House rules

Highground runs on one idea: ten people who want a real game, at the same time, on the same level. These rules exist to protect that. The patrol enforces them and publishes every decision on the patrol page.

The rules

1. One account per person. Your Highground account is your Steam account. Playing on someone else's, or letting someone play on yours, is smurfing, and smurf accounts are banned.
2. Show up. Accept the match, then join the lobby within five minutes. Three no-shows mean a three-day suspension.
3. Play it out. Leaving, going AFK or feeding on purpose goes to the patrol.
4. Keep comms civil. Flame, slurs and threats in chat or voice are reported like griefing.
5. Sit where the bot puts you. Teams and positions are drawn before the game. The bot moves anyone who sits in the wrong slot.
6. No betting. No real-money betting on league games, by players or anyone they know.
7. No cheating. Scripts, map hacks and stream-sniping mean a 90-day ban at minimum.

Penalties

• Warning for a first, minor case.
• 3-day or 7-day suspension from searching for games.
• 90-day ban for smurfing, cheating or repeated serious cases.

Every upheld decision can be appealed once from your profile. A different patrol member reviews the appeal.

Quick play

Press Quick play in the header, pick your positions and a server, and search. The queue matches ten players near your rating; the longer you wait, the wider the rating range it accepts. When a match is found you have 30 seconds to accept. If everyone accepts, teams are balanced by rating and position and our bot opens an All Pick lobby. Declining or missing the check means a five-minute break from the queue.

Parties

Add friends on the friends page and invite them to your party, up to five. The party leader starts the search and everyone in the party ends up on the same side. Everyone in a party needs the site open while searching. If one of you skips the ready check, the whole party leaves the queue.

Teams and team matches

Start a team on the teams page, pick a name and a tag, and invite friends. The captain invites and removes players and can hand the armband to someone else. When five teammates are in one party, the leader can pick Team match: you play another team's five, and both teams move on the team ladder.

How Elo works

Highground counts Elo the way FACEIT does: only the result matters, weighed by how strong the other side was. Kills, deaths and hero damage don't move your Elo, so nobody has a reason to farm stats instead of playing to win.

The formula

1. Each side's strength is the average Elo of its five players. Your side's chance to win is E = 1 / (1 + 10^((their average - your average) / 400)).
2. A win gains K x (1 - E), a loss costs K x E, with K = 50. Two even teams play for +25 and -25; beating a stronger team pays more, losing to a weaker one costs more.
3. Every result moves you by at least 5, even an expected stomp.
4. Your first 10 games are calibration: K is doubled (100) so your Elo finds its level quickly.

Where behaviour counts

• Leaving a game always counts as a loss for you, plus 25 extra, whatever the result.
• A teammate left and you lost: you only lose half of the normal amount.
• No-show (you accepted but never joined the lobby): minus 20.

Levels

Levels use FACEIT's bands: level 1 up to 500, level 2 from 501, 3 from 751, 4 from 901, 5 from 1051, 6 from 1201, 7 from 1351, 8 from 1531, 9 from 1751 and level 10 from 2001.

Where you start

Your first Elo comes from your Dota medal: Herald 1 starts at 600 and every star adds 40, so Legend lands around level 7, Ancient 8, Divine 9 and Immortal starts at 2100, level 10. Without a readable medal you start at 1000. Teams have their own Elo on the team ladder, moved by team matches with K = 32.

In the lobby

1. The bot invites the ten players to a password-protected lobby; the name and password are also on the game page.
2. Sit in the slot for your side. The bot moves anyone who sits in the wrong one.
3. When everyone is seated, the bot starts the game. The result comes back from the game on its own and ratings update.

FAQ

Why doesn't my KDA change my Elo?

Because Elo should reward winning. Stat-based points push people to farm numbers instead of playing their role; FACEIT leaves them out for the same reason.

Do I need to make my match history public?

No. The bot reads results straight from the lobby. Your medal is read from Dota itself, so it works with a private profile too.

Can I play with friends?

Yes: invite them to your party and search together. A party always plays on the same side.

Is it free?

Yes. There is nothing to buy.

Is this run by Valve?

No. Highground is an independent league and isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Valve.