Today's update focuses on improving the matchmaking experience with the restoration of Solo Queue, the addition of Phone Linking, and multiple other adjustments.

Quality matchmaking is a core component of an enjoyable Dota session, and today's changes work to address several issues that can affect the player experience when queuing for a game.

LINKED PHONE NUMBER

The first major change is that players must register a unique phone number to their account in order to queue for Ranked matches.

Players using multiple accounts create a negative matchmaking experience at all skill brackets, so our goal is to add just enough friction to this process that the number of players doing this will be noticeably reduced. Having more players using their primary accounts will have a positive effect on both Ranked and Unranked Matchmaking.

There will be a two-week grace period from today during which players have time to register a number, but starting on May 4th, accounts without a registered number will no longer be eligible for Ranked play. If a phone number is removed from an account after registration, a new number can be added, but there will be a three-month waiting period before the removed number can be registered on a new account. This is to prevent using the same number on multiple accounts. Online services that provide phone numbers are not allowed.

SOLO QUEUE

With the return of the Solo Queue, solo players who enter Ranked Matchmaking can now choose to be matched only with other solo players. Any player who selects this option will be placed into matches where all ten players are queuing solo.

PARTY CHANGES

Starting today, if a player's Solo MMR is higher than their Party MMR, queuing in a party will result in the matchmaker assigning a higher MMR to that player. Effectively, these players will search for a match as if their MMR were halfway between the Solo and Party MMR values.

While the current Party MMR number generally reflects the likelihood that you’ll win a given match correctly, we’ve found that when a Solo MMR is dramatically higher than a Party MMR, the match becomes extremely volatile, resulting in an unpleasant and uncompetitive experience for both teams.

Simply having an even chance to win over the long run does not necessarily correlate to having competitive matches, but this change will make it so the matchmaker is able to take into account both the party teamwork skill component and the individual capability of the players on both teams. With both teams having this same mechanic applied to them, the chance for each team to win over a large sample will still be the same as before, but with reduced volatility on a per-match basis.

MATCHMAKING BEHAVIOR

This update also includes several changes intended to remove undesirable behavior from the matchmaking pool.

First, being marked for low-priority matches now results in a duration-based ban from the Ranked queue, in addition to the current game-count-based low priority requirement. The ban will start at a low threshold of a few hours, and increase up to four days for players who are very frequently in low priority.

Next, it should go without saying that while the wide variety of playstyles that Dota players bring to a given match will always be welcome, intentionally ruining games for other players is never condoned. To help address concerns in this area, we've also added better detection for clear cases of intentional feeding, and will be applying stricter punishments to those who violate this rule.

Finally, we’ve also added detection for users that are botting, and with this update have issued a permanent ban to a large number of recently-detected bot accounts. This should help resolve several areas in which these bot accounts have a negative effect on the experience of the Dota community.

REGIONAL CHANGES

Ranked Matchmaking will no longer be available in South Africa, India, and Dubai. We will update these servers as the unranked populations in these regions grow to the critical mass needed to be able to support splitting the user base into Ranked and Unranked queues.

While there are some players that used these servers for Ranked, the low populations made them prime targets for various Ranked Matchmaking abuses. For the time being, players in these regions will need to join Ranked Matchmaking queues in one of the other nearby supported servers.

Today's update focuses on improving the matchmaking experience with the restoration of Solo Queue, the addition of Phone Linking, and multiple other adjustments.

Quality matchmaking is a core component of an enjoyable Dota session, and today's changes work to address several issues that can affect the player experience when queuing for a game.

LINKED PHONE NUMBER

The first major change is that players must register a unique phone number to their account in order to queue for Ranked matches.

Players using multiple accounts create a negative matchmaking experience at all skill brackets, so our goal is to add just enough friction to this process that the number of players doing this will be noticeably reduced. Having more players using their primary accounts will have a positive effect on both Ranked and Unranked Matchmaking.

There will be a two-week grace period from today during which players have time to register a number, but starting on May 4th, accounts without a registered number will no longer be eligible for Ranked play. If a phone number is removed from an account after registration, a new number can be added, but there will be a three-month waiting period before the removed number can be registered on a new account. This is to prevent using the same number on multiple accounts. Online services that provide phone numbers are not allowed.

SOLO QUEUE

With the return of the Solo Queue, solo players who enter Ranked Matchmaking can now choose to be matched only with other solo players. Any player who selects this option will be placed into matches where all ten players are queuing solo.

PARTY CHANGES

Starting today, if a player's Solo MMR is higher than their Party MMR, queuing in a party will result in the matchmaker assigning a higher MMR to that player. Effectively, these players will search for a match as if their MMR were halfway between the Solo and Party MMR values.

While the current Party MMR number generally reflects the likelihood that you’ll win a given match correctly, we’ve found that when a Solo MMR is dramatically higher than a Party MMR, the match becomes extremely volatile, resulting in an unpleasant and uncompetitive experience for both teams.

Simply having an even chance to win over the long run does not necessarily correlate to having competitive matches, but this change will make it so the matchmaker is able to take into account both the party teamwork skill component and the individual capability of the players on both teams. With both teams having this same mechanic applied to them, the chance for each team to win over a large sample will still be the same as before, but with reduced volatility on a per-match basis.

MATCHMAKING BEHAVIOR

This update also includes several changes intended to remove undesirable behavior from the matchmaking pool.

First, being marked for low-priority matches now results in a duration-based ban from the Ranked queue, in addition to the current game-count-based low priority requirement. The ban will start at a low threshold of a few hours, and increase up to four days for players who are very frequently in low priority.

Next, it should go without saying that while the wide variety of playstyles that Dota players bring to a given match will always be welcome, intentionally ruining games for other players is never condoned. To help address concerns in this area, we've also added better detection for clear cases of intentional feeding, and will be applying stricter punishments to those who violate this rule.

Finally, we’ve also added detection for users that are botting, and with this update have issued a permanent ban to a large number of recently-detected bot accounts. This should help resolve several areas in which these bot accounts have a negative effect on the experience of the Dota community.

REGIONAL CHANGES

Ranked Matchmaking will no longer be available in South Africa, India, and Dubai. We will update these servers as the unranked populations in these regions grow to the critical mass needed to be able to support splitting the user base into Ranked and Unranked queues.

While there are some players that used these servers for Ranked, the low populations made them prime targets for various Ranked Matchmaking abuses. For the time being, players in these regions will need to join Ranked Matchmaking queues in one of the other nearby supported servers.

THE KIEV MAJOR

Final preparations for The Kiev Major are in full swing, and the Swiss-style Group Stage kicks off on Monday, April 24 at 9:00 a.m. EET. Make sure to fill out your Tournament Predictions and set your Fantasy Lineup, and then tune in via the Dota 2 client or Twitch to watch the action unfold.

After Group Stage wraps up, the single-elimination Main Event will kick off on Thursday, April 27 at 10:00 a.m EET from the National Palace of Arts in Kiev, with sixteen of the world's best Dota teams battling to capture the last Dota 2 Major Championship before The International in August.

THE INTERNATIONAL



Once a champion is crowned in Kiev to cap off the Winter season, the focus of the Dota community will turn towards The International and debates over who can walk away from this year's tournament as the undisputed best Dota team in the world.

As such, it's nearly time to unveil The International Battle Pass—once all immortals are sufficiently polished—and prepare for the annual celebration of top-tier Dota that draws fans, pros, and neophytes alike to KeyArena in Seattle.

This year, to distinguish the players who support The International and contribute directly to the tournament prize pool, all TI Battle Pass items will remain exclusive through next year's International. Items that you earn can each be gifted once, and players who unlock Ultra Rare items will still be able to trade them as in the past.

For teams who would join the ranks of the year's top tournament, The International Regional Qualifiers will be held on June 26th – 29th to determine the final contenders who will meet in Seattle August 7 - 12 for a chance at ultimate victory.

TODAY'S UPDATE



Today's update includes the addition of a Stats section to every hero's About tab. Now you can easily see details on each hero's Attributes and level gains; their base attack, defense, and mobility stats; and base health/mana pools and regeneration.

We've also updated the report-granting mechanism to scale directly with the number of games played, fixed the Player Conduct Summary not showing recent commends, and changed report functionality so enemy players can now only be reported for communication abuse.

There are also some performance improvements to help during teamfights on various low-end hardware configurations, and a fix has been added to stop calculating player XPM once they reach level 25.

THE KIEV MAJOR

Final preparations for The Kiev Major are in full swing, and the Swiss-style Group Stage kicks off on Monday, April 24 at 9:00 a.m. EET. Make sure to fill out your Tournament Predictions and set your Fantasy Lineup, and then tune in via the Dota 2 client or Twitch to watch the action unfold.

After Group Stage wraps up, the single-elimination Main Event will kick off on Thursday, April 27 at 10:00 a.m EET from the National Palace of Arts in Kiev, with sixteen of the world's best Dota teams battling to capture the last Dota 2 Major Championship before The International in August.

THE INTERNATIONAL



Once a champion is crowned in Kiev to cap off the Winter season, the focus of the Dota community will turn towards The International and debates over who can walk away from this year's tournament as the undisputed best Dota team in the world.

As such, it's nearly time to unveil The International Battle Pass—once all immortals are sufficiently polished—and prepare for the annual celebration of top-tier Dota that draws fans, pros, and neophytes alike to KeyArena in Seattle.

This year, to distinguish the players who support The International and contribute directly to the tournament prize pool, all TI Battle Pass items will remain exclusive through next year's International. Items that you earn can each be gifted once, and players who unlock Ultra Rare items will still be able to trade them as in the past.

For teams who would join the ranks of the year's top tournament, The International Regional Qualifiers will be held on June 26th – 29th to determine the final contenders who will meet in Seattle August 7 - 12 for a chance at ultimate victory.

TODAY'S UPDATE



Today's update includes the addition of a Stats section to every hero's About tab. Now you can easily see details on each hero's Attributes and level gains; their base attack, defense, and mobility stats; and base health/mana pools and regeneration.

We've also updated the report-granting mechanism to scale directly with the number of games played, fixed the Player Conduct Summary not showing recent commends, and changed report functionality so enemy players can now only be reported for communication abuse.

There are also some performance improvements to help during teamfights on various low-end hardware configurations, and a fix has been added to stop calculating player XPM once they reach level 25.

The Kiev Major kicks off competition in less than two weeks, with Group Stage play on April 24 - 25, and the Main Event taking place April 27 - 30 at the National Palace of Arts in Kiev, Ukraine.

Head to the Compendium section of your Battle Pass to open your Player Cards and fill out your Fantasy Lineups, make your Tournament Predictions, and see the full roster of broadcast talent.

Once the Group Stage concludes, you'll also have the chance to fill out a Bracket Prediction for the Main Event. You'll need to decide: Will old favorites reign supreme, or can another group of upstarts wreak havoc on the main stage? The more accurate your predictions, the more Battle Points that await you.

We look forward to welcoming the teams, talent, and fans to Kiev for another showdown to determine who stands atop the best sixteen teams in the world.

The Kiev Major kicks off competition in less than two weeks, with Group Stage play on April 24 - 25, and the Main Event taking place April 27 - 30 at the National Palace of Arts in Kiev, Ukraine.

Head to the Compendium section of your Battle Pass to open your Player Cards and fill out your Fantasy Lineups, make your Tournament Predictions, and see the full roster of broadcast talent.

Once the Group Stage concludes, you'll also have the chance to fill out a Bracket Prediction for the Main Event. You'll need to decide: Will old favorites reign supreme, or can another group of upstarts wreak havoc on the main stage? The more accurate your predictions, the more Battle Points that await you.

We look forward to welcoming the teams, talent, and fans to Kiev for another showdown to determine who stands atop the best sixteen teams in the world.

This season's Battle Cup schedule is receiving a one-week extension, which means players have two chances left to raise their Battle Cup Score to 110 and earn a Champions Cup ticket.

Eligible players in Tiers 1-7 will compete in this exclusive season finale tournament on Saturday, April 22 at the usual kick-off time for each region.

Eligible players in Tier 8 will be invited to a moderated tournament to be held in June, with the winning team in each region locking up a spot in The International Regional Qualifier.

This season's Battle Cup schedule is receiving a one-week extension, which means players have two chances left to raise their Battle Cup Score to 110 and earn a Champions Cup ticket.

Eligible players in Tiers 1-7 will compete in this exclusive season finale tournament on Saturday, April 22 at the usual kick-off time for each region.

Eligible players in Tier 8 will be invited to a moderated tournament to be held in June, with the winning team in each region locking up a spot in The International Regional Qualifier.

The International Dota 2 Championship returns to Seattle's KeyArena from Monday, August 7th through Saturday, August 12th, once again gathering the world’s top Dota teams together to vie for the Aegis of Champions.

Tickets will go on sale Tuesday, April 4th at 10:00 AM and 10:00 PM PDT, with two ticket types available. The Midweek ticket—available for $100—will grant attendance to the first four days of the event, August 7th – 10th. The Finals ticket—available for $200—will grant access to the last two days, August 11th and 12th.

Fans with only the Midweek ticket are welcome to watch the final two days from a free outdoor viewing area on the KeyArena grounds.

Check out the Ticketing FAQ here for more information.

Tickets will be available via Ticketmaster. We recommend that you prepare your Ticketmaster account and log in before tickets go on sale to help ensure a smooth purchasing experience. If you are unsure when tickets will go on sale in your time zone, please use this time zone converter.

• Seattle: April 4th at 10AM and 10PM
• Rio de Janeiro: April 4th at 2PM and April 5th at 2AM
• London: April 4th at 6PM and April 5th at 6AM
• Berlin: April 4th at 7PM and April 5th at 7AM
• Moscow: April 4th at 8PM and April 5th at 8AM
• Beijing: April 5th at 1AM and 1PM
• Singapore: April 5th at 1AM and 1PM
• Seoul: April 5th at 2AM and 2PM
• Sydney: April 5th at 3AM and 3PM

The International Qualifiers will be held after completion of The Kiev Major. Aspiring challengers will battle through the Open Qualifiers June 22nd - 25th, and the Regional Qualifiers will then follow on June 26th - 29th to determine the final contenders.

The International Dota 2 Championship returns to Seattle's KeyArena from Monday, August 7th through Saturday, August 12th, once again gathering the world’s top Dota teams together to vie for the Aegis of Champions.

Tickets will go on sale Tuesday, April 4th at 10:00 AM and 10:00 PM PDT, with two ticket types available. The Midweek ticket—available for $100—will grant attendance to the first four days of the event, August 7th – 10th. The Finals ticket—available for $200—will grant access to the last two days, August 11th and 12th.

Fans with only the Midweek ticket are welcome to watch the final two days from a free outdoor viewing area on the KeyArena grounds.

Check out the Ticketing FAQ here for more information.

Tickets will be available via Ticketmaster. We recommend that you prepare your Ticketmaster account and log in before tickets go on sale to help ensure a smooth purchasing experience. If you are unsure when tickets will go on sale in your time zone, please use this time zone converter.

• Seattle: April 4th at 10AM and 10PM
• Rio de Janeiro: April 4th at 2PM and April 5th at 2AM
• London: April 4th at 6PM and April 5th at 6AM
• Berlin: April 4th at 7PM and April 5th at 7AM
• Moscow: April 4th at 8PM and April 5th at 8AM
• Beijing: April 5th at 1AM and 1PM
• Singapore: April 5th at 1AM and 1PM
• Seoul: April 5th at 2AM and 2PM
• Sydney: April 5th at 3AM and 3PM

The International Qualifiers will be held after completion of The Kiev Major. Aspiring challengers will battle through the Open Qualifiers June 22nd - 25th, and the Regional Qualifiers will then follow on June 26th - 29th to determine the final contenders.