I'm back with a goal to give you a post at least 3 times a month! Not really a New Year's resolution, but something I'm going to do my best to hold up to, without stressing about it too much. ;-) Let us begin.
Cheaters in multiplayer games are a cancer for gaming communities in general, breeding paranoia and negativity, and the only thing you can really do is learn to live with them, as in the end, it's all about trying to outsmart a worse player who has "better gear". Why get mad over someone who above all else is wasting their own time, not truly having fun or learning anything new; the true ones who are benefiting from the situation is the opposing team, as they're getting an insurmountable object to pit their strengths against: a 'boss fight', if I may. Though most players don't see it that way...
... 'Smurfs' on the other hand are annoying at worst, but there's usually a lot to learn from playing against someone that is better than you. Again, matches against smurfs might feel futile, but it feels all the better when you do win a round, and is definitely worth it when you win a match. Also, the chances of winning any rounds gouges through the floor if you start corrupting your own team with a negative mindset from the get go, constantly calling out a suspected cheater or smurf. Which gets us to our subject: Mindset and Negativity.
"Enjoi ur VACation nub. Volvo Gaben pls!!1"
Now don't get me wrong, I definitely do not condone cheating (transparent cheating in singleplayer games is acceptable) and I generally feel like smurfing is a waste of time, though I do understand people wanting to play with their lower-ranked friends, and I like the direction Valve is slowly moving towards. There are still kinks to work out though, but I'm confident they'll get it right in the end. An unranked match-making with penalties might do the trick (similar to Dota 2), also used as a screening process for new players to weed out cheaters and slow smurfs' progress into ranked match-making. Also I probably didn't make it clear earlier that, at the level I play in, I don't really see smurfing as a problem, but I can see how i.e. Silvers matched up against Global Elites can be a real problem ;-)
Smurfs and cheaters do have a negative effect on the game, surely, but there's an other aspect I cannot stress enough, which often ruins a perfectly good lobby: players calling out hacks and smurfs constantly, round after round, getting into a losing mindset and seeping the feeling into their teammates. I've been in countless lobbies, which have crashed and burned from an easy win, because of negative energy within the team. And I've definitely won a lot of futile-seeming matches, just because the team's spirit has been great. Of course, this doesn't always apply, but in the end you're at least winning in some sense if you can walk away from a lost match grinning and happy versus tight-lipped and angry.
Blatant cheaters will get caught sooner than later, and most cheaters will usually get caught sooner or later. If you truly are a 100% sure someone is cheating, try to figure out their weakness(es). Everyone has them and it's sometimes even easier to exploit a cheater's weakness as they're letting their computer cut some of their slack for them, and so they're not as focused into the game. I might go into this subject a bit deeper in a future post, but the most important thing to do in these situations is keep the team morale up and do your best. If you give up during the first few rounds, you'll easily be wasting 30-45mins of your time, and come out stressed out and not wanting to play an other match. When you get angry at a cheater (or smurf or any other kind of enemy) they've already won, if not the game, at least the psychological battle. Be of a strong mind, be there for your teammates, commend them for their success, and if you really want to comment on their mistakes, do it after the match. If someone is constantly failing at some position, you can discreetly suggest a swap. The happier your team is, the more probable your victory will become.
What I really wish for is a better community. Something somewhere went horribly wrong, and nowadays there's too much baiting and trolling going on, though I guess that's the problem with the internet and its anonymity in general. I am a major supporter of internet anonymity though, it's just a darn shame what it does to most people. Be nice to your fellow man :-)
-bish bash sb00t
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