Because in a MMO you would start a new character from scratch and most of "power" is tied to the character's items. Games like Overwatch is skill based and hav

Because in a MMO you would start a new character from scratch and most of "power" is tied to the character's items. Games like Overwatch is skill based and have a skill-based matchmaking, a new player will play with other beginners, and as they get better the game will put them in matches with better opponents. A smurf in this context is someone that is already really good in the game, but because they just created a new account, they are put in matches with beginners just so they can steamroll them. And takes a good while for their account to reach the same rank as their main account. While in MMOs there's still some skill involved, but it's much harder to compete with someone is better items, compare to Overwatch where two players with the same character have the same everything it all comes down to the player skill. >If I can't play the game the way _I_ want to play, what use is it as a recreational activity? It's supposed to be a "game" after all so I don't understand where are all the rules and revisions are coming from. I would argue that competitive games are less about recreation and more about getting good, which can be fun, but that seems to be secondary.