What is the avoid list in Dota 2 and how to add people to it

Online gaming might have the potential to introduce players to life-long friends, but it has a higher chance of exposing them to toxic players. Competitive gaming especially has some major bag eggs who prioritize winning the game and playing how they want the game to be played as opposed to ensuring everyone enjoys it. Fortunately, Valve has done something about that.

Today, we’re here to go through everything players need to know about Dota 2’s avoid list feature. This includes highlighting what the avoid list does and how players can add other players to that list. Naturally, we’ll also go through some FAQs to ensure players have the full picture, including how many individuals can be added to the list and how to remove someone from it.

So, without further delay, here’s everything to know about the avoid list in Dota 2.

What is the Avoid List in Dota 2?

The avoid list is a feature players can use in Dota 2 to prevent specific people from matching with them in online matchmaking. The main reason behind the Avoid List is that players can increase their match experience by blocking people they dislike playing with, which can ruin their enjoyment. Players can block others for various reasons, including toxic behavior, bad teamwork, or having a playstyle that they don’t like.

While mechanics like the Avoid List are in other multiplayer games, its implementation in Dota 2 has caused some controversy among the community. Players can access the Avoid List by subscribing to Dota Plus, making it a pay-to-use feature. Although the community appreciates the feature to avoid players, they dislike that it’s inaccessible to all players. Despite these issues, the Avoid List is great for curating in-game experiences.

It’s important to clarify that it isn’t as though Valve is the only developer to have an avoid list feature like this. On the contrary, some games like Overwatch 2 also allow players to ensure they control who they get matched up with and against. This goes to show just how toxic the overall online gaming landscape can be and how important it is to use any given block feature to silence unwanted players instead of being toxic back and ruining the game for others.

How to Add People to the Avoid List in Dota 2

As mentioned earlier, players must subscribe to Dota Plus to use the Avoid List. So here’s how to subscribe to it:

• Open Dota 2
• Tap on the Plus button that’s on the header of the Dota 2 homepage
• Select the yellow Subscribe Now button that’s on the top right corner of the screen
• Fill in the information

The game will redirect the player to the Dota Plus dashboard if the process is successful.

With Dota Plus subscribed, players must go to the Avoid List and add the people they don’t want to get matched with. Below are the steps people must follow to add people to the list:

• Play a match of Dota 2
• On the post-game screen, click on the red flag icon that’s above the person’s name the player wants to avoid
• In the reporting screen, select the Avoid Player option that’s on the top-right corner of the window

Remember that clicking on Avoid Player won’t count as a report, so people who want to do that have to do it separately. Also, players can only use this function on people they’ve teamed up with, not their opponents.

FAQs

How do you remove a player from the avoid list in Dota 2?

Once the player adds someone to their avoid list, they can check its settings and manage it through the Dota Plus subscription menu. Some settings include adding a note to remember why the player added that specific person to the Avoid List. 

How many players can you add to the Dota 2 avoid list?

By default, people can only add 25 players to the Avoid List, but they can increase the amount of slots by spending shards. Every time the player buys a slot, the price of the next slot will increase by 5,000 shards, so they might have to farm missions to increase the number of people they want to avoid.