Oct 19, Only play matches with other players in low priority. Not receive any A player is returned to queue after a recently failed matchmaking attempt.
Table of contents
- Priority - Dota 2 Wiki
- Steam Support
- Valve is handing out eight-year bans to low priority queue abusers
- Conduct Summary and Low-Priority FAQ
If you abandon more than once per week, you will get into Low Priority.
This is not a 'cross your fingers and hope for the best' scenario - you will definitely get put into Low Priority for doing this, no exceptions. You will count as having abandoned if you are AFK for more than 5 minutes, or if you are disconnected for more than 5 minutes.
If you're in a normal game and your team is competent, tell them that you have to go, share hero control with them, and cross your fingers. Do not disconnect; as long as you are connected to the game, that timer will not count down and you will only have to deal with the AFK timer.
The second way to get into Low Priority is to be reported. This method was more difficult to test and is the easiest to abuse. The report system works automatically on a variety of heuristics which are, obviously, not available to the public, but I've done a lot of testing and I think I've determined a lot of them. If someone gets angry and reports you, nothing is going to happen.
A single report from a single player, or even from multiple players, doesn't matter. You are only going to be put into Low Priority from reports if you are reported over multiple games in a short period of time. Thanks to the introduction of the behavior report that you get every 10 games, you can tell more or less how many reports it takes to get into Low Priority.
In addition, I believe that reports made against other players in Low Priority either do not count or are greatly discounted. Muting is a different issue which I haven't investigated. I have never been muted and while I believe it works on similar principles to being put into Low Priority by being reported, I am not sure. In simple terms, to avoid Low Priority, do not abandon or get an abandon more than once every seven days or so, and do not feed intentionally more than once every three games.
I'm not sure if Low Priority acts any differently for Ranked games as opposed to normal games. Reports seem to function the same, as well as the one free abandon per week, but I would still be cautious of abandoning or feeding in Ranked games nevertheless. Because Valve have recently changed the number of reports available to players, and because of how the new UI works, there is a big loophole in this system: You can only report people at the natural end of the game now, and if you leave prematurely that option is no longer available. The number of games you will have to win to get out of Low Priority varies based on how much of a repeat offender you are.
Priority - Dota 2 Wiki
Due to all my testing, whenever I get into Low Priority, I have to win 5 games. If you have never been in Low Priority before, or you have not been in a long time, expect to have to win 1 to 3 games. I have abandoned a great deal while already in Low Priority and my games to win has never increased above 5. Getting out of Low Priority is simple - win your games. Once you've won every game you have to to get out, you can queue up for normal matchmaking and select modes other than Single Draft.
However, because Low Priority games have something riding on them, there is a more optimal way to play than in a normal game of Dota.
Steam Support
To put it simply, the only thing that matters in Low Priority is if you win and at least one player on the enemy team is still connected. Note that if you win but everyone on the enemy team has abandoned, you will not be credited with a win.
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If the game is safe to leave and you know you are going to lose, leave. You can queue up for another match and try again. Note that in a recent update, abandoning a game while you are at five games left to win will now place you on a matchmaking cooldown, first for twenty minutes, then jumping up to a day and so on. Abandoning while at five games left won't increase the games you have left to win, but due to this system is now no longer worth doing more than once, as you will spend more time sitting out than playing the game. Once you are at 4 games or lower, you will have to slog through a few games that cannot be won.
In order to expedite this process, once you know that the game cannot win, buy a shadow amulet and afk in mid check back occasionally to make sure nothing has happened to you or just feed. Because reports in Low Priority have little or no effect, you can safely feed without repercussions. To be safe, however, I suggest doing this only every other game at the very most. If the game is ever safe to leave and you are at a disadvantage, I suggest you leave immediately and queue back up unless you believe you can come back and win.
Valve is handing out eight-year bans to low priority queue abusers
What types of behaviors can result in a Low Priority penalty? Abandoning a matchmaking game that is not marked as 'safe to leave'. Being in a Ranked party when one of the party members is assigned an abandon. Being reported by other users for negative in-game behavior. Abusing hero abilities or the in-game courier. Extended AFK behavior or otherwise not participating in a game that you have joined. Joining a group with another individual that is in the low priority matchmaking queue will cause the entire group to be placed in the low priority queue until the group is disbanded or the low priority individual leaves.
What other effects does a Low Priority penalty have on an account? The account will not qualify for any item drops. Achievements and quests will not be counted.
Conduct Summary and Low-Priority FAQ
Battle points or other seasonal rewards cannot be earned. Queuing with other accounts will place them in the Low Priority matchmaking pool while partied. Valve is now cracking down on those abusing the low priority system, according to a post on the Dota 2 subreddit. The method in question involves opening multiple instances of the Dota 2 client, all of which are controlled using scripts in order to have nine dummy accounts.
Those accoutns all queue at the same time as the account locked in low priority queue. This is typically done on a server with a small population in order to increase the chances of having the dummy accounts matched together properly.