Leaving a ranked match

Concede or Abandon

Casualties show how much of the board has been destroyed, counted in XP across both armies. Every stack is worth its creature's XP × its size when the fight starts, and stack sizes are balanced so each picked stack is worth about the same: losing your Peasants counts as much as losing your Angels. A typical board starts with about 12,000 XP.

Hold Alt during a fight to see casualties. The exit dialog always tells you how leaving would count before you confirm.

• 50% of the board destroyed or more: leaving is a Concede, an ordinary loss with no penalty. On a typical board that is about 6,000 XP, destroyed on either side.
• Below 50%, or during the draft or placement: leaving is an Abandon. You take the loss, and it counts as an abandon on your record.
• Once 50% is reached, Concede stays available for the rest of the match, even if units are healed or brought back.
• Summoned creatures, like wolves and spiders, add no XP and don't count.
• The line is the same for every player.
• Rating is never reduced because of how a match ended: a Concede or an Abandon moves MMR exactly like a finished match.

During your first 5 ranked matches

If you abandon while you're still calibrating, the match is unscored for both players: nobody wins, loses or gains rating, and no calibration match is used up. It still counts as an abandon for you.

If you disconnect or step away

Each match gives you 5:00 of away time, covering the draft, placement and fight together. It never resets during a match.

• Time disconnected counts after the first 10 s of each drop, so a short Wi-Fi blip costs nothing.
• A turn that runs out while you're connected counts in full, and so does a draft pick the game makes for you.
• While you're away, your units only wait or defend. They never move, attack or cast for you.
• The match ends for you when your away time runs out, when you miss 4 turns in a row while connected, or when 3 of your draft picks are made for you. It counts as a Concede or an Abandon by the rule above.

Penalties for abandoning

• After any abandon, you wait 5:00 before you can queue ranked again.
• Until ranked locks start, 3 abandons in a row suspend your ranked play until support reviews your account. A finished match or a Concede resets the count.
• vs AI, sandbox and casual lobbies stay open either way.

Ranked locks

Abandoning again and again locks ranked play for a set time. The Ranked Arena shows how long a lock has left and which matches caused it.

• 2 abandons in a row lock ranked for 24 hours. 3 in a row lock it for 7 days.
• Abandoning often counts too, even with finished matches in between: 3 abandons in your last 10 ranked matches lock ranked for 24 hours, and 5 in your last 20 lock it for 7 days.
• An abandon within 30 days after a 7-day lock ends locks ranked for 30 days.
• A finished match or a Concede resets the in-a-row count. Abandons stop counting once you go 30 days without one.
• Voided matches never count, and neither does a match left unscored because your opponent abandoned during calibration.
• A lock also closes wagers and prediction bets. vs AI, sandbox and casual lobbies stay open.

Appeals

If a lock was a mistake, like a power cut or a bug on our side, send one written appeal per lock from the Ranked Arena. A person reads every appeal and replies in your notifications, and by email if your account has one.

• An appeal is 20 to 1,000 characters.
• A reviewer can lift the lock early and keep the abandons on your record, lift it and clear those abandons so they no longer count, or keep the lock. Either way, you get their note.
• If 3 appeals within 90 days are found to have no basis, appeals pause on the account for 30 days.

Wagers and predictions

• If you abandon, your wager goes to your opponent, and prediction bets on the match are refunded.
• A Concede past 50% settles wagers and predictions like any finished match.
• Unscored and voided matches return every stake and bet.

When it's our fault

If our servers have a problem, such as a restart or a wide outage, the affected matches are voided: no result, no penalty, and stakes are returned. Away time lost to the outage isn't charged.

Casual lobbies

Leaving a casual lobby match never costs rating, penalties or queue time.