I have a smurf as well..but very rarely use it. Only 6 rated games on it or something..
But I agree with what most people are saying. I just think that with all the unrateds and clan games the PR system doesn't truly reflect a lot of our players true level of play
I'm not sure if the clan has a reputation for smurfs, but I can tell you that back in my active days one Captain called me a noob-bashing German lamer after I beat him in an unrated 1v1 (I was--and almost always have been--a 2nd Lt with a 20.84 PR). I thought it was hilarious that a significantly higher-ranked player called me--a significantly lower-ranked player--a noob-basher, as if he were the noob! Noobs are usually lower in rank, right? Guess not ::/
I agree that most people in this clan have much higher skills than their PR suggests.
This is a kinda funny story, but it is about "N3O smurfing," or at least sorta. And for a bonus, I actually do happen to have a recording of this game.
Anyways, I was playing a Spanish Major in Vanilla 1.13, while I was Portuguese, a captain in rank, on my account TheCrimsonBlade. It was Lrg Maps, which turned out to be Lrg Texas. I went standard Portuguese FF and got there about eight minutes with a trading post, two starting outposts, a barracks and a stable, and I sent my third Town center to build itself, which he immediately started to attack. Amazingly, he did not attack my second TC ever. So I had an easy time up. However, I will start telling of his strategy.
He did a some type of Mercenary+*** FF, and ordered ATP as his 1st or second card and got three trading posts, and at the same time did a interesting and lengthy FF. He reached there probably at the same time I did, and he had a fort on my side of the map, plus a church and a couple vils. Immediately I got quite a bit of Cassadors and Dragoons, while he was attacking my 3rd TC (before it was up) with 4 pikes and 4 xbows, which he got from age up politician, the adventurer. I started to gun them down with Cassadors, and he retreated back to his fort a bit. I caught his highlanders with my cassadors as well, sniping them cold. I think I got about four or five of them.
Then I stall a little bit by forgetting to build an extra house, supposing that he will attack and I will be able to build more troops. Meanwhile I do end up shipping 8 halbs, and send most of my Dragoons (about 11, with 4 remaining at home) to go off and raid his town. So, he thinks that I have less of an army, and he attacks, killing my third TC with ease (it had like 1000 HP left, and I didn't have wood to repair it), and marched quite soon into my town. I brought back my dragoons, and with my inferior force fighting him at my town, he thought he had me, but those 11 Dragoons sealed the win, along with a big batch of Minutemen (15, 400 food, 400 coin), and he basically resigned, having lost his 13 Guard Halbs, his 9 Highlanders, his 12 Swiss Pikes, his 4 vet lancers and his 5 hussars. I was going on toward his FB while he did this, and he asked if I was a pro. I simply told him that yes, I do play mostly on another account, but I am only a captain on TAD atm. He kinda left a bit stunned and amazed, surprised to see that his own rank had totally baffled him.
Pretty sad nowadays, since I played another game with captains on Vanilla and actually beat a Russia+Ottoman Combo. They didn't speak afterwards, since I beat them with Portugal single-handedly on a Water Turtle. My ally barely survived, whom I was able to ship resources and other good things as well. Too bad I don't have the recording of that, because that was just epic - I basically suicided 8 organ guns and my army and killed their Mamelukes and Spahi + some Janns, only to build it right back up again and kill the other bad units. Beforehand I had just killed about 25 Ottoman settlers with a devestating raid, not to mention I destroyed 2 mills and a Town center as well, from Galleons of the sea. Moral of the story: Imperial Portuguese Hussars + Imperial Portuguese Cassadors and Organs just run over Ottomans + Russian.
I'm rambling off now, and this stuff should rather be in the brag thread, but it is still kinda funny how were the "smurfing clan," teaching those guys at vanilla a lesson.
"Feel the Might of the Sioux!" - Gall, when fighting and defeating your army at his own base.