4Game

Bit of a rant, but its situations like these that instantly make me wanna stop playing Dota. I played through a hard fought, 72 minute battle to gain 30 MMR. The game right after, my mid Puck disconnected in the first minute of play. Thanks to a recent update you cant pause for the first 3 minutes (G E N I O U S idea btw). Already off to a great start. To rub salt into the wound the sidelanes actually went quite well. So there was a shimmer of hope, we could still win if Puck comes back.

– Pause for effect –

He didnt. As soon as the abandon came through everyone else left, too. There goes that 30 MMR from the last game.

I know this is a bit of an extreme case of missfortune, however it shows yet again how flawed the +/- 30 MMR system is. Of course its difficult to come up with a more adaptive MMR system for a game as complex as Dota. But a flat +/- 30 MMR with no ifs or buts about it? Is that really they best Valve can do?! MMR is supposed to represent ones skill. So where is the logic in stripping me of the 30 MMR I gained in a 72 minute slugfest because my Mid disconnected in the next game. How exactly do I deserve that -30 MMR? If at least it was cut in half I'd be left with +15 in the end. Not great, but sure as hell miles ahead of a sweet net gain of niente.

MMR isnt just a number, as many like to say. Its one of very few variables by which the matchmaker tries to make for good games. Which directly translates to the ammount of fun players will have with Dota. A bad – or rather flawed – MMR system doesnt just mean my e-penis is smoller than I'd like it to be. It means I will lose more and more interest grinding through ranked mode, because whatever slight improvements I aquire, they will be entirely overshadowed by a single griefer, a single smurf, a single account buyer, a single disconnect.