Valve Introduces Seasonal MMR
Among the many new incentives that the Battle Pass offers, recalibrating your MMR has been a feature long requested. You can now play in “The International Ranked Queue” against other Battle Pass owners, and at the end of the season, you can keep your Season MMR or your old, Ranked MMR. This new feature is a step in the right direction, addressing some of the concerns the community has had about Dota’s MMR system.
Reliability of MMR
There are a few issues with matchmaking ratings, which are common across all games with ELO based systems. First, your rating is a only an estimation of your true strength, so there is a measure of uncertainty, or standard deviation. You can be a player who can rise and dip over 1000 MMR, or one that hovers around the same bracket over the same time period.
There have been some theories that the new, calibrated MMR uses your hidden, unranked MMR as a starting point. Some players with losing records, in their 10 calibration matches, have ended up with a higher MMR than their former ranked MMR. The other theory is that there could be a third, hidden MMR that calibrates off both your unranked and ranked matches. Either way, your new, calibrated MMR isn’t going to be from 0 to 100 (does winning 10 games get you 9000 MMR?), but from a starting point, based on your history, to create a reliable and accurate measurement.
The second difficulty with MMR, which is unique to Dota and other team based games, is the deviation between teammates and opponents. This is why you may get more or less than the standard +25 for winning against different teams. There’s the deviation between the overall MMR between opposing teams. Then, there is the deviation between teammates. Even if both team’s MMR average is the same, there can be a high, MMR player that can shift the predictability of the game.
It’s Over 9000
Finally, your rating is less reliable if you haven’t played after some time. In Dota, the meta changes, your understanding can fall behind, and then it may take more time to recover your muscle memory. Dota players can get “out of shape” as much as any other sport. That 3k MMR rating you had was a measurement of how you played at that time. Three months later, that may no longer be an accurate measurement, especially with how quickly Dota’s landscape shifts over time.
“If you’ve always been the same MMR, you’re actually getting worse.”
This time factor is central to understanding Dota’s new MMR system. Without any sort of decay, MMR is rising over time. It’s not a zero sum system, in that for every +25 MMR gained there is also -25 MMR. It’s because there’s always people coming and going. MMR is being poured into the system. That’s what we talk about when we talk about inflation. People need salary raises to keep up with the cost of living. And in Dota, if you’ve always been the same MMR, you’re actually getting worse.
It’s why climbing the ladder is referred to as a grind. It’s as much about being good as being relentless, playing game after game. Today’s 9k MMR was last year’s 8K MMR. How some games have approached this issue was to have seasons, where everyone starts off with a new slate after a period of time. In Hearthstone, the ladder is reset every month. Starcraft 2 roughly every three months. Now, Valve has entered into the same territory with their “The International Ranked Queue”. It’s a low risk experiment, allowing players to recalibrate their MMR, for a period of time, and opting to keep their new rating or their old one at the end of the season.
The Permanence of MMR
Aside from the complexities of how MMR systems work, what matters is how the community reacts and feels about it. Dota’s ranking system has been the same ever since its release. There are no seasonal resets or MMR decay. Your MMR is permanent. It’s hidden, but still a mark that indiscriminately measures your progress. This permanence amplifies the ladder anxiety we feel when we play another game, another hour long investment that ends in plus or minus 25 MMR.
Anxiety can be a normal, stress reaction to everyday situations, but in Dota, each game becomes part of your MMR’s history, your match history, and it’s something you carry with you from game to game. It’s no surprise that feelings of dread, fear, and frustration can compound. The only recourse for feeling progress is to either get better, grind, or create a smurf (an issue that Valve has recently addressed with CS:GO’s “Prime Matchmaking”). The ranking you had years ago is the same one that you’ve always been working on. Hence, cue the frustrations of players who fail to make any progress, because they’ve been attached to the same MMR ever since they started playing Dota.
The Seasonal MMR is also a soft-reset, as it hasn't calibrated anyone over 5k MMR. That includes professionals, who will begin their climb again within the ranks of the plebeians. Valve continues to experiment with ranked matchmaking as a whole. First, with it's temporary exclusion of All Picked, then the mode's reintroduction with a ban phase. If their focus is on the ranked experience, then having seasons is a welcome addition.
Seasonal, ranked play is important for a game that already is measured in seasons. Dota’s calendar is divided into four parts: three Majors and The International. Each phase is marked by a major patch change. It keeps the game fresh, while Dota’s MMR system has been stagnantly behind. Even if your next Season MMR settles into the same MMR you’ve always had, at least it was something new to work on. That would be a change.
This is the most retaded post I have read in a while, in this page. MMR does not inflate, because people stays in their bracket and don't contribute with points to higher MMR players.
All I hear are excuses etc. Recently calibrated at 4.1k, half the time playing solo offlane or solo support. Won 9/10 of my games though. My original party mmr was 3.5k but that was because I had a russian stack. Seems pretty accurate to me since my solo is 4k+ as well.
I used to play support, any suggestion on how to re-calibrate the int mmr?
well I am going to grind for getting 10k during this year is possible.
Its bullshit i absolutely destroyed in my 10 games 9/10 wins with huge kda every game only got +300 mmr but now i keep winning check my matches
Btw, I do think the battlepass MMR is flawed in only one big way, I Just don't know if it can be simply fixed.
Valve: I REALLY hope you see this.
Why? My bro is 4.1k party MMR, and his new Battlepass MMR is 3.6k.
My old party mmr is 2.5k, and my new Battlepass is 2.9k.
We can't both work on our MMR if we party together for a few months. How dumb is that? This is not Okay at all. It is harmful to the Dota community, even if battlepass MMR helps in any way.
What is worse than that? If valve creates seasonal MMR 2-4x a year.... then how much of the year does this issue exist?
I'm very disappointed that this has not been worked-around.
Thx, Dodo-Lotto.
Season mmr right after calibration: 3826.
My ranked mmr: 3827.
Don't waste your money if you just aim for a mmr recalibration.
just so you know, league of legends has a whole lot more boosted accounts so don't complain about "playing against boosted accounts every game and it's so unfair" because a) you'll theoretically get the same amount of boosted accounts as your teammates than opponents and b) if you think you're so good and the only reason you're being outplayed is because of someone who's actually 5k pretending to be 2k, you're a fucking joke
the mmr system is fine. if you're good, you will climb over time. losing 10% of games due to griefers/DCers will happen but that happens to everyone and if that's your reason for being stuck in "elo hell" you're just kidding yourself; put in some effort and you will climb.
The seasonal matches I have been playing has less percentage of toxic fuckers,which is nice
My normal solo mmr has been 5k+ for quite a while. My experience with international ranked has been quite dire. From my first game on I got dropped in 4.5k avg with my highest as TBD. However people didn't seem to care about ranked at all and soon hell broke loose. People just don't know how to pick effectively sometimes. Lost loads of games because our team didn't counter their cores or just picked something stupid (PL vs Jugg and ES rlly?). I ended up losing 4 games before I got my first win (28-0-10 puck mid felt good). In the end I lost 7 games and ended up in 4.3k bracket wich is lower then my initial 4.5k ranking which I achieved when MMR first came out so many years ago. My party ranked is going way better but since I played with a way lower mate I'm not sure where I end up since losing prob punishes me alot. In my solo experience I had only 2 good game experiences, of which I sadly only won one. Other than that I just had flaming core claimers that had no idea what to do and the typical russians that somehow never heard of teamspeak or skype and just keep voicechatting ingame in their own language. I've never muted and reported this many people before in a week.
It honestly sounds like most people's recallibration has been pretty close to right; 'I played really well and only went up 200MMR' kinda sounds like it's working as intended?
I think the point of it, as the article points out, is experimenting to try to improve the system for everyone.
My one real gripe is the MMR system's seeming focus on cores: KDA isn't always a good measure of a support's performance. If I die saving my carry, or securing a positive kill trade, or plant the wards that win a team fight that I die in before damaging anything, or zone an offlaner out of the lane, then then I've done good things to help my team win that are not rewarded by the system.
I don't have a simple solution, and obviously don't know the specifics of the calculations that happen at the back end, but it'd be great if they could give supports some more appreciation...
Anyone has an idea whether both solo and party mmr will change if you choose to go with your seasonal ranking in the end? What if i only wanted to change my party mmr and not my solo, will valve allow me to do so?
People complain that this recalibrates your mmr only by 200-300 higher. But let's break this down more
For a 250 mmr increase you'll need to win 10 games straight. Sounds simple right but that's only if you have 100% win rate.
Let's say for every 3 games you win 2. This is a very good return of 66%. Suddenly for a 250 increase you'd need 30 games. If you win only 3 out of 5 for a 60% win rate (still deemed good), you'll suddenly need 50 games.
Getting a 200 increase is more than you think. Stop complaining
If anything I would love to see the MMR climbing system work in similarity to how the MMR calibration works when setting your opponents. Instead of the slow fluctuating 25 mmr, which doesnt even guarantee that you helped win or lose the game, have it the same way as the calibration which I think actually looks at the stats rather than just the outcome of the match. I for one have smurfed. I recently just calibrated 500 mmr more than my original acc, and I've been constantly trying to climb my way up, and the most I got out of my original acc was 300 less than my smurf's mmr, which I can reliably hold throughout several matches. Heh. This contradicts the argument that if I was better than the majority of the people in my mmr, why am I not in a higher rank?
God the ranking system in calibration just seems so much more rewarding and better than the normal 25 useless mmr you lose after being matched with a boosted acc.
I just ended calibrating. but you know what? IT AIN'T GETTING BETTER OR WORSE..
its still the same (1,766 MMR) which is depressing af. The teamates just getting worse because they thought that if they pick Carry, the MMR(bullshit) will increased, and then everyone picks Carry and FAILED.
im gonna switch League of Lesbians
I think MMR is only a measurement of how long you are playing the game. For example you start up playing Dota for the first time and go ranked as soon as you hit the level 50 trophy you would NEVER catch up to a pro player MMR because they continue raising it and you can never catch up. Example: Miracle. He got the 9k some weeks ago. He will get the 10k or the 15k or the 20k. Its only a matter of time until that happens. Therefore if you start from 0: It will take you ages to get to where he is right now.
Overall I have experienced really nice games in "The International Ranked". I have got 21 games so far and I feel like I am playing with some really good players from all skill brackets. Just the fact that everyone in the world did recalibrate and the highest is still around 5k and not 9k it seems much more reachable and allows me (having 2.1k) to play with some more experienced players and I apprechiate it. I think like every game I played except maybe 1 or 2 was a really balanced matchup with some decent players, the picks are great (no 5man carry safelane teams) and everyone knew what they were doing. If I didnt know that this was a 2k MMR average game I would have estimated the average to be around 6k..
This feature is a step in the right direction by Valve! Keep calm and CARRYON.
My secondary account got calibrated at 4.7k, mine is still 3.9k.
If I could have the luck and calibrate as high, I could skip days worth of grinding.
Idk about you guys,the teammates I got in the 1-2k seasonal bracket has been quite fun to play with,not saying there are no retards,but for sure there's no no boots no bkb retards rushing shadow blade and plays without any teamwork at all,won 3 out of 4
Regarding most posts complaining about mmr system (fix), just go watch your replays > see your mistakes or loss opportunities you could have taken to turn the game / crucial moments > learn from them > actually improve > and boost mmr. If your are really perfect players or at least better than your current mmr rank, you should be able to boost ur mmr. Its just that simple, otherwise pro players would be 4k's ...
can volvo reset retards in 3-4k brackets?
thanks
I played al 10 games with a carry and only lose 3 times with retàrd, i always have good kda and farm but i only got +300 from my actual mmr
Its insane how ppl with a considered "bad mmr" blame the system.
First of all, Dota is a videogame. Beside the pro scene it is supposed to be fun, its not all about climbing.
You might have many feeders in your team. So what?
If you are below your truly mmr, you are the only one playing good.
So you have 4 Retards, and the enemy has 5. You should raise over time then.
Second, saying that Supports can't win the game is bullshit.
Supports decide the early game, they decide where you have vision and secure the core's farm.
Saying sups cant win the game shows that you clearly have no idea how dota works, you probably dont deserve a better mmr.
Im about 6k, and i had that discussion with some RL friends.
First i pushed one 3k with 85% WR to 3.5k while playing mid only,
second i pushed 3.5k to 4k with 70% support only.
Stop crying about your mmr, if u are better than ur rating, you will fucking raise.
I do think there's a fair amount of people making excuses or trying to claim they've been cheated by the system here.
If you calibrate 2/300 higher MMR than your previous solo MMR, then the system is doing it's job. I myself was at 2,399 before calibration, and came out at 2,516. From here I'm increasing because I'm playing with more sensible players, who communicate more, and at the same time I don't feel like I'm punching above my weight. The system is fair and just. As many people here have said already, if you're at 2.4k but feel your "true" MMR is 3k+, then surely you'll play better than everyone else and you'll achieve that MMR? You can't blame a loss on your terrible team if you consistently use that as an excuse, because it becomes less of a coincidence that they're the reason you lose and more of a pattern suggesting that you're the one at fault. If you want to have a higher MMR and feel like this new re-calibration has wronged you in some way, don't complain about it, solve the problem. Watch replays, examine your build and stats here on Dotabuff, ask others in your bracket (preferably higher) for tips, play the heroes/roles that are missing. I'm climbing and the majority of my games recently have been supports. The majority of my calibration games were support, and I calibrated higher; the system works.
Stop making excuses and work for your true MMR, if you feel that that's what you're really worth.
3800 new account, 1400 old account, takes into account your old mmr when recalibrating, i played better on the old then the new but still got shittier mmr. GG HOAX, save your money, dont buy BP
I just want to question something very curiously. Well we all know that the Dota 2 system is reading our performance skills in every games even in our first very game in dota life (Beginner people). Some says that skill bracket matters in MMR calibration, and now i want to tell you guys about this. My skill bracket now is VHS, however, my records are very bad and yet is still on VHS bracket and im playing unranked matches. So many lose games for me this week. My question is, will my HIDDEN average mmr in my unranked matches connectedly continues to read until the end of TBD? What i mean is in the very first game in my dota 2 life, did the dota 2 system already put my hidden mmr points until it reveals after the TBD? Example: after i play my last unranked match before going to tbd If my hidden mmr in my unranked match is 4000, will it be still the same in the start of tbd 4000? Or does it dpends on the average mmr? Im telling this because im concern of my games now so many losses and i have a bad KDA record and it might affect my hidden mmr because it might also continue in my tbd (my hidden mmr) and im concern that it will decrease more if i always lose and get bad standings even though im in VHS bracket 😯
PLEASE HELP.. i will commend :D
Play 40+ games by the end of the season, and you'll have the option to replace your normal Ranked MMR with your new, hard-fought Season MMR.
if i wanted to replace both solo and party
IS IT 40 GAMES TOTAL FOR BOTH (SEASON) SOLO AND PARTY ? OR
40 GAMES FOR SEASON SOLO AND ANOTHER 40 GAMES SEASON PARTY ?