Ask HN: Why is Valve/Steam OK with smurfs & cheaters in DOTA2?
Sort of an angry post...
Occasionally I still play a game of DOTA2. I usually play like 1-2 games per week solo and occasionally I will play a game where someone will invite me in a group. The latter is especially problematic as the chances that another team will have a high MMR smurf or a cheater-scripter (with previous VAC ban) are quite high.
For those that are not familiar with the terms: 1. MMR - match making rank- points based of which teams are set up. It shouldn't guarantee an equal match and if you win you get rewarded some
2. smurf - a payer account of lower level which is being used by a high level player, often in order to win and "boost" other people in the team
3. cheater-scripter - players using scripts to automate certain actions in the game on heroes where quick combos
4. VAC - valve anticheat system - currently it functions in a way where a user can report another user and that segment of the game will get judged by other players.
So obviously the thing to do have a good banning system, but unfortunately that is not working. Anyone who has played a MOBA or any other game where you are penalized if you leave and active match, will know how annoying this is. It is especially annoying when it is obvious very early on that another team has a smurf. Recognizing smurf is very easy as smurfsusually play the "mid" position which in dota/lol/moba is usually the most impactful, with a hero that can disproportionately influence the game if played well.
So recognizing that it will never work perfectly, I would like the following filter options when matchmaking: 1) Filter out players who do not own more that 2 games & whose account is lower than lvl 3 (steam based metric) 2) Filter out players who have had a VAC (anticheat system) in the past 2 years from DOTA or any other game 3) Filter out players who have had a unusual ("p<0.05") increase in winning 4) Filter out with people who keep playing in parties with people who fit criteria 3)
Some of my other, not well thought out ideas: 1) Proof of stake of some kind (player and "validator" of report) - or just implementation of high enough stake, money in terms of MMR, ban time of MMR in order to discourage cheating 2) Steam/Dota reputation designation - based on years of account, time played, reports for misconduct, reports for behavior, people would get badges allowing them to judge directly if someone is cheating or not, or being a smurf 3) Something else...
My only conclusion why Valve/Steam isn't doing anything is that the revenue that smurfs and cheaters bring is high enough to justify not doing anything. If that is true, then would there be an interest for an alternative payed(!) matchmaking system with stricter rules (?).
Last question: Why do you think cheating is on the rise? Is it because of the streaming?