In a recent news post on Steam, Valve has just announced that there will be changes made to the matchmaking system of DOTA Underlords. If you’ve been playing Valve’s attempt at the auto chess genre, then you’ll be pleased to know that the next update will allow you to play in either Casual or an improved Ranked mode:

In Casual:

• You’ll be matched against opponents of the same skill level.
• You can either queue solo or with friends.
• Daily challenges and achievements can be earned.

In Ranked:

• You can only queue up solo and your rank will be used for matchmaking.
• New players need to at least play 5 casual games to unlock ranked mode.
• Daily challenges and achievements can be earned.

The confusing rank promotion system will also be revamped and clarified. Rank is now a number you can see clearly and moves up and down in a predictable way. This is purely dependent on where you finish in a ranked match and isn’t related to your opponents’ rank.

When you reach a minor rank, you will be granted bonus points and when you reach a major rank, it’s locked in and you cannot drop to a lower major rank.

Once the new update drops, every player’s current rank will be converted to the new system. For example, the Lords of White Spire will become Big Boss V. In conjunction with the changes, the leaderboard will be cleared.

So will the new changes make things more interesting? Can Valve improve DOTA Underlords until it becomes as accessible and popular as Teamfight Tactics? Perhaps not but it’s a good improvement nonetheless and it’ll give fans of the auto chess genre more games to choose from and play.