DOTA 2 Updates Role Selection

Role selection disabled in high-rank games

Valve have decided to update DOTA 2 once again, in an attempt to further balance the game. To go about this, valve has decided to completely ax role selection in high-rank games.  Valve announced this update through reddit.

Implications of the update

This means that any player with a MMR over 7,500 won’t be able to access role selection. What this will translate into is that experienced players will have the freedom to freely pick players without being shoehorned into a role. It should also let teams pick more unique strategies, swap lanes and better counter other teams. It should also pave the way for teams experimenting with playing out of position, if needed.

This, added with the previous update, should increase quality of games. Matchmaking time is also set to reduce by a significant margin. Players won’t be required to change settings to remove role select; it will be done automatically. 

Jeff Hill, a Valve employee further clarified on reddit: “Right now it’s set for games that include a 7.5k+ MMR player; but we’re tuning that value and watching queue times and match quality to see what the best setting is.” 

This is an interesting move by valve, because this update can have both a positive  and a negative impact. While it may result in some positive changes, it may also lead to players playing out of position. This, in turn, might jeopardize the whole strategy of a team and cost them the match.  

What will also be interesting to see is how players react to this update and if they change their style of play. 

The official reddit update read here.