Dota 2 matchmaking update

This Dota update focuses on the matchmaking system once more, but mainly fixing the issues created by the previous update. 

Many players are experiencing a significant drop in matchmaking quality, which is why fixing them was made a priority. Here's a summary of all the changes. 

High MMR Partying

To put a stop to matchmaking abuse in high level matches, parties that include Divine or Immortal players will all be considered the same rank as the highest player in the party. Although it will also affect normal parties with large MMR variance, it should still be a favourable trade-off. 

Matchup Combinations

Five-player parties will now only be matched with five-player parties before any other matchmaking rules are considered. As for solo players, they will only be matched against parties of five solo players or three solo players and one party of two. 

Match Quality and Role Symmetry

Several bugs were introduced in the last update which caused incorrect matchmaking evaluation. They've been fixed but will be monitored to ensure that new bugs do not result from these changes. 

Role Symmetry has been tuned up, so it should now perform better. Efforts are also being made to prevent supports from becoming the highest MMR players in a game. 

Medal Rework

Medals will go back to having 5 stars instead of 7, as the visual clutter that resulted wasn't worth it. The MMR range each medal represents is now being rebalanced. Ultimately, medals should represent the same skill level from the beginning of the season to its end. Although player medals will be adjusted upwards, the change will not affect their MMR. 

High-Water Mark

Medals will no longer have a strict high-water mark and will instead adjust themselves, even if their actual MMR falls far below their rank medal. This will make account buying less valuable and will work with the smurf detection system. 

Post-Game Match Evaluation

The post-game screen will now show the average and max queue times for players in the match, alongside a summarized behavior category of the match to encourage more feedback. 

Post-Game Survey

A new post-game survey has been added which will occasionally appear to rate player experiences in a match. The survey won't go live until work has been done to some bugs and update-related issues. 

Communication with Low Behavior Score

Players with a behavior score below 3000 can no longer use chat or voice until their score rises. 

Party Spread

The acceptable MMR spread within a party has been reduced from 2800 to 2000. This only applies to ranked matchmaking. 

Core Matchmaking Code

The matchmaker search process is now more flexible to accommodate the ever increasing number of requirements. 

Reports and Player Bans

Booster and exploiter detection algorithms have been doing regular ban waves in the background, while it will also remove some methods of reporting. This should improve the signal-to-noise ratio. 

Valve expects the game to be a little unstable for a day or two but still looks forward to hearing feedback from players after it stabilises. The team will focus on monitoring and evaluating the effects of the update. 

If all goes well, the next major category updates will address is the new player experience, which will build upon the outcome from smurf detection. This will help players new to the game quickly get acquainted and gradually learn its ins and outs. 

You can find the full patch notes here.