At this point I’m honestly struggling to see how a new player is supposed to get into this game at all. Trying to learn the core game feels almost pointless when most matches are completely onesided either you get stomped by players clearly way above your level, or you roll the enemy team just as hard. There’s almost never an actual, competitive game in between.
I’m not talking about being slightly outmatched in your lane where it feels impossible to gain a lead. I mean games where one player is so far ahead that the rest of the lobby might as well not exist. For example:
Match ID: 75073366
This game was effectively over in ~20 minutes. One player went 16–3 massive lead going around getting everyone else fed as well resulting in our apollo disconnecting and sparing us the 45 minute base rape fest for once.

Match ID: 74723069
Queued with a friend who just started the game, and we ran into someone who ended 36/7 with 72k souls while everyone else was around 20-30k. Watching the replay, they’re playing at a completely different level perfect map movement, hitting everything, confidently diving multiple players. Whether it’s smurfing or just matchmaking failing, the result is the same: new players don’t stand a chance.
And that’s really the core issue. In Initiate/Seeker, you constantly run into accounts that look like smurfs. Fresh profiles lvl 0 or in general low level profiles with 1-5 friends and "one stop shopper tag" but clearly experienced players. Maybe not all of them are, but enough are that it completely warps the experience.
Because of that, new players never actually get to learn or even play. You don’t get to practice basics, understand heroes or improv you just get run over. I’ve already had most of my friends quit, and the one left refuses to queue anything except Street Brawl because the main mode feels like you are there to entertain a veteran on his 5th smurf account of the week not to play or learn.
What makes it worse is the lack of a surrender option. When a game is clearly over (like 50k+ leads, base open for 10–15 minutes) you’re forced to sit through it while the winning team drags it out as long as possible. Why would they end it if they just farm as much kills and feel like a god gamer for as long as possible...