When people from the e-sports environment are banned, it always causes a stir. This time, a popular host in Dota 2 has been affected, who has long been considered toxic by the community.
Who was banned? The popular Dota 2 host SirActionSlacks has received a ban. The Twitch streamer is now one of the first known players to be banned by the new behavior system. While he can still play Dota 2, he can no longer communicate in-game at all.
This is a significant change for him, as he reveals on Reddit. As a result of the ban, he will only play with friends in the future.
What does he say about it? SirActionSlacks has commented on the incident on Reddit. He finds the ban justified and even says, “I deserve the punishment.”
Recently, he noticed that his behavior score was slowly declining. He tried to counteract this by not streaming his last 15 games to prevent sniping and by not speaking in-game anymore. He also tried to refrain from making toxic comments in the chat.
But none of this helped, and ultimately, he was punished by the new behavior system. From now on, he can no longer communicate with other players in the game.
Here you can watch the trailer for the New Frontiers Update.
New system automatically mutes toxic players
Why did he receive the ban now? SirActionSlacks received the ban because his behavior score dropped too low. Since the summer update of 2023, Dota 2 has a zero-tolerance policy towards toxic players. The new system gives each player a so-called behavior score, which is based on how a person interacts with their teammates in the game.
As a streamer with almost 150,000 followers on Twitch, SirActionSlacks is likely reported every night. The messages are then supposed to be checked live by the system and ultimately have an impact on the behavior score.
The behavior score not only determines the ability to communicate in the game but also how many item drops one receives after rounds, whether one can pause a match, and with which players one is grouped in a match.
The system is considered very strict, as points lost are only painstakingly regained.
What does the community say about the ban? The community is somewhat divided: Most on Reddit see SirActionSlacks as a toxic person. Others find the new system, similar to the streamer, far too strict.
KrisHwt has played with the streamer before and says via Reddit: “I have played in your team several times, and you are by far one of the most annoying and toxic people I have ever encountered in this game. […] It’s no secret why you can’t improve your behavior score.”
-Richarmander- is trying to understand the new system a bit better, also via reddit: “15 games should be enough to improve the behavior score a bit, right? I have a score of 12k, but if it were to drop, I would expect that 15 games with a positive mentality would raise my score somewhat.”
So, the streamer is not an unknown when it comes to toxic behavior. That Valve is now addressing this behavior in Dota 2 is a good thing, even if it seems that there is still room for improvement. A Dota 2 professional believes that Valve is reducing prize pools because the professionals are becoming too cheeky.
