I’ve been playing the absolute crap out of Team Arena for some time now trying to complete my “Defender of the Flag” commendation. I’m currently in the Onyx ranking (not sure if it’s due to my skill actually having improved over the past few months or simply a lack of player population). But as many have said before, as an Onyx player you meet a lot of the same people from game to game. I have my matchmaking preferences set to “Focused” most of the time.
So it comes as a surprise to me that I keep getting matched up with and absolutely DESTROYED by Platinum ranked players. Now hold on a second, how can a player 7-12 rankings below you get matched with you AND beat the hell out of you?
Thats when I look at their Service Record and Gamercard. Brand. New. Accounts. Less than 100 gamerscore, yet their KDA’s go from 7.0 to the highest one I saw tonight which was over 26.
Clearly these people were ranked extremely high Onyx or Champion on their real accounts and simply got bored of playing the same people over and over again. OR they’re just d-bags who enjoy having an unrealistically inflated stat line while also making the game completely unenjoyable for those they play.
Its ts not just one or two times I’ve come across this. It’s almost every game now. I always report them for either unsporting conduct or straight up cheating since they’re taking advantage of the system.
Obviously everyone has their own opinions of what cheating is. So would you consider an elite player making multiple accounts so that they can prey on vastly inferior players cheating or not?
Smurfing is technically cheating. And to answer your first question, your onyx because you improved or got carried. Player population only occurs during champ ranks and that also depends on your CSR score.
> 2533274832376620;1:
> So would you consider an elite player making multiple accounts so that they can prey on vastly inferior players cheating or not?
Personally, I report them for Unsporting Behavior and then add a comment explaining what they did. It probably isn’t cheating in a technical sense, but it is somewhat subjective. You may be interested in chiming in on the following thread:
> 2533274983213185;6:
> Two types of smurfs.
>
> The, tired of never finding matches.
> High onyx - Champions usually.
> …
> And the, want to fight weak people on purpose.
> The bad smurfs.
you forgot the types of Smurfs that want to no try hard and to just have fun by screwing around and not playing properly.
> 2535415305234137;7:
> > 2533274983213185;6:
> > Two types of smurfs.
> >
> > The, tired of never finding matches.
> > High onyx - Champions usually.
> > …
> > And the, want to fight weak people on purpose.
> > The bad smurfs.
>
>
> you forgot the types of Smurfs that want to no try hard and to just have fun by screwing around and not playing properly.
> 2535447480293666;8:
> > 2535415305234137;7:
> > > 2533274983213185;6:
> > > Two types of smurfs.
> > >
> > > The, tired of never finding matches.
> > > High onyx - Champions usually.
> > > …
> > > And the, want to fight weak people on purpose.
> > > The bad smurfs.
> >
> >
> > you forgot the types of Smurfs that want to no try hard and to just have fun by screwing around and not playing properly.
>
>
> he also forgot the blue ones…
Contrary to popular belief, smurfing is not technically cheating as according to the game a new account is just a new player with unbelievable beginner’s luck. But I digress, no, it’s not cheating, but it’s HIGHLY unethical. Also, I don’t affiliate with defending it so please do not take it out of context.
> 2533274870445963;11:
> Contrary to popular belief, smurfing is not technically cheating as according to the game a new account is just a new player with unbelievable beginner’s luck. But I digress, no, it’s not cheating, but it’s HIGHLY unethical. Also, I don’t affiliate with defending it so please do not take it out of context.
It would be interesting if some actual smurfs would man up and post their reasons for doing it - it might turn out we’re all wrong and they have a perfectly ligament reason for ruining the game for genuine new players!
> 2533274814165873;12:
> > 2533274870445963;11:
> > Contrary to popular belief, smurfing is not technically cheating as according to the game a new account is just a new player with unbelievable beginner’s luck. But I digress, no, it’s not cheating, but it’s HIGHLY unethical. Also, I don’t affiliate with defending it so please do not take it out of context.
>
>
> It would be interesting if some actual smurfs would man up and post their reasons for doing it - it might turn out we’re all wrong and they have a perfectly ligament reason for ruining the game for genuine new players!
Albeit unlikely they would, I am willing to shed some light on some reasoning as to why smurfs do what they do and why it’s somewhat justified (but not encouraged) and my answer is: Halo 4 was overly casual, and Halo 5: Guardians is overly competitive. 343i failed to reach a homeostasis between the two sooner and created only two polar radicals for online matchmaking and gameplay. Admittedly, there are unfortunate but reasonable speculations for this and that includes the undeniable truth that the Xbox One was losing the console war against the PS4. Halo 4 was the first Halo dropped by MLG and the best way 343i could attain publicity for Halo 5: Guardians and the Xbox One was to receive sponsorships and set up tournaments involved with E-Sports, HCS, and many more. 343i made Halo 5: Guardians almost toowell to where the gameplay is overly dyanamic and unpredictable. It’s showing signs of ‘Red-light, Green-light’ gameplay (reminiscent to Call of Duty’s “stop and shoot” style) along with ruthless grenade spamming and heavy, cluttered aiming mechanics. It’s incredibly difficult to do well in any game without over-stressing oneself.
> 2533274814165873;12:
> > 2533274870445963;11:
> > Contrary to popular belief, smurfing is not technically cheating as according to the game a new account is just a new player with unbelievable beginner’s luck. But I digress, no, it’s not cheating, but it’s HIGHLY unethical. Also, I don’t affiliate with defending it so please do not take it out of context.
>
>
> It would be interesting if some actual smurfs would man up and post their reasons for doing it - it might turn out we’re all wrong and they have a perfectly ligament reason for ruining the game for genuine new players!
I have a secondary account that one could refer to as a smurf. I created this account for when I get home from a big day of work or whatever else so that I did not have to worry about playing competitively and negatively affecting my stats. Halo 5 is overly competitive and does not make room for casual play, in response myself and many others create another account to play for the enjoyment factor. I am forever ranking in gold-platinum level due to solo play on both accounts. The difference is on this account, searching in platinum always finds me diamond and onyx players, for some ungodly reason. I can hold my own against these players when I play smart but it is hardly the enjoyable, care free play I get from playing on my secondary. When I search in platinum on my smurf I find silver and gold players. My last couple of seasons on that account I had a KDA of around 17, even when some games I would do things like, only spartan charges and ground pounds. I don’t understand how two similar accounts rankings can have such varied opponents matched. It is the frustration of playing competitive arena against players of a similar skill level that are an ENTIRE DIVISION above me and then some that causes me to spend time on a secondary account, I can’t have as much fun on a main and I can’t seem to rank at the level I play.
As far as genuine smurfers, they create accounts and intentionally lose matches in order to rank bronze-gold. They then party up with champion level players so that the champ (and his champ level bronze friends) find players of around gold tier, who they walk over. The purpose of this is easy ranking for the champ player, as it is a lot harder to beat a team of 4 onyx-champ players. I do not condone this tactic and think it is detrimental to the community.
> 2535414791138154;14:
> > 2533274814165873;12:
> > > 2533274870445963;11:
> > > Contrary to popular belief, smurfing is not technically cheating as according to the game a new account is just a new player with unbelievable beginner’s luck. But I digress, no, it’s not cheating, but it’s HIGHLY unethical. Also, I don’t affiliate with defending it so please do not take it out of context.
> >
> >
> > It would be interesting if some actual smurfs would man up and post their reasons for doing it - it might turn out we’re all wrong and they have a perfectly ligament reason for ruining the game for genuine new players!
>
>
> I have a secondary account that one could refer to as a smurf. I created this account for when I get home from a big day of work or whatever else so that I did not have to worry about playing competitively and negatively affecting my stats. Halo 5 is overly competitive and does not make room for casual play, in response myself and many others create another account to play for the enjoyment factor. I am forever ranking in gold-platinum level due to solo play on both accounts. The difference is on this account, searching in platinum always finds me diamond and onyx players, for some ungodly reason. I can hold my own against these players when I play smart but it is hardly the enjoyable, care free play I get from playing on my secondary. When I search in platinum on my smurf I find silver and gold players. My last couple of seasons on that account I had a KDA of around 17, even when some games I would do things like, only spartan charges and ground pounds. I don’t understand how two similar accounts rankings can have such varied opponents matched. It is the frustration of playing competitive arena against players of a similar skill level that are an ENTIRE DIVISION above me and then some that causes me to spend time on a secondary account, I can’t have as much fun on a main and I can’t seem to rank at the level I play.
>
> As far as genuine smurfers, they create accounts and intentionally lose matches in order to rank bronze-gold. They then party up with champion level players so that the champ (and his champ level bronze friends) find players of around gold tier, who they walk over. The purpose of this is easy ranking for the champ player, as it is a lot harder to beat a team of 4 onyx-champ players. I do not condone this tactic and think it is detrimental to the community.
Nonetheless, this is smurfing at its core and as I’ve stated; it is HIGHLY unethical. But though as long as you are a similar CSR to your main account, for the most part it is okay. You mentioned that you only do this because your similarly ranked smurf matchmakes you with more reasonably ranked players unlike your main account which matches you with players of much greater skill level. I can also shed light on this as to why: The general consensus is that with each seasons CSR reset, your stats and tracked skills are stored away and wiped clean for the next season. Sounds reasonable, but this is FALSE**.** Your CSR for one season, is INSPIRED BY YOUR PREVIOUS CSR RANKS. I made a forum topic adressing and discussing this, feel free to check it out.
> 2533274870445963;15:
> > 2535414791138154;14:
> > > 2533274814165873;12:
> > > > 2533274870445963;11:
> > > > Contrary to popular belief, smurfing is not technically cheating as according to the game a new account is just a new player with unbelievable beginner’s luck. But I digress, no, it’s not cheating, but it’s HIGHLY unethical. Also, I don’t affiliate with defending it so please do not take it out of context.
> > >
> > >
> > > It would be interesting if some actual smurfs would man up and post their reasons for doing it - it might turn out we’re all wrong and they have a perfectly ligament reason for ruining the game for genuine new players!
> >
> >
> > I have a secondary account that one could refer to as a smurf. I created this account for when I get home from a big day of work or whatever else so that I did not have to worry about playing competitively and negatively affecting my stats. Halo 5 is overly competitive and does not make room for casual play, in response myself and many others create another account to play for the enjoyment factor. I am forever ranking in gold-platinum level due to solo play on both accounts. The difference is on this account, searching in platinum always finds me diamond and onyx players, for some ungodly reason. I can hold my own against these players when I play smart but it is hardly the enjoyable, care free play I get from playing on my secondary. When I search in platinum on my smurf I find silver and gold players. My last couple of seasons on that account I had a KDA of around 17, even when some games I would do things like, only spartan charges and ground pounds. I don’t understand how two similar accounts rankings can have such varied opponents matched. It is the frustration of playing competitive arena against players of a similar skill level that are an ENTIRE DIVISION above me and then some that causes me to spend time on a secondary account, I can’t have as much fun on a main and I can’t seem to rank at the level I play.
> >
> > As far as genuine smurfers, they create accounts and intentionally lose matches in order to rank bronze-gold. They then party up with champion level players so that the champ (and his champ level bronze friends) find players of around gold tier, who they walk over. The purpose of this is easy ranking for the champ player, as it is a lot harder to beat a team of 4 onyx-champ players. I do not condone this tactic and think it is detrimental to the community.
>
>
> Nonetheless, this is smurfing at its core and as I’ve stated; it is HIGHLY unethical. But though as long as you are a similar CSR to your main account, for the most part it is okay. You mentioned that you only do this because your similarly ranked smurf matchmakes you with more reasonably ranked players unlike your main account which matches you with players of much greater skill level. I can also shed light on this as to why: The general consensus is that with each seasons CSR reset, your stats and tracked skills are stored away and wiped clean for the next season. Sounds reasonable, but this is FALSE**.** Your CSR for one season, is INSPIRED BY YOUR PREVIOUS CSR RANKS. I made a forum topic adressing and discussing this, feel free to check it out.
>
> Link: https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/58b8518e005f432381ab99fbcaf931e0/topics/why-do-previous-csr-weigh-in-next-season-s-csr/f97bbc1b-1da1-4fd3-bd15-1bea378e2189/posts
I don’t see how it is unethical at all. I have maxed out my main account. I play with the intention of winning, but I don’t sweat and I don’t care about a loss. I don’t intentionally rank lower than I am capable. I just play halo. I am working on a second req collection since I have all of the unlocks in my main one. I have a casual account and a more competitive one that more accurately reflects my ability. Nothing wrong with playing the game as it was intended.
> 2533274921982810;16:
> You might see less smurfs if we actually had a true social slayer.
I was just gonna say this.
A separate casual slayer would be useful to those who just want a quick carefree blast.
When I want to play and not worry about how I do I jump into warzone - but its really not the same!
> 2533274814165873;18:
> > 2533274921982810;16:
> > You might see less smurfs if we actually had a true social slayer.
>
>
> I was just gonna say this.
>
> A separate casual slayer would be useful to those who just want a quick carefree blast.
> When I want to play and not worry about how I do I jump into warzone - but its really not the same!
I’m pretty new at following the forum but playing since CE.
Halo 3 was the perfect setting… i had lvl 50 on team swat but when i wanted to “just play” i went to social. Why remove something that worked perfect…
I think having no/limited social options really hurts player retention, having modes where you can experience the arena enviroment but not sweating about your rank and stats every game is a essential for keeping new players engaged IMO.