Valve Declares War on Toxicity and Account Boosts in Dota 2

Valve Software intends to fight more actively against toxicity and account boosting in Dota 2. 14 thousand people have recently been banned for manipulating the MMR ranking. The game will also receive a system for reporting inappropriate behavior, modelled on CS:GO's Overwatch.

IN A NUTSHELL:

Valve Software intends to introduce an Overwatch-like system, known from CS:GO, to Dota 2 to help battle toxic players;
Those setting up so-called "smurf accounts" will be more likely to encounter other "smurfs";
Developers have also improved the detection of boost users, with 14,000 of such accounts banned within the last 30 days.

Valve Software intends to pay more attention to inappropriate behavior in Dota 2. It is mainly about toxicity, account boosting (i.e. raising the MMR ranking by using a paid service provided by another person) and creating so-called "smurf accounts", i.e. accounts set up by experienced only to make fun of new players and spoil their fun.

The developer intends to introduce a solution based on Overwatch from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. For that game, it enables players to report toxic behavior of others by sending a short video, which they think contains evidence. The footage is then evaluated by an "investigator" who is a member of the community, who may decide to impose a penalty. Everything is done completely anonymously, which minimizes the chance of abuse.

"In terms of toxicity and game ruining behaviors from players, we are working on a new Overwatch style system, similar in some ways to that of CS:GO. We aren’t ready to share more information about this yet, but we will as soon as we are able. We are hoping to get this in the game as soon as possible," we read in the note.

In the case of CS:GO, the tool is mainly used to battle cheaters, while in Dota 2 it is mainly used to reduce rude behavior.

The idea for battling "smurf accounts" is slightly different. Valve has improved the detection system for these types of users, so that they are more effectively separated from other players and play with other "smurfs" much more often. The company has also increased the chance that actions taken while playing on such an account will affect the main profile of a given player. The game also performs better with detection of boosted accounts - in the last 30 days alone as many as 14 thousand users using similar services were banned.