Why the system sucks

The match: http://www.dotabuff.com/matches/1547280618

Lately I've been super motivated to get better at Dota. I've been trying to just go into matches and block out everything that might distract me from improving like they say you should, but then I get teammates like this. I'm not even sure why I got matched with them because they aren't even in my normal (high) skill bracket.

After having DK mid highlighted since I saw their PL and Tinker picks, our lineup looked good. Then idk what happened after I picked, but everyone decided they were going to play a carry. Luckily, I thought, the other team did the same thing. Well, after winning my lane and getting good farm, I ended up going 6-0 while the rest of my team fed hard. Spectre died in lane bot and spam pinged me and said "WTF WHY NO GANK" so I just muted him. The Slark, bless his heart, was really trying, but he just fed every time he attempted a gank. I tried giving him constructive criticism like what items to build (he wanted to start his Shadow Blade around 25 mins) but he just wouldn't listen because he had "hundreds of Slark games." I didn't even die all game until they broke base and it was over anyway.

So that's why the whole idea of "if you're actually better than the people in your games you'll naturally rise up" is stupid. I played well and tried to help and rally them together, but it just didn't help.

Valve pls, giff mmr recalibration ;_;

Well the thing is that if you always play better then the others and stay motivated, your MMR will rise.
But i do agree that it can be really tedious since getting MMR is purely based on wins.

Damn. I feel your pain Bro. I'm in the situation where I want to improve as a DotA player. I believe if I do so, my MMR will take care of itself. My issue is I play Support, so 9/10 times I get stuck with people who either can't play a decent Carry or play really well then go for style points and throw the game...Last night I played a game where our PA bought a Shadow Blade over BKB. (TT_TT) #scrublife

I have no problems with the system, I just wished there was a way to reward people who actually play well in their game instead of being penalised solely based on losing the match.

i felt the same man, ive felt the same.

problem was i wasnt looking at my actual progression. i got angry at every loss but didnt see the wins. i was steadily increasing my mmr but i didnt see it increasing i only saw the losses. then i was spooked when i realised that i had raised my mmr by around 500 points. i was stunned. i had this feeling where i was always losing yet i looked at my games and i always stopped playing when i lost. id win 3 but lose one then id stop playing till the next week. thats why i felt i was losing.

then i made my smurf and got a new mmr and honestly once i saw an mmr that i felt i deserved i kinda.... didnt care anymore ya know once i saw a validation of my internal thoughts i didnt even care about it anymore.

i care but ... not really. i play maybe 1 ranked game a week on my smurf and i dont even care. its like not a big deal even though im playing at the 3.7k bracket. in my normal account i was winning ranked easily 3 games out of 4 and the one that i lost is where i didnt play a core or i had someone leave. now in my smurf i win maybe 50% of the time. and i dont even have to go core i can trust my teammates.

thats the problem i feel in lower levels ... you cant trust your team mates. hence 5 carries.

anyway man gl hf and focus on the positives not the negatives.


oh and create a smurf :)

Wow, your one loss must mean the whole system is broken!

Guys, come on. The system works well and is the best way to rank players in a competitive game. Like I always say: KDA does not equal skill, you only count for 20% of your team's performance, and don't blame everyone else.
Consider point nr 2: >You count for 20%. That means that if you play 25% better than the average at your level, your team has 5% higher chance to win than the opponents' (roughly speaking). Due to snowballing and other effects that number is probably higher in reality, but the point is that you can play GODLY and your team might still lose, often. You're playing with 4 random people, who are at or around your ranking, but who might have good or bad days. Everyone does.

Just focus on getting better and you will climb the ladder. You know why? Because you're get better! Stop blaming the system or everyone else, it's not the problem.

EDIT: oh and don't create a "smurf", you egoist. Smurf accounts bypass the system and place you in an inaccurate skill bracket, either ruining the game for your opponent or for your team. More games means a more accurate ranking. Purposefully bypassing the system because you think it is flawed does not help the system...

fact: the system is broken
fact: what you are not told is that your calibrated mmr is based off Every. Single. Game. You. Have. Ever. Played.
fact: those stupid games where you fed when you were just starting?. they count. those games where u had super bad internet? they count.
fact: if i was placed in a "inaccurate " skill bracket then why do i have 90% win rate in ranked on my smurf then?
Fact: your calibrated mmr has nothing to do with your actual skill level. on my normal account in ranked i am in normal skill yet in my unranked games i am in very high skill.
fact: if your **** then no matter if you have a smurf your going to still be ****. i wanted to see what mmr i could achieve with out the learning stage applied. i got 3552 i am now at 3724. questions?
fact: i seriously suggest to everyone to make a smurf. but only make one when they are winning at lest 75% of all ranked games. if they arent then hey... they wont be getting anything different.

@Smuggels. I will try to ignore your angry demeanor and misuse of the word "fact", and answer each of your statements as well as I can. For a (hopefully) agreeable and conclusive statement, go to the bottom.

fact: the system is broken
What makes you say that it is? Which part of the system do you view as "broken"?
The system is simple: If you win, because your team played better than the opponent, your score will rise. If you lose, it drops, and you meet a team ranked lower in your next match. It's simple and it works. Dota is a team game and the ranking system applies to your contribution to the team--if your team win or loses. Like I said, your KDA ratio does not equal win chance. Killing opponents without dying does not directly relate to your team winning the game, because a game of Dota is so much more than just kills and deaths. Gold, experience, items, builds, movement, morale, and more -- it all counts! A high KDA does not mean you contributed equally well to your team winning. If however, you DO contribute well to your team winning, you will win more than you lose, and your rank will rise. Like I mentioned, you only count for 20% of your team, but if you play better than your rank, you will rise. It's a slow but steady process (which you reset when creating a smurf account), but it is not broken; it is not unfair.

fact: what you are not told is that your calibrated mmr is based off Every. Single. Game. You. Have. Ever. Played.
fact: those stupid games where you fed when you were just starting?. they count. those games where u had super bad internet? they count.
I don't know if this is true, but if it is, it is so for everyone. Nobody is treated unfairly by the system, everyone goes through the same process -- you're not special.

fact: if i was placed in a "inaccurate " skill bracket then why do i have 90% win rate in ranked on my smurf then?
I assume you mean that you don't have 90% winrate, because if you did that would be a very clear indication that you were placed in the wrong bracket on your smurf account and have played a lot games unfair to your opponents. If you do in fact mean that you have 90% winrate on your smurf, then you support my point.
Assuming you don't and that you have something closer to 50% winrate on your smurf: Great! Continue using that account, it probably quite accurate. If not, don't, because it is inaccurate.

Fact: your calibrated mmr has nothing to do with your actual skill level. on my normal account in ranked i am in normal skill yet in my unranked games i am in very high skill.
Refer to my answer to the first "fact" on whether your MMR matches your "actual" skill level. I have to repeat, KDA =/= skill.
Furthermore, Ranked and Unranked view different games. Maybe you have had more luck in unranked games, or maybe you treat the games differently, or maybe there are simply more good players queuing for ranked matchmaking.
Now, talking about the calibration again: It does what it's supposed to with the limited games it can draw from. If your initial calibration is inaccurate, you will rise or fall until you're at your "actual" level.

fact: if you're **** then no matter if you have a smurf your going to still be ****. i wanted to see what mmr i could achieve with out the learning stage applied. i got 3552 i am now at 3724. questions?
Good for you. Judging only by the limited games you have on your smurf, it seems that you were calibrated more accurately on your "second attempt". It happens, but not for all. Certainly not for those who create a smurf account simply to calibrate low and win some easy matches, which I am highly against. It can however not be denied that more games to judge from will result in a more accurate ranking -- your single instance does not disprove that.

fact: i seriously suggest to everyone to make a smurf. but only make one when they are winning at lest 75% of all ranked games. if they arent then hey... they wont be getting anything different.
In the end, it seems you agree with me after all.


The bottom: I will admit that different MMR brackets favours different play styles and actions within a match. A good ward for example is a lot more valuable at 4k than 2k for example (which is probably why so many complain about not rising from 2k as a pure support) -- that is a fact. Because of this, the way you play might fit better at a different MMR level, and your potential is therefore not realized until you hit that level. In any case, one should always aim for versatility, "wholeness", knowing all parts of the game, and not hone your skills toward one area of it.

Good luck and have fun -- it's a game after all :)

Smurf account = lol. It is obvious your mmr will raise, since you will be playing against people that, by definition, are less skilled. What's the joy in beating noobs to raise your mmr? I feel like the quest for mmr is, more than a quest for a better game, a way to say that you only lose because you solo que and your team is not good. But if that's the case, try to play in parties only, where you can't blame someone for your loss.

I agree with Swixcap, smurfs are a kinda of cheat that doesn't help no one in reality. Last week I went a game with a friend of a friend who had never played dota, for real (level 0). What happened was we ended being three people that did know how to play dota at a normal skill level (I don't even have single mmr yet since I don't play single ranked), but two that didn't know how to play it at all (the 5th teammate abbandoned by staying in the fountain, I imagine because he was new too, since he didn't know how to last hit, etc). On the enemy team, though, everyone - and I mean every single person - was from a normal skill level or even higher. It's not the first time that happens to me either - it's kinda obvious when you see a supposedly low level Lion ganking with his Blink Dagger. So you know you're playing against some smurf - and you weren't supposed to be matched against him to be fair in the first place, but you are, because he wants to win more against low levels.

On the other hand, I was worried when the last in-house came, since most people here has high mmr. I ended up in the winning team in all the games I played, and I know I played them well, because the person with the higher mmr told me so. Thus, my skill level has nothing to do with mmr - and if I did creat a smurf now to start building some mmr that wouldn't make me a better player, nor would it make sense to be proud of some number that supposedly shows my skill.

Personally,
If I play in a stack, I always have fun even if I'm on a losing streak. When I play solo, it is not that fun at all. I mean any activity is better with people whom you know.
Also, try not to first pick. Seriously! This will save you from countless head aches.

Solo MMR is not broken, it's stupid.

Why? because I believe that a person's true prowess is not shown when he pwns 2 lvl noobs with slark, it is when he force-staffs his m8 sven outside the incoming warlock drop and stuns the ult'ing crystal maiden who has a glimmer cape with lion .

Co-ordination
Co-operation
Team Spirit

These are the pillars of DoTa 2, not individual skill.