DOTA 2 - CLIMBING THE LADDER

DoTA 2 has a large and thriving community of players and fans in Bangladesh, all trying hard and raging together to get better at the game. SHOUT spoke with two of the highest MMR players of the country to get their insights and opinions on the system, player mentality and tips on making the climb.

Mohammad Aiman Iqbal AKA Mohammad Len Hatake (he preferred I use this name) and Sadman Abidur Rahman are players for the teams DoTA Council and Red Viperz respectively and are both in the 5K MMR bracket.

What are your favourite roles and heroes?
Len: I mostly go solo mid. But I prefer going carry sometimes when I feel lazier and (the role) just fits some of my heroes better. I like Ember Spirit, Necrophos and Clinkz.

Sadman: I play mid mostly. Favourite hero is Shadow Fiend!
So mostly cores. What are your thoughts on supporting to gain MMR? Or do you think spamming cores is the way to go?

Sadman: Different heroes are good in different brackets for gaining MMR. For example, if you're playing in the 5k bracket you can play any hero that is required. In the 3k bracket, I think playing cores is the way to go. In the 2k bracket, I see people always pick carries so you should play roamer type heroes to kill those cores in the early game when they are weak and give your cores time to farm.

Len:  Honestly, I think that MMR has a good portion of luck in it. You can play all the best meta heroes you want, but throughout the game you've got to have a good team, or at least a few decent allies. No matter how good you can be with a certain hero, you need someone else beside you to help you climb up the ladder. 

An example of that is SEA. Here people take core meta roles all the time (5 man core DoTA, literally.) But in the end, the team that actually communicates has a better chance of winning. Core roles are pretty good if you want to carry but you can also do it while playing support, provided that you are warding, buying couriers, spamming sentries, and doing all sorts mundane busywork.

So yes, it is possible to climb up by playing as a great support. The same rule applies for cores as well, but in the end I really think it comes down to the team.

People always complain about bad teammates bringing them down from their actual MMR. Do you think that the MMR system is fair? 

Len: The MMR system is a bit unfair. It is not fully accurate and is a rough estimation of one's skill. It can't calculate game sense, or the right amount of calls an individual makes. It focuses more on the action of a player more than the initial thoughts. But honestly, I would say its decent. Take it like statistics, the majority of the people are put in their place, though for some others it is not fairly adjusted. 

What do you think are the biggest differences between a 2K player and a 5K player? What tips would you give a player for climbing MMR?

Sadman: If you're stuck on 2k MMR, firstly learn all the hero mechanics of Meta heroes. Play 60+ games with these heroes and know what their strengths and weaknesses are. Since your real account doesn't calibrate your actual MMR because you have to learn the basics which requires a lot of feeding, make a smurf and surely you will calibrate higher than 3.5K.

Len: You can see the game sense differences between a 5k player and a 2k player; their movements, their timing, positioning and all that. But overall, you won't notice anything of a grand scale. A 5k player usually considers more of his options, and has a deeper knowledge about his play style. The main difference is the amount of concentration and effort you put into it; you think more, you will be rewarded efficiently, you think less, and there are consequences for no strategic movements. 

As for climbing MMR, just communicate. It's a team game guys, I can't 1v5 the enemy team while watching anime. So you've got to talk it out.

Another would be to accept your faults. We're all human; mistakes can happen, just make sure you recover from them. Download, and proceed to watch your own replays; think how you could have made better choices or decisions. Learn from your mistakes.

DoTAbuffs:
Len: http://www.DoTAbuff.com/players/192877404
Sadman: http://www.DoTAbuff.com/players/100432910

Shuprovo Arko copes with the soul-crushing amount of studying he has to do by trying to be funny. He writes about movies, video games and music normal people don't listen to. Contact him at shupro.arko01@gmail.com