Dota 2 ranks explained: Complete MMR & tier breakdown

Whether you’re thinking of getting into Valve’s premier MOBA or just looking to understand the Dota 2 ranking system better, we’re going over the game’s competitive meta and tips to become a better player in 2025. After playing 100 hours unranked, you’ll be eligible to play at the higher level. 

This guide goes beyond the Dota 2 ranks explained, of course. We’ll explore the Matchmaking Rating (MMR) system in detail and how your ranking score relates to each rank. You’ll also learn how to avoid rank decay and stay on top of your game. 

There are a total of 40 Dota 2 ranks in the game in 2025, which are split across eight tiers. These are Herald, Guardian, Crusader, Archon, Legend, Ancient, Divine, and Immortal. The five numbered ranks (or levels) dividing each tier are based upon your MMR (Matchmaking Rating) with a score spectrum deciding each rank. 

The lowest Dota 2 rank is Herald 1, where everyone will start, with requirements of 0 to 153 MMR. This level is affixed to players who understand the basics of the gameplay but want to try and compete at a higher level than unranked/casual encounters. 

The only rank in Dota 2 that does not have a tiered level system is Immortal, as it carries a 5,620+ MMR. 

Valve has been transparent about how the Dota 2 ranking system works compared to some other esports games. That’s because your rank is determined by the MMR, with the range determining your rating. 

An individual player scores (or loses) 30 MMR with each win and loss, respectively, and 20 MMR for the party’s win (or loss). As the years have passed, the system has been made more straightforward to bring it up to date with other competitive releases. 

According to Hawk Live, the current Dota 2 rank distribution for each category is:

That means the highest majority of competitive Dota 2 players are within the five Archon levels, which is roughly halfway up the tier list. 

The highest rank in Dota 2 is Immortal, with just under 2% of players holding at the top level of the game. However, it’s not the most obscure rank, as just 0.06% of players are at Herald 1, the lowest possible rank. It’s deceptively rare because it’s only held through the initial calibration games, meaning (almost) every single player will reach Herald 2 by just playing the game. 

The key to improving your Dota 2 MMR rating is to master the fundamentals of the game, but that’s easier said than done. Dota 2 is a MOBA (Massive Online Battle Arena) that is played with a mouse and keyboard; the former guides your hero’s movement and interacts with the environment, with the latter being used to bind hotkeys to use abilities, shortcuts, chat, the shop menu, etc. 

There are currently 126 Dota 2 heroes to choose from, but there’s no possible way that you could master all of them and retain a high level of play. For optimal results, you should keep your pool of heroes to anywhere from three to five, which will give you the spectrum across the three major attributes of strength, agility, and intelligence. 

You should start with the simplest characters and then (as your experience and rank improve) start folding in the more challenging heroes. 

Consistency is the key to get better at Dota 2. As soon as you’ve played your first few ranked matches, you’ll begin to understand the type of role you’ll play. By specializing in the likes of support, mid, offlane, or carry, and having a handle on your responsibilities, you can deepen your skill and knowledge of the MOBA. 

With the different roles come varying objectives when playing on the field, whether that means destroying enemy towers, collecting runes, or progressing on the map. 

Effective communication is essential to improve your Dota 2 player ranking. The game has a communication score, which is tied to the quality of your voice chats, text chats, tipping, and pings. 

It’s a rating spectrum where a score under 3,000 restricts all communication to a shared 30-second cooldown; under 6,000 disables text chat; under 7,000 disables tipping; under 8,000 disables voice chat; and under 10,000 means you can’t coach or ping ally abilities. A score between 10,000 and 12,000 is considered “excellent.”

Valve hasn’t published guidelines on improving this score, but it’s essential to be polite and respectful if you want it to increase. 

Learning the Dota 2 map thoroughly can also make a massive difference in competitive play. Unlike other competitive games, which have hundreds of available maps outside of the hundreds of community-made maps, there’s just one map to worry about. 

While the Dota 2 map has remained largely unchanged over the years, recent patches have seen the terrain expanded by around 40%, meaning additional resources and new strategies have been available since the game first debuted in 2013. It’s vital to learn the right lanes, how to best navigate the jungle, where the shrines are, and how to best use the trees’ cover when making plays. 

Dota 2 rank decay is known as “rank confidence” or “rank calibration,” in which your MMR range will be tested to ensure you’re in the right bracket. This will change depending on the game’s updates, with some players citing only having to play a minimum of 10 games to assert rank and others saying it took just between two and three games before things had solidified. 

Dota 2 ranks are more transparent than many other esports titles, with a total of 40 levels across eight distinct tiers. Your MMR decides each rank, and the specific range is set between one of five levels. With each win (or loss), you’ll earn (or lose) 30 MMR, which could see you scale up (or down) the ladder. 

Most Dota 2 players are in the midrange bracket of the Archon tier, between Crusader and Legend, with less than 2% of players holding the rank of Immortal, which is usually reserved for esports professionals. 

For more on the Dota 2 esports scene, we recommend checking out our coverage, which goes over the top players, teams, world cup prize pool, major league events, and developments from the game at its top end. By following our guide on ranks and how to skill up, you may find yourself on the path to pro with enough persistence.