#savedota - How to get boosters / smurfs more than reported?

[Der Bestimmer]

Hello,

I now had the 3rd ranked game in a short time of about 5 hours in Herald 5 where the enemy team had an obvious smurf in their ranks. It is impossible to rank up since every time I get a decent winrate I am matched with these kind of players with their obviously high winrates while my team has the skills you would expect from the current bracket at their disposal.

In the last game the guy even admitted elo boosting a friend's Account! I find that disgusting, since Dota offers you every option to help a friend by coaching him in game.
Other times I have Opponents like Mr. Noobkiller and such....

I reported him for Disruptive Gameplay, but in my opinion this is not enough. I've spent a lot of time and effort to get to know Dota and reach a level where I can play the game and enjoy it, but with this kind of matchmaking there is no learning curve for me here.
I had this kind of experience in other Moba's and I hoped Dota would be better in this regard, having you to put your phone number up for ranked etc.. But it seems like ppl like to buy phones if they can bash some noobs.

There are ppl already proclaiming the end of Dota / MobA and I think a big part of it is smurfing and boosting. Things like that would never happen in real sports and if they would it would crush many aspiring athletes on the spot. There is nothing to say against an occasional match against or with better players to see your own shortcomings and get a better grip of how to play the game, but just getting randomly crushed without knowing what is going on will help no new player in any way. It destroys morale, encourages trolling by frustrated players, spreads toxicity and overall just makes the game and the communtiy less appealing.
Yes you can take motivation from getting crushed and getting back up too, but it takes a lot of strength and I doubt that this kind of commitment can be expected from players just to survive a competitive game from the get go. To get better at a game you have to enjoy it to a certain degree and having to walk such a rocky path from day 1 does not bring a lot of enjoyment.

It is not the fault of the Herald 3 Sniper mid if he gets crushed by the Legend 5 Smurf Huskar who can't advance in his own bracket and turned to noob bashing for fun to feel better about himself. But the Herald 3 player will probably get flamed for 30 Minutes minimum by his team for being bad and go play tetris. Also "ez mid" will be in his face for the whole match and post-game. What a take home message. So you just played a game that made you feel worthless an inferior. What a joke! What is to be expected in such a matchup?
At least have the decendy then to tell the team in the beginning that they have a 90% winrate player against their mid and the guy will most probably be crushed and after that the smurf will just wipe them for 30 minutes straight.
How motivated will that new player be to go on with the game, work with his team and improve and above all not become toxic himself?

Having said that, the Dota Community is way nicer than what other MobAs have to offer, I really appriciate that. I just find it sad that such a sign of matureness and overall good will is soiled by a few ppl who show such honorless behavior as smurfing.

I know a lot of ppl who got out of MobAs for exactly the reason of smurfing. I think if there is any interest in keeping the genre alive this problem must be tackled.

Dota 2 is a great game with nice balance and great depth as far as I can tell, I learn sth. new almost every day and evenly skilled matches are enjoyable for the 40 to 50 minutes they might go, loss or win.
I would like to see it go on for many years to come.

gl / hf to all of you out there who play a fair game

[Absche]

Автор сообщения: Venti

Автор сообщения: Absche

Well said! And right, the witch hunt for smurfs is also often dominated by envy that smurfs can do 3 times a year where others fail with in their life time. I prefer to judge people according to the Indian proverb: Don‘t judge any man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins. What would people do that complain about smurfing if they were in the position of smurfs themselves? It‘s easy to say that they won‘t if they can‘t.

I'm quite content with where I am in the MMR ladder, thanks. I don't even have that much of a problem with smurfs; I rarely meet them.

Smurfs are not legitimate players. They're not there to have fun with other players, they're there to have fun at the expense of other players. Attempting to handwave away the moral heinousness of smurfs by saying "well, Dota only rewards winning" isn't an argument. The fact remains that smurfs COULD quit the game, but instead shove their @#$% up anyone they can find so they can feel better about themselves. Are you going to next start defending mass shooters because "a hard life drove them to villainy"?

I think the only thing we really disagree upon is that you think that the high visible amount of smurfs, at least according to this forum and calling Valve for action after a long time of inactivity, are solely the evil spirits of mankind. You just don‘t accept that there are design features in the game that push players to smurfing. The same with account boosting and buying. The same reasons that make people cry in lower ranks, to be caught in a certain rank, with the same bunch of players day on and day out, caught at a stagnation point. No fun anymore within the small borders of the game for a lot of players. Of course people try to evade.

[Zagryzaec]

Автор сообщения: Venti

Автор сообщения: Absche

Well said! And right, the witch hunt for smurfs is also often dominated by envy that smurfs can do 3 times a year where others fail with in their life time. I prefer to judge people according to the Indian proverb: Don‘t judge any man until you have walked two moons in his moccasins. What would people do that complain about smurfing if they were in the position of smurfs themselves? It‘s easy to say that they won‘t if they can‘t.

I'm quite content with where I am in the MMR ladder, thanks. I don't even have that much of a problem with smurfs; I rarely meet them.

Smurfs are not legitimate players. They're not there to have fun with other players, they're there to have fun at the expense of other players. Attempting to handwave away the moral heinousness of smurfs by saying "well, Dota only rewards winning" isn't an argument. The fact remains that smurfs COULD quit the game, but instead shove their @#$% up anyone they can find so they can feel better about themselves. Are you going to next start defending mass shooters because "a hard life drove them to villainy"?

Everyone deserve protection, and if you dont understand the reasons behind those shootings and such you are doomed to have them repeated again and again and again.

Untill one day you yourself become one of them.

[Der Bestimmer]

Автор сообщения: Absche

Автор сообщения: Venti

I'm quite content with where I am in the MMR ladder, thanks. I don't even have that much of a problem with smurfs; I rarely meet them.

Smurfs are not legitimate players. They're not there to have fun with other players, they're there to have fun at the expense of other players. Attempting to handwave away the moral heinousness of smurfs by saying "well, Dota only rewards winning" isn't an argument. The fact remains that smurfs COULD quit the game, but instead shove their @#$% up anyone they can find so they can feel better about themselves. Are you going to next start defending mass shooters because "a hard life drove them to villainy"?

I think the only thing we really disagree upon is that you think that the high visible amount of smurfs, at least according to this forum and calling Valve for action after a long time of inactivity, are solely the evil spirits of mankind. You just don‘t accept that there are design features in the game that push players to smurfing. The same with account boosting and buying. The same reasons that make people cry in lower ranks, to be caught in a certain rank, with the same bunch of players day on and day out, caught at a stagnation point. No fun anymore within the small borders of the game for a lot of players. Of course people try to evade.

They should actually do much more regarding custom games with official support to actually offer fun alternatives to rank play and get to know the game on another note.

Things like Underhollow or Path of the Guardians should be a constant element of the game.

[Nanomashines SOn]

They are fine with boosters, it keeps the game busy.

people want to climb their ranks, but mean bossters destroy game.

others buy accounts, probably valve encourages that and cuts money, or they make more from cosmetics from unhappy gamers.

THERE ARE REASONS, WHY ALL THE YOUTUBERS, TWITCHERS, ETC. DO PUBLIC BOOSTING!!!!!
dont be silly, face it.
There are Video games, where they really BAN ALL ACCOUNTS from Boosters(thats called cheating in most games).

[Pablo - Salta Arg]

Hey wonkers, all I say is that the other day I played against a team of noobs, probably their first weeks, and I killed them like crap.. the match ended fast, like 30 to 3 or something.
The point is that.. poor guys, they barely know how to move, probably they dont know anything about dota.. and they are brutally punished by these players. There is no fun in that...
The system matches them with people that have been playing for 3 or 4 years. Cmon dota, have mercy on kids!!. Won't somebody please think about the children??
This happens all the time, then a Slark enters and makes his prediction, like 40 predictions. Cmon dota!! give me a break with the Slarks.

[Zagryzaec]

Well, dota is the game for strong willed. Let it be a motivation for them to grow, and an example.

[Kompaktive]

Автор сообщения: Zagryzaec

Well, dota is the game for strong willed. Let it be a motivation for them to grow, and an example.

How irony is smurfers don't have the mental to play with their main account in their own brackets. They want wins by going to a kids playground and bully them until satisfied. Smurfer teach nothing but being annoying to low ranks.

There is not a single story of pro player neither in real life sport nor in E-sport that mentions "I became pro by being cooked to scrambled egg constantly by veterans that distinguish themselves as newbies".

There is nothing to do with "sport is for strong willed only". How would you feel if you are a heavyweight MMA champion and suddenly got beaten to death by newcomers that claim themselves as "white belt in wing chun"?

[Absche]

Автор сообщения: Kompaktive

Автор сообщения: Zagryzaec

Well, dota is the game for strong willed. Let it be a motivation for them to grow, and an example.

How irony is smurfers don't have the mental to play with their main account in their own brackets. They want wins by going to a kids playground and bully them until satisfied. Smurfer teach nothing but being annoying to low ranks.

There is not a single story of pro player neither in real life sport nor in E-sport that mentions "I became pro by being cooked to scrambled egg constantly by veterans that distinguish themselves as newbies".

There is nothing to do with "sport is for strong willed only". How would you feel if you are a heavyweight MMA champion and suddenly got beaten to death by newcomers that claim themselves as "white belt in wing chun"?

Wow, I got beaten by a better guy?

There are some things you should consider when you are comparing an anonymous account online video game with organized real sports. E.g., in real live sports newbies never learn alone but in contact with and led by more experienced players. Newbies playing left alone amongst themselves never develop. Thus, a mixture of let‘s say Herald to Guardian/Crusader (normal skill) is just good for developing. A total balance is the dead of all progress. Also, real sports are often organized in leagues with the lower ranked teams almost never have a chance to win the trophy while a few top dogs always carry it home. Dota2 players are fond of total balance though and think they would develop better in a total balance situation.

And mixed gaming is a standard, means main mode, in other video games I know. It is based on random matchmaking, which means you can easily meet opponents that have 100 times more experience than you and they are not balanced over the teams at all. And you know what, players do not really complain. It‘s still fun and you earn experience and progress and rewards besides winning. Players in those games accept that new and bad players have win rates below 50% and top players significantly above 50%. Are Dota2 players just sore losers?

And that‘s what Dota2 is not offering high ranked players: Their skills don‘t matter anymore because they are outleveled, on a high level though. They have achieved several times what others can‘t achieve once in their lifetime but they can’t make it matter anymore. And that‘s because Dota2 is build on climbing ranks by winning. Ranked gaming as a main mode, not an add-on for saisonal prestige as in other games. And the mmr based matchmaking in Dota2 works for all modes (besides bot-coop). You can‘t evade it. It‘s an eternal statistics on your account. You can‘t start from scratch and regrind it.

Smurfing is a phenomenon supported by the game‘s design. After years of tolerance and acceptance, making it prosecutable but without changing the basics that provoke smurfing or even questioning it, is just lame.

[Kompaktive]

Автор сообщения: Absche

Wow, I got beaten by a better guy?

There are some things you should consider when you are comparing an anonymous account online video game with organized real sports. E.g., in real live sports newbies never learn alone but in contact with and led by more experienced players. Newbies playing left alone amongst themselves never develop. Thus, a mixture of let‘s say Herald to Guardian/Crusader (normal skill) is just good for developing. A total balance is the dead of all progress. Also, real sports are often organized in leagues with the lower ranked teams almost never have a chance to win the trophy while a few top dogs always carry it home. Dota2 players are fond of total balance though and think they would develop better in a total balance situation.

And mixed gaming is a standard, means main mode, in other video games I know. It is based on random matchmaking, which means you can easily meet opponents that have 100 times more experience than you and they are not balanced over the teams at all. And you know what, players do not really complain. It‘s still fun and you earn experience and progress and rewards besides winning. Players in those games accept that new and bad players have win rates below 50% and top players significantly above 50%. Are Dota2 players just sore losers?

And that‘s what Dota2 is not offering high ranked players: Their skills don‘t matter anymore because they are outleveled, on a high level though. They have achieved several times what others can‘t achieve once in their lifetime but they can’t make it matter anymore. And that‘s because Dota2 is build on climbing ranks by winning. Ranked gaming as a main mode, not an add-on for saisonal prestige as in other games. And the mmr based matchmaking in Dota2 works for all modes (besides bot-coop). You can‘t evade it. It‘s an eternal statistics on your account. You can‘t start from scratch and regrind it.

Smurfing is a phenomenon supported by the game‘s design. After years of tolerance and acceptance, making it prosecutable but without changing the basics that provoke smurfing or even questioning it, is just lame.

You're writing a wall of text and still missing my point. Beaten by better player? of course, that's how natures work. Beaten by former local champion that CLAIM themselves as a NEWCOMER? That's the definition of smurf... no.. it's a definition of attention deficit and cockiness.

[Zagryzaec]

Yes it may be so, but the question is - are you going to cry, cuddle and die, or are you going to take from this chance everything you can to become better? People play great mobey to have a chance to learn from best players. You get this for free. Local champion? Well thats the best way to see how this game is truly played on your own example.

[Kompaktive]

Автор сообщения: Zagryzaec

Yes it may be so, but the question is - are you going to cry, cuddle and die, or are you going to take from this chance everything you can to become better? People play great mobey to have a chance to learn from best players. You get this for free. Local champion? Well thats the best way to see how this game is truly played on your own example.

Of course I will cry, cuddle and die. I assume everyone would do that except the smurfs. It's an act of cheating, unfair play and unsportsmanship. Even valve stated that smurf is a bannable offense. If smurfs legal, then imagine how prized tiered tournament would be filled with.

Where did you get the idea of "smurf is how you get to learn from better players for free"? Smurf teaches you nothing, it explains nothing, even worse it teaches you the wrong way because you watched Crystal Maiden carrying the game by going Daedalus and heart of tarrasque in Guardian. There are already BSJ, Jenkins, and Gameleap who gives you legit educational content and explains well for FREE.

[Zagryzaec]

If he carried the game like crystal maiden withdeadalys and tarrasque then this IS the right play, and thats the first lesson you need to take from smurfs.

Yes they do not blindly follow guides or traditions. They are smarter.

And while they dont waste their time like I do trying to explain to the people who doa not want to understand and become better, they still give you tons to learn. Jenkins give a terrible content, bsj is limited by core position mechanics and i cant really tell anything about gameleap now, because before Jenkins represented them, but if others are of the same level, then it is also pitiful place.

The only thing you know to learn from smurfs in your games is desire and practice. Yes it is hard, but it is one of the best ways, that actually teach you dota anx alliw you to really progress forgeting about forced 50.

[Absche]

Автор сообщения: Kompaktive

You're writing a wall of text and still missing my point. Beaten by better player? of course, that's how natures work. Beaten by former local champion that CLAIM themselves as a NEWCOMER? That's the definition of smurf... no.. it's a definition of attention deficit and cockiness.

We can talk about it again after you are leveled out by yourself and are high enough to go for some smurfing by yourself. I mean, at the time you have freed yourself from mmr, at least at mind.

[FaZaaa]

Автор сообщения: BossGalaga

Автор сообщения: Card Gamer

The apparent smurfs (mmr difference to their bracket > 2k) are only the tip of the iceberg and only their impact on the gaming experience are kind of mitigated by Valve's halfhearted measures. But all the rest with mmr differences < 2k are widening the skill span in each bracket quite severely and arbitrarily which makes matchmaking unreliable in general.

But the developers and the community want it that way. The only problem is the discrepancy between the expectations of a mislead community and real matchmaking.

Valve has already taken a lot of measures to mitigate these issues. What do you propose? FBI background investigations for every player and every Steam account?

If this problem is because Valve and the Dota 2 community "want it that way" as you say, then do you have an example of a similar competitive online moba that doesn't have smurfs, boosters and solo matchmaking queue problems?

valve obviously hasn't done enough its worse than ever....
you always come out with these bs comments are you experiencing it like we are?? obviously not so its best you don't talk when you don't have a clue what your'e going on about.

[BossGalaga]

Автор сообщения: FaZaaa

Автор сообщения: BossGalaga

Valve has already taken a lot of measures to mitigate these issues. What do you propose? FBI background investigations for every player and every Steam account?

If this problem is because Valve and the Dota 2 community "want it that way" as you say, then do you have an example of a similar competitive online moba that doesn't have smurfs, boosters and solo matchmaking queue problems?

valve obviously hasn't done enough its worse than ever....
you always come out with these bs comments are you experiencing it like we are?? obviously not so its best you don't talk when you don't have a clue what your'e going on about.

You're replying to a comment I made over a year ago. Valve is banning smurf accounts now, some are being banned the same day they're made. Other mobas don't even ban players solely for smurfing.

Yes, smurfs still exist in Dota 2, like they do in pretty much every competitive online game ever, in both paid and F2P games, but you're not in Herald after 8+ years and nearly 9000 matches because you're being held back by smurfs. You're in Herald most likely because you have reached your skill ceiling, and because Dota 2 is a game that relies on reflexes, it's likely that your skills will continue to degrade. Less than 1% of the Dota 2 playerbase are legitimate professional players and those professional players tend to retire at a very young age. It's okay if you don't master Dota 2 in your lifetime. It doesn't make you less of a person.