Dota 2 troll holds a game hostage for three hours

Valve has made great strides to improve its match-making system this year. There was a mass ban on cheaters in February, followed by removing 90,000 smurfs, and adding restrictions to players with low behavior scores.

It's the last point that we will be focusing on in this article, as because players with low behavior scores can't use some features, a Dota 2 troll was able to hold nine players hostage for hours.

Valve's new update restricts players with low behavior score

The recent update to the behavior score added limitations to players who are consistently toxic, as well as players who sabotage their own team.

Only players with a behavior score of 3,000 or more can access ranked games, a 5,000 score is needed to pause and unpause games. Players with a score of 7,000 or more can get free items after a game, and coaches need a 10,000 score in order to..well...coach.

The new system also limits communication, so people need to be on their best behavior if they want to play with others. It's a positive step forward by Valve and one that has been widely embraced by the community.

However, every system needs time and adjustment to perfect, and this new update is no different, as our story below demonstrates.

Dota 2 troll abuses low behavior score to hold other players hostage

Add me on Steam today. (Credit: Strafe Esports)

Abandoning a Dota 2 game comes with severe penalties. Players who abandon their team constantly will see their behavior score plummet and be sent to the shadow real- I mean, the low-priority pool.

The low-priority pool is where players who receive a lot of reports are sent and they have to play Single Draft with other low-behavior score players. A certain amount of games need to be won by low-priority players in order to be released back to the general public.

Think of it like a prison, but not quite as fun.

In a ranked all-pick game, nine players had behavior scores under 5,000. All except Ember Spirit, who abused that fact to stall the game out for three hours.

At the 10-minute mark, Ember Spirit paused the game and nobody could unpause it. Ember was trying to force their enemies to abandon in order to get a free win, one they were willing to go to extreme lengths for.

Naga Siren had better things to do then get stuck for three hours. (Credit: Valve)

After the pause, the game was on hold for three hours, with no player on either side willing to abandon and suffer the consequences of doing so.

We're not sure what Ember Spirit did in those three hours, presumably a long nap was taken, followed by a hearty meal.

Due to how long the pause lasted, the Naga Siren player decided they might as well abandon the game and get it over with. They lasted an admirable two hours and 30 minutes before doing so. The game was unpaused 30 minutes after that.

Once Ember Spirit returned and unpaused, the dire quickly took control of the game and went for the Throne five minutes later.

https://twitter.com/MikeMavo/status/1698075148790768118

Valve will allow low behavior score players to unpause

Being most picked doesn't mean being the best though. (Credit: Valve)

Within a day of the new update to behavior score, multiple complaints have emerged regarding players holding a game hostage, with the above example being the most egregious.

To ensure that nobody is held against their will, Valve released an update allowing anybody to unpause in games where the majority of players have low behavior scores.

"In games where the majority of connected players have a behavior score too low to allow them to pause the game, those players will now be able to unpause if the game has been paused for at least 5s."

It was short-lived but the days of pausing games for three hours in order to farm free MMR are over now.

READ MORE: The most popular neutral items in Dota 2 patch 7.34b

Image source provided by: Valve