r/PredecessorGame

There is a massive problem in ranked right now that I think needs proper investigation: smurfing and intentional rank manipulation.

I’m a Gold player — your average player. I’m not claiming to be some incredible player. I just want to jump into ranked, have competitive games, and try my best to win. Simple as that.

But once I reach Gold 1, something feels seriously wrong with the matchmaking.

I’m regularly getting matched with or against players who have previously reached Diamond/Paragon, but are now playing down in Gold. And honestly, the egos of some Plat, Diamond and Paragon players are something else...

My concern is that some players may be deliberately deranking after reaching their desired rank for the season, then playing in lower ranks where they have little or no incentive to take the game seriously.

This isn't about me being unable to climb. It’s about the quality and integrity of ranked games. The quality of the games has already been pretty low at times, and somehow it feels like it has managed to get even worse.

I've had games where a Paragon/Diamond player started stealing the entire jungle because he died once, seemingly just to sabotage the game for everyone else.

Does it matter to him? Probably not. Looking at the screenshot, he can presumably just do the same thing next split, get back to Diamond, then start deranking again.

I've had another game where, after a few setbacks in what I thought was a completely winnable game, the same type of player simply left the game.

And this is the problem: if you're playing significantly below the rank you've previously achieved, and you don't care about the result because you've already hit your desired rank, you're effectively able to ruin the experience for everyone else in that lobby.

There should be a way of identifying players who repeatedly reach a high rank and then intentionally drop hundreds of MMR/rank points, especially if they're consistently exhibiting behaviour like AFKing, intentionally feeding, griefing or sabotaging teammates.

Ranked doesn't need to be perfectly balanced, but it does need to feel like everyone in the lobby actually has something to play for.

Saved by the bell🍀