Smurfing is an MLB All-Star homering off of Little League pitchers. Or it’s a risk-free way to play ranked Rocket League matches with your lower-level dad. Wait, maybe it’s a practice used to test if you’re stuck in ELO hell thanks to shoddy teammates? In that case, you’re probably just wasting your time starting a second account—trust me, you’re never as good as you think you are.

There are a lot of definitions of smurfing—basically, it's creating a new account in a game and playing against less-skilled players—and just as many arguments over how heinous it is, or if it's even bad at all. When I asked people on Twitter to DM me with their takes on smurfing, I got hundreds of responses, either passionately defending their reasons for smurfing or condemning those who do it.

"Like a Superbowl quarterback joining a high school team, even if they are playing a new position, their years of training and knowledge and skills give them and their team significant advantages over every other player on the field," League of Legends shoutcaster Jake Kelton told me. "If an MLB player wants to practice a new glove, bat, or field position during spring training, does he join a freshman college team? No, he plays against equally skilled players and has to play catch-up to return to form on his new role."

Others think it’s all about semantics: "The biggest issue with ‘smurfs’ right now is that people are wrongly equating a smurf with an alt account," a Twitter user named Mark M. said. "If I have a GM healer account in Overwatch, my plat DPS account isn’t a smurf. It’s a correctly placed alt account."

And then there’s the people who just want to utterly destroy lower level players.

"I created smurfs to play against lower ranks for memes and fun."

"In all honesty, it was fun as hell smoking people who were new to the game."

"I made a smurf account once on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive because I felt the need to just destroy silvers. I got mad when I was paired against other smurfs because I was toxic."

The majority of players told me they simply use their alternate smurf accounts to play with friends who are lower-level than them. And that’s why I do it, too. I initially bought a smurf account to see if I could place higher in Overwatch than my main account—to test if ELO hell is real. 

Nearly everyone—developers and players, professional and casual—has a different definition for what it is to smurf. And smurfing affects different games differently, making it hard to nail down when it's bad and when it's not. Still, I talked to people who make and play some of today's most popular online games, including League of Legends, Overwatch and Rainbow Six Siege, to give it a try.

Why players smurf

A major grey area for smurfing is the practice of a higher-skilled player using a lower-level account so they can play with friends. Tom Gerbicz, a 25-year-old League of Legends player, said he created his first smurf a few years back so he could play with friends new to the game. "Given the notorious community and learning curve, I thought it would help them learn to play without the pressure of playing against higher-skilled players, while still allowing us to play together," Gerbicz said.

He added that he never used the account in ranked play, playing as he normally would, but typically in a more supportive role to let his friends learn the game better. "The main distinction for me is, why are you playing at lower levels?" he said. "If it’s for the kick of an easy victory, it’s a different motivation entirely. I don’t agree with smurfing just to stomp lower-skilled players, as it cheapens the experience for everyone involved."

It was important to many of the 100 or so players who contacted me that their friends be able to play against others just learning the game too. But it’s not only for altruistic reasons: the higher-skilled player using a smurf also ensures that their main account won’t be affected by their lower-level friends weighing them down.

Some people reached out to me and felt like smurfs were a waste of time. Why pay extra money just to preserve your ranking? But for a lot of players, those numbers matter. And having an extra account, whether it’s to use to play with friends who aren't as good as you or just to play without extra pressure, can make a game feel less serious. And then it’s less stressful.

Allison Rossi, a 27-year-old diamond-level Overwatch player, has multiple accounts. Her two main accounts are ranked similarly, but reception from other players makes having separate accounts useful. "The benefit of a new account was that nobody was forcing me to play what heroes were technically my mains," Rossi said. "I no longer get comments like, ‘Oh, you have X play time on this hero, so you have to play it. If you don’t play your mains, you’re throwing.’"

Rossi said these assumptions based on her hero play time happened most on her main account when she used voice chat—players heard a woman’s voice and made assumptions that she can only play supports.

Another benefit, Rossi said, is that she’s not ruining other people’s games by trying out heroes she doesn’t know how to play. Sure, she could jump into quick play, but Rossi said it’s a "terrible" place to practice Overwatch. "There’s no coordination, communication, or team building," Rossi said. "It’s about picking whatever you want. How can I possibly learn to practice a newly-released hero in that environment?" Instead, she uses her lower-level practice account for trying out heroes in ranked games. 

Things are slightly different for professional players. "It’s almost impossible for me to play [Rainbow Six Siege] without getting recognized, meaning my teammates will never shout at me or harass me, which I’m thankful for," said Rainbow Six Siege pro player Niclas "Pengu" Mouritzen, who plays for top Siege team G2 Esports. But the bad comes with the good: "My opponents often try extremely hard to beat me, which is a double-edged sword. I like a challenge, but I don’t want the entire purpose and reward of the game to change simply because I’m in it. What about my teammates?"

Anonymity also is an outlet for pro players to try out new heroes or strategies secretly. Pengu said that it was once common in games like League of Legends for pros to smurf to try out champions without airing their test runs to the world. Likewise, pros often use smurf accounts to try out the meta a few ranks down from the top—an interesting way to develop and learn from off-meta trends in other ranks.

"Going a few ELO steps down to experience the 'off-meta' or lower ELO meta surely won’t hurt and can be learned from in multiple games," Pengu said. "Often at the highest ranks, it’s a very strict meta, [with players] being forced to do certain things simply because it’s 'better.'"

For most of us, anonymity isn’t a problem. There’s no one who wants to steal my gold-level strats. (But if any Overwatch League teams want to learn my solo Mei strategy, hit me up. It works.) No one notices when they’re matched with me in-game—unless someone recognizes my brilliance from a previous game. ("Hey, aren’t you the idiot who kept trying to lone wolf it with Mei last round?") But for professional players, the anonymity can ease some of the pressure of public life on the ladder.

How developers deal with smurfing

Not all developers are taking the same approach when it comes to dealing with smurfing. In Overwatch, Blizzard doesn't consider smurfing inherently bad. It only becomes a punishable offense when a smurf account is used to do things that are against the rules, like boosting or throwing.

Game director Jeff Kaplan wrote in 2017 that there’s a bad perception of smurfing, but in reality, it wasn't really an issue in Overwatch. Kaplan defined smurfing as "an experienced player buying a second account to reset their account progress and internal matchmaking rating."

"For example, a few weeks ago one of the pro Overwatch players created a smurf account and was streaming from it," Kaplan wrote. "We were able to watch his MMR internally and compare it against his ‘main’ account. Within 15 games, the MMRs were equal. I know there is a very bad perception of smurfing. But the reality is [that] skilled players are moved rapidly out of lower skill situations."

In Overwatch's case, a smurf mainly becomes problematic when it’s used to do things that are against the rules. Say, a high-leveled player throws games to keep the MMR low on a smurf account so they can keep crushing low-level players. Or they go on a rampage with a fresh account to boost lower-skilled players into higher tiers.

Other studios aren't as forgiving. Rocket League developer Psyonix has listed smurfing as cheating in a 2016 banning policy notice posted on its website and it is something players can report in-game.

"The length of player bans for any valid reason is also at our discretion and could include permanent bans if appropriate," Psyonix wrote. "Furthermore, the more often you are banned, the longer each subsequent ban will be, including an eventual permanent ban."

Players on the game’s Steam forum, still, are confused whether it’s against the rules or not—smurfing is hard to prove, which makes it a grey area for many. Psyonix declined to be interviewed for this article.

Riot Games has been more explicit in not endorsing smurfing in its game, but hasn't banned the practice altogether, either. League of Legends lead meta game systems designer Ed Altorfer says that smurfs are defined as something "you’re doing whenever you create a second (or third, or fourth) account to play on." Altorfer said that only a minority of players use smurf accounts to "stomp low skill games or grief without repercussions," and that there are plenty of good reasons to create a smurf, including trying out new champions or being nostalgic for the early progression of the game.

Like in Overwatch, playing with lower-level friends is another reason people make smurfs in League of Legends. League of Legends restricts low level players from playing with higher level accounts. Accounts are free, so making a new one is painless.

"Regardless of the reasons for smurfing, my opinion is that overall it makes the experience worse for other players," Altorfer said. "In a competitive game like League, we rely on matchmaking to put you into games you have a fair shot at winning. In order for us to do that, we use your hidden matchmaking rating, which is a number that describes how good you are based on all the matches you’ve played. When a player plays on a different account, we don’t have any of that information, so we have to recalculate it from scratch over many games. That hurts our ability to make fair games in the meantime, which makes games feel more frustrating and less winnable."

Public perception swings wildly in both directions, with some vehemently against smurfing—convinced it ruins all their games—and others who openly smurf for a ton of different reasons. Not all of those reasons are malicious, but there's no grey area for folks who smurf solely for personal gratification—as Pengu put it, "pro players smurfing in the lowest rank to feel good because they can 1v5."

"Esports is mainstream" is rapidly becoming the "PC gaming is not dead" of the new millennium. In case there was any lingering doubt, an upcoming episode of The Simpsons (which is now in its 30th season, holy cow) will see Bart become a rising star in pro gaming, while Homer takes on the role of his coach. 

To ensure an appropriate level of "authenticity" in the episode, entitled "E My Sports," the producers consulted with League of Legends studio Riot Games, specifically esports co-heads Whalen Rozelle and Jarred Kennedy, and LCS commentator David "Phreak" Turley. Riot said their participation will help ensure "the experience depicted in the episode was authentic to the players, fans and coaches who compete professionally in League of Legends."' 

A tweet from longtime Simpsons writer Al Jean indicates that Bart won't be playing Bonestorm or Super Slugfest in the episode, but a six-player something-or-other called Conflict of Enemies. 

I'm not sure how accurate a portrayal of competitive gaming we can expect from the show that gave us The Boot, but if nothing else Riot's participation could lead to a few fun Easter eggs, and maybe a surprise cameo or two. It could be fun—at least until Lisa ruins everything with her dreary commitment to "reason" and "rational thinking." The episode will air on March 17.

It's only three months into 2019 and already the year is off to a banging start. There are so many excellent new games to play like Devil May Cry 5, Resident Evil 2, Metro Exodus, and even more on the horizon. But I'm not playing any of those games. For some damn reason I've decided now is the perfect time to become hopelessly addicted to League of Legends.

Help me.

I've somehow plunked around 25 hours into it in just five days. That's enough to be a part time job. And even though I intend to use my weekend productively, deep down inside I know the sun will set on Sunday with me in my underwear, unshowered, unshaved, and untouchable in bottom lane as I snipe another garbage-tier Tristana who thought they could step to me as Caitlyn.

When I was a kid my parents told me if I played Dungeons and Dragons I'd end up worshiping Satan and using my siblings as a blood sacrifice to cast black magic. That kind of hyperbole reminds me of the way people talk about League of Legends. But diving in has been a surprising experience—in a very good way. It's not nearly as bad as comment sections say it is. Here's what I've learned so far.

Players aren't as toxic as you'd think...

Getting into MOBAs is a bit terrifying. They're hopelessly complex and hotly competitive—a perfect recipe for inflamed egos and unsportsmanlike behavior. League of Legends' reputation in the gaming community would have you believe it's a savage tribe of sociopaths who spew filth that would make your dear old gran faint. But my interactions with other players have been far from hostile. Hell, sometimes they're downright pleasant. The worst I've had to deal with is my team's exasperated comments when I'm playing especially poorly and, I mean, I get it. I suck.

Compared to Overwatch, where voice chat is ubiquitous and opens a door to all sorts of ugly exchanges, League of Legends' ill-behaved seem to have less opportunities to ruin my fun. A ping system supplants the need for most communication, and any actual talking is done via text chat. A good portion of players I've met have been pretty courteous even when we lose. That's partly because, starting out, I'm playing with people who are just as awful as I am (and the occasional "smurf" account). I've seen players chime in that they don't know what they're doing and to have others step up to provide a bit of guidance.

That said, I haven't yet unlocked League's ranked mode. If Overwatch and other games are anything to go by, that's probably where players are far less forgiving and more prone to lashing out. But, right now, League's negative community reputation feels a bit overblown. Or maybe other games have just become so much more toxic that someone calling me a dummy for getting ganked feels quaint. 

...But I totally understand why some people get frustrated 

Because holy hell can League be a frustrating game. There are matches where I feel like a high school football team going up against the Patriots. It's a bloodbath that we can't escape for 15 minutes (the minimum match length before LoL lets you initiate a surrender vote), and only if the entire team agrees to surrender, which is rarely the case because there's always one hopeless optimist who refuses to throw in the towel.

Where I can shake off the frustration of a close loss in Apex Legends as long as the finale was at least thrilling, League of Legends' long match times are so emotionally exhausting I feel demoralized even after a well-fought game. It's a unique kind of despair to dominate for half an hour only to have the opposing team swing back and slowly erode our lead over the next 30 minutes until we lose—especially when players on both teams are prone to go AFK or quit matches in League's casual mode.

Even though I've just started out, I get why players get a little exasperated with other new players who obviously booted up the game without the faintest idea of what they're supposed to do. Because League is such a team-oriented game, seeing your mid-lane mage dive on the enemy tower three times in a row and die is aggravating. And it's not like you can just type out an entire guide to that player when you have your own lane to deal with. There's a reason why people get so upset about unnecessary deaths.

League is a game of highs and lows, and the moments when my team works as a cohesive unit easily make up for the matches where things go wrong. While it's fun to play ADC (the champion who starts weak but becomes unstoppable later) and steal the show with insane kills, I find it just as rewarding to be the support who protects and nurtures that player to greatness. Seeing them obliterate the entire enemy team is like watching your child walk across the stage to receive their diploma, only I'm in my underwear and listening to Prozzak (you can't play League and not listen to bad electronica). I imagine League's ranked mode only amplifies these peaks and valleys, but I like playing a multiplayer game that demands such a big investment in a given match. It creates palpable tension and stakes.

There's a lot of dumb free-to-play nonsense that's easy to avoid 

Plenty of nuances between League of Legends and Dota 2 end up making a world of difference in how each game plays, but none is bigger than their financial models. Dota 2 gives you every character for free but charges for cosmetics, whereas League of Legends offers a free weekly rotation of champions but requires you to grind or purchase the rest. Of course Dota 2's model is much friendlier, but I actually appreciate League's drip-fed roster because it stops me from feeling overwhelmed by too much choice. I'm sure there will be a tipping point where I'll feel pressured to grab my wallet, though.

Even so, I wouldn't call League stingy. I've permanently unlocked 11 champions so far (not including the free rotation of 10 champions) and have earned enough currency to buy some of the cheaper champions when I want to. Where things get a little overwhelming is when it comes to all the secondary crafting resources that can be used to buy skins, new color palettes, and other cosmetics. That kind of stuff is fine, but it just doesn't matter to me like it does in other games so it's easy to ignore it and focus on learning new characters and getting better overall. I can fuss over what costume I have after I understand how the hell to "freeze a lane" and when to do it.

One caveat to that is rune pages, which are a kind of meta customization system that let's you choose a few passive buffs to give your champion. It's a very granular system that is easy to ignore but pretty essential to creating effective builds. The problem is that you only have two customizable rune pages and every champion has their own combinations of runes that best suit them. You'll either need to buy more pages (which are stupidly expensive) or constantly adjust the two you have for each champion you intend to play. It's dumb. 

But there's a lot of dumb lore that isn't easy to avoid 

These days, it feels like most games dream of having a whole subgenre of YouTubers whimsically describing the subtext behind obscure passages crammed into item descriptions and tool tips. The kids can't get enough of it, I guess. But let's be real: Lore is usually dumb. And no lore is dumber than League of Legends lore.

I don't mind that it exists. What annoys me is how Riot throws it in my face in lieu of providing information that would, you know, help me be better at their very complex and difficult game. More often than not, loading screen tips will contain completely useless nuggets of info like "Did you know? Caitlyn's hextech rifle was crafted by her parents for her twenty-first birthday." or "Above the city of Nashramae stands a replica Sun Disc, built long ago to honor the lost legacy of ancient Shurima."

Gee, thanks Riot. I'll be sure to remember that when Master Yi ganks me for the seventh time.

Clicking the "Learn More" button on a champion's profile takes me to League of Legends' lore website where I can read overly-long biographies and entire short stories dedicated to that character or just marvel at very detailed (and sexualized) concept art. But actual information about that character? Oh, we'll just put in a tiny, nondescript box that links you to a different LoL website.

I'm sure I've pissed off some dedicated League fans who adore its lore and appreciate knowing the motivations of an engineer who honestly just looks like my aunt's bijon shih tzu. But all of this seems so superfluous in a game where several characters are actually in a kpop group and if I hit enemies at just the right time gold pops out of their head.

That lore might make my eyes roll, but I'm enjoying pretty much everything else about League of Legends. I might not argue its virtues compared to Dota 2, but learning its complexities has excited that part of my brain that also fawns over Path of Exile and Warframe.

League of Legends has long felt like an impenetrable subculture in PC gaming. I know millions of people play it, but I'm probably not alone in acknowledging that most of what I know about League has been hearsay. The truth is that millions of people are playing League of Legends because it's actually super fun and rewarding—not because they're servants of Satan (that I can tell, at least). It's 2019 and I just started playing League of Legends and I'm having a great time. It's not as hard to get into as people would have you think. Just read a champion guide first. Please.

Six months after an in-depth Kotaku report revealed a pervasive "bro culture" at League of Legends studio Riot Games, the company has hired Angela Roseboro, formerly of Dropbox, as its first Chief Diversity Officer. Roseboro will oversee all diversity and inclusion activities at the studio, as well as the creation of new programs aimed at encouraging a more inclusive culture, and will "lead the recruiting team in driving inclusivity in Riot’s hiring and talent sourcing processes." 

"I've had the opportunity to meet some incredible Rioters who are passionate about creating a culture where everyone thrives together. I was so taken by the heart and soul of this company and—in spite of setbacks or hurdles—I'm excited to be part of this journey," Roseboro said in a statement. "I can't wait to get started and to do my part to make sure we have a culture that embraces the uniqueness of every Rioter and a community where everyone feels a sense of belonging." 

Riot posted an update on "Diversity, Inclusion, and Riot Culture" earlier this week, detailing the efforts it's made so far to improve its workplace culture. That includes "revisiting cultural definitions" at the studio, bringing in third-party consultants to make recommendations and audit performances, improving its internal investigation processes, and improving its recruiting, training, and education systems. 

The studio also said that it's already investigated and acted on "dozens of new claims" since the initial allegations were made public, "and took appropriate action in each case, including cutting ties with Rioters at almost all levels of the company where appropriate." 

Prior to joining Riot, Roseboro served a similar role at Dropbox as the company's Global Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. "We’ve been searching for the right person to help us become a positive force for D&I in our industry and beyond, and I’m thrilled to welcome Angela to the team," Riot chief people officer Emily Winkle said. "I know I speak for the entire Riot leadership team when I say that we can’t wait for her to start." 

In September 2018, Riot hired former Uber senior vice president of leadership and strategy Frances Frei to help guide the company's internal changes. Riot was sued in November 2018 over allegations of gender discrimination.   

If I wanted to become a videogame artist, Riot Games probably wouldn't be my first choice of instructors, but even if I'm pretty sure this Champion is just Iron Giant with boxing gloves, Riot's 'So You Wanna Make Games' video series is pretty good, offering a basic overview of the various fields aspiring game artists can pursue. 

The first episode is embedded above, and you can find all the videos in this playlist. They cover everything from VFX and UI design to concept art and animation, running through the basic principles that guide each field (anecdotally, I hear VFX artists are in demand).

You won't find anything instructional in the videos, but a glimpse into the processes each artist goes through as they build fireballs and environments and health meters. If you have an interest in creating art for games but don't know where to start, the series, which was posted last month, is worth a watch.

A new League of Legends hero named Sylas the Unshackled is coming to the game in the 9.2 patch that's set to go live tomorrow. Sylas brings "merciless magical attacks" to the fight, including an ultimate ability that enables him to steal an opponent's ultimate and use it himself. 

Sylas' Chain Lash attack damages and slightly slows enemies, and also causes a delayed explosion (with an increased slow effect) where they intersect. Kingslayer is a powerful lunging attack that damages enemies and heals Sylas, with an increased effect if either Sylas or his opponent have low health, while Abscond/Abduct enables him to dash a short distance and shield himself; recasting the ability within a short timeframe will enable him to use his chains to stun and damage enemies, and pull himself toward them—sort of a reverse Scorpion maneuver. 

His passive, Petricite Burst, causes his chains to whirl around him and damage nearby enemies in his next basic attack after casting a spell, and his ultimate, appropriately named Hijack, lets him take other ultimates for his own use. Opposing players can still use their ultimates, even if Sylas has swiped it; he can steal an opponent's ultimate ability anytime Hijack is off cooldown, but he can't repeatedly swipe the same ultimate in quick succession. 

"By the late game you can seize multiple ultimates in quick succession, using the enemy team’s own strength against them and bringing your revolution to a violent conclusion," Riot said on the Champion Reveal page. 

"You can’t Hijack the same enemy for a while after you take their ability, so plot out the full revolt before you start stealing ults. There’s no rush to use what you have, but hesitate too long and you’ll miss opportunities to unleash even more ultimates." 

Sylas the Unshackled is set to go live Thursday, when the League of Legends 9.2 update comes off the PBE where it's been in testing. Riot also recently teased new things for LoL in 2019 that we'll be hearing more about soon, and there's also a new "Awaken" cinematic that you might enjoy too. We'll update with the full 9.2 patch notes when they're posted. 

Riot Games has posted a sneak peek at what’s coming to League of Legends across 2019, teasing future game modes, the new Marvel comics, tournament venues and a new support champion. Check out the video below. 

Here’s everything that was teased in the video:

•  New game modes 
•  Upcoming Marvel comics 
•  Location of MSI and Worlds 
•  Preview of next Versus event 
•  An update for Kayle and Morgana 
•  Returning skin lines 
• New support champions

The season kicks off tomorrow, so expect more details soon. In the meantime, check out the very flashy Awaken cinematic.

League of Legends has released a new cinematic, Awaken, to celebrate the Ranked 2019 season, which kicks off on this week.

I'll be honest, I'm not particularly familiar with League of Legends—I did install it once but don't think I got as far as playing an actual game—but despite my ignorance, the cinematic looks absolutely stunning.

Following three separate stories, the cinematic delves into what can only be described as a fight to the death for each character portrayed, with pristine visuals and a whole handful of badassery thrown in. All of this is brought to life by the vocals of Valerie Broussard and violinist, Ray Chen.

While the music may not be quite as upbeat as the recent offerings from K/DA—you know, that K-Pop band that doesn't actually exist—it's upbeat and 'pop-y' enough to fit right in with the theme. But don't take my word for it; you can check out the full cinematic for yourself, above.

The League of Legends Ranked 2019 season kicks off on January 24.