You might have heard the term “smurfing” if you’ve been playing competitive FPS games for several years. You might have also heard that it is against the rules and that you might get banned for it. But what is smurfing, and can you really get banned for it in CS2?
The short answer to that question is yes, your Steam account will get banned if you get caught smurfing. Let’s dive deep into what smurfing is and why it is not allowed in CS2.
What is Smurfing?
If you play CS2 and have unlocked your rank, you’ve probably noticed that your teammates and opponents have similar ranks. That’s because competitive multiplayer games use a matchmaking system to match players with similar skill levels.
Sometimes, you will encounter opponents with a slightly higher skill level. Other times, they’ll be at a lower skill level. This type of matchmaking system helps the game feel fun. Matches don’t feel very difficult, nor do they feel super easy.
However, players have figured out a way to use this matchmaking system to play against players who are complete beginners at the game. You can do that by purposefully losing more matches and getting a lower rank.
When you play ranked while being on a lower rank than your skill level, you encounter players based on your fake lower rank. Since you are at a higher skill level than your rank, defeating those players would feel like a piece of cake. This is smurfing in a nutshell.
Smurfing Bans in CS2
Smurfing might seem like a great technique to have some fun while playing rant CS2. Who doesn’t like dominating the enemy team? However, it’s not fun when you are at the receiving end of smurfing. For that reason, smurfing isn’t allowed in CS2.
According to the official Steam support page for CS2 game bans, manipulating the CS2 matchmaking system to get a rank that does not align with your skill level is one of the four main reasons people get banned from CS2. In other words, if you get caught smurfing, your account will get banned.
Smurfing isn’t allowed in CS2 because it ruins the experience of new players. Just ask yourself. What would you do if you just started playing a new game but lost every match you played? You’d probably delete the game. That is something that Valve does not want happening to CS2.
Community’s Opinion on Smurfing in CS2
The thing is, there are different levels of smurfing. It is widely accepted within the gaming community that most players have a Smurf account. When gamers want to play competitively, paying 100% of their focus and attention to the game, they can use their primary account.
When they wish to have a laid-back gaming experience but still want to play ranked, they can do that on their Smurf account without compromising the rank on their main account, which they worked so hard to achieve.
Most players don’t have a problem with this kind of smurfing. However, certain players deliberately get a lower rank just so they can play against complete beginners who have no chance to compete against them. The community does not like that type of smurfing. That’s also the type of smurfing that will get you banned.
Conclusion
Smurfing, like hacking, practically ruins the gameplay experience of players on the receiving end, which is why it is a bannable offense in CS2. Your Steam account will get banned if you get caught smurfing in CS2.
