Climbing The Ladder Part 2

Intro

PART 2: Breaking down the bracket
- 1. 3000-3400: The Circus
- 2. 3400-3700: The Shadowlands
- 3. 3700-4000: Where everyone's an expert

Reading the signs of bad teamwork

Dealing with losses in relation to climbing

A final word on bad teammates

The real problem with 3 players

This guide consists of four parts:

You can find Part 1 here. Part 3-4 will be released next at the same time.

In Part 1, I will give a general overview of my impressions of the players, play styles and skill level of the 3K MMR bracket. I will explain the relevance of these trends to various models of skill acquisition in order to both ease frustration concerning the players that are commonly encountered in the 3K bracket, and to direct 3K players to better self analyse their own position as a learner.

Part 2 contains a breakdown of the major sub-brackets within the 3K MMR range, and will explain (with reference to part 1) the different skill levels, play styles, and effective strategies to play with and against players in each sub-bracket. I will explain the common mistakes players in each sub-bracket make, how to exploit them, and how to avoid making such mistakes yourself.

In Part 3, I will explain the importance of being an effective leader, and how to increase your impact in games by effectively leading your team. With reference to parts 1 and 2, I will explain how simple tactics and practice in being an effective leader can easily rectify many common problems in teamwork which arise in the 3K bracket.

In Part 4, I will outline a three step process for analysing your games-both pre-game and postgame-in order to establish clear direction and goals when you play, and develop good learning habits for improving as a player.

After the release of “Mindset and You” I received a variety of questions from players on Reddit and Liquiddota pertaining to the problems they face in the 3K MMR bracket. Throughout this guide I have addressed these questions where relevant (questions are anonymous and paraphrased for convenience).

PART 2: Breaking down the Bracket

The 3K MMR bracket contains a range of different players, and across the spectrum of MMRs lie wildly different playstyles. Although there is a definite progression in the way people play as you progress through this bracket, each sub-bracket has its own unique characteristics and personality. As such, each sub-bracket favours slightly different playstyles. This is by no means a recommendation to wildly change the way you play according to your current MMR; rather, the goal is to present you with options to make small style adaptations if you feel stuck, and to give you an appreciation of the players you are likely playing with (and against) so as to evaluate and predict them better.

NB: The comparisons in this section take into account only the 3K bracket. The levels of play at MMRs significantly higher or lower than the 3K bracket are so significantly different that it benefits no one to try to compare them. For clarity, the lowest level of play is considered to be 3000 in this section, and the highest 3950. As I have mentioned in Part 1, there is a large overlap in types of players in each sub-bracket, so it is impossible to speak for the entire player pool of any given sub-bracket. This section is merely a characterization of the major trends in each sub-bracket.

3000-3400: The Circus

1. Overview

A common trend I have observed all the way up to 5K MMR is that in the start of every bracket players are completely ridiculous. Light from losing the burdens of their former bracket and being comfortable their new home, players at the start of a bracket tend to be more relaxed and experimentative. This is good for maintaining progress as players begin to think outside of their comfort zone; but the laid-back attitude can also be destructive as players tilt easily and play with less focus. It is also the reason why ‘brackets’ even exist in the first place. Brackets are invisible walls manufactured entirely by our group psychology.

The important message here is that brackets do in fact exist, purely because of the fact that people think they do (I don’t believe in fairies, I don’t believe in fairies); however, you shouldn’t let that fact hinder you as you approach the top of your bracket by creating mental barriers. Instead, you should appreciate how it affects players and learn to play around it.

Either way, if this is where your MMR is at you’re in for a wild ride...

2. Playstyle and Drafting

• The more relaxed nature of this sub-bracket means that drafts are much less serious. Supports are most often picked last or not picked at all. 5 carry drafting is not just common, it is expected.
  
• Smokes are not used EVER, and warding is often bad as a result of teams drafting 5-cores.
  
• The biggest standout characteristic of this sub-bracket is the lack of coordination. Rather than preparing for ganks or counter ganks, individuals chase kills and the result is that heroes pile up as they filter in one-by-one. Objectives then come as a result of the whole team being in the same lane.

3. Attitude

• I was actually surprised by this sub-bracket and had a lot of fun playing in it. Although players don’t cooperate, they are much less toxic compared to the rest of the bracket. Players are content to simply do their own thing, however, and organising or leading them is very challenging.

4. Common mistakes and effective playstyles

There are two major mistakes that players in this sub-bracket make:

• They do not cooperate
  
• They do not farm

These mistakes are extremely easy to exploit for a consistent player, and beating players in this sub-bracket is very easy. You simply need to focus on farming consistently; this may mean skipping out on the occasional teamfight (don’t worry, there will be plenty more!). The main reason this works is that the lack of coordination of players means that even if your team loses a teamfight, it likely won’t result in significant loss of objectives. Also, the mechanical deficiencies common in players in this sub-bracket means that the stronger team won’t necessarily win. If you consistently farm, you will find that as the game progresses, you will slowly become impossible to deal with. This doesn’t just apply to playing cores; strong scaling supports (such as Earthshaker and Witch Doctor) can be played in a very similar manner. You may need to attend team fights more often as a support; just focus on not dying or taking big risks, and farm every opportunity you get. Soon you will be more farmed than the enemy supports.


In this video, roro gives a great guide on how to choose when to fight and when to farm. I highly recommend the carry section on Simply Dota for anyone trying to learn how to play core.

The lack of coordination prevalent in this sub-bracket also results in many lone and vulnerable heroes, so picking strong gankers is also recommended. Simply picking a hero like Slark and farming the enemy jungle with a Shadow Blade for ganking will lead to many easy wins.

3400-3700: The Shadowlands

1. Overview

No matter who you are, the middle of a bracket is a nightmare. Many players with MMR >5000 complain about matchmaking because oftentimes they are matched with players in the middle of the 4K bracket. The middle of a bracket is where players who are climbing and improving their MMR most commonly mix with players who are stagnant and rely on gimmicks or false maxims to try and force their way out. The result is widespread toxicity. The middle of a bracket is as hard or harder to climb through than the top of the bracket, but for different reasons.
The absolute most important thing in this sub-bracket is to not go on tilt. When you are in hell, you need to look for the light.



2. Playstyle and Drafting

Players in this sub-bracket are extremely stubborn, meaning they are not only un-innovative, but also highly predictable. This has huge implications when they are subjected to unorthodox hero picks, lanes, or strategies, as their rigid nature means they will often adapt too late or not at all.
Furthermore, their egotistical nature means that players neglect capitalising on advantages in favour of style points- they would rather finish their next big item instead of pushing objectives that are more valuable to the team. Teams are generally more coordinated as the skill level of the sub-bracket is higher, but cooperation is hindered by players' inflexibility and desire to do their own thing. This is quickly exacerbated if the team is losing or infighting begins, as players may quickly opt out of playing with the team all together.

3. Attitude

Unsurprisingly, it’s often the worst performing players who are the first to start dishing out blame. Players in this sub-bracket go on tilt often, and hard. The phenomena of putting your ego ahead of your progress is rife in this sub-bracket, as players will often deliberately feed, dual mid, or AFK jungle when they don’t get the role they want, or if other players do anything they deem unacceptable. This attitude generally comes as a result of frustration as the sub-bracket is difficult to climb out of; many players can’t handle the pressure when their strategies to climb don’t work out, and start feeling suffocated. The whole experience has a angsty, pubescent feel to it, the Dota equivalent to Axe bodyspray and smelly gym shorts.



4. Common mistakes and effective playstyles

The two major characteristics we need to appreciate in this sub-bracket are:

• Players are predictable
  
• Players tilt easily

Expect to climb slowly through this sub-bracket. Many games are over before they start as infighting oftentimes begins from the picking phase. Just relax, take a deep breath, and stay focused.
Your best strategy is to try and squeeze in every win you can by throwing curve balls at your opponents. The beauty in the combination of rigidity and fragility that these players have means that they are as transparent as glass, and as soon as you crack the glass, it will shatter. As it is highly unlikely your opponent will do anything unorthodox, it is very easy to see what their vulnerabilities are and to exploit them. Find their weakest lane and punish it.

For example, in most of my games, the enemy safe lane was a weak, greedy carry paired with 1 support and a jungler. If you simply wait until your team picks an offlaner (you can suggest a strong laner, like Axe or Undying) and then pick Abaddon, I guarantee you will crush entire games within the first five minutes, as the enemy will not adapt to the lane, feed, go on tilt, and hand you the win.

5. Favourite moment

In one particular game I had a very vocal player who demanded mid, although he relented saltily as I first picked Storm and calmly explained I was smurfing (you can do this yourself and just lie, by the way, it works pretty well), and chose instead to play a Bounty Hunter. As we had an SB on our team I asked him to be ready to gank mid by the time I hit level 6 for an easy kill on their mid to which our BH replied ‘noob Storm can’t gank before 6’ and proceeded to dual lane mid. Our SB did indeed gank at level 6, and we won in the end, and everyone lived happily ever after.

3700-4000: Where Everyone's an Expert

1. Overview

If I learned anything from smurfing in this sub-bracket, it’s that arguing is pointless. No matter how right you are or how well you can argue, you simply don’t have the time or focus to get into an argument and still win the game. Players in this sub-bracket understand the game the best out of anyone else in the bracket, and will take any opportunity to let people know it. You can thrive in this sub-bracket not by being good at arguing with people, but by being good at convincing people to listen to you without getting into an argument.


This is literally every player in this sub bracket

2. Playstyle and drafting

Don’t expect free wins in this sub-bracket. The players you are playing with are the best of the bracket, meaning usually that they have waded through the rest of the bracket, and they deserve some respect for that. If you are ever going to trust your teammates, now is the time.

The real metagame of the server begins to show in this sub-bracket, and players are very try-hard compared to the rest of the bracket. This means your games will be generally more stable and competitive than before. Players draft smarter, and will often counterpick early core picks (I don’t want to think of how many times I played against Silencer). Teamwork is generally better, teams finally begin to utilise smokes, and gank with objectives in mind.

3. Attitude

Everyone is a try-hard in this sub-bracket, which is great when you are winning, but not so great when you are losing. Players often bicker, and will gang up on teammates who are performing badly. However, I have found that players in this sub-bracket respond very well to good leadership, and play less selfishly compared to the rest of the bracket.

4. Common mistakes and effective playstyles

The most common pitfall players in this sub-bracket face is distraction. Since everyone is an expert on Dota here and feels compelled to share their opinion, games can turn into an endless argument, and players will begin to play poorly.

This is where good leadership wins games. In Part 3, I will explain in detail effective leadership strategies to really get the most out of your team. By providing clear and confident direction to your team, players will not start feeling lost and arguing, and your influence as a strong leader will allow you to easily diffuse arguments. This alone can win you many games; it will even help you improve as a player. It forces you to really analyze how you are going to tackle any given game by needing to put to words exactly what your strategy is.

The consistency in this sub-bracket is a blessing, and a consistent player who is improving at the game has an environment where they are able to shine. So stay consistent, and focus on really improving your game, and you will climb.

5. Favourite moment

This particular game started with a salty Anti-Mage, barking orders and criticising our supports, a fairly typical sight on SEA. I was having a very good start, and he seemed to calm down as I killed their mid multiple times in the opening few minutes. I was blessed with an s4 haste rune, so I decided to gank. I TP’ed home from a successful double kill in the top lane, when our AM was killed solo by the offlaning Windranger. ‘GG bot no gank’ were his exact words as he proceeded to farm the jungle with boots and a stout shield for 10 minutes. We still won.

Reading the signs of bad teamwork

As you can see from this breakdown, players can get a lot of free wins from understanding and exploiting the way your opponents play. Players tend to focus too much on their own teammates, and don’t think actively enough about what their opponents are doing. This is particularly baffling to me since, logically, it makes more sense to give a greater portion of your attention to your opponents, since you have much less information about your opponents than your teammates and therefore analysing them requires more deductive effort.

Always be on the lookout for signs of bad teamwork from your opponents. Poor or overly greedy item choices from a carry, for example, are usually indicative that the player wants to try and 1v5 your team and won’t work together with his team. Players off farming alone or dying unnecessarily are also signs that your opponents aren’t working together or are tilting. Similarly, poor skill usage (for example, using Moonlight Shadow at inappropriate times) is another indicator that your opponents are not playing coherently as a team. The list goes on. This information is invaluable and reading these signs can allow you to get away with riskier plays, secure pickoffs, or put your opponents on tilt by pressuring players who are performing badly.

Dealing with losses in relation to climbing

A quote I heard from Monkeys_Forever on his stream that has always stuck with me is “Sometimes, you’ve just gotta lose Dota.” Remember that a 51% win rate is enough to climb MMR. Don’t let losses beget more losses, and be realistic of the win rate you are capable of achieving. It takes a player significantly higher in skill (500-1000 MMR higher) to achieve a win rate even above 80%, yet players seem to think that unless they are hitting that benchmark then something is going wrong. For a player looking to work hard and climb their MMR, a win rate of even 55% is exceptional, so don’t be disheartened if you aren’t winning every game.

Finally, remember that win and loss streaks do happen, so when looking at your win rate, take many days and weeks into account, and focus on the bigger picture.

A Final word on bad teammates

Be introspective. A sentiment that many high MMR players such as Blitz and EternalEnvy echo is the only consistent factor in your games is you. Be aware that regardless of how you feel about the game, your luck, whatever- the only thing you can change in your games is how you play, how you influence others, and how you allow yourself to be influenced by others.

And be aware that your mind plays tricks on you. To paraphrase a great comment on Reddit, there are 4 players on your team who aren’t you, so if you count up all the mistakes your teammates make in a game, there will always be more than you make alone. There’s always going to be a higher chance of a teammate making a mistake then you making a mistake (it’s just math); however, that doesn’t mean you played perfectly.

The real problem with 3k players

Ego is far too much of a burden to bring into matchmaking. The benefit of establishing clear goals is that it trims away the fat from your gameplay- if your goal truly is to improve your MMR, then every action you take ingame should serve only that goal. Ego and playing for style points are the antithesis to MMR climbing. To quote Aui_2000, “raging at someone has never made them play better.” People rage at their teammates because it makes them feel better; it allows them to vent frustration and preserve their ego. It’s a bandaid so that the player doesn’t need to delve deeper into why they are losing, or to think introspectively (a phenomena called displacement).

In a similar vein, players have a tendency to adopt risk taking behaviour, such as playing for ‘style points’, as another way to displace responsibility for losses; generally, with the excuse of not wanting to be ‘tryhard.’ Although I don’t believe that most people who are taking the time to read this guide are likely to succumb to this behaviour, keep in mind that displacement can come in very subtle ways. Simply choosing to play when you are not feeling 100%, or allowing yourself to tilt and play without focus after a few deaths can be caused by a tendency for this kind of behaviour. See my previous guide, ‘Mindset and You,’ for strategies to keep a solid mindset in your games.

Next time…

In parts three and four, we will look at how to use simple concepts of leadership to bring consistency to your games, and how to self-analyze your games to make sure you are getting the most out of your learning.

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