Valve bans 90,000 ‘smurf accounts’ from Dota 2 and will penalize main accounts

Valve says it has permanently banned around 90,000 Dota 2 ‘smurf accounts’ that were active in the last few months. Furthermore, the company says it has tracked down the main accounts of all these smurfers, and that smurfing will have ‘a whole range of consequences’ for the main account from now on.

In a blog post let Valve know that the actions taken against the main account will depend on the ‘smurfs’. In some cases, ‘only’ the behavior scores are adjusted temporarily, but it is also possible that the main account is permanently banned together with the smurf account. Valve advises Dota players if they suspect a Smurfer is present to report them.

Smurf accounts are alternative accounts of existing players. These can be used, for example, to be paired with beginners in matches, since the moba’s matchmaking is based on the rating of players. Such accounts are also often used to cheat or harass users, supposedly without consequences.

Dota 2