Things are about to change in Dota 2's ranked matches. Valve is strictly implementing a rule that requires players to register their mobile numbers in their account before participating in matches. The said move stemmed from the developer's decision to prevent smurfing in the game.
Starting May 4, players who want to join in ranked matches in Dota 2 must provide their phone numbers. The measure is for preventing a single user to have multiple accounts in the game or "smurfing." There a handful of players who uses this activity such as those veteran players who disguise themselves as newbies in Dota 2 and players who belong to the low queue because of their attitude.
Valve wants players to fight according to their skills instead of pairing with a newbie to ensure victory, which is why it wants to remove players who practice smurfing. Not only will it help newbie players, it will also help eliminate abusive gamers. Once the registration of phone numbers begin, the developer will finally figure out who among the players are not following the rules.
Providing false numbers would not help also, as even if players have successfully registered a "fake" phone number in their account, they still must finish the confirmation step before proceeding with the ranked matches, as per Hardcore Gamer. Although, Valve clarifies that unranked matches in Dota 2 will not ask for mobile numbers.
Other than registering their mobile numbers, there are also other changes coming to ranked matches in Dota 2. Players with a higher rating in solo matchmaking compared to their party rating will now have a better matchmaking rating, while Valve will also bring back the solo queueing in the game. All of the changes will take effect on the same day.
Hopefully, the measures implemented by Valve in Dota 2 will prevent the toxic gamers in abusing the ranked matches. The developer wants balance and harmony between the newbies and veteran players in one of the best MOBA today.
