Valve has made a massive effort against ‘smurfs’ in Dota 2, dropping a massive banhammer against 90,000 accounts in an effort designed to improve the competitive scene.
Not only that, Valve confirmed that it traces ‘every account’ of a Smurf account back to its primary account, which has drastic implications for those taking part in such disruptive activity.
There are too many Smurf Dota 2 Accounts
For those of you who don’t know, smurf is an act when someone deliberately creates a new account to play with lower-ranked opponents, making the game easier. This is mostly done by players who already have a high rank.
In a recent post, Valve took a stand by banning at least 90,000 Smurf accounts and has tracked down the original owners, and stated that their main accounts would also be penalized.
Valve has also urged users to actively report anyone they suspect of smurfing in Dota 2. This is because Dota is a game that is best enjoyed by those of equal strength.
It’s the same with Call of Duty players ‘reverse boosting’ – where they hold a series of matches to trick SBMM into thinking they are less skilled, then dominate in the next few games as SBMM adjusts. It’s not a perfect science, but it is a known practice.
