Smurfing has long been one of the most potent issues in competitive online games, and it is more apparent in shooter games like Counter-Strike 2. Though the upgrade from CS:GO to CS2 has brought numerous changes like improved visuals and engine upgrades, one thing has remained – the disruptive presence of smurfs.
Since the smurfing issue is nothing new, Valve has taken several steps to alleviate this problem in CS2, and while no solution is perfect, they are trying their best. In this article, we’ll break down what smurfing is and what Valve is doing to fight back.
What is Smurfing in CS2?
Smurfing is a prevalent gaming term, and is a large ongoing issue in competitive games. It refers to the act of a high-ranked player creating and using a new, lower-ranked account, to play against less skilled opponents.
Since there is a significant gap between the skill groups, this gives the smurf a huge advantage, usually allowing them to dominate matches with little resistance from their lower opposition.
The term “smurf” originated from players in older games who created alternate accounts and named them after Smurfs to hide their identity and stomp lower-ranked matches. In CS2, smurfing is often done for several reasons:
- Playing with low-ranked friends
- Chasing easy wins or farming highlight-worthy plays
- Boosting self-esteem against lower-ranked opposition
- Testing strategies or playing carelessly without risk of deranking on their main accounts
While smurfing in a video game may seem harmless to some, smurfing has effects on the game’s overall health and ecosystem, particularly harming casual players who are trying to enjoy the game.
What Problems Do Smurfs Cause?
Smurfing has become a prevalent issue in Counter-Strike, and these players cause lots of problems for the general community, such as:
Unfair Competitive Experience
CS2’s matchmaking system is designed to match players against others of similar skill levels. This idea allows for fair and balanced games. However, smurfing completely defeats this, as a smurf can single-handedly carry rounds and even entire matches. If this were to happen, games would be extremely one-sided, and the team getting the short end of the stick won’t be able to put up a fight for their CS2 ranks.
Frustration for Newer Players
One of the most damaging aspects of smurfing is the effect it has on newer and inexperienced players. Beginners who are just trying to learn the game are often met with repeated stomps by someone with pro-level aim in their first few matches. This can be extremely discouraging and may drive away new players from the game entirely, hurting the growth of the player base and longevity of CS2.
Corrupting the Ranking System
Smurfs are artificially inflating their win rates at lower ranks, and may corrupt the tanking system and how ratings are distributed. Though this may not look like a problem in the short-term, it poses a threat in the long run. This makes it harder for genuine players to climb or settle into their accurate rank, especially if they’re frequently matched against or with smurfs.
Increased Toxicity
Since they don’t have much to risk on their “throwaway” smurf account, smurfs often exhibit reckless or toxic behavior, such as trash-talking, trolling, or playing unseriously, since they feel there are no heavy consequences. This often contributes to a more hostile in-game environment, even for players who are supposedly getting a free win since the smurf is on their team.
How Valve Battles the Smurfing Problem in CS2
To address this large, ongoing issue, Valve has implemented several approaches to tackle smurfing in CS2:
Prime Status Requirement
One of Valve’s most direct anti-smurfing measures is the Prime Status system. To obtain the Prime Status, players must purchase the upgrade for $14.99. This serves as a gatekeeper for the main matchmaking pool, as it offers the following benefits:
- Access to Prime-protected matchmaking: Prime players are matched with others who are also under the Prime status, reducing the odds of running into smurf and throwaway accounts.
- Barrier to entry for smurfs: Buying Prime on every new smurf account becomes financially and logistically inconvenient, as smurf accounts getting banned or flagged can lead to “wasted” money.
Non-Prime players are more likely to run into smurfs and cheaters, which nudges the community toward Prime and creates a cleaner competitive pool.
Trust Factor System
Another behind-the-scenes method Valve uses is the Trust Factor system. Trust in CS2 is an invisible rating that takes into account numerous behavioral metrics to assess the “trustworthiness” of an account.
Some of the factors included are:
- In-game reports (cheating, griefing, etc.)
- Account age and Steam activity
- VAC ban history
- Communication behavior (text/voice abuse reports)
- Match performance over time
While the Trust Factor isn’t designed purely to catch smurfs, it indirectly affects them. This is because smurf accounts tend to get reported more often or use newer or suspicious accounts.
As a result, Valve normally pits players with low Trust Factor in the same game as other players with low scores. This means smurf accounts will get funneled into matches with other low-trust players. In essence, smurfs will be placed into games against other smurfs or cheaters. This is often called the “shadow pool,” as it isolates disruptive players without needing to ban them outright.
Manual Bans via Player Reports
While the two anti-smurfing strategies above are generally automated, player reporting still plays an important role in weeding out smurf accounts. Players in matches can report players for bad conduct such as smurfing or griefing.
If a smurf account is consistently getting reported, those reports will eventually trigger an Overwatch review, and will often lead to a manual ban or matchmaking restriction.
Although this method doesn’t provide instant bans or penalties, it adds an extra layer of enforcement and allows genuine players to be the judge of the conduct.
Banning for Playing on Two Accounts on the Same PC
A more technical method Valve uses involves detecting multiple account usage on the same computer or machine. They can use methods such as hardware identifiers, IP tracking, or login patterns to detect players who multi-account on the same device.
If Valve detects that a player is constantly using a high-ranked and low-ranked account on the same system, especially if it’s in a short time window, Valve could restrict or outright ban the accounts on said device.
This ban approach discourages players from quickly switching between two accounts for smurfing purposes, and raises the stakes if they do so.
Awarding Players More Points During Win Streaks
In matchmaking, if an account is detected to have abnormal win streaks, Valve often rewards these accounts with more matchmaking elo per win. This method ensures that smurf accounts will rank up significantly faster, allowing them to reach their true rank quickly.
By accelerating rank progression for players who clearly outperform their current rank, the smurf accounts will be propelled to higher ranks faster, meaning they will ruin less games in lower-ranks.
How to Spot a Smurf in CS2 [And Report Them]
While we’ve discussed several methods on how Valve enforces these accounts behind the scenes, it’s still helpful for regular players like you to recognize smurfing behavior when encountered. Here is how you can spot out a smurf account and report them:
- Unusually high frag counts: If a new, Level 2 account is going 40-5 in a Silver lobby, that’s already a major red flag. No new player will destroy lower-ranked opposition that hard.
- Professional-level aim and movement: If a Silver account is pre-aiming angles, landing perfect bunny hops, and throwing impeccable utility, they probably aren’t new to the game.
- Brand-new accounts: If a player has very few hours on record and limited achievements unlocked – but they perform like a veteran – it is automatically suspicious.
- Hidden profiles or limited info: Players love customizing their Steam profiles, but if an account is hiding their profile to avoid scrutiny, it is highly suspicious.
If you suspect someone is smurfing, always report them at the end of the match, whether they’re on the enemy team, or on your team. Vote-kicking them is also recommended if you want to keep things ethical and morally right.
To report the player, simply left-click their name on the scoreboard and hit the “Report” button. Then, select their offenses and send the report. It’s super easy, and though bans may not be immediate, it contributes to their Trust Factor score and helps Valve build a case over time.