NetEaseThe latest Marvel Rivals patch adds a quiet banhammer option for smurfs. So, there’ll be no more hiding in Bronze, even with a camera on.
Smurfing is when high-ranked players create fresh accounts to bully lower-ranked ones, and it is really detrimental for the average player. The reasons behind this act vary from dodging queues to ego boosts, risky plays off the main account, or just farming low-rankers for highlight reels.
Ranked mode drops everyone into Bronze 3 when a season is over, so even pros start at the bottom. Add in free, easy account creation, and you’ve got smurfs smurfing smurfs. Streamers especially love it. “Bronze to Grandmaster” montages and “clowning bots” clips are a content goldmine that leaves actual Bronze players rage-quitting.
The devs didn’t care much about it. No placement matches, no real deterrents, not even a report button for smurfing, which ended up turning Marvel Rivals into a smurf playground. But that has finally changed.
Marvel Rivals quietly adds option to report Smurfing
With zero fanfare, Marvel Rivals quietly snuck in a new “Smurfing” report option in the same update that added new skin recolors. Patch notes didn’t even bold it. But it’s there, live, clickable, and ready for action.
For competitive purists, this is a win. Reporting smurfs won’t solve the problem overnight, but it’s a step toward cleaner games. Maybe now Bronze won’t feel like a Gladiator pit every queue.
To report someone for Smurfing, right-click on their user name, select the Report option, and then choose Negative Behavior. One of the options here will be “Smurfing.”
Player reactions rolled in fast, and with the usual mix of hope, sarcasm, and outright cynicism.
Some praised the move, saying, “Damn. Next to actually implement systems which reduce smurfs”, while ohers rolled their eyes, mocking the feature with, “Nice. Now every Redditor can report everyone better than them for smurfing!”
Many remained unconvinced, pointing out the lack of visible enforcement. “Like everything else, we know nothing about what actually happens. When you report a griefer, they get a 20-minute bann. This could easily be an option sitting there to appease people”, a distrustful player shared.
Skepticism aside, the fact that Marvel Rivals is addressing the smurfing mess, even passively, is progress. If real action follows, the ranked ladder might finally feel like, well, a ladder.
