General Discussion

General DiscussionSkill Brackets Explained

Skill Brackets Explained in General Discussion
Seoulmate

    Ever wondered why you have a skill bracket under most matches you play that look like this?

    The reason for this is Dotabuff takes the average skill of a match from the Dota API algorithm that labels the skills of these matches.

    What are the cutoffs for these skill brackets?
    Normal Skill - 3200 and under
    High Skill - 3200 through 3700
    Very High Skill - 3700 and above

    Keep in mind that your ranked and unranked matchmaking ratings are not correlated, therefore, you may play at a very high skill level in unranked, but still be placed in high skill matches in ranked since your MMR is 3200-3700.

    Why do some of my matches not contain skill brackets?
    Link explaining this question better than I possibly could

    What will my MMR be after calibration?
    The easiest way to predict your mmr is to look at your recent matches skill brackets.

    - If your solo queue matches you're playing tend to be in normal skill, you should expect to calibrate at 3200 or lower.
    - If your solo queue matches you're playing tend to be in high skill, you should expect to calibrate around 3200 to 3700.
    - If your solo queue matches you're playing tend to be in very high skill, you should expect to calibrate at 3700 to 4999. As 4999 appears to be the general cap for calibration rankings.

    What is "Hidden MMR"?
    I'm not too familiar on this topic myself, so I enlisted the aid of TripleSteal to explain this. Hidden MMR is the rating you're given in unranked matchmaking, very similar to your ranked rating, except there's no way to see it. The calibration for this is typically within your first games on a new account and sways very heavily based on your performance. Once this calibration ends, your ranking changes on a game by game basis similar to ranked. So basically raising your rank in normal matchmaking is achieved the same way as in ranked. Your solo hidden mmr, party hidden mmr, solo mmr, and party mmr, are all unaffected by each other. When you start calibrating your ranked mmr, you start at your hidden ranking.

    How can I raise my calibration rating?
    The most important games are most likely your games pre calibration. As the game has generally gotten a feeling for what mmr you'll be at already. The calibration games are just confirming your skill level. A good tip to raising your calibration rating is raising your general stats such as gold per minute, experience per minute, hero damage, tower damage, hero healing, and obviously winning

    I'm normally in Very High Skill solo but play Normal Skill games with friends. Why is this?
    When you're partied with people of various skills, it'll average your rankings and put you somewhere in between the two. So if you're 4,000 mmr and your friend is 3,000, you'll get sent into a 3400-3600 match.

    How do I get better?
    There are plenty of ways to improve your game:
    - Watching replays and analyzing your mistakes and what you could improve on is a good idea
    - Watching professional matches and learning what players do there and why
    - Watch joinDOTA matches Watch BeyondTheSummit matches
    - Getting a coach is also very useful, as they can find mistakes you don't realize you're making and help you fix them. It could even just be a friend that you ask for guidance.
    - Find a coach on DotaCoach
    - Pick a small set of heroes for each position to focus on to improve at the general position. Such as choosing 3 mid heroes, 3 offlaners, 3 supports, and 3 carries to master

    Feel free to link people to this thread who ask about skill brackets now :D

    This topic was edited
    plz do

      sticky ty

      the realm's delight

        All I gotta do is put my mind to this shit, goddamn!
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        I like all my S's with two lines through them shits
        Everybody tryna fuck you but I'm fine with that shit
        I never mind, girl that's just you
        I know you work hard for your shit
        You know they gon' hate
        Just don't play no part in that shit
        They should call me James
        Cause I'm goin' hard in this bitch
        We're just so much smarter than them
        Maybe I just needed you around me
        Drank a lot tonight, I know
        She can drive your car and you can roll
        Take you where you wanna go
        First off, I'ma start by sayin' this
        Goddamn, goddamn

        TripleSteal-

          it might be reasnoable to attach some parts that would answer questions like "how the calibration works, what is hidden mmr, how are party/solo ranked/unranked mmrs linked to each other, how do I get better" and then stick the thread.

          Meat Spinner

            @MVP Salza
            1)Keep in mind that your ranked and unranked matchmaking ratings are not correlated, therefore, you may play at a very high skill level in unranked, but still be placed in high skill matches in ranked since your MMR is 3200-3700
            2)If your solo queue matches you're playing tend to be in very high skill, you should expect to calibrate at 3700 to 4500. As 4500 appears to be the general cap for calibration rankings
            Can u plese expain this ? I am juat curious because of skill brackrt ! Thanks !

            Seoulmate

              @triplesteal

              I'll get working on it thanks man!

              @scarecrow

              1)say you're a normal skill player who starts to play ranked and calibrates at 1500. If you slowly climb in your ranked matches and get to 4000. You'll be playing very high skill ranked games, but if you go back to normal unranked matches, you'll still be playing in normal skill matches there.

              2)very high skill is 3700 or higher, so if you're consistently playing vhs matches, you're going to probably be atleast 3700. And the calibration cap is at 4500ish, so that abusers or generally good people can't continuously make 6k or so accounts.

              plz do

                explain the explanation lelkek

                TripleSteal-

                  the nominal cali cap is 4999 tho, but going beyond 4.5-4.6 doesnt rly correlate with ur skill, rather than with the knowledge of some calibration mechanics, which im personally not aware of.

                  Meat Spinner

                    @MVP Salza
                    So if someonw is having VHS till calibration comes wihout fluctuation of skill bracket , are u sure he will end up with min 3.7k mmr ?

                    < blank >

                      Good shit, that's mah boy!

                      PROTECTHIMFROMWHATHEWANTS

                        wp salza that deserve a sticky

                        also i love u and i miss u

                        no hom0

                        Bad Intentions

                          To salza, i thought u retired from dotes mann :O gud thing ur back :] u cant leave dotes :]

                          TripleSteal-

                            ^you can leave dota, but you cant make dota leave ur heart

                            Livin' Real Good

                              @Sadboy, you're such douche! O_O gbakjerbglergjkebnghlt, ahhhh!

                              This comment was edited
                              plz do

                                wow triple such a romantic russian

                                TripleSteal-

                                  i used to have a boner wvery time i saw ur old yellow profile pic, and now i cant even recognize u fast enough :/

                                  Livin' Real Good

                                    Too much KappaPride going on here, i'm out. Keepo

                                    FlightOfGrey

                                      One of the yasp devs posted on Reddit the real reason why sometimes you don't have a skill group associated with a game here: https://www.reddit.com/r/DotA2/comments/48apo6/yasp_publishing_new_mmr_bracket_data/d0iewzw

                                      Quote from the link:
                                      "The API for skill is really bad. Basically you can ask for the last 500 matches by match ID for each skill (1,2,3). However they won't show up until the match finishes and since match ID is assigned prior to the match, long matches tend to disappear from the queryable range before they show up.

                                      Result? Long games and normal skill matches (there are more of these so the availability window is shorter) are more likely to not have skill data available."

                                      plz do

                                        im going through an identity crisis

                                        :/

                                          THANK YOU SALZA

                                          :/

                                            hopefully all other posts asking about this get deleted. WE GET IT SEA, YOU WANNA BE 5K MMR BUT YOU'RE 1K.

                                            This comment was edited
                                            Charwin + +

                                              when i play with my friends im in normal skill
                                              when i play alone im in vhs bracket pls explain.
                                              heres my dotabuff
                                              http://www.dotabuff.com/players/324835152

                                              Charwin + +

                                                i want to calibrate in 3k+ party

                                                Seoulmate

                                                  ^
                                                  Your rating and your friends rating is averaged, giving you people in the middle of your two skills. So basically, if you're 4k and he's 1k, you'll be playing 2.5k matches. If you want to calibrate higher, play with better people.

                                                  This comment was edited
                                                  Charwin + +

                                                    if i play with 2k/3k i will become 2k or 3k too sir/maam?

                                                    Seoulmate

                                                      If you play with good stats, you'll be higher than your friends due to your initial rating, if you play with lower stats though, you will probably be ranked near them. One of the dotabuff staff members calibrated a smurf with his girl and only played party up to the calibration. Even though they were in the same games, he calibrated much higher.

                                                      edit : I found the blog http://www.dotabuff.com/blog/2015-02-13-introducing-your-special-ones-to-dota-2

                                                      This comment was edited
                                                      Charwin + +

                                                        if my games are less than 20 mins while calibrating can i still get high mmr sir/maam last question..tnx for your kindness
                                                        kindly check my dotabuff pls
                                                        ps: my last 3 games are with my friends

                                                        Seoulmate

                                                          Since you're stomping them I don't see why not. Although it highly depends on what you consider "high mmr" as you'll most likely get somewhere in the 2.6k-3.1k range for party at your rate.

                                                          Charwin + +

                                                            how can i get in much higher than what you've said sir?we change our gamestyle or nah? my party tbd is 3 win 0 lose

                                                            This comment was edited
                                                            lm ao

                                                              HotMelody ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

                                                              Meat Spinner

                                                                @MVP Salza
                                                                So if someonw is having VHS till calibration comes wihout fluctuation of skill bracket , are u sure he will end up with min 3.7k mmr ?

                                                                Bad Intentions

                                                                  "^you can leave dota, but you cant make dota leave ur heart"

                                                                  Damnnnn triple, y is dis so true! :`]

                                                                  TripleSteal-

                                                                    @scare crow
                                                                    ur hidden mmr which is reflected in skill bracket of your NMM matches, affect only the rati of your first calibration game. if you give your account to a 1k player, he will fuck the whole calibration up, and you'll end up somewhere in 2ks. you can do poorly urself as well, but i dont think u could drop THAT much.

                                                                    PROTECTHIMFROMWHATHEWANTS

                                                                      yorkey my bae <3

                                                                      Miku Plays

                                                                        why is my smurf normal skill????

                                                                        Livin' Real Good

                                                                          http://prntscr.com/aam97w

                                                                          Snapshot of me coaching 5K noobs

                                                                          MILNOR

                                                                            Sticky +1

                                                                            robert

                                                                              Good thread +2
                                                                              SEA players read this thread and stop posting about how to get into higher skill bracket it get annoying over time

                                                                              PROTECTHIMFROMWHATHEWANTS

                                                                                ty yorkey for ur coach lessons <3

                                                                                CaptainDreads

                                                                                  @mods

                                                                                  Please for the love of God sticky this

                                                                                  !!life

                                                                                    like this post :D

                                                                                    Meat Spinner

                                                                                      @Triplesteal-
                                                                                      Yeah man I got it but , but if I get all vhs matches till calibration what u think avg of my first cali. Match? Any guess ? And what was the story behind your name ? :-P

                                                                                      Meat Spinner
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                                                                                        Meat Spinner
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                                                                                          arin

                                                                                            predict my mmr ples

                                                                                            zarse

                                                                                              but everyone knew this back on 2013

                                                                                              how is this new information

                                                                                              TripleSteal-

                                                                                                @scare crow
                                                                                                should be smthng like 3.9-4.2k.
                                                                                                i just used to KS a lot in dota1, nothing rly interesting here.

                                                                                                BenaoLifedancer

                                                                                                  Didn't read lol

                                                                                                  This comment was edited
                                                                                                  Mbeju Volador

                                                                                                    wow thanks

                                                                                                    Seoulmate

                                                                                                      sending this to the top again haha. added hidden mmr section

                                                                                                      This comment was edited
                                                                                                      Chu4Lyfe

                                                                                                        Damn you went hard at this thread. Are you trying to be a future moderator of the forum? ;) lol