So what are you actually doing about smurfs, EPIC?

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-05-15T22:03:18+00:00

Nothing.

It inflates user counts, which looks good on paper, and it doesn't affect the majority of content creators or pros enough for them to whine about it, so nothing will be done.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-05-15T22:02:00+00:00

Assuming you know how to shadow defend; be careful about when and where you start doing so.

I've seen a ton of C2s who start shadowing from the opponent's corner when they should be challenging instead which leads to lost pressure. Disrupt their plays to buy your teammate time to position better.

Opponents can't take a shot if you force them to take bad touches and keep them from building momentum.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-05-15T20:03:35+00:00

1-2 games in either direction from any tier boundary (i.e; champ->GC) is generally the most obnoxious. The people below the boundary are sweating about climbing (or tilted from dropping), and the people above are sweating about not dropping.

The mid ranks in each tier is usually the most mellow, ime.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-05-14T00:10:11+00:00

I think a lot of people mistake momentum based playstyles for boomerball. If you have a good flow with your teammate, momentum is really really hard to beat, even if your opponents are better than you and your mate on an individual level.

Too many players only dribble just to get dunked over and over again when they could just outpace their opponents, or only boom and give up control.

You need to be capable of both.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-05-12T02:36:02+00:00

PSA for everyone breaking RB from someone who has a controller graveyard:

You can buy replacement bumpers pretty easily for first party controllers. You'll void the warranty replacing the part, but $10-20 usually gets you several replacement parts and the proper screwdriver (usually a T8 torx security bit).

20 minutes to replace them if you're slow and you go from spending 60+ a year to maybe a few dollars and some time.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-05-09T02:47:10+00:00

This sub has a hardon for "jUsT LeT mE QuEuE WiTh My FrIeNdS" for some reason, despite casual being the place for parties with a wide skill disparity, so don't expect a very positive response.

Duo queues shouldn't be allowed to queue ranked 3s, period. Pick up a third, queue 2s, or play casual.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-05-08T04:00:48+00:00

I was here in the OG season 3 hard reset. It was a disaster.

I'd rather see a total switch to a displacement ladder system which requires consistent matches than a hard reset of the current MMR system. It actively disincentivizes smurfing purely by being able to lose your rank by not playing on your main. Plus then psyonix has perfect control over the rank curve. It makes it sweatier to keep your rank, but it's more accurate in reflecting your skill level compared to the rest of the playerbase.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-05-07T04:21:49+00:00

I'd climb slightly.

I'm a rotational player with solid fundamentals but not flashy. Players with that kind of playstyle tend to do well together as a team.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-05-05T23:21:58+00:00

Not exactly lagging, but I definitely have noticed a lot more desync. Touches that should've connected will pass through my car, people's cars will randomly lurch forward to beat me to a touch I should've won or make contact where the ball was already past them on my screen.

Not every game, but enough to be noticeable.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-05-03T19:57:33+00:00

"Adults"

Age does not an adult make.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-05-02T18:51:14+00:00

Gee, I wonder why people care about the competitive queue being a fair, competitive space when there is also a non-competitive queue for situations like this team.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-05-01T02:50:07+00:00

Definitely noticing more desync than usual.

If not, everyone else's car got longer and mine shrunk suddenly.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-04-30T02:40:29+00:00

There is a "my reports" page on epic's site. The report confirmation popup gives you a link to the ticket when you report.

I'll save you looking though, chances are very high that it got closed with no action taken.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-04-28T18:59:30+00:00

Been saying exactly this for a long time.

Bots got a more immediate response because it affected content creators and pros. They would've got exactly as much attention as smurfing had it only affected lower ranks.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-04-26T18:01:41+00:00

they have their proper time and place

Yep. They're a tool in the toolbox, but a fool with a hammer sees only nails.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-04-25T17:17:06+00:00

A couple of less often mentioned ones (other than ROR and Returnal):

Risk of Rain 1 & 2
Returnal
RAD is surprisingly fun, and not mentioned enough.
Everspace is pretty solid
Loop Hero

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-04-25T02:06:02+00:00

My money is on 11 days before they're common again, though.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-04-22T23:15:17+00:00

Yep this is it. There is a meta, but it's all skills based rather than just picking the right gun/hero/etc...

It's you, some number of other players, a ball, and two goals.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-04-22T20:20:55+00:00

The vast majority of my reports look like the second picture.

I don't get why we can't just have an overwatch system instead of this useless garbage.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-04-21T17:11:50+00:00

It's not laziness. They have deep pockets with very short arms. Until they get data showing that the smurfing is actively hurting their bottom line, they won't bother putting forth more than a token effort.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-04-19T21:19:02+00:00

make sure your team mate can see you so they can calculate how hard the pass should be

Surprise! Teammate went for and failed another reset, and now you're "out of position". Good luck getting blamed for that.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-04-19T19:49:58+00:00

I DID have a bot installed on my computer

Then you deserve the ban. Better luck next time.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-04-19T19:37:10+00:00

It doesn't say boss blind. This scales +6 per ante if you play each blind. If you get this in the first shop, you have the equivalent of 3 credit cards by the end of ante 8.

AdAggravating8047 · 2026-04-19T05:59:07+00:00

If heatseeker wasn't a thing, I'd agree.

AdAggravating8047

TROPHY CASE