Top 3 ways to increase your MMR in Dota 2 – Beginners Guide

Hello there Dota 2 player! Welcome to the LootBear blog. Today we have written a guide that you can use to launch your MMR to new heights. It might even be strong enough to break you free from that MMR hell you feel like you’re experiencing right now. 

If you take our advice and follow these 3 easy steps, you’ll be well on your way to reaching the tip, top heights of MMR heaven. But first we must learn, Grasshopper. Step 1, coming up…

Step 1 – Don’t be a Jack of all trades.

If you’ve heard the phrase then you know its bad to be a jack of all trades in life, and the the rule follows suit in Dota 2 as well. 

When trying to rank up or get a better understanding of the game in general, its usually best to tackle that consistently from the same angle. By picking a main role (carry / support etc) and learning a small pool of heroes within that role can go a long way where MMR is concerned. 

It is far better that you spend the time truly mastering one aspect of the game then it is for you to branch out and try to become sort of… useless Swiss Army Knife of a Dota 2 player. 

Once you have had some success with a certain hero or role (A good win ratio), you can start to expand upon your pool and add similarly skilled / roled heroes. 

2. Be responsive to your teams needs

Being a proactive and reactive player will be one of the most important things you do in Dota 2. Although split into 3 lanes, DOTA is a very team-based game and it is important that you support your team mates in other lanes when they need it. 

Keeping a watchful eye on the minimap is a key part of being a good teammate on Dota 2. You need to watch for when your team are looking for a kill, and similarly when your team are in need of your assistance. 

Denying your enemy early kills by supporting your team mates is very important – Even if it takes you away from farming another lane. By doing this you decrease the risk of their heroes becoming too farmed and snowballing ahead of you. 

3. Learn what makes up a good team composition

The first thing you need to do if you are looking to improve the drafting phase of your game is purchase Dota Plus. Trust me, its fantastic and is going to give you a great insight into what picks are going to work in your current situation and match up. 

The second thing you’re going to do is make sure that you fully understand the role that you are playing and how the game is going to be played.

In general you will want to be familiar with the ‘1-to-5 System’ in Dota, which is used to prioritise the farm / importance of a hero to the teams overall victory. Here is a break down (graciously borrowed from liquiddota.com):

Position 1 – 

A hero in the 1 position means that they have the highest priority for levels and gold on your team. This is your ‘hard carry’. Heroes that fall into this category are the most item and level dependent on your team. They deal a ton of damage later in the game, and generally build towards damage and survivability.

Position 2 – 

The 2 position means that they have the second most need for gold and levels. The reasons can vary, but in general they should be farming any lane that isn’t occupied by your 1. The 2 generally builds toward initiation and survivability items, though some heroes benefit from damage items as well

Position 3

The third most farm dependent on your team, generally builds toward team fight/support items such as Pipe/Drum or initiation items. 3 is generally item independent for most damage.

Position 4

As secondary support on the team, the 4 will build towards the cheaper team fight items like Drum/Mek. The 4 helps on pure support items such as wards, smoke, dust when the 5 cannot afford it.

Position 5

The 5 mainly uses money on pure support items such as wards, smoke, dust, and sometimes regen and teleports for the 1-2 heroes. It is not uncommon to see a 5 hero purchase nothing more than a boots and a wand for themselves the entire game.

Now that you have a better understanding of what each of the roles is supposed to bring to the team, you might be a little more hesitent to steal the last hits from your carry, or a little more willing to keep the map well warded to support your team.

Each role in Dota is important to the others and without a grasp of the importance the roles play it would be very hard to improve.

We hope that this guide was useful to you. Good luck in your next game and let us know if you have any more helpful tips for beginners!