How To Avoid Players In Dota 2 A Simple Guide

Dota 2 is a hectic game where emotions run wild. Players are so focused on their MMR and winning games that they often forget about good manners. In some cases, things can escalate so much that you no longer want to play with certain individuals.

When such a thing happens, it is best to report them or put them on the Avoided Players list. In this article, I will talk about the latter, how to use it, and why it is so important.

Avoided Players list basics
In the past, you had the option of reporting players who, for this or that reason, would ruin games whether it is Dota 2 ranked or unranked. Whether it’s flaming, suspicious movement and casting, or something else, you could report them for a specific infraction.

While this was a great way to punish those who go against the rules and place them in the low-priority tier, it doesn’t always solve the issue. In the end, you might encounter the same exact player in the following game, which would once again affect your experience in a negative way no matter on which server you play.

Luckily, the game developers have recently added a feature that would allow you to completely avoid these individuals and never play with them again. You can place them on Avoided Players list, and you will no longer be queued with them.

How to avoid a player?
Manage Avoided Players feature is only available to Dota Plus subscribers. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to use it:

1. Once a game finishes, you can click on the report screen. In the upper right corner, there is a button that says avoid players. Just click on it and you’re set.
2. if you use a report beforehand, you won’t be able to avoid the player.
3. Alternatively, you can manage Avoided Players from your Dota Plus account.
4. The option is available under Shard Balance Tab.
5. Once you open the screen, you can find Manage Avoided Button to the left, where you can see everyone who is avoided and, if you wish, you can restore them to non-avoided players.

The great thing about Avoided Players list is that you can check it at any time, and grant access to certain players. This is especially amazing if you had a squabble with a friend and, in a fit of rage, you decided to put them on the list.

Unfortunately, this feature is exclusive to Dota 2 Plus. It would be great if everyone had it, but Valve decided to grant access only to people who have purchased Dota Plus and the average dota 2 player does not have it. While this is unfair, to a certain extent, it is also the way the company sells its subscription plans.

The benefits of the system
Although you might think that this isn’t a big deal and that you don’t have to hassle with the avoid feature, there is actually a good reason to do so especially if you’re a high-tier player. Keep in mind that avoid feature is especially good if you encounter trolls and bad-mannered people. There is no point in wasting nerves playing again with such people.

There are much fewer players in the Divine and especially Immortal tier. This means that you will often be matched with the same individuals. Furthermore, if you played with a toxic player once, this means that you likely have a similar MMR (related: how to check your Matchmaking Rank in Dota 2), which will eventually affect the algorithm to match you once again.

Reporting solves a part of the problem, throwing unruly players to the low priority. This is an especially good way to deal with toxic gamers and smurfs. However, this punishment is short-lasting. If the toxic gamer plays enough matches during the day, they can exit low-prio during the same day.

So, to prevent future headaches, you should just put them on Avoided Player list.

The issues with Avoided Players list
Like all other systems, this one is not perfect.

We are all affected by our emotions when playing Dota 2. This means that we’re also susceptible to poor decision-making. If a player has a bad game, his teammates might interpret this as smurfing or some other negative behavior (also see: what is the behavior score in Dota 2). Even when they’re aware of the fact that this was just a bad game, they might still report him or avoid him due to frustration.

So, you might be adding too many people to this list, you’re actually making it harder to find future teammates (especially noticeable in high Immortal) stretching the time you are searching for a ranked match in Dota 2. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that your dota 2 games will become better given that all these players are within the same tier (those that you avoided and those that you haven’t).

While avoiding a player might feel great for a moment, it doesn’t fully solve the issue of human error, something that is the real cause of our frustration.