Dota 2 can be rewarding when you play it right and have the right teammates to rely on. A good win can make your whole day the rush of dopamine it provides, while unfortunately, the inverse is also possible. One bad game can ruin your mood for the rest of your matches going forward. This can be the result of mistakes you make during the match or the difference in competence between your teammates and the enemies.
Whatever the reason is, some players reach their wits’ end and lash out at times. This can lead to random outbursts which are understandably not well-received by their teammates. Outbursts can end up disrupting cohesion and cause the game to go worse than it would have, had the teammate remained calm and sorted through their emotions. But as we all know, this is not always possible.
This inevitably turns the player’s entire team against them and they end up with a lot of reports against them. Each report affects the player’s behavior score negatively, starting off with a score of 10,000 and then reducing as their behavior keeps getting ill-perceived via reports.
Get enough reports and the player can be looking at a stint in the dreaded low-priority mode. If the reports still continue, it can end up with the player receiving a short-term ban from matchmaking, which can eventually lead to a long-term ban spanning months of no public matchmaking. So what can you do to avoid this and keep up that behavior score, you ask?
How to increase your behavior score in Dota 2
You can check your behavior score through the conduct summary page as shown above, which can be accessed from the bottom of your profile page. If you want to keep it above 9,000 and ideally at 10,000, there are a few things you can do.
- Keep a positive attitude – Dota 2 is a hard game and your teammates want to win just as much as you do. Sometimes, the skill gap can be an issue, and mistakes are made across both teams. Instead of demeaning your teammates, assure them that mistakes happen and that they can do better next time.
- Limit communication if you’re annoyed – Sometimes you just can’t help but have a bad day. Try not to vent that out on your teammates who are just trying to enjoy the game. Limit your communication to making calls about going for ganks or taking objectives and use the ping feature instead.
- Acknowledge your teammates – Everyone enjoys validation. Make sure to keep your teammates’ spirits up by praising good plays and encouraging them to do more of that while not disparaging their mistakes. Remember that we’re all human and it’s okay to make mistakes. That’s how everyone learns their limits and becomes better.
If all else fails, make sure to keep it PMA and you should be maintaining that sweet 10,000 score throughout your Dota days.