Dota 2 Ranks, MMR Ranking Distribution and Medals

Like other competitive games, Dota 2 ranks are an in-game mechanic that matches you with players with a skill level close to yours. The in-depth ranking system consists of rank confidence, MatchMaking Rating or MMR, and extensive rank distribution. If you're stuck at your rank, check out the Dota 2 Boost service to easily reach the top. So relax because we have everything you need to know about Dota 2 ranks and how to excel in your Dota journey.

How Does Dota 2 Ranking System Work?

Understanding the basics of the ranking system is essential for every Dota 2 player. For instance, if a new player wants to know how ranked matches work or a veteran wants to be the best, they need to know everything about rank tier systems. The overall system reflects where the player stands and areas for improvement. These are the foundations that make up the ranking system:

• Different Ranks: There are 8 medals available in Dota 2 that showcase your skill level. These are further divided into sub-tiers that are denoted by stars. You move up a rank when you complete all five tiers of a medal. For instance, once you reach 100% on Herald 5, the lowest Dota 2 medal, you achieve Guardian 1, which can be upgraded further. With exceptional skill and winning matches, you can reach higher ranks.

• Communication and Behaviour Score: Communication and Behaviour scores are essential in improving your MMR. Firstly, you must have at least a 3000 Behavior score to unlock your access to ranked games. Your Communication scores affect the in-game communication. For instance, you can use text chat at 6000 while voice chat at 8000 commutation score. Anyone who plays Dota 2 or any other multiplayer game knows effective communication leads to better teamwork. Moreover, a higher Behaviour score means you'll be matched with friendlier players, which means a better-quality ranked game.

• Role Queue Vs Classic: Dota 2 has two ranked modes with different game mechanics. Role Queue allows you to select one of the multiple roles in the game, divided into support and core roles. Hard and soft support roles focus on healing, vision control for map awareness, and utility items, while mid, safe, and off-lane cores focus on last-hitting, pushing, fighting, and carrying the game. You get role queues by choosing the support roles or playing full-party games. If you don't have a preferred role, select the Classic mode and choose whatever hero you want after communicating with your team.

What Are Dota 2 Ranks?

The ranking system in Dota 2 determines a player's proficiency and growth using competitive play. It represents a hierarchy reflecting talent and commitment, whether you're a newcomer or veteran. The progression is further broken down into five sub-stages, except for Immortal. The top players in every region are displayed on the Immortal rank's leaderboard. Most professional matches happen in the Immortal rank.

It takes more than just winning games for professional players to climb the ranked ladder. A player needs to deeply understand the game, including understanding each patch, mastering the meta, and being mechanically talented. With each rank come new opportunities to learn while facing new threats, and every player's skill level is tested with each new game of Dota 2.

All Ranks in Dota 2

There are 8 Medals in Dota 2, each with a specific numerical range divided into 5 tiers. With each ranked season, Valve decides the values for these medals, and in the current season, they are:

• Herald: This is the lowest rank in Dota 2, and most new players start at this level. If you don't have experience with any MOBA games, you'll find yourself between other Herald players. The MMR Herald ranges from 1 - 769 MMR
  • Herald 1: 1-154 MMR
  • Herald 2: 154-308 MMR
  • Herald 3: 308-462 MMR
  • Herald 4: 462-616 MMR
  • Herald 5: 616-769 MMR
• Guardian: These players have a basic understanding of the game but still suffer mechanically. MMR Guardian ranges from 770- 1539 MMR.
  • Guardian 1: 770-924 MMR
  • Guardian 2: 924-1078 MMR
  • Guardian 3: 1078-1232 MMR
  • Guardian 4: 1232-1386 MMR
  • Guardian 5: 1386-1539 MMR
• Crusader: Players in this bracket start to understand specific roles and have a grasp on a few heroes. Crusaders and Archonds lay in the middle ranks and have the most active players. MMR Crusader ranges from 1540-2310 MMR.
  • Crusader 1: 1540-1694 MMR
  • Crusader 2: 1694-1848 MMR
  • Crusader 3: 1848-2002 MMR
  • Crusader 4: 2002-2156 MMR
  • Crusader 5: 2156-2309 MMR
• Archon: Archons can carry out more intricate plans, know the significance of objectives and team play, and frequently possess strong hero expertise. The MMR Archon ranges from 2310-3079 MMR.
  • Archon 1: 2310-2464 MMR
  • Archon 2: 2464-2618 MMR
  • Archon 3: 2618-2772 MMR
  • Archon 4: 2772-2926 MMR
  • Archon 5: 2926-3079 MMR
• Legend: Higher ranks of Dota 2 start from this bracket. Players understand team compositions, can predict enemy movements, and most players' first and most significant achievement is reaching Legend. The MMR Legend ranges from 3080-3849 MMR.
  • Legend 1: 3080-3234 MMR
  • Legend 2: 3234-3388 MMR
  • Legend 3: 3388-3542 MMR
  • Legend 4: 3542-3696 MMR
  • Legend 5: 3696-3849 MMR
• Ancient: Ancients can consistently perform well in their respective positions and understand complex mechanics and drafting tactics. The MMR Ancient ranges from 3850-4619 MMR.
  • Ancient 1: 3850-4004 MMR
  • Ancient 2: 4004-4158 MMR
  • Ancient 3: 4158-4312 MMR
  • Ancient 4: 4312-4466 MMR
  • Ancient 5: 4466-4619 MMR
• Divine: A professional player's journey starts from this rank. Divine-level players showcase high mechanical skills, map awareness, and the ability to control and single-handedly lead and win games. The MMR ranges from 4620 - 5620 MMR.
  • Divine 1: 4620-4820 MMR
  • Divine 2: 4820-5020 MMR
  • Divine 3: 5020-5220 MMR
  • Divine 4: 5220-5420 MMR
  • Divine 5: 5420-5620 MMR
• Immortal: Immortal rank is the highest in Dota 2. These players are professionals who know their stuff in and out. Most low and mid-rank players learn by watching replays of Immortal players. If you want more MMR, then regularly check the gameplay of these players. This medal works slightly differently from the rest. There is the base Immortal that you achieve by surpassing 5620 MMR. Next, regional leaderboards start from Top 25000, Top 5000, Top 100, Top 10 and Top 1. The MMR distribution is dynamic in these ranges because each threshold gets broken. However, an approximate MMR required to reach the Top 25000 is 8000+ MMR.

What Does MMR Mean in Dota 2?

MMR or MatchMaking Rating is a number that indicates a player's ability level. Every medal and tier has a specific MMR range, fluctuating after winning or losing games. Initially, the player's MMR changed by 30, depending on the result of your game. Still, variables like your opponents' MMR, gameplay, and game activity level now impact this value. Additionally, the MMR value is now set to gain or lose 25 per match, with players with low-rank confidence facing more significant MMR variation.

How to View Your MMR in Dota 2

The process to view your MMR is relatively simple. Just open Dota 2, click on your profile photo, and head to the "history" tab, where your Rank Confidence and calibrated MMR will be visible. To look at your medal, look at it beside your profile name. While there was a specific stats page in earlier versions of Dota 2, recent updates have changed that feature and removed separate Carry and Support MMR.

Analyzing the Distribution of Dota 2 Ranks

The distribution of Dota 2 ranks indicates your ability level and how far you stand from a typical player. This approach promotes balanced and competitive games by matching players with comparable skill levels. With most players occupying the bottom and middle ranks and fewer making it to the higher ranks of Immortal, the distribution is heavy in the middle.

According to this graph, most players are Archon, with around 22%, while Crusader falls close behind. Surprisingly, Herald 1 has the lowest number of players, but as a whole medal, there are fewer Immortal players than other medals.

Strategies to Win Your Dota 2 Ranked Matches

Mastering Dota 2 requires much hard work and the right mindset. Moreover, if you follow these tips, there are more chances of you winning your future matches:

1. Mastering the Basics: This may be a common one, but learning everything about the basics of Dota 2 makes a real difference. For instance, understanding your specific role, last-hitting creeps, building the right items, understanding enemy moves, and focusing on objectives are just some tips that will help you raise your game to the next level.
2. Watching Replays: Observing and watching masters at work helps you learn new techniques. A "Watch" tab in Dota 2 showcases current high-ranking games, or you can follow pro tournaments to see the best duking it out. Overall, watching a pro play the game positively impacts your game.
3. Vision Control and Map Awareness: This cannot be said enough, "Wards and Vision are your friends". Many players, no matter their role, need to pay more attention to the importance of vision and get ganked by enemies, eventually losing the lead and overall game. So always plant wards, watch tutorials on good warding spots, and always be caught on guard.
4. Team Play and Communication: Being a team game means talking to your teammates, looking after other players, and pinging at the right moment can make or break the game for you.
5. Farming and Utilizing Resources: There is a trend in players with low MMR to avoid picking utility items like Tangoes or buying too many utilities at the start wasting money. On the other hand, they don't focus on farming or focus too much on getting gold. There is a fine line that a player has to ride to get more MMR. Supports should focus on stacking and warding, while Cores should focus on objectives, take down towers, and end the game fast.
6. Updates and Consistency: Dota 2 has frequent updates that sometimes change the meta, item prices, or general tactics. So always stay up to date, know what's changed, and consistently play so you get better with each game.

The Role of Rank Confidence in Dota 2

Dota 2 introduced this feature after the 7.33 Update for better balancing in ranked matches. Specifically, this value represents the accuracy of your rank and skill level. A new ID has to increase their Rank Confidence to 30% to know their rank. Players who keep playing ranked games improve their rank confidence by up to 100%, and anyone who hasn’t played ranked in a while starts losing this. Eventually, they may lose their rank if they don’t play long.

How Calibration Works in Dota 2

Every new player has to play a set number of calibration matches to unlock ranked matchmaking. An approximate number of matches for a new Dota 2 ID is 100 normal or turbo matches. After unlocking Ranked matches, they must play until their Rank Confidence reaches 30% to showcase their ranks. Your rank is calibrated according to your MMR and your Rank Confidence. You can also recalibrate your ranks now by going into Account settings, resetting, and playing 10 ranked matches to get a new rank.

MMR Leaders in Dota 2

Every region has specific players on the top of the leaderboard. Some of these are:

Europe:

• Raddan #1
• Secret.423 #2
• GG.Watson #3.

Most players in the leaderboards are affiliated with top E-Sports teams like Secret, Gaimin Gladiators, OG, or Spirit. Some are free agents who can be content creators or not looking for professional competition. You may see some new names pop up when the ranking season restarts.

These players may look untouchable, but they started as Heralds when they first played. Consistent gameplay, perseverance, and constant learning have put them on top of the leaderboards today. They understand the Dota 2 ranking system, and staying till the end, you do too. So don't be afraid to take a new challenge, open Dota 2 now, and fly high to new ranks.