Evgenii "Gufis" Kondratev
Today, Valve unexpectedly made significant changes to the matchmaking system for top-tier players. The Immortal Draft mode remains, but its conditions have changed drastically. Now, the rules for this mode will apply only to players with a rating above 8,500 MMR, which represents about 0.5% of players. Previously, the threshold was set at 6,500 MMR, covering 1.5% of the community.
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But what’s more interesting is not just this. First, now all top players will be required to use their official in-game name, which cannot be changed. Second, Immortal Draft matches will now be unavailable for the API, meaning that no one will be able to track the match history of a top player, their statistics, item builds, or skill builds. However, watching matches live will still be possible, and low-level players will be able to learn by observing professional players.
Possible Backstory to the Changes
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Most likely, this matchmaking change was forced upon Valve, and they had to react quickly to an emergency. Degaz, a contributor to spectral.gg, shared a story about a website in China that allowed players to accurately view the MMR of any account (a stat normally hidden and only visible to the player) and access all matches, even if the profile was private.
Community members believe that the leak probably occurred due to a special developer API key being compromised. Those familiar with history may recall Rurugate, a scandal that occurred eight years ago, where the owner of LGD Gaming was accused of using such a key to leak data on opponents of her teams, in order to gain an advantage at The International.
Degaz and a few other well-known figures in the community wrote a letter to Valve, sharing their suspicions. According to him, Valve “closed this loophole a couple of days ago”, and shut down access to this method. However, it's possible that this also prompted the significant changes that followed.
Pros of the New Immortal Draft
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Professional players are the biggest beneficiaries of these changes. First, they no longer need to fear that their public matches will be tracked, thus allowing others to make assumptions about what their team is training.
Second, the requirement for all top players to have an official in-game name will make it easier to identify griefers and other unwanted players. Previously, these individuals could hide behind different usernames, but now that will no longer be possible. Keep in mind that in Immortal Draft, the highest-rated captains pick players for their teams, and these captains are often professional players.
Cons of the New Immortal Draft
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This change deals a significant blow to data-collecting services. Now, they won’t be able to track the match history of professional players, and it will be much harder for them to provide meta data. The data they collect will also become less accurate. It’s unclear whether Dota Plus will continue to account for all the matches in its statistics. If it does, the internal Valve service will gain another Competitive Advantage.
Content creators will also see changes in how they operate. Previously, they could upload match replays and edit videos, whether for highlighting cool moments, a full conflict history in chat, or detailed analysis of unusual builds. Now, all of this will become inaccessible. There is a small positive aspect, though. Players who stream frequently or focus on developing their social media will now have a chance to create unique content.
It is also worth noting that players who are guaranteed to be in the Immortal Draft zone are now prohibited from searching for ranked games in groups. Some may find this change extremely inconvenient. The alternative is unranked, and this could lead to some activity in that mode.
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It is quite possible that today’s changes will be followed by further matchmaking updates. Top players have long complained to Valve that the games at the top of the ladder were of low quality. The situation should change now, but it’s still unclear which direction it will take.
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