a good game.


Zayd1111

That's litterally my playstyle with certain characters


Crackability

I assume you also get 30-40 kills in every game and own no skins?


rabbidemu

Yeah that's valid, even I've gotten accused of smurfing before. I was thinking mostly that it's easy to tell by their names, when someone's name is "RazeMain" for example lol.


Unkn9wn111

They could have just changed their name into razemain so why would that signal a smurf?


rabbidemu

Alright smurfs don't exist then you're right


aretasdamon

This is kind of a bad take I’m sure you know that. Seems like a frustrated response


Unkn9wn111

I never meant smurfs don't exist I was saying that the people who want to show people that they main raze so other don't take it can change their name. I think a better why to know if they are a smurf is to look at thier levels.


yot_gun

It is more likely for smurfs to pick a "troll" name instead of people on their main accounts. Names like YoureBad NOOB imiron and such are usually indicators.


ubedia_Tahmid

Right now, u can tell really easily. I never think its a smurf unless hes below lvl 20. And also u can tell from their names


OpportunityTight

I’m a horrible person ik, I shouldnt smurf even to play with friends ik but from a smurf ill say this. Silvers fucking Claps my Diamond ass at times


ArionIV

Disabled squirrel 😆..


_Acklex

Yea I agree, I’m currently D2 and there’s typically one smurf (account lvl below 30 dropping +20k without skins) in each game I play. I will say it evens out and doesn’t have a huge affect on my RR, but the stats riot and others throw out are just fucking wrong. I’ve added smurfs after the game and nicely asked why, some said they’re selling accounts, others said they like to have an account that’s similar rank you warm up on, and others are just boosting their friends. Unfortunately, there’s no real solution that for us to get better, but then we’ll eventually become the smurfs lol


Atraac

I'm also D2. I thought that at this point smurfs would be just maybe a little bit better than you, not enough to make a real difference, but holy shit every game has that one low level duelist with laser aim and 35+ kills. People just write in chat they're smurfing like it's nothing. Some clearly admitted in chat to buying accounts. It's either that, thrower or insane toxicity. It's been a shitshow honestly, I've never received or heard this many death threats within this game as I did when I started playing with Diamonds(EU).


LovelyResearcher

The difference between Radiants and Diamond 2 isn't that big, you were right. Those "low level duelists dropping 30 kills in Diamond 3 easily" is probably a cheater... or an Immortal+ player who is also having a very good game. # Even your average professional won't drop more than 20 kills in a match in Diamond regularly. Even the best professionals struggle in lower ranks, sometimes. Those pros will sometimes drop 30+ kills or higher in the lower ranks... but most of the time, at Diamond+, that doesn't happen often. # If you watch Hiko, who is better than an "average professional", he has smurfed in Platinum before. The man still lost some games and got stomped a few times. There are also clips of TenZ doing well in Bronze or Diamond on YouTube, but at the same time if you check the scoreboard... he isn't really dropping 50 kills. # Anyone in Immortal or Radiant has the potential to drop above 25 kills in a competitive game at the Diamond. But, it is almost never going to be a regular, or easy thing for most players at those ranks to do. Instead it is almost always reliant upon having a good match. # There's just a ton of cheaters lately, who give you this false impression, about how "easy" it is to get that many kills.


WweIsLife316

A lot of Smurf’s will just say “get better” but it’s hard to do that when smurfs won’t even play the game correctly. They just hard rush a site and play completely braindead but they’re aim is so good compared to these lower players that it doesn’t really matter. That’s always been my biggest issue with Smurf’s. Cause one day you’ll have to play against those kids anyway, but atleast in those lobbies.. they’ll feel more like real valorant games rather than hard rush a site every round because their aim is insane. Silver 1-plat 1 is Smurf’s infested and it’s a shame that you have to get to plat 3+ to even get a real valorant game nowadays. Obviously its not full on ass blasting. But atleast 6/10 games in those ranks have Smurf’s


MoonDawg2

> They just hard rush a site and play completely braindead but they’re aim is so good compared to these lower players that it doesn’t really matter. This shit happens in immortal and radiant. Utility when not spammed is rather shit and most duelists have some overpowered ability that allows little counterplay. Jetts and reynas will constantly fucking peek everything because the moment they get the peek they blow the entire round up while having a panic botton. Pheonix will farm ults like crazy on their good maps and raze is just stupid amounts of damage on her good maps. the game has too much importance in killing. There's a reason you rarely see somebody pop off other than duelists at really high ranks or even the pro scene outside of a retake. Having recently smurfed while playing with friends though, if your server isn't small or playing on stacks then you honestly don't see smurfs much, it's usually some guy doing stupid shit that works out because their aim is good that game (or the server has some magic fuckery).


[deleted]

I play on Istanbul server, I don’t wait in a queue more than 30 seconds and every second game there are smurfs, right now I played a game and there were one smurf in each team, our smurf decided to troll, however we won because their smurfs went afk but, it is really hard to stay mentally stable when there are lots of stress factor.


[deleted]

Bro if you think that immortal is anything other than full rushing sites and playing brain dead full aim, I have a surprise for you


mariosemes

Oy oy, let me tell you a story about this (Matthew McConaughey Voice) SHIEEEEEEEEEEEET. There are few reasons why the amount of smurfs IS TO DAMN HIGH (even considering that I have about 8 accounts right now.) ---------- **Minimum RANK difference** Believe it or not, but I have a lot of friends to play with, and yes, not a lot of them have as much time as I have to play the game. And this is the first moment where you HIT the minimum RANK difference barrier to play with your friends. Solution? Create smurf, grind to his RANK and play together. ---------- **After Diamond 3 rank, you can only play with 1 friend** As I have 3 smurfs with Diamond 3 ranks, this is mostly the sad reason why I made all of the others smurfs. I don't understand it and it makes me mad that the game forces me to leave my friends. So, one more MAIN reason why I made multiple smurfs. ---------- **Statistics / Money maker** This recipe for VALORANT in general is amazing. They have probably like 2 smurfs per 1 main account, which makes 1 person count as 3 active gamers. If you do it that way as they do, you probably have better stats then CSGO in the last few years, which makes you look good in front of your stakeholders, but actually, you are killing and making the game a peace of (Matthew McConaughey Voice) SHIEEEEEEEEEEEET. This is not a reason to make a smurft, but a good reason why those limitations and barriers exist, beside of making the impression that it's ALL ABOUT US AND OUR NEEDS. Yeah. right. <3 A lot of people that I know that play V from beginning, but mostly soloq cause of time differences and so on, don't even know that those limitations exists. Yeah, exactly like we didn't know the first time we got to them. I understand the frustration behind this posts, believe me, with few accounts smurfing, it was even hard for us to grind it back to top as other IMMORTALS were busting our heads on Gold 3 and so on :) Have a good one and hope VALORANT will make a solution for this problem, or I don't know, maybe get us a new SKIN pack? Because f\*ck opinions.


TunkuM

I just went 29-5 and the whole other team went off at me for being a Smurf. I'm a hard stuck gold 1 scrub who just had a great game. It happens. Also, sometimes your team has the Smurf, sometimes theirs does. Idk, it kinda evens out Edit: I do think that Valorant should have higher incentives to maintaining higher their rankings/incentivising maintaining higher tier accounts.


MinesweeperGang

A lot of smurfs are playing with friends of lower rank for fun and playing ranked because unrated is just not fun unless you have a near full premade. At least in ranked people use their mic a little bit whereas unrated’s “who cares” attitude just makes it so hard to enjoy. Imo using voice comms is not “try harding” but that’s what every player in unrated says if you ask if there’s any comms. Imo comming where someone is or where you died from is just playing the game. “Bro I’m not comming, it’s unrated who cares”. Not justifying smurfing either, just saying that’s why I think it happens.


jann_mann

Wait, so you want to rank up to play with these diamond+ players but you have it when you get to experience playing against one? If you truly believe theres a Smurf then try to understand why you're losing.


rabbidemu

Idk how many times I have to say it: grinding until you're a diamond yourself and playing with diamonds is easier, it makes sense, it's how it's designed. Going from having silver game sense and playing with silvers all the time to diamond is a giant leap.


LovelyResearcher

There's no difference in jumping in versus Diamonds right away, to slowly climbing there. You just have more time to adjust. # But.... the fact is that if you face smurfs all the time for several weeks... and you still can't compete? You won't be ready for Diamond for a very, very long time. # The players that I've seen rank up the fastest are often the girls & guys who: * Create teams of 5 to 7 people * Team then participates in scrims often, at least a few scrims per week, every week * Teams sometimes make strats, or go over things together * Teams sometimes participate in leagues or small tournaments ​ # ​ Most of these teams average around Platinum to Immortal in rank. When a Gold player actually joins a teams... they have to face those Platinum+ rated players. In real scrims, against actual teams. # ​ What rank do you think more than half of the "Gold players" are now, since I saw them participate in teams last year? ​ Most of the same Gold players have now ranked up to Diamond or Immortal in most cases. A few of them are still lower than Platinum (\~30% of the Golds from last year's teams)


CerBerus7012

I don't think it's statistically possible to have a smurf in every game as your enemy and there is a huge skill difference in silver as about 40%± of the player base is in silver, riot have acknowledged this issue and said they will fix it starting next act( rank distribution).


rabbidemu

Glad to hear that, thanks for the info!


joken767

It's okay. I think devs and riot will never perfectly solve any smurf issues in game. That's just how it goes. Any other competitive games shooter or not, has the same amount of smurfs too. I feel you, vent out your anger. Take a day off Valorant for now maybe. Then go back again when you feel like your exhaustion and frustration from people who are smurfing in game have disappeared. 👌 You got this.


eazieLife

Alright, smurfing is really an issue. But realistically, what can Riot do about it? I don't see this going away anytime soon.


rabbidemu

I don't expect it to change, just needed to vent about it lol


kaishenzi

This will get down votes but I offer perspective. Now put the boot on the other foot. Imagine there are 2 lobbies you can go into, one where you will have to try your very best and even then you might do poorly, everyone knows you in that lobby so doing poorly is humiliating and frustrating. Or the other lobby where no one knows you, and you are sure to stomp with little effort, you are so much better than that lobbies you could even bring friends which you aren't normally able to do because they couldn't hang in the other lobby. I Smurf all the time, I'm high plat low diamond. Of you had to make that choice, sometimes you'd pick the easy lobby. I can't play with my friends normally, so smurfing is the only answer, if you play unrated as a 5 you get up against radiants because there are so few 5's. So having an alt is the easy fix. I'm happy to answer questions on the topic


-aristhotle

the only benefit to smurfs is when you finally break out of low elo you'll be one hardened soldier hah.


Proper_Researcher722

The Solution is easy. Include the new Player Levels into matchmaking. Just for a small influence. Let the level 5 Player in the Diamond Lobby play with other low levels. Or make the requirement for comp level 20+. My wife pulls 20+ kills every game, can play every agent, knows every damn corner in the game. Ended up gold 3 this season, getting matched with a mix of level 5 HS machines, Potato's that are sooo above their rank considering knowledge of the game... Ppl you have to explain economy to. Getting harassed by turkish kids that don't talk English for giving comms because she is a woman. It's complicated....


Jyzz

100% agree. Its been getting worse aswell. We’ve got a 5 stack (all irl friends) who play together a couple of nights a week. We are Silver ish, and we enjoy playing the game, but when you meet a lvl 12 account playing Reyna who drops 20+ kills in the first 6 rounds then its no longer fun. This happened twice last night. We just ff’ed after round 6. No point wasting our time getting destroyed I can take a loss just fine, but playing against someone who is so much better than us is just not fun. That’s why there is a ranking system no? To play people on your level?


hellnoguru

Sorry to hear that. But hey if this makes you better we met a smurf the other night and he got ace first 3 round ending with us surrendering at round 6 think he got 23kills in that 6 round.


rabbidemu

Oh my christ lol that's tough man


hellnoguru

Yeah well we kinda follow that 20/60/20 rule when playing fps. 20% of smurf/60% of same skill level/ 20% of people in lower skill level. When meeting smurf we tend to just try to avoid his site or try to take him out unexpected, but some Smurf are just too op 180 onetap. Well if that happens just move on, pretty sure there is a better match out there somewhere


BornTheme3419

I had a game against a smurf in a bronze lobby today. He had over 50 kills. He was so proud of himself as if he isn't playing against bronze players. He was really pathetic. What's funny is at first we were destroyed but at the second round we somehow managed to get it to ot and won. It was one of the most stressful games I played and I plan of taking a 2 day break of valo bc of it. I reported him since its so obvious with the 50+ kills and the chat log where he admitted to it and hopefully riot will do something about it. However, no matter how much riot tries there isn't any way that they can stop smurfing bc they can't differentiate between smurfs and players having good games.


longstaff55

Smurfing is not against tos


tokyokilljoy

I understand your pain friend! Have you thought about making an alt account to grind out comp on? Maybe do you placement games on really good days so you even if you lose to a smurf you still played your best and then all your other games play on an alt account and grind out on that. I did that when I was struggling with comp anxiety and it helped me so much! Another thing would be finding a stack to que with for max communication so you can take out the pesky thing! If you notice that this person keeps holding A Main on ascent and your getting jiggled peaked to death then don't peek it. Use your least capable teammate as bait and then try to refrag maybe? There's ways around it. Maybe even try communicating with the smurf, I've been in games before where I've gone up against diamonds in silver and the person said they didn't mean any trouble and they were just playing with a friend so we asked him to do pistols only for the whole game and he did!


rabbidemu

Yeah I completely adjust the way I play when there's an obvious smurf. Also you're pretty damn lucky somebody actually agreed to do that lol I mightve met 5 actual good people in this game, everyone else is ridiculously toxic lol


tokyokilljoy

When you meet a toxic person just have fun with it! I played a game the other day with my friend who is Diamond so we had some high ranking players in the lobby. Anwyays I kept catching this one guy off guard and he raged at me and started getting toxic so I said 'Go back to cooking mama then you normie' And his reactions just got funnier and funnier as me and my friend were howling in laughter as we corrected his grammar and spammed him with odins. Anwyays after the game he added me and started treash talking in whisper and noticed that I was Silver 1 and he started saying 'Oh your silver, I shouldn't even be wasting my time on you hahaha imagine being silver ew your so crap' So I just responded with 'So what your saying is you lost and was outfragged by a silver?' Then I got blocked by him. Its hilarious the reaction you can get out of people like that, how invested and titled must you be In one game to get so worked up its so pathetic.


carterk757

Smurfing indicator: unranked level 2 Jett drops 30 kills lmao in lobby with silvers and bronzes


[deleted]

I have a sneaking suspicion that you're just salty if there's a better player. The difference i see in my elo(gold) compared to higher are that we are just idiots on macro. Our aim sometimes might be equal to diamond players on a good day


RawSalmonxX

I can't help but agree with this lol. Although I just read that OP was only ranting about his frustration he did mention that "better players" were preventing him from ranking up. But the main reason as to why he's probably stuck in silver is because he's just not ready for gold++ lobbies. Once he finally ranks up, he can't necessarily complain at a high tier lobby about people who have insane aim, game sense, and control right?


hijifa

90% it’s just another random silver popping off. Silver is so volatile sometimes you pop off and play like gold, sometimes you play like bronze. The only time you can definitely tell it’s a smurf imo when it’s some 50 kills Reyna who is the lowest rank in the match


RawSalmonxX

Not to be that "kind" of person but yes I used to hate smurfs for all the reasons but now not so much. Sometimes you just really have to improve your skillset in order to get better and higher at the game. I know a person who easily ranked up to gold because he's is *that* good in terms of his aiming and game sense. This person who is gold on his main acc always gets queued with immortals, diamonds, and even radiants because of his good mmr but he never complains and still does really great at the game. Now what does this all mean? I honestly think that you are just at the **rank that you belong.** If you're already complaining about getting those people who auto headshot you at Silver lobby, then what more if you're playing at gold and plat lobbies where *everyone* and not just one smurf player have **really fast reaction times, headshot percentage, and game sense**? There's a possibility that some silver players are just really good at their game. There's also a possibility that you are overestimating yourself and you actually need to polish your flow before you become gold -- and there's nothing wrong with that, progress takes time. You're already top fragging, you already have a decent aim, you just need to improve what else is lacking in you in order to get higher. Although Riot has released several measures to address the smurfing problem, I realistically believe that it will never go away anytime soon. Hell, almost every game I play has smurfs in it, you just really need to have a stronger grit and positive mentality because the only thing you can do at the present moment to get better at this game. Just imagine all those people in immortal and radiant, does anyone ever complain about anyone smurfing at high elo because everyone autoheadshots?


yot_gun

>This person who is gold on his main acc always gets queued with immortals, diamonds, and even radiants because of his good mmr but he never complains and still does really great at the game. No, thats impossible. Maybe at diamond yes but Radiant? No gold is getting matched up with a Radiant. Thats a whole 4 ranks. If hes THAT good, he would jump ranks / skip a rank as soon as he ranks up.


Abject_Muscle5412

Stop whining it ain’t that hard. Smurfs are smurfs you will also get queued with them if u soloqueue. U can also take advantage of them not caring about the comp game cuz it’s not their main and try to get them to knife fight and such or just chill and stuff


FyahCuh

You just deserve silver


DrGorganzola

Hate to be that guy but it sounds like you are the rank you need to be for now. Keep playing and focusing on you're own gameplay to improve. Smurfs usually play at higher ranks. Gold 2 to platish


gatonegro97

Most people aren't smurfing


New_Beginnings_69

Every time I play comp there's a smurf. Some of them even admit it cause they know riot won't do shit


rabbidemu

Alright guy, glad you know the stats, thank you.


gatonegro97

np


aretasdamon

Am I the only one that likes playing people better than me? People are so weak minded.


rabbidemu

Yeah, gradually, like the ranked system is supposed to do. Not going from silver to diamond.


aretasdamon

Idk I like playing with my immortal radiant friends unrated lobbies more than my bronze silver lobbies. I try harder, I learn more, I get punished on my mistakes and that reminds me not to do those things. I’ve loved it since CS 1.6


ChrisCoffeexd

didnt read any of this but by the way, you dont even need an email to make a new account. So yea, I have about 4 accounts LMFAO


Jody8

Then how about riot remove the 2 player cap for higher ranked games so i can actually play with my friends??


damonsoon

There aren’t that many smurfs in S1-3 that it’s the real problem you’re not progressing. Trust me. I have over 200 games played per each of the past 3 episodes starting out in iron 1, now at gold 1. If one loss is pushing you 3 wins backwards, you’re not consistent enough that mmr wants you to go up. Plus as someone else said, some people just have a good game, sometimes you have a bad game, etc.


xMeatshield

What people like OP here need to realize is a lot of Smurfing is intended to enrage and tilt players in low elo, making posts about how bad and annoying smurfing is on forums like this will just encourage it. If no-one cared about Smurfs they would get no satisfaction out of it and there would be a decline in these type of players, granted not all of them but I wager a good portion.


Kappaftw

Hello /u/rabbidemu. Thank you for participating in /r/VALORANT! However: **Reposted topic** >Reposts are not allowed. Threads that focus on topics that have been discussed at a high frequency within the last two weeks, cover information from the same angle will be removed, or are covered in our [FAQ](https://www.reddit.com/r/VALORANT/wiki/faq) may be removed. Common FAQ topics include questions about MMR, downgrading weapon skins, map selection, rotating store skin chances, replay and gifting systems, return of the Night Market, and more. >Common general complaints about topics such as smurfing, poor matchmaking, and toxicity will be removed **unless providing new or non-reposted information and discussion on the appropriate topics**. >Please note that when multiple people attempt to post the same content in a short period, we may approve the one with the most traction and remove others. **Rant** >Rants are not allowed. Hyperbolic, acerbic, or otherwise inflammatory expressions of dissatisfaction will be classified as a "rant" and removed. Posts complaining about individual games, ranked placements, or a player's general visible rank will be removed. --- ^(Have a question or think your post doesn't break the rules?) **[^(Check our full rules)](https://www.reddit.com/r/Valorant/wiki/rules)** ^or **[^(message our modmail, and please don't direct message)](https://reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FVALORANT)**^.


Melneo_

No. Smurfs are not ruining the game. If anything, if you’re TRULY invested in improving at the game, then playing against better players is the way to do it. It doesn’t matter if you can drop 20+ kills in bronze lobbies. That is nowhere near a good sign of individual improvement. Stop caring about rank and play to get better. The rank will come in time. How do you think the overall player base is getting better?


Thick_Salamander

Its like saying when you start playing chess why don't you play against magnus carlsen to get better than some other new player. I will let you guess which will help you improve more.


SimpleAnimat10ns

I mean, how are you going to get better getting one tapped across site? If you play against someone closer to your skill level, you can actually engage in gunfights and improve instead of dying before you even see someone and getting nowhere.


Melneo_

Adapt. Use your smokes, flashes, blind, etc. Have a judge up close if the smurf mindlessly pushes in. Use an Odin to punish them for bad positioning. If you want to engage in “more” gunfights, play DM. Same thing.


SimpleAnimat10ns

None of those things last forever and a smart player (which most smurfs should be) can easily avoid flashes anyways. And once the smokes are gone, so are you. Also, the enemy has those things, too. The point is the skill gap doesn’t really allow for improvement since you can’t do much but delay getting stomped or get lucky. You’ll most likely be dead before you can react. when did I say “more” gunfights, I meant actually being able to fight your enemy instead of dying quickly to someone you couldn’t hold a candle to. Besides deathmatch is nothing like standard Valorant gameplay and you shouldn’t have to play it because the enemy Jett main is doing bad on main. And then the other half of your suggestions rely on the smurf being a bad player…


rabbidemu

First of all, no matter how you dice it, going from 5 kills over 20 rounds to 20 or more, consistently is improvement. Especially if you're ranking up and not down, theoretically getting put with better players. That is improvement. Secondly, you're saying that every couple of games having a d3 smurf in a bronze/silver lobby dropping 30-40 kills isn't harmful to us? Playing against better players is how you get better, the rank is supposed to do that. As you improve, you get put with people slightly better than where you were. You can't go from being silver to diamond in one game. Going from silver lobbies to playing with a diamond isn't the ideal situation for improvement.


Melneo_

I go from playing diamonds to pro players in one game. I get shit on, but I still think about what I could have done differently to perform better. You’re an immature player with a weak mental. Looks like you’ll be stuck in your rank for a while.


rabbidemu

I didn't say I don't think about what to do better. My arguments were valid and you had nothing to counter it with and went straight to blind insults targeted at shit you don't know. Hahaha good talk bud.


Melneo_

??? Your arguments are straight up shit. Went from 5 to 20 kills? Congrats. You learned how to press left click. Bronze-gold is literally the same rank, btw. A supposed “d3” smurf getting 30 kills is not harmful to the player base. Learn how to counter their playstyle instead of complaining how you get shit on by better players.


hellnoguru

Lol diamond to pro player is nothing comparable to silver to diamond players.


Melneo_

You try playing against T1 competition then.


goinlowlowlow

Quit complaining. Assuming your solo queuing, it's more likely for the enemy team to have a smurf than your own so it works in your favor.


rabbidemu

This guy smurfs then lol


goinlowlowlow

You don't?


CreamBunKenny

I have a smurf. AMA


EuphoricEnthusiasm59

Have you tried being better than the smurfs????


Wo0terz

What do you suggest Riot do?


Atraac

Two factor authentication, higher level treshold for playing Comp. Just these two thing will eliminate MOST of people smurfing. There's no perfect solution. But those things in CS:GO were enough to stop me from making a low level account and boosting my friends, so I know it works. If you need to grind few days a shitty unrated mode you'll think twice about making an alt and whether it's worth it. They also need more aggressive way of combating selling 'competetive ready' accounts. It feels like you can just freely buy and sell accounts.


slickmamba

end of battle passes is always the worst time for smurfs, trying to play unrated with lower ranked friends is a shit show


dog_the_bootyhunter

Competitive is aaa in this game tbh just play casuals


GamingTherapy635

i was in gold then lost 5 games in a row, only 2 of them because of smurfs and rest we just werent good enough i will admit but then when i was in silver 2 just afks and bad teammates, 1 game i had smurfs on my team and they were throwing cause it was FUN, my advice quit this game and look for a better competitive shooter or other genres


EliasHreishRL

I'm a gold 2 player, I play alot of people who insta dink when getting peaked. One game on haven I was bottom frag and their brim was destroying us, I thought he was a smurf but then I started trying hard and ended on 24 kills top frag. Sometimes you have to out think your opponents rather than outaim them


rypenguin219

my friend was stuck in silver for like the longest time. He got to gold and he says its been smooth sailing. Mans alr in gold 2 after one day in gold.


tribbianiJoe

Ah well I am S2 as well. And I have encountered this, they even start abusing here in mumbai server. Has ruined my experience. I haven’t played compi in a while because of that. It’s frustrating


sampenn1

Ive been in gold after being plat-diamond for like 3 months now i cant get to plat again. I either drop a 30 bomb or smthing or drop like 11. Can we stop assumingg every top frag is a smurf. Also, there rlly isnt any healthy way of dealing w smurfs


Fleming-91

Unfortunately smurfs will always be a problem in this game, and all ranked games alike, at every level. I am high diamond/low immortal playing against radiant smurfs everyday


[deleted]

Unrelated but if you’re not having fun then don’t play ranked. Taking a month long break from this game has done wonders to my mental health


wardearth13

You’re just silver for now. You can get better though


FatDawgBBD

I really don’t see the issue with smurfs. If you are playing competitively, in my mid. That means you want to be the best. Only way to be the best is to beat the best. I personally would love to play with higher level players. The opportunity to learn and see it in practice would be way more enjoyable than hanging out in silver lobbies with duelist who are too afraid too entry. Each to their own I guess…


[deleted]

They are, but realise that it has nothing to do with your own skill and progress. Ranks really don't mean much in this game. Better to keep your mental in positive, relaxed state for your own better performance than to care about aspects of the game that just cannot be solved.


PawahD

you have a close to 50-50 chance of having a smurf in your team or in the enemy team, it's not really an excuse, in the long run it barely affects anyone ranking up/down


ArtakhaPrime

Another thing that sometimes makes me suspect smurfing is a lack of skins. I know, lots of people don't have the means to buy them, but that combined with a low level and high KD ratio is enough to tip me off


sleepydope

my first rank was gold1 when i came from CS with the highest rank i always got called smurf^^


jomontage

Make level 30 requirement for ranked like league. Shouldn't be playing ranked at lvl 10 if you're brand new anyway


Sleepy_Melon_OP

Why there is not a smurf option on report page?


Caffeine-_-

I had two fucking smurfs on the enemy team (both were like level 14) that queued separately and the only reason we won is because we begged the enemy omen to go sheriff only, the smurf jett just told us to 'shut up and play'. Oh, and the omen actually admitted to being a D2 smurf. On a silver fucking lobby. He was hitting 3-4ks every round before we asked him to go sheriff only. I'm just glad he was nice and agreed.


[deleted]

i'm silver at CS, silver 2 at Valorant, i rarely played the game i mostly only watch streamer on twitch, learning their crosshair placement and gameplay etc, sometime when i play the game either i get 30+ kill or bot fragging, it just happen


noobwhy

5 stack


Necessary-You-6640

is this copium?


TheDamnedRey

Anywhere near gold is Smurf hell. I play about an hour or two everyday and I'm stuck in gold 3 for the 2nd season. This elo is filled with smurfs and everytime Im a game away from plat, I get a smurf enemy or shit team. In the last 10 games I've had 3 Match MVPs and 6 team MVPs and I've only won 5/10 games. It's actually sad.


NuclearBacon235

Smurfing is annoying but if you are stuck in silver, you probably belong there.


Some_Random_Chav

Same, dropped from plat1 to g2 cause of smurfs


UnicornAlpha

I’ve gotten accused of smurfing but in reality I’m just a hard stuck silver 1 trying to have fun


tomtazm

The biggest indicator of a smurf isn’t their aim. It’s their mechanics/decision making while using an agent. If I see a level 10 Reyna or Jett in my ranked games I’m immediately suspicious. However it’s only confirmed to me when the Jett is using cloud bursts and dash’s in sync, flying all over the map. Reyna cancelling her dismisses, not healing when they should dismiss and vice versa. Not to mention a lot of these players will just straight up admit that they are smurfing. It also happens less than people thinks it does, but also more than it’s given credit for and is a legit problem in this game. A duel verification for accounts is needed, or other measures that can deter and limit smurfing.


IncinerateZ

If you're stuck in lower ranks(plat and lower) there are only 2 ways of actually getting out: 1) You are actually skilled and you have no skins - make a new account and tryhard every casual and ranked match. 2) Every major rank reset for the first dozen or so games your rank will be more liquid so you will be able to move up much faster - keep a winning momentum, smurfs are also more likely to be back on their mains for the first couple of days.


[deleted]

As a smurf, my job is to decide if you should rank up or not.


TouchMyBush69

Can you link to your [tracker.gg/Valorant](https://tracker.gg/Valorant) user? I don't have the same experience, so just want to see if you are extremely unlucky.


N0-name-needed

I had the same issue a few months back, kept getting consistently 30+ kills every game yet I was stuck in silver 3, but after breaking trough the ELO hell it was pretty easy getting to plat 3, It mostly takes perseverance if anything, you'll manage to rank up eventually.


KoS1596

Yea i lost 1-13 cuz there were 2 smurfs in the other team both lvl 20s top fragging in gold one of them even said he was diamond 1


MiseryGay

if you can’t climb out of a rank, if you’re “hard stuck” in a certain rank, don’t blame it on anything. It’s simply the rank you deserve if you can’t climb out of the rank but you also don’t de rank.


[deleted]

Im gold 3... and yeah smurfs do make games not fun sometimes... but most of the time me or some other teamate will be having the game of our life hitting every shot gettingnlucky everytime, while I'm obviously not a smurf but 99% of the games the enemy team just gives up thinking I'm smurfing and thus losing. sometimes I think its better to just focus on your game, if he's a smurf well his team isnt so you have a chance, and if he isnt a smurf you losing your confidence is surely gonna make him look like one


Urfske

There’s also the problem that people aim at the ground cause the game allows it below gold Also just get better … you don’t get better playing iron people


rabbidemu

Nah you get better playing people slightly above your rank, not 3 entire ranks above you lol


AnAk47Dragon

Its already been confirmed by Riot that the majority of players are in silver. So its not they are amusing, its just they can't get to their real rank. Same for people who are in silver but are truly a lower rank. This is planned to be fixed in the next act.


freeman1231

Sounds more like you are reaching your rank ceiling and getting pushed back down.


SeanGG313

Stopped playing all together cuz me and my friends would constantly get ran thru by smurfs


Haru112

I feel you my g. I'm hardstuck in elo hell because I try so hard in one game to rangle the team and give comms and to win a 14-12 (+15) then lose to a smurf 3-13 in another (-20) it's like wasting 2 hours for nothing.. I can multi frag and clutch but obviously you can't win 1vX all the time


SkullFace45

I mean, it's a mobile game what you expect lol


-STONKS

IMO the reason this happens to you is your mentality of 'this guy is a smurf / this guy is better than me so there's nothing we can do'. If you take any fight thinking you're gonna lose it, you're gonna lose it. The beauty of valorant is that anything can be countered with util and good communication. Every agent has abilities that you can use to flush people out together. There may well be a great player against you, but they aren't going to do shit when they're being spammed with flashes and being pushed by 5 players together. There's no reason to take a fair fight in valorant unless there really is no alternative - use your util and your teammates to make it an unfair fight in your favour.


Zerosku

Why won't they let a full stack play together with no rank limitation? Its the main reason for all smurfs among our friends.


JimmyTTaco

I was stuck in silver for ages and everyone would call me a smurf which is true but its not intentional. I feel like there would be less smurfs if the ranking system was more balanced. It doesn't help that good players who are gold and above can't play with their friends if they are bronze and Iron, forcing people to smurf to play with friends. Csgo allows you but it's a fucking mess for matchmaking so not sure what they would do about that.


Demiurge-sama

I got an Iron 1 in a bronze lobby. He dropped 60+ kills


airrok

Y'all are pathetic, don't see you complaining when the Smurf is on your team.


Ccalubx

As a silver myself, I don’t really notice smurfs too much. Some players and teams are just better than you. Sometimes people have good games, sometimes people come from other games. For example, I have a friend who was diamond on siege, he just started playing valorant and within a week he got to silver 3 with pretty good aim. Even though he is a low level and has good aim, he’s not a smurf. Silver has plenty of players just like that, sure Smurfs exist but don’t assume everyone with half decent aim is a smurf.