How To Quickly Gain MMR In Dota 2

Valve has just done an MMR squash in Dota 2. Every player in the Immortal bracket had their MMR reduced, with a cap of 9500. Players retained their leaderboard positions, but Valve lowered their MMR to more reasonable levels.

What this has done is significantly reduce the distance between new Immortals and pro players, making the grind to joining the competitive scene significantly easier.

With so many players brought down to similar levels, we thought it would be a good time to give players a few simple tips to help climb the MMR ladder in this turbulent time. 

Don't experiment. Stick to a small hero pool.

We will begin with some reliable advice. If you're serious about grinding MMR, then you have to focus on one role and a handful of heroes at best. 

While it's not exciting to play Viper three times in a row, sometimes that is the best pick in a game, especially if you have mastered the hero. This applies to any role, because very few heroes are fun to play 10 times in a row. But that is the most reliable way to win and get better.

Since playing the same hero always can be a bit boring and occasionally countered, we recommend picking up a minimum of three heroes for your best role and sticking with them. This strategy will make the climb more fun and also give you more options.

Follow professional hero builds and guides.

Alright, so you know what role you will be sticking to and which heroes you'll be spamming. Time to showcase your creativity! Support Necrophos with max Heartstopper Aura. Carry the winter wyvern incoming. And how about mid-Oracle? It worked once before!

Actually, it's probably best not to experiment right now. Instead, you should follow standard hero builds and guides. You can find multiple hero guides whenever you load in. The two most common creators are Michael "Torte de Lini" Cohen and Daniel "ImmortalFaith" Moza. Both often feature effective, up-to-date hero builds that include which skills to upgrade and which items to buy. 

Once you have played the hero several times and are familiar with the standard build, then you can try to adjust it to suit your style. Perhaps you need more regen early or prefer more scaling and fewer utility items. But at the start, stick to what the experts say.

Buy what your team needs.

If you watch a lot of professional Dota 2 games, you'll notice that players will adjust each game to fit the demands of the team. This means buying armour items against heavy physical damage. Or mobility when facing a lot of roots. And of course, we all know how much core players love buying and using BKB effectively...right?

But while players are familiar with itemising based on how to beat enemies in a fight, they are significantly less comfortable buying "support" items that can lead to victory. What I mean by this specifically is detection.

Somehow, too many players believe that revealing invisible enemies is squarely a support's job. So even though all the cores are melee, it falls on Oracle and Shadow Demon to somehow use dust on Clinkz. It doesn't make any sense, does it?

But it goes beyond that as well. In the recent Games Of The Future, you can find support for Mirana's buying Crimson Guard against physical heavy lineups. You also see late-game Vladimir's Offering to give cores extra lifesteal and damage. 

To summarise, identify what the biggest problem on your team is and do your best to find an ultimate solution to it. With so many choices, there is bound to be something you can buy to help your team. It might not fit your role, but it is still the right thing to do if it can help win the game.

Don't flame your allies.

"Oh great. Pudge is 0-8! And what in God's good name is he buying? Radiance first?! I shall now express my feelings towards him and throw in some colourful words about his matriarch as well."

We've all been there. Somehow the carry walks right up to the enemy line, under fire, and dies. Your support has decided to jangle at minute three. And the less said about the midlaner, the better.

While telling these... let's call them 'people' how you feel about them might make you feel better temporarily, but it will also likely trigger a negative response from them. And of course you'd then have to reply to their response, because nobody gets the better of you, right?

Flaming allies is the start of a vicious cycle that can never help and only hurt. While sometimes it feels impossible to hold back, you can avoid flaming allies. By ignoring their mistakes and focusing on winning the game, you'll sometimes make comebacks you never imagined could happen. 

When your allies make a lot of mistakes, let it go as best you can. Focus on finding a way to come back. Can you find a pickoff? Should you split push? Is jungling the only viable option right now? You have a lot of control in a game of Dota 2; don't waste it by flaming your teammates.

READ MORE: Dota 2 Patch 7.41e Destroys Zeus

Featured Image Source: Valve