Dota 2 requires phone number to join ranked matchmaking

Valve has announced that from early May it will be necessary to link a phone number to a Dota 2 account. This applies to all players who want to participate in ranked matchmaking in the moba game, in which players can move up into higher divisions.

In the announcement, Valve notes that it must be a unique phone number. In addition, it may not be a number from an online service that offers telephone numbers for free or for a fee. The company says it aims to counteract the phenomenon of people having different accounts. Valve writes, “Having more players using their primary account will have a positive effect on unranked and ranked matchmaking.”

Players with more than one account would negatively affect matchmaking in the game. For example, an experienced player can create a new account and play against inexperienced players in low divisions, making it easy to win matches. These types of accounts are referred to as smurfs, among other things.

Players have until May 4 to provide a phone number. If they fail to do so, they will no longer be eligible for ranked matches. If a player removes a number from his account, he must register a new number and the old number cannot be registered on another account for three months.

Other changes from Valve also focus on improving matchmaking. For example, it is possible to choose to only end up in a team with players who are not in the queue with another player. Also, the level from the solo queue is factored into the party queue and there is improved detection for bots and players who deliberately take actions to antagonize their team.