Valve has changed the Dota 2 ranked role matchmaking system once again. The latest update removed separate core and support ranks and merged them back into a single rank. It sounds like the good old days. But they also added something new.
The single rank uses a handicap for each of the five ranked roles, which represents a player’s relative strength in each position. The matchmaking system will use your full MMR when a player queues for their best roles. But when they queue for weaker ones, the matchmaking system will place them into lower MMR matches.
The handicap adjustments don’t happen behind the scenes either. A player’s badge level will be adjusted depending on the role they queue. For example, a player who predominately plays support roles might have an Ancient III badge. But when they queue core roles, their badge level will be reduced to Legend III. It’s similar to how the separate ranks worked. But the difference is that no matter which role they queue for and play, the result of the match will impact the same single MMR value rather than two different ones.
Lately, it seems like matchmaking system changes happen every couple of months. And it always leaves players asking the same question: Will the changes lower my current MMR?
Thankfully, the answer is no. At least, not significantly anyway. The new matchmaking system will calculate a player’s initial level for each role based on their previous core and support MMR’s as well as an analysis of their last 100 games.
Valve believes the new matchmaking system will better account for a player’s different performance levels between various roles. There has been a mixed response on Reddit. But Dota 2 analyst Kevin “Purge” Godec is confident the changes will be good, especially for average players.
I suppose it was only a matter of time till they 'effectively' gave you 5 'different' MMRs for each role. I'm sure this will only be a good thing, esp for the average player who plays different roles at widely different levels. https://t.co/rKbnrpOdpj
— Purge – Kevin Godec (@PurgeGamers) March 2, 2020
Only time will tell whether the new ranked role matchmaking system will make the ranked grind on Dota 2 a better experience. But in the meantime, it will at least encourage players to experiment in different roles and branch out of their comfort zones.
