Smurf Accounts and How They Impact LoL

[quote=mastrer1000][quote=Janitsu] I think it's negative because most of the low levels are still actual lowlevels. (from 32 million monthly players to 50 million or something) so it makes them stop playing because they are crushed etc. I basically hate smurfing when my smurf is low level. I either crush people or diamond/challenger smurfs crush me. [color=red]NEGATIVE (as in HIV - positive)[/color] [/quote] pretty much this. also grats for scout :)[/quote]

[quote=tehAsian]I don't see the problem. Most people in low Elo think they should be Plat or Diamond, so they shouldn't have trouble beating Plat or Diamond smurfs. I actually think its a good thing under certain circumstances, like if they give constructive criticism to their less skilled teammates. The ones that rage though, are definitely a negative impact.[/quote]

[quote=throatslasher]I smurf a lot. I really like playing off the wall shit and hard carrying. I never play 'good' champions when I smurf, (except when I'm on an elo job, even then nobody too serious in bronze) so I basically play with an arm and a leg tied behind my back. I do it because certain champs are fun as FUCK to play, but they're not playable at my level, mostly ap soraka mid, ap blitz mid, ahri adc, rengar support, lee sin support. For every 1 diamond player, there are what, 1000+ bronze players? And not all of those diamond players smurf. I think you're overblowing the occurance of diamonds ruining bronze games. I'm sure there are thousands and thousands of bronze players that have either never played against a smurf or have never noticed. I'm sure the 4 people on my team that get hard carried don't mind, and as lasty said, you have a 44% chance of having a smurf on your team and a 55% chance of having a smurf on the other team, so...it somewhat evens out.[/quote]

[quote=PsiGuard]I don't like it when people make new accounts just to trash pre-30s. I think there's some merit to pre-30 smurfs (obviously you have to level one to get to 30, but making more or keeping them low is what I mean) in that you can play with very new players and help teach them without forcing them to play against very experienced players. I think ranked smurfs are okay. I don't really think you need more than one, though. Having a ranked smurf is really nice because it means you can duo with any of your friends without worrying about your main rating. Also I think something that should be kept in mind is that not all smurfs are diamond 1 players who are ready to single-handedly carry games. Most players get to gold/plat just by playing consistently for long enough to climb, so playing in low elo isn't necessarily going to radically impact the course of every game. If there was a really good player who started ranked with good mechanics in silver, you wouldn't say he was a toxic element, you'd say he's earning a positive w/l ratio in order to climb.[/quote]

[quote=Meiyjhe]Smurfing is fine. Like many said, there are already very few diamond players, and considering the fact that from winning the MMR also rises, the diamond smurfs will have even less interaction with the low level players. Of course, there will be games that a newbie get absolutely stomped. As long if that amount just stays as a little amount, it would be a good reminder for new players that they still can improve a lot in the game ;P Though what concerns me more are ban-smurfs. People that are so toxic that they get banned and have to make a smurf account or else they can't play. Those people are really ruining experiences for new players, which is quite sad.[/quote]

[quote=Satella][quote=PsiGuard]I think there's some merit to pre-30 smurfs (obviously you have to level one to get to 30, but making more or keeping them low is what I mean) in that you can play with very new players and help teach them without forcing them to play against very experienced players.[/quote] I did this when leveling up my smurf and taught a bunch of new players who were nice and eager to learn how to play mid assassins (unrelated tip: to avoid toxicity in pre-30 games, play at peak hour when casual gamers are expected to be online. They tend to be generally chill people who just like to enjoy a game of league instead of raging about mistakes.) Unfortunately a large number quit/stopped playing, but one of them hit 30 in August and placed into Silver V. He (she? never asked) is Gold IV now and still climbing. And dat feel when you play your first game on a new account: [img]http://i.imgur.com/tCo74vD.jpg[/img][/quote]

[quote=Bioalchemist][quote=tehasian] Most people in low Elo think they should be Plat or Diamond, so they shouldn't have trouble beating Plat or Diamond smurfs. [/quote] lol yeah well that is another story. i am by no means a beast at this game but i have noticed that a lot of bronzeIV and bronzeV think they are the best players in the world and that they are trapped. this is more often not the case and they really do suck..and unfortunately their attitude will keep them from getting better. [quote=tehAsian] I actually think its a good thing under certain circumstances, like if they give constructive criticism to their less skilled teammates. The ones that rage though, are definitely a negative impact. [/quote] i actually have no problem going against and being beat by high elo players if it is in a learning environment...having one on your team also provides learning IF the smurf is a helpful type of person...which i couldn't tell you how great a percent that is out of the smaller percent that smurfs. [quote=throatslasher] I really like playing off the wall shit and hard carrying. I never play 'good' champions when I smurf, (except when I'm on an elo job, even then nobody too serious in bronze) so I basically play with an arm and a leg tied behind my back. I do it because certain champs are fun as FUCK to play, but they're not playable at my level, mostly ap soraka mid, ap blitz mid, ahri adc, rengar support, lee sin support. For every 1 diamond player, there are what, 1000+ bronze players? And not all of those diamond players smurf. I think you're overblowing the occurance of diamonds ruining bronze games. I'm sure there are thousands and thousands of bronze players that have either never played against a smurf or have never noticed. I'm sure the 4 people on my team that get hard carried don't mind, and as lasty said, you have a 44% chance of having a smurf on your team and a 55% chance of having a smurf on the other team, so...it somewhat evens out. [/quote] yeah i get the playing champs you normally couldn't play also. i could see how it would be difficult to do so at high elo. i wasn't saying every smurf was a diamond I player. i just used it as an example. i agree that not every diamond is a smurf also and that the number/percentage of smurf accounts is quite low in comparison to the non smurfs. but out of the dozen diamond/challenger streams you see on twitch they nearly all have smurfs and sometimes multiple ones that they rank up with. right yeah..i put that in the original post also. it can balance itself out due to the fact that one game you might have a freak on your team and the next he will be against you. [quote=Meiyjhe] Though what concerns me more are ban-smurfs. People that are so toxic that they get banned and have to make a smurf account or else they can't play. Those people are really ruining experiences for new players, which is quite sad. [/quote] actually hadn't thought of that originally but i have seen this as the case on a couple of twitch streams...i agree with you that that is kinda BS and toxic.[/quote]

[quote=Satella]Ban-smurfing is the worst, and the problem here is that if Riot just up and IP-banned people, it ends up shutting out entire apartments/university dorms (and thus pisses off legitimate customers). (I had a brief discussion with a passing rioter in #r/leagueoflegends a while back about the possibility of banning via MAC address and they pointed out that it's unfeasible due to the ease with which people spoof MACs and the number of people who have MAC addresses of all-zeroes or some other non-unique string due to shitty manufacturer practice.)[/quote]

[quote=Ninja Trigger][quote=Satella] Ban-smurfing is the worst, and the problem here is that if Riot just up and IP-banned people, it ends up shutting out entire apartments/university dorms (and thus pisses off legitimate customers). (I had a brief discussion with a passing rioter in #r/leagueoflegends a while back about the possibility of banning via MAC address and they pointed out that it's unfeasible due to the ease with which people spoof MACs and the number of people who have MAC addresses of all-zeroes or some other non-unique string due to shitty manufacturer practice.) [/quote] This Banning Smurfs won't work several of my friends have people in the same household who play on their own accounts. also to add to the subject there are several reasons as to why some one may smurf some points may have already been listed in past points but these are the big reasons I see 1. to beat new players so that they may feel better about their own sub par gameplay 2. to avoid some of their friends who always want to play with them 3. to learn new roles/champions because normal's even at level 30 can be filled with toxic players who expect you to support perfectly even though you have never done it before 4. same as number 3 but more general maybe to just relearn some of the things you missed along the way example people who made the grind to level 30 only in bot games 5. strange thing but some people set up accounts just to get the win of the day or "ARAM Accounts" 6. people who stream often get bombarded with friend request so they make a new account to play on that's in secret, so like point number 2 but more so to play in peace and not just destroy new people 7.some people may make a new account to play with a friend who just started so their friend doesn't get matched with high level players 8. just to be a troll 9. Bragging rights "oh yeah I have 3 level 30 accounts all in gold so don't tell me elo hell exists I escaped it three times!" 10. just to try new things like having a win of the day account where you only get the win of the day so you can try crazy rune builds before you waste them on your main account. Smurfs who are toxic will always detour new players and may even cause new players to quit the game altogether, no new players = no new content for league, well more or less :P[/quote]

[quote=regatto]I don't really care. the amount of actually significantly much better players (diamond 5/4+) there's only a limited amount of players that will smurf. given the fact that the odds are virtually just as high of one of the smurfs being on one or the other team, it's not really that unfair. win some, lose some. if you're good, you'll keep playing after losing to a smurf and get yourself out of your division/MMR/ELO range and progress. I know we're talking about objective results and the impact of smurfs on a wide group of players, but it's really not that important in the large scheme of things imo.[/quote]