Dota 2 might be a fun experience with other players around the world, but not all the strangers you get paired up with are players who treat the game as a game.
Instead, there are players who take the game way too seriously, may that be trolling, flaming others by using derogatory language, purposefully feeding the enemy team, scripting, hacking, or smurfing to play in a lower rank than they deserve.
If you come across any of these types of players, chances are you'll want to report them straight away. Well, we're here to tell you how to report in Dota 2.
Does Reporting Work in Dota 2
Before going through how to report someone in Dota 2, we're sure most of you probably want to know whether reporting someone in this game even does anything. Now, in the past, it might have been argued that the only reportable offense was griefing because of it being immediately obvious, but the overwatch system has since then changed things
Valve's overwatch system is basically a way for actual players to check and see whether a reported player was actually in the wrong or not. Because of this, they can take multiple factors into account.
For example, if the account reported had been bought, then the overwatch reporters can compare the account's MMR and account level with the skill displayed. Similarly, if you decide to get your account boosted by a boosting service that isn't Eloking and someone reports you, then the overwatch reporters will most likely be able to figure out that your account was being boosted because of the immediate and impossible job in skill.
Of course, the reason for reporting also has to be valid and objective, If you report someone for not warding, then the reported account is less likely to be punished than if you report an account for griefing or toxic behavior.
How to Report
Now that you know reporting in Dota 2 is indeed worth it, let us go through how to report an account that deserves it. One thing to keep in mind is that you can not report an account if that account wasn't in a match with you. This is to protect against cases of bass reporting that happen to streamers and YouTubers.
So, you came across a player that deserves to get reported, and you want to be the one to do the honors? Well, after the match is finished, a page will appear with all 10 players from the game. From here, all you have to do is hover your cursor over the offending player and click the report button, after which the report page will show up.
Now, on the report pop up you can select the following options:
- Communication Abuse (Being verbally or orally toxic in the match)
- Cheating or MMR Abuse (Smurfing, boosting, or having bought the account)
- Disruptive Gameplay (Feeding, trolling, or griefing on purpose)
- Extra: Avoid player - experimental feature (This one's only for Dota+/BattlePass users, and does not consume a report submission)
Simply select the option that best fits the scenario you're in, and click submit.
One thing to keep in mind is that if you take too long to click the report button, or if you move on from the initial reporting screen, then you won't be able to report the player again.
How Long Does it Take
Since you now know how to report in Dota 2, you might have one of two questions on your mind. Either 'How long does it take to report?' or 'How long until the account I reported gets punished?'. Well, it's a little complicated.
When it comes to the first question, it hardly takes two minutes to submit a report for an offending player. The second question, however, has multiple answers. If the account you reported is a repeated offender, then it might end up getting punished almost immediately. More often than not, this punishment is a one way ticket to the low priority queue.
If you don't know what a low priority queue in Dota 2 is, then you can find out more about it in our guide on how low-priority boost works in Dota 2.
However, if it's a first-time offender, then Valve will automatically issue punishments when a certain quota of incoming reports is reached on the account. If you notice that one of your three weekly reports has been recovered, then that will mean the player you reported has been reported and your report was successful.
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