Dota 2 is an insanely competitive game, even among regular players. If you want to know how competitive it is, dive into ranked games and you will understand. Players of all levels would show an intense dedication to win and gain some matchmaking ratings, or MMR for short. 

Like many other titles, Dota 2 has a ranking system that sorts players by their skills. There are eight different ranks (or medals) in Dota 2. To climb the ranking, players need to win and earn MMR. 

A high rank is one of the greatest bragging rights you can hold in a video game. It shows your expertise and it undoubtedly boosts your self-esteem. So if you're struggling to climb to the next medal, we have outlined some easy-to-do tips that will work wonders for your MMR journey. Read below!

1. Spam Your Best Heroes

Who cares about versatility? Play heroes you're most comfortable and confident with until you reach your goal! 

Play heroes that you have the best win rate with. After all, numbers speak for themselves and you're almost always going to win with your signature selections. Also, go for heroes that you feel confident to win with. If you often win lanes or snowball with certain heroes, don't be shy to spam it!

Side note, make sure to stick to one role and polish your playstyle in that area. If you keep swapping positions, it might disrupt your flow as different roles have different playstyles. To ensure consistency, be consistent in your roles and heroes.

It doesn't matter if you're spamming, because a win is a win!

2. Use Voice To Communicate

Dota 2 is a team game and in any team-centric games, communication is incredibly vital. There are many ways to be communicative in the game but of course, the more you can say, the better it will be.

Utilize the chatwheels in Dota 2 as best as you can. Use both the 'Primary' and 'Secondary' chatwheels to quickly deliver messages to your teammates without spending the time to type. Set important commands like "Get Back!", "Push now", and "Missing!" into your chatwheel.

On top of that, use the pinging function to alert teammates of a certain location. The ping chatwheel can alert on whether a location is warded or where your team requires vision. It can also inform where you're heading and when you should retreat. But ping wisely, don't spam it too much to avoid distracting your teammates.

So far, these are basic but absolutely crucial communication methods in Dota 2. But to communicate BETTER, you should type or use voice chat.

Typing gives room for more specifics, but the best option is obviously using voice chat. Using voice chat makes communication even more seamless. There's no limit to what you can say and you can be more specific without taking the time to type.

Remember, communication is key to having the best teamwork and you can easily earn wins by simply communicating more.

3. Play With Friends

You know what they say, Dota is best enjoyed with friends. Playing in a 2-man, 3-man or 5-man party can HEAVILY boost your winning chances in Dota 2. With your circle of friends, you would know each other's playstyle including strengths and weaknesses. This makes it easier to strategize and understand the flow of the game. 

A group of friends often play together in an internet LAN cafe or communicate closely using third-party applications like Discord. It means communication would not be as rough as it is in pub matches with random players.

It's also worth noting that MMR increment is not affected by playing party games. Back in the days, playing party would only give you +20 MMR instead of the solo +30 MMR. But after Valve introduced the glicko rating system in Dota 2, MMR became flexible and now increases depending on the difference between player ratings. 

4. Maintain Good Behavior Score

Believe it or not, a good behavior score goes a long way. In Dota 2, you have a behavior score that tracks your 'behavior' in game. Things that can reduce your behavior score include abandoning games, griefing, smurfing, and showcasing toxicity in any form. 

But how does a good behavior score ensure you win some games? If your behavior score is in the green pool, you're placed among unproblematic players. You would queue and play among those who will communicate properly and play as a team. 

Whereas if your behavior score is low and red, you would be placed with some very problematic players. Those who usually refuse to adjust their gameplay, refuse to work together as a team, grief and destroy items if games don't go their way, and so on. 

5. Adapt Your Playstyle 

Our final tip to easily gain MMR is to adapt your playstyle. You may find yourself struggling to decide in certain situations. For example, you're farming as a carry but your team needs help in teamfights. Perhaps, it's better to adjust and provide additional support to your team by rotating occasionally.

Another example is if you're playing an offlane but you don't have the vision to initiate. If your support somehow could not purchase and plant wards, you should take the initiative to do the deed. Instead of waiting for the supports, you can adapt to the situation and solve the problem quickly yourself. This could lead to an immediate advantage in teamfights. It doesn't hurt to be selfless for the sake of winning!

Playing a certain way and being too stiff to make decisions might hurt your winning conditions. Make sure to adapt to game situations and adjust your playstyle to ensure a good game.