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Valorant has become one of the most popular combat games since it launched in 2020. Exhilarating and free to play, everyone loves the variety of characters and their special abilities. However, one practice that many players feel is destroying the fun and competitiveness of the game is smurfing.
What is Smurfing?
The Valorant ranks guide has a tiered structure that encourages players to develop excellent gaming skills. The practice of smurfing is where a player from a high rank creates an additional account in order to play opponents with a much lower rating. It quickly turns a match into a one-sided affair. The secretly high-ranked player inevitably demolishes his opponent through his range of superior skills.
Why is Smurfing Bad?
Valorant requires a great deal of practice to master the weapons and the agent’s specific skills. Even working as part of a team takes time to achieve a degree of competence. When players are smurfed, it robs them of a challenging game. It also takes away the opportunities they need to develop their own skills. Smurfing prevents lower-ranked players from making progress.
Why do Players Enjoy Smurfing?
Winning is a great confidence builder, making players feel good about themselves. However, when players sudenly reach a higher level, they may find themselves matched with competitors who are agile, expert tacticians. It can take time to adjust to the demands of the next tier. Players who have won promotion can suddenly feel demoralized, then covertly play in another guise to restore their self-esteem. On the other hand, some smurfing culprits may simply like bullying other players.
Is Smurfing Easy in Valorant?
As a free game, players only need to register a username backed by an active e-mail address and a date of birth. It is very easy to create additional accounts with Riot Games, the developers of Valorant. They are aware of the problem and are actively taking steps to prevent it. Only recently, new software was tested that evaluates a player’s skills. It identifies smurfs by their unusually competent skills compared to their ranking. The system doesn’t apply to the Immortal tier or those above it as the opportunities for smurfing suddenly decrease. Players can be banned for smurfing in spite of claiming they just had a few lucky breaks when playing.
Conclusion
Perhaps smurfing in Valorant isn’t as widespread as some critics have reported, but it is a problem that is forever recurring. There is little to be gained from smurfing apart from giving weak-minded players a much-needed ego boost. The point of playing an exciting shooter game is facing the challenges it sets. Those who play fair can justifiably feel pleased with their performance when breaking through a skill barrier they felt they would never overcome. Anyone who does smurf is only deluding themselves instead of having the determination to play challenging matches at a higher level.
