It’s a new MMR calibration season for Dota 2 players hoping to turn over a new leaf. By that, we meant that there are some pro tricks to get the most out of your calibration matches for a quick MMR boost.

However, this MMR calibration season seems to be overly unhinged when it comes to calculating how much MMR to win or lose per match.

Source | Twitter: @23savageDotA

Approximately every six months, Dota 2 will put every Dota 2 account into TBD, or “to-be-determined” status. Players must play 10 calibration matches before they receive their calibrated MMR.

While this might sound like ranked matches with extra steps, the Dota 2 MMR calibration is a highly-awaited time of every season. Since calibration matches have higher MMR gain/loss, players often leverage this mechanic to gain as much MMR boost.

Hence, players would play their best heroes or meta picks that they have a higher probability of winning. By winning, these players will gain above-average MMR for the first few matches. As the player makes their way to the remaining matches, the calibration will already begin to be less impactful in terms of MMR gain/loss.

Dota 2 has had its fair share of bugs throughout the years. While most players have grown accustomed to the bugs being a Dota 2 meme, aka the iconic OSFrog Twitch emote, most are gameplay-related and relatively harmless.

However, this MMR bug is brewing a storm of disappointment for many players, especially Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon. 23savage was the first player to reach 13,000 MMR, so it’s devastating when his calibrated MMR is now 9000 MMR. To put things into perspective, that’s 160 wins that 23savage would have to get before he could regain his former glory.

23savage shared that he played twelve games during the recalibration process, where he won nine games and lost three. Although this might seem like 23savage should have gained more MMR, there’s another factor to consider.

The first few calibration matches hold the highest stake in MMR and can cause a massive MMR fluctuation. As such, there’s a possibility that 23savage lost his early matches enough to land him his current MMR.

Of course, losing 30% of your hard-earned MMR in just three losses is still devastating and unjustified. Another more extreme case is He “Inflame” Yongzheng’s 8000 MMR account which dropped to 10 MMR, or Herald 1 medal. Thus, there’s certainly something very wrong with the recent calibration season.

Until Valve officially announces a fix and clear-up on their unhinged Dota 2 MMR ranking system, we highly recommend not taking the risk of losing more MMR than you deserve. Stay away from ranked matches, and perhaps play casual games instead.

The Dead Reckoning mini-game is still ongoing, so it’s a good opportunity to farm some free skins before the event concludes.