Addressing the Issue of Smurfing in Clash: Riot Considers Punishments
In today’s Ask Riot post, Riot game designer Jon “IAmWalrus” Moormann discusses potential solutions to the problem of smurfing in Clash, a competitive mode in League of Legends. While it may be challenging to identify smurfs every time, implementing certain “punishments” could discourage high-ranked players from carrying their less experienced friends.
“There are approaches we can take when we can conclusively identify that an account is a smurf, such as banning the account from playing in Clash again and revoking the rewards earned by that player’s team,” IAmWalrus said. However, caution must be exercised in applying such punishments to avoid penalizing innocent players. The goal is to ensure fair play for Clash’s winning teams.
Riot has already taken some precautions to combat smurfing, including SMS verification, completion of Ranked queue placements, and a behind-the-scenes smurf detection system. However, smurfs are still managing to evade detection.
The proposed measures of banning smurf accounts from participating in Clash and stripping the rewards of guilty teams may seem strict. Nevertheless, smurfs undermine the tournament experience for teams looking to test their skills against opponents of similar caliber. Even the mere threat of permanent exile from Clash may be enough to dissuade smurfs from participating.