Rocket League: What's The Point Of Smurfing?

There’s nothing less satisfying than spending an hour grinding your rank in a playlist and slowly clawing your way up towards the next big milestone, only to then be beaten by a player with no image, no banner, and skills way above the level they’re meant to be at.

You know that there are players in the same rank as you that are better than you because that’s always going to be the case, but that’s not the problem here. The problem is that some people make alternate accounts with the express purpose of playing people of a lower rank than themselves, and frankly, it sucks. Most people know this as Smurfing, and we can’t help but wonder what the point of it is. You know, outside of ruining our fun specifically.

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Who hurt you, Smurfs?

Now, it’d be very easy to slip into vitriol here, so we’re going to get it out of the way. We’ve no idea who hurt you or why this is your way of dealing with it, but we’re sorry, and available for hugs if needed. With that joke out of the way, and it was a joke, what could actually cause someone to make a Smurf account?

The first, and probably most understandable reason, is that the matchmaking system in Rocket League kind of sucks when it comes to playing with friends at other ranks. Rather than pulling together a team of equally mismatched opponents, your foes in most Rocket League ranked games are going to be as good as your best player.

That means that if you’re a low Champ player trying to get a Platinum friend into Diamond for the first time, they’re going to have to keep pace with other Champs. That’s not really something you can reasonably expect from most people, and the only way to work around that, other than not playing together in ranked, is to make a new account so you’re no longer the best one on the team. That way, you can help support and carry your friend up a little, and maybe stop them complaining about their teammates all the time.

The other main reason we can think of is that you just want to feel alive. Maybe you’re bored of coming up against tough opponents and want to feel like a big fish in a small pond again, and crushing your way through lower-ranked players helps you do that. That’s a little vitriolic again, but honestly, the whole thing sucks.

The only other reason that actually stands up, at least that we can think of, is that you’re going for some kind of wild speedrun. We’re here for that, and we respect it. However, we don’t respect Smurfing, and it leaves a sour taste in everyone’s mouths whenever it happens, and it’s really obvious. If you’re a Smurf, why do you do it? Let us know, and maybe we’ll write about your side of this oddity.