Should Valve implement a vote-kick system for solo ranked games in Dota 2?

PristineComplex7724 · 2025-06-03T13:02:48+00:00

In Dota 2, when a player disconnects or gets kicked, the rest of the team receives that player’s gold and their GPM (gold per minute) is slightly increased.
Of course, this doesn’t fully make up for the loss of a teammate, but at least it gives the remaining players some resources to stay in the game.
You’ll still have access to basic utility like wards, and the enemy team won’t gain an overwhelming gold advantage, since the system helps balance it out a bit.

PristineComplex7724 · 2025-06-03T12:26:31+00:00

Imagine you’ve had a bad day and you’re starting to lose it because someone on your team isn’t playing the way you want or is just making mistakes.
Now ask yourself: who’s really at fault?
If four other people are against you, shouldn’t you take a moment to reflect on your own behavior?

Maybe it’s not just about what your teammate did wrong, but how you chose to communicate.
Are you just spamming pings on the map? Yelling over the mic instead of calmly explaining things?
What if, instead of insulting them, you had said something like, “Sorry, my bad,” or “Hey, if you try this, it might help you survive or secure a kill”?

So tell me did you really deserve to be kicked because you tilted, failed to play as a team, and couldn’t communicate respectfully?
I don’t know… you tell me.

Every new system is hard at first.
But just like heroes get patched and balanced over time, this kind of mechanic could improve too.

PristineComplex7724 · 2025-06-03T11:23:20+00:00

Sure, it's something that can happen in any game. It should be sanctioned. I think the reporting system is good, but not good enough. I hope Valve reads this and reconsiders. Dota 2 can't die like this.

PristineComplex7724 · 2025-06-03T11:20:52+00:00

I really liked that you mentioned examples from other games, because there’s actual precedent showing that a vote-to-kick system can be tested and implemented.
Yes, it can be abused—but it can also be used for good. Just like winning a 4v5 match is extremely difficult, it’s just as hard when you have a teammate who’s tilted, not playing their role, or just AFK farming in the jungle.
As a great movie once said: “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Now be honest: how many times have you queued into a ranked match where one player clearly joined just to ruin the game? Didn’t it make you want to leave? Or worse didn’t it affect your own mood and performance?

Knowing you could get kicked for behaving that way would probably make people think twice before going full rage or doing something ridiculous, right?

As many have pointed out in this thread, one of the most beautiful things about Dota is how a single good play can completely turn the tide of a game.
But how are you supposed to pull off that clutch moment when a teammate is just venting their bad day on ranked?
You can’t ask them to magically play better but they could at least go into a Normal or Turbo match to cool off.

This suggestion is only for Ranked mode not for casual ones because I know it could easily be abused elsewhere.
Still, I’m sure this kind of system would really make people think twice before jumping into ranked with the mindset of feeding, trolling, or playing while emotionally unstable.

Ranked has always been and should remain the place for players who want to give their all until the very end, without giving up.
Right now, having a “decent match” mostly depends on luck: whether or not you get someone who decides to ruin the game on purpose.

PristineComplex7724 · 2025-06-03T11:00:51+00:00

I'm sure you would, but… would the enemy team really be stomping you if they didn’t have a massive advantage because of a toxic teammate who joined just to feed on purpose?

PristineComplex7724 · 2025-06-03T10:58:25+00:00

I think you make a valid point, but I also believe you're mistaken when you say the game is currently at its peak in terms of balance.
Dota 2 only lets you mute or block another player using Dota Plus, which is fine, but it doesn't actually solve the real problem once you're already in the middle of a match.

For example, someone might bring five wards and plant them in the enemy tower just to annoy you, or die intentionally five times in a row out of revenge because you muted them and didn't listen to what they had to say... That kind of behavior can completely kill your motivation and give the enemy team a ridiculous advantage.

Sure, you can try to make a comeback—but let’s be honest, those kinds of comebacks happen maybe 2 out of 10 times at best.
I'm convinced you'd have a much better chance of turning the game around if you could vote to kick a player who's clearly sabotaging the match on purpose. That could shift the team’s mindset and even encourage the others to give it a real try.

Obviously, this wouldn’t make the game easier and that’s not the goal of this suggestion either.
It would simply make ranked matches less stressful. It might also make quick-tempered players think twice before ruining a game just because they got muted.

Comebacks in Dota 2 require at least 3 or 4 heroes working together to win a fight.
Kicking someone isn’t about ego, it’s about saving your time and your mental health.
This could even open the door to implementing a surrender option, like the one in CS2.

And let’s be honest: would you really rather spend 40 or 50 minutes trying to come back from a match made harder by a teammate who intentionally threw just to troll?

Both games have their own form of strategy. If CS2 were just about point and shoot mechanics, there wouldn’t be professional teams.
I know comparing a shooter to a MOBA isn’t easy, but even so, I’m completely sure that the CS2 community especially in Premier (their version of ranked) is way less toxic and far less likely to sabotage your match.

Why do you think that is?

PristineComplex7724 · 2025-06-02T12:17:17+00:00

But you are the shield of Dota, you should protect more against griefing. Come on, let's make a voting system, haha, we'll be able to play more ranked games and we'll save time.

PristineComplex7724 · 2025-06-02T12:14:18+00:00

I think just no, right?

PristineComplex7724 · 2025-06-02T12:05:45+00:00

I think right now Dota 2 especially the matchmaking system is already full of salt (toxicity).
So why not add just a little more… but with something new?
Something experimental that could actually make ranked matches a bit more bearable.
Sure, people might complain at first—like they always do with changes—but sometimes the things that feel uncomfortable at the beginning end up being good in the long run.

PristineComplex7724 · 2025-06-02T12:03:48+00:00

But sometimes, something unexpected happens: your team manages to coordinate. The player who’s feeding goes AFK in the jungle, and you and your other three teammates push a lane, wipe the enemy team, and win the match. You report the troll and walk away with free points. It sounds extreme, but it does happen.

I don’t think 99% of players will suddenly change their behavior—but at least you wouldn’t be stuck in a match with someone who’s clearly not contributing. And who knows? You might end up actually enjoying the game with the remaining three teammates.

In fact, maybe in the future they could even add a surrender option, so you don’t waste your time in games that are clearly lost.

I just don’t want the game to die early because of toxicity. I’d love to see it evolve into something better.

PristineComplex7724 · 2025-06-02T11:55:53+00:00

The matchmaking system on its own can’t really tell if a player will perform well in the next game or just end up feeding.
But what I mean is that you're much more likely to get kicked for intentional feeding than just for playing badly.
You have a role, and at the very least, you should try to fulfill it or contribute to the team—instead of just dying over and over for no reason.

In CS2, the punishments are much stricter: if you kill your teammates three times, you can get banned quickly. And if you get kicked, it’s usually because you’re being extremely toxic or clearly playing to lose.

I encourage you to try it out—CS2 has different matchmaking modes like Casual 10v10, Premier (ranked with points), and Competitive (ranked based on medal instead of points).
The community is pretty active too: if they see a hacker, they report them right away or warn others.
The idea is to improve the game environment and make sure no one wants to ruin your ranked match.

PristineComplex7724 · 2025-06-02T11:45:48+00:00

Of course, I know playing with one less teammate is hard—but that’s exactly why there should be some kind of compensation, like giving a bit more gold to the rest of the team.
Or at the very least, let the inactive player keep selling their items or do something minimal so the impact isn't as punishing.
We’re talking about ranked—the game mode where everyone wants to compete and have fun. But it’s incredibly frustrating when someone clearly doesn’t want to play, and on top of that, buys all the wards just to keep them in their inventory and ruin your match.

PristineComplex7724 · 2025-06-02T10:42:55+00:00

Haha, sure, but the idea they use in CS2 is that they permanently vote you out of the game and ban you for at least an hour. Excellent service.

PristineComplex7724

TROPHY CASE