Valve Ends 'Dota 2' "Boosting" By Banning Accounts For Eight Years
Valve is slamming "Dota 2" players who use bots to weasel their way out of low priority and boost their matchmaking ratings with lengthy bans of up to eight years. The move is a response to cleanse the game of toxic players who are seen as the primary reason for its slowly declining popularity.
Nothing ruins a perfectly good game quite like a toxic player and Valve's multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is no exception. Which is why since the beginning, a "low priority" system was implemented to punish players who abandon games or rack up a considerable number of reports.
In low priority, players are matched with other low priority players and must win a set number of games in a single-draft mode in order to get out. The system is meant to punish players by preventing them from playing normal or ranked matches.
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However, many players have found a way to circumvent this punishment through the use of bots where they can't lose. This means that instead of spending hours or days in low priority, toxic players can get out in a matter of minutes to once again ruin other players' games.
The same system is also used by players to artificially "boost" their MMR moving up the ladder through unfair means rather than skill. With MMR slowly becoming a way to break into the "Dota 2" professional scene, boosting, coupled with the collusion between players to buy and sell a boosted account has led Valve to begin a crackdown.
Players began receiving matchmaking bans ranging from months to several years with one unlucky soul unable to enter matchmaking until 2025. While it might seem harsh to some, the action is certainly warranted if Valve wants to save its pride and joy from suffering the same fate as "Heroes of Newerth."
Sadly though, the fact that "Dota 2" is free-to-play means that players who get banned can simply create a new Steam account and continue with their toxic ways. For many players, the experience is no longer worth it and many are leaving in droves to seek out other games such as the massively popular "Player Unknown's Battlegrounds" who, coincidentally, broke the MOBA's record for most concurrent players on Steam.
