Dota 2 Ranks Explained
The simplest things in life give the best joy; the statement may be true in most parts. However, it can be quite wrong in the gaming world. For instance, in Dota 2, climbing ranks gives unparalleled joy.
Dota 2 is one of the most popular MOBA games.Credits: Valve
The ranking system in the game allows players to evaluate their skill levels and track their growth, a rewarding experience. It is required to ensure that the players meet opponents on the same level, thus creating a balance in match-making.
Players will start meeting tougher foes as their MMR ascends in the Dota 2 rank ladder. If you’re still confused and overwhelmed about the system, keep reading this article for a better understanding of the Dota 2 Ranking system.
The Changes Throughout the Years
Dota 2 is a game that stands out from others due to its complex mechanics and strategic components. While playing casually can give you a basic understanding of the game, the ultimate satisfaction comes from progressing through the ranks. As you progress through the ranks, your opponents will have better in-game knowledge, skills and more map-awareness.
Lina shows different kinds of ranks in Dota 2.Over a decade ago, Valve introduced the ranking system in Dota 2, yet to this day, it still confuses players. Nevertheless, since then, they have been exploring various horizons to rank players more precisely based on their skills.
In recent years, they have implemented some changes to the Dota 2 ranking system. For instance, they introduced rank medals. Before the introduction of rank medals, Dota 2 MMR were numbers that players used to stroke their egos, as there was a fixed increase and decrease in the MMR. The rank medals also come with varying MMR gain and loss.
Players won’t know how much MMR they’ve gained or lost until the match ends. Moreover, the change makes climbing the Dota 2 ranks more challenging, as players can lose more MMR than they’ve gained.
Different Rank Medals
A former image for Dota 2 Ranks has different rank medals to represent which bracket a player is in. Nowadays, there is no solo or party MMR anymore. It's just MMR.Image Source: Twitter.@@wykrhm
In Dota 2 ranks, there are eight different medals. Players need to earn five stars in their current rank medal before advancing to the next medal. Although the medals are the same across all the regions, each region has a different MMR to get into the Immortal Club.
The following are the rank medals in Dota 2:
- Herald : 0 MMR - 700 MMR
- Guardian: 710 MMR- 1386MMR
- Crusader: 1400 MMR- 2250 MMR
- Archon: 2300 MMR - 3050 MMR
- Legend: 3080 MMR - 3770MMR
- Ancient: 3800MMR- 4466MMR
- Divine: 4500MMR - 5400MMR
- Immortal: getting into the immortal bracket varies from region to region.
With the new Rank Confidence system, players can now choose to recalibrate their ranks. If they wish for a recalibration, their new rank medal will show once the player has above 30% rank confidence. After gaining their rank medals, the players will have a drastic increase or decrease in their MMR until their rank confidence reaches 100%.
The Recalibration
In Dota 2, the rank mode is only accessible to players who have completed 100 hours of gameplay. This requirement is in place to ensure that players are well-versed in the challenging mechanics of the game before entering a more challenging game mode.
Before gaining their rank medal, players will have to play the calibration matches to earn it. Usually, it takes more than ten matches to earn their rank medal.
The Bar
Anti Mage is one the most popular heroes amongst the safelaners due to his agility.Credist: Valve
Several factors influence the outcome of these matches, making it crucial for players to give their best during the calibration process. During the rank calibration matches, players must showcase their skills and in-game knowledge to achieve a good MMR outcome.With that being said, newcomers can only achieve a maximum of 3000 MMR.
New Methods
Starting from September 2023, Valve is taking a hard stance against smurfing in Dota 2.Credits: Valve
For several years, there was a fixed amount of MMR players could gain and lose after every match. However, Valve changed this concept last year with the introduction of Rank Confidence.
Nowadays, players can gain more than 25 MMR if they win a match against a high-rank opponent. Likewise, they can lose more than 25 MMR if they lose against a low-rank opponent.
The new approach allows skilled players to climb the rank ladder easily. However, the particular approach also allowed the Smurfs to take advantage of newcomers to the game.
Thus, to take care of the problem they created, Valve started to stand their ground firmly. They ban thousands of accounts associated with smurfing and toxic behaviours. The recent “ban-wave” came after Christmas, making headlines as a Dota 2 streamer, Mason "mason" Venne got banned for his toxic behavior.
Tips To Gain Higher Ranks
It is pointless, trying to play every hero in Dota 2. Just try to master five heroes, the rest will come later as you understand the game.Credits: Valve
In Dota 2, it is gruesome to climb ranks as the game features a high skill ceiling. Nevertheless, there are some tips and tricks players can use to ensure they have a better experience as they grind towards the Dota 2 leaderboards.
- Have a small but comfortable hero pool. Doing so will allow you to learn your hero and understand the game quickly.
- Try to watch replays of your matches so you can fix your mistakes to improve your overall in-game performance.
- Communication is vital in Dota 2. Always try to communicate your plays with the team. However, do not be hesitant to block toxic players.
- Always try to have a positive mental attitude in every match. There is a reason why Dota 2 has no surrender option. The game is winnable as long as the Ancient still stands.
- Try to learn the playstyle of your preferred hero from professional players. You can do this by watching the Twitch stream of the players or by watching the match replay of the player.
If you want to learn more about certain aspects of Dota 2, please let us know in the comments below.
Featured Image Source: Valve
Read More At Strafe Esports: Quick Success in Dota 2: 5 Easy-to-Learn Heroes for Newbies