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Valorant fan and Redditor u/rusty-muffin-tin recently posted a heartfelt message on the r/Valorant subreddit for smurfs.
The original post on Reddit seemed to receive a lot of support from the entire community as the thread received more than 2,000 upvotes in less than eight hours.
The primary reason for the community supporting u/rusty-muffin-tin could very well be because of how relatable the scenarios mentioned in the message are.
According to the redditor, smurfing is fine as long as the player intends to play for fun with their lower-ranked friends. However, the real issue arises when an Immortal player enters a Bronze lobby and stomps on the game with a Duelist. Similarly, trying to boost someone's rank with a smurf account can be equally malicious.
Here's everything to know about u/rusty-muffin-tin's message as well as how the community responded to it.
Why is it bad to smurf in Valorant
The issue regarding smurfs is something that every online multiplayer game with a skill-based matchmaking system is undergoing. However, unlike games where skill-based matchmaking can be optional, Valorant being a skill-based tactical shooter, makes SBMM compulsory for players.
Nevertheless, like almost everything, smurfing has a good and bad side to it. The good side being that high-ranked players can enjoy a chill game of Valorant with their lower-ranked friends. However, the negatives of smurfing definitely outweigh the positives.
Not only can malicious smurfs ruin the entire experience of Valorant for seasoned players, but negative impacts like these might also result in new players not continuing with the game.
Responses from the community did suggest that smurfing can actually be beneficial for new players if used properly. Some members also stated that smurfing isn't the most bitter experience as long as high-ranked players are either trying to play a chill game of Valorant with their friends, or playing agents outside their comfort zone to learn or teach someone.
After the massive outpour from the community on u/rusty-muffin-tin's post, it feels safe to say that smurfing isn't always the malicious tool its made out to be.
Having said that, the bitter experiences caused by smurfing are primarily because of malicious actions made by the concerned players. Therefore, the most effective way for the community to tackle the ill-effects of smurfing is by ignoring and muting players who indulge in such actions.
