I'm a solid 1650 player. I've reached 1700 only once and 1680 or 1690 several times. Last night I reach 1682 and was playing really well. I pulled a 1720 player and he proceeds to dismantle me. Not even close. I know there is a diffence in a solid 1650 and a solid 1700, however, not this much difference. So I look him up on eso (S3xSpert_) the next morning. 1800 with 10 games played and no losses. So i drop the underscore and just look up S3xSpert. 2029! Nice.
Tonight I'm playing poorly. I lose 2 games in a row and get down to 1640ish. I pull a 1600 with eX_ at the beginning of his name. I knew I was in trouble. Sure enough he does a Ra FH and crushes me. I ask his real rating and he says 1900. Nice. So I ask why smurf? He replies that no one of high rank is playing (maybe if everyone would stop smurfing > I know I probably sound like a whiny *****, but jeez! I assume ESO was developed with hopes of matching equal skilled opponents with one another. With smurfing it just doesn't happen. Granted I played 2 nice games tonight and lost to players that were close to or equal to my skill level. But when you simply get crushed by someone that is obviously a smurf it's very, very frustrating. I play AOM to have fun and would like to play against others that are of equal skill. I can't see how playing a 1650 would be fun for a 1900+ player. If you want to simply crush someone, play the damn CPU. If you want to practice your start, play the CPU. The CPU isn't looking for a competitive game. The CPU isn't likely to quit playing on ESO because it keeps getting smashed. I feel smurfing is really bad for ESO. I would venture to say it could be part of the reason ESO's numbers aren't quite as high as they could be. OK I feel much, much better. KOP