Smurf accounts have become a big problem in Marvel Rivals, and players are demanding action, with the competitive mode currently being a cesspit.
Marvel Rivals continues to shine, and anticipation is rising ahead of the mid-season patch on Feb. 21, introducing The Thing and Human Torch, which will also see a fresh slew of balancing changes and new competitive rewards.
The latter did cause a stir, with it previously stated that the mid-season update would see a four-tier drop in divisions, but that has now been scrapped. Instead, those already in Gold have to play 10 matches to secure a new Human Torch skin, while those still on the grind will receive both the Torch skin and the Blood Shield Invisible Woman skin when their goal has been met.
Smurf accounts, however, are ruining that grind for many players, as there seems to be an increasing number of high-tier players creating new accounts—then playing matches against opponents of a lower skill level and mopping the floor with them.
A post on Reddit certainly struck a chord with the community, receiving almost 7,000 upvotes and over 1,000 comments. While the topic was geared around a streamer using a smurf account in a group with two other players, the post stirred up discussions about smurfing in general.
Smurf accounts are often used by streamers and content creators for challenge purposes, like rising to Diamond rank using only one hero. But they are also a tool utilized by frustrated players who have reached their peak and will now longer hit MVP and dominate every match. They make a new account and play with lower-ranked players to make themselves feel better.
A few ideas were shared for a potential solution to the smurfing issue, the biggest of which orientated around following a similar approach that Dota 2 has—where devs told players that smurfing would result in banning all accounts.
Another potential solution, which would also help settle the ranks after any seasonal reset, is placement matches and restricting matchmaking for players level 30 and over.
Whether Marvel Rivals implements any of these solutions remains to be seen, but it certainly needs to be done, as being competitive in season one so far has been a bit of a nightmare. Initially, it was difficult to find rhythm due to higher-ranked players being relegated to lower tiers upon the reset, and now it’s smurfing causing the issues.
The devs have at least shown they are paying close attention to how players are feeling, demonstrated by the recent u-turn of inputting a mid-season ranked reset this week. Hopefully, they’re on the ball and have some plans in motion to counter smurfing.
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