Dota Underlords is about to change the way it does matchmaking.
For the first time in years, Valve has produced a relevant new game (sorry, Artifact). Dota Underlords debuted as the fourth most popular title on Steam, beating out such juggernauts as GTAV and Rainbow Six Siege back in June. Since then, Dota Underlords has dropped down to 8th place, just behind Rust and Warframe.
That’s still impressive in the grand scheme of things, and Valve isn’t letting the drop in players affect their plans. They’re gearing up to introduce some big changes in the way Dota Underlords performs matchmaking in their next update by adding both ranked and casual game modes.
Casual games will allow players to test out new strategies and tactics without needing to worry about losing their ranking if it all goes south. Players will be matched based on overall skill and not their ranking, and the results won’t have any effect on said ranking either. You’ll still be able to complete daily challenges and achievements though, so there’s no penalty for playing casually if you prefer.
Ranked games will always affect a player’s standing, with the matchmaker using your ranking to find opponents. New players will need to play five casual games before ranked mode gets unlocked to ensure they’re prepared for the big leagues. Achievements and daily challenges are also able to be completed in ranked mode.
Changes are also coming to the way a players rank is determined. Valve is making rank changes more visible and implementing a new system that doesn’t depend on the opponent’s rank to determine where you wind up after a match. This will make things easier to follow while still providing a good idea of where a player stands on the leaderboards.
"But like all things Underlords, nothing is final and we'll continue to iterate on this and other features based on your feedback," Valve writes in their post. No date has been set for when the next update goes live, but you can expect it to happen soon.