Valve announced today that a new, experimental matchmaking algorithm for Dota 2 will break down MMR into a variety of categories.

Today, Valve pushed some new changes to the Matchmaking system in Dota 2. According to an official update blog, "today’s update includes some engineering changes to the core matchmaking system to allow for bigger changes and better analytical capabilities."

dota 2's Experimental Matchmaking patch

One of Valve’s main focus will be to improve the overall matchmaking in each and every game played. Many players have criticized the current system, which probably played a role in Valve making the change. The main focus of the update is to improve team balance, player conduct, player behavior, curb account buying and more. The end goal of the patch, according to Valve, is to make Dota more fun for players of all levels.

Experimental changes

Today's update also includes some experimental changes which will last until the end of the current season. Sometime before that, Valve will issue a “direct call for feedback on how [the changes] worked” from players.

No more Separate Solo and Party MMR

The first one is removing the concept of separate Solo and Party MMR. According to Valve, the reason behind this dramatic change is to increase both the teamplay and social aspects of Dota 2 while also correcting the player's MMR values.

This change has the potential to improve matchmaking across the board; after all, Dota 2 is a team-based game.

In terms of how accurate a player's MMR actually is, you can read what Valve has to say here. Valve admitted that they have more work to be done in this aspect, which is definitely a good sign.

Introducing Core and Support MMR

From now on, players will have two different MMRs - Core and Support. This means that you can now choose your role before the game (basically the Ranked Roles feature has been moved to the base Ranked matchmaking). In addition to that, players can choose from different roles and combinations as well. In the end, players will be matched based on their Core or Support MMR.

What’s more, each MMR type will also have its own leaderboard. Valve has said that if this change becomes permanent, there will be a separate calibration phase for both Core and Support when fully implemented.

As mentioned above, these changes will persist until the end of the season. Also, Valve will split the so-called “Summer Scrub” update in two due to stability issues. This matchmaking update is the first part of the two-part update. Valve has said that part two of the update is on its way "soon."

Image VIA: Valve