Should Dota 2 give MMR back to victims of smurfs and cheaters?

William Davis Published 17/02/2022

Dota 2 is cracking down on cheating and smurfing but it’s still missing a key feature from Valve’s other esports title, Counter-Strike.

Cheating and smurfing a problem across all competitive games, but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. Dota 2 players can unwittingly go against map hackers, macro users, and matchmaking abusers, losing MMR in the process. The Overwatch system is meant to take on and bad actors, but it’s not actually doing anything to repair the damage they’re doing.

So what if Valve refunded lost MMR to players who go against banned cheaters? 

There’s actually already precedent for such a system. In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, players who previously lost against a cheater will have their ranked points refunded once the offending player is banned. In some cases, this can cause a player’s skill rating to instantly leap up ranks. CSGO uses a similar Overwatch system as Dota 2, but the game has never had any sort of reparations.

The easiest way to implement such a feature is to tie it into the existing Overwatch system. Experienced Dota 2 players can review reported games and judge players based on what they see. This system monitors both communication abuse and cheating, though the former isn’t as important for MMR refunds in Dota 2. Since the Overwatch case keeps track of every player involved, it shouldn’t be too difficult to implement CSGO’s anti-cheating measure into Dota 2.

How do people cheat in Dota 2?

Cheating isn’t nearly as common in Dota 2 as it is in CSGO, but it’s still a real problem.

The most common method of Dota 2 cheating is map hacks. These programs can cut through the fog of war to reveal enemy locations mid-game. Dota 2 map hacks can take many forms from outright replacing the minimap to using the in-game drawing feature to show enemy wards and heroes. These can’t bypass the vision requirement for targeted spells, but they’re especially powerful on skillshot heroes like Pudge and Windranger.

Another common method of cheating in Dota 2 is the use of macros. These programs perform complex functions with just the press of a button. For example, a Techies player using a macro can automatically explode remote mines whenever a player walks over them. Macros can also activate abilities automatically in response to enemy attacks. A cheating Alchemist player can use Chemical Rage’s delayed purge to get rid of stuns, for example. Items like Eul’s Scepter and Manta Style offer similar functionality.

If you ever spot suspicious Phase Shifts or way-too-precise Techies mines, don’t hesitate to give a report. If Valve brings CSGO’s ranking refund over to Dota 2, you might just get your MMR back.

Read Also

Dota 2

ESIC hand down ruling in EWC Dota match-fixing case: Lifetime ban for coach as DarkMago gets a nickel Michael Hassall South American Dota 2 player Gonzalo "DarkMago" Herrera will be banned for five years from competitive Dota 2, with his coach Juan "Vintage" Angulo banned permanently, following the results of an The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) investigation. ESIC handed down the findings and rulings from its investigation into match-fixing allegations leveled at members of South American Dota 2 team PlayTime during the Esports World Cup on Sep. 10, in a ...

News

Polystrike Turns a Dota 2 Mod Into a Standalone Tactical Shooter Hannan Mundia After the community-made mod found success within the community, developer and publisher Robin Entertainment has decided to turn Polystrike into a proper standalone game. Community-made mods of games finding success within the respective game’s community is nothing new. However, only a handful of those mods are able to go on and become a standalone game. One of the more recent examples is The Forgotten City, which started as a mod ...

Dota 2

Team Spirit wins TI15 to lift a record third Aegis of Champions Michael Hassall Team Spirit has defeated TEAM VISION in the grand finals of TI15, The International 2025. In a full five-game series on Aug. 23, Spirit pulled out all the stops and narrowly defeated an incredible VISION team in a back-and-forth series in Shanghai, China. With Spirit’s victory, Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk and Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov become the first ever three-time TI champions, and Team Spirit becomes the first ever organization to lift ...

Dota 2

The International 2026 (TI15) Finals Preview and Predictions Michael Hassall The International 2026, TI15, has reached its final day, and just three teams remain in the fight for the Aegis of Champions. With the lower bracket final and Grand Final still to come, everything comes down to one final day of Dota 2 action. The lower bracket finalists will first battle for the right to reach the main event’s final series, while the winner will advance to face the upper-bracket ...

Dota 2

TI15’s opening ceremony weaves a tapestry of emotion for Valve’s storied title Michael Hassall The main stage of The International 2026, TI15, kicked off today with the traditional opening ceremony heralding the start of the biggest celebration of Dota 2 on the calendar. On Aug. 20 fans in Shanghai, China, and at home, were treated to a rousing 11-minute series of performances and video packages, introducing TI15’s main stage show. Here’s how the magic unfolded: The ceremony began with a graphic which quite literally ...

Dota 2

The International 2026 (TI15) Playoffs preview and predictions Michael Hassall The Group Stage of The International 2026, TI15, is in the books and we’ve whittled down 16 of the world’s best Dota 2 teams to just eight finalists. One of these talented lineups will be the ones lifting the Aegis of Champions come Sunday, Aug. 23, but until then, there’s plenty of playoff shenanigans that could go on. Below we’ve put together a preview of the upcoming Playoff Games, along ...

News

The Esports Nations Cup Has Been Postponed to November 2027 Ben Boland The 2026 Esports Nations Cup has been suspended until 2027. The Esports Foundation announced the delay on August 18, citing ongoing regional uncertainty. The inaugural competition was scheduled to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, comprising over 100 national teams and featuring 16 different games, including League of Legends. According to the Esports Foundation, this decision follows ongoing developments in the region and consultation with key stakeholders. Moving the event ...