Dota 2 tracks two conduct numbers: a behavior score for in-game actions and a communication score for chat and voice. Both drop when you get reported or abandon games and rise with clean matches. You need at least 3,000 behavior score for ranked, and low scores also cost you voice, chat and pausing.
This guide explains what each score measures, what raises and lowers it, what you unlock at each level, how low priority differs, and how to recover a bad score. It is current as of October 2026. Ranked rules tie into the medal system, so pair this with our Dota 2 ranks explained guide.
What is behavior score in Dota 2?
Behavior score is Valve's measure of how you act in matches. It reflects your in-game actions, and it is largely driven by the reports other players file against you, per Liquipedia. It controls access to post-game item drops, pausing and ranked play.
Current guides describe the scale as running from 1 to 12,000, per Hotspawn. Some older guides list a 10,000 maximum, so you may see both numbers online. Either way, higher is better, and most of the useful unlocks sit well below the top.
What is the difference between behavior score and communication score?
Valve splits conduct into two separate numbers:
- Behavior score: covers in-game actions such as feeding, griefing and abandoning.
- Communication score: covers text chat and voice chat. If it falls low enough, you are text and voice muted, and other communication goes on a 30-second cooldown, per Liquipedia.
You can have a great behavior score and a poor communication score, or the reverse. A player who never flames but often disconnects might see the behavior side drop, while a player who plays well but types insults will see the communication side fall.
What do you unlock at each score level?
Liquipedia lists these features and the score levels where they unlock. Some unlocks need a high level in both scores, such as coaching.
| Score | What unlocks |
|---|---|
| 3,000 | Ranked matchmaking, and normal pings and chat wheel without a shared 30-second cooldown |
| 5,000 | Pausing games and drawing on the map |
| 6,000 | Text chat and the mini profile |
| 7,000 | Post-game treasure and set drops, in-game tipping, requesting a coach |
| 8,000 | Voice chat |
| 10,000 | Coaching other players and pinging ally abilities |
The key line for climbers is the first one. Drop below 3,000 behavior score and you cannot play ranked until you recover, per Liquipedia.
What lowers your behavior score?
The main drivers are reports and abandons. Esports.net lists these as the biggest risks, per Esports.net:
- Abandoning matches: the article calls this more severe than reports.
- Toxic reports: slurs and insults count heavily, while the odd report for poor play is less serious.
- Repeated bad conduct: it usually takes many incidents, not one bad game, to drag a score down to a worrying level.
Overwatch punishments, which come from Valve's player review system, also update your conduct summary right away, per Liquipedia.
What raises your behavior score?
Playing clean, report-free games is what moves the number up. Your score is reviewed in cycles, with a summary after every 15 matches, per Liquipedia. Each cycle without reports or abandons nudges it higher.
- Finish every game: never abandon, even when the match feels lost.
- Stay positive: thank supports, tip after good fights and keep calls short and useful.
- Commend teammates: Esports.net notes that commends are a strong signal, and teammates often commend back.
- Mute early: if chat is heating up, mute and play on. Silence cannot be reported for flaming.
- Turbo counts: Turbo matches count toward the 15-game cycle, per Hotspawn, which helps if you want to get through a cycle faster.
Does behavior score affect matchmaking?
Yes. Behavior score does not change your MMR, but it does affect who you play with. The matchmaker groups players with similar behavior scores, so a low score tends to put you with other low-score players, per Esports.net. Hotspawn adds that low scores often mean longer queues, per Hotspawn.
Valve said in its 2019 matchmaking update that behavior-based matching is "valuable for both protecting the larger population from outliers", per GamingOnLinux. In plain terms, a clean score keeps you in games with more cooperative teammates, which makes climbing easier. Our how to rank up in Dota 2 guide covers the rest of the plan.
How is low priority different from behavior score?
Low priority is a separate penalty queue. You land there after a burst of reports over several games, or after abandons, including repeated disconnects that count as abandons, per Esports.gg. One or two disconnect abandons usually will not trigger it.
- Mode: you can only queue Single Draft, and friends who party with you join the low priority queue too.
- Losses: achievement and seasonal progress stop, and queue times get longer.
- Way out: win the required number of Single Draft games. Most players need one to five wins, and leaving early adds more.
How do you check and recover your behavior score?
Your conduct summary appears in the client after each 15-match cycle. It shows your reports, abandons and commends over recent games, per Liquipedia. Use it to see whether the problem is reports, abandons or chat.
Recovery is slow but simple. Fix the cause first: if abandons are the issue, check your connection and only queue when you can finish. If reports are the issue, mute more and talk less. Then string together clean cycles. There is no shortcut, and no third-party service can change your score. Picking a steady role helps, too, because fewer role fights means fewer reports. Our Dota 2 positions guide explains what each role expects.
Keep your climb clean. Track your recent matches and heroes on RankSurge Dota 2 stats, and see what each medal needs on our Dota 2 MMR table.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good behavior score in Dota 2?
Higher is always better, and current guides describe a scale up to 12,000, though some older ones list 10,000. The key practical levels are 3,000 for ranked access, 6,000 for text chat, 8,000 for voice chat and 10,000 for coaching other players. If you are above 10,000 you have every feature unlocked. Below 3,000 you lose ranked matchmaking until your score recovers, so that is the line climbers should protect most.
What behavior score do you need for ranked in Dota 2?
You need at least 3,000 behavior score to play ranked matchmaking, per Liquipedia's conduct summary page. Below that level you lose ranked access and your pings, alerts and chat wheel share a 30-second cooldown. To get back above 3,000, play clean games without reports or abandons. Your score is reviewed after every 15 matches, so it takes a few cycles of good conduct to recover from a big drop.
How often does behavior score update in Dota 2?
Your behavior and communication scores are reviewed in cycles, with a conduct summary after every 15 matches. Turbo matches count toward that cycle. If you receive an Overwatch punishment from Valve's player review system, your summary updates right away instead of waiting for the cycle to finish. The summary shows your recent reports, abandons and commends, so it is the best place to see what is pulling your score down.
Does behavior score affect MMR in Dota 2?
No, behavior score does not change your MMR directly. It affects who you are matched with. The matchmaker tends to group players with similar behavior scores, so a low score usually means more toxic teammates and opponents, and sometimes longer queues. That indirectly makes climbing harder. It also controls ranked access itself, because you need at least 3,000 behavior score to queue ranked at all.
What is the difference between low priority and behavior score?
Behavior score is a long-running number that rises and falls with your conduct over many games. Low priority is a short-term penalty queue triggered by a burst of reports over several games or by abandons. In low priority you can only queue Single Draft, seasonal progress stops, and you must win a set number of games to leave, usually one to five. Leaving early adds more games. Behavior score itself does not decide low priority.
How do I raise my communication score in Dota 2?
Your communication score reflects chat and voice reports, so the fix is to give fewer reasons to be reported. Keep calls short and useful, skip arguments, and mute players who are baiting you. Silence cannot be reported for flaming. If your communication score falls too low you are muted in text and voice, so focus on clean games. Each 15-match cycle without communication reports moves it back up toward the levels that unlock chat and voice.
