DOTA 2 is one of the most popular games on Steam and the competitor of League of Legends. Both MOBAs are also very competitive and free-to-play, which is why they face similar issues. Among them are particularly smurf accounts and the toxic behavior of some players. Valve is once again addressing these issues and presenting them to the community in a special way.
Who is it about?
- Mason “masondota2” Venne (32) is a US streamer and former e-sports player of DOTA 2.
- In his active career as a professional player, Mason Venne played for teams like Evil Geniuses, Digital Chaos, and Infamous.
- On Twitch, Mason had 2,617 viewers over the past 90 days and has over 240,000 followers (as of December 16, 2023).
- Although Mason occasionally streams other games like World of Warcraft or Path of Exile, he spends most of his time in DOTA 2 – at least until recently.
Just in time for Christmas, Valve gives away permanent bans
What a gift this is? Valve is now giving away in DOTA 2 “gifts that result in a ban”. Included is a highly toxic lump of coal that is meant to be a reference to the toxic behavior of players.
When affected players open the gift, they receive a message that they have been permanently banned. The reason stated in the description of the lump of coal is a violation of Steam’s guidelines. An example of such a violation is smurfing.
Mason Venne also received a toxic lump of coal as a gift and was given a permanent ban. The streamer was live at the time and reacted with astonishment: “What? Am I banned? […] What if I just never opened it? Are you serious?”
Here you can see a clip of the situation on X.com:
Streamer comments on the ban, viewers say: “Nonsense”
What does the streamer say? Following his ban and the corresponding stream clip, Mason Venne addressed the community on Reddit and tried to explain his situation with a statement.
In nearly 6,000 characters, the streamer stated that he had realized some time ago that he enjoyed DOTA 2 the most when he played it competitively and communicated accordingly with his team.
DOTA 2, however, has a so-called “Communication Score.” This is a value that, simplistically speaking, evaluates a player’s communication. If the score is very low, a player is characterized by poor communication, for example in the form of toxic behavior. This can lead to the person being banned from text and/or voice chat. This also applies to Mason.
The 32-year-old explains that he tried everything and behaved well to increase his Communication Score and be able to talk to his teammates again. However, the value simply did not rise high enough. Therefore, he paid someone to play on his account and increase the score for him.
Although he had already decided after one day not to arrange for someone else to boost the Communication Score, he was banned. In conclusion, he asks for a second chance because he loves playing and streaming DOTA 2.
What does the community say: On Reddit, some players responded to the streamer’s statement and made it clear that he has been known for toxic behavior for years: “I recently watched a stream and you were flaming non-stop, toxic as hell. Bro, you know you do that.”
The comment has a total of 1,500 upvotes, while the streamer’s statement has 1,200. Other users also commented on Reddit that Mason Venne has been “a symbol of the toxicity of the game” for years and deserved the ban.
Besides toxic behavior, smurf accounts are a major problem in DOTA 2. When these are hit by a ban wave, it is a reason for celebration for many players:
DOTA 2 bans 90,000 accounts of unfair players, who beat smaller players – “The best day of my life”
