Frequently asked questions

An upgrader is a game of chance in which you stake one or more items (and, if you wish, part of your balance) and pick a more expensive item — the target. Before the game the site shows the exact chance. On a win the target lands in your inventory on the site; on a loss the stake is lost.

A step-by-step guide with an example is in How the Dota 2 upgrader works.

By one formula: chance = 0.95 × stake ÷ target price. Balance in the stake counts at its full value, an item counts at 100% of its market price, and a target costs 100% of its market price. The chance is never higher than 80%.

For example, a stake of 900.00 ⬢ on a target of 1,800.00 ⬢ gives a chance of 47.5%. The coefficient 0.95 is the same for every player and does not depend on balance, history or how long you have played; earlier games do not enter the calculation.

Prices are taken from current market data. Before the game the site compares the terms you confirmed — the stake, the target price and the chance — with the current ones, and if anything changed, nothing is played and you see the new terms.

The result of every game is fixed before you play and can be recomputed by anyone. This is called provably fair. Before the game you see the hash of the server seed, you have your own client seed, and when you change the pair of seeds the old server seed is revealed.

That proves a result was not swapped after you pressed the button. It does not make a win more likely: the chance is the formula above, and the house edge is stated openly. More in How provably fair works and on the fairness page.

• Open your profile → “History” and find the upgrade you want to check.
• Press the shield button on its card — the fairness page opens with the data already filled in.
• If the game was played on your current pair of seeds, the server seed is still secret: change your seeds on the same page and the old one is revealed.
• Run the check. The page hashes the server seed, compares it with the hash you were shown and recomputes the roll in your browser.

RTP (return to player) is the share of everything staked that comes back to players on average over a large number of games. On DOTAGRADE RTP is 95% for a stake from balance, so the house edge is 5%. For a stake in items RTP is 95%.

This is an average over thousands of games, not a promise for one: a single upgrade ends with either the target or the loss of the stake. A worked example is in RTP and the house edge.

If an upgrade fails, the staked items and balance are not returned. A confirmed upgrade cannot be cancelled, except in the case of a proven technical error on the site’s side (see the Terms of Service).

Upgrades are not a way to earn money: every game has a built-in house edge (5% on a balance stake), so over the long run playing costs money. Stake only what you are ready to lose. The site is for adults only (18+). More in Play with a clear head.

The methods depend on your country and on what is switched on at the moment; the current list is in the top-up window. They may include bank cards and SBP, crypto (popular coins such as USDT, BTC, ETH, LTC) and skins from Steam. Each method has its own minimum and maximum, and payment providers may charge their own fee.

The balance is an internal unit of the site, not money: it is used to buy items in the shop and as part of a stake in an upgrade, and it cannot be exchanged for cash.

Card and SBP payments are usually credited within 15 minutes. Crypto is credited after the transaction is confirmed on the blockchain, which takes longer when the network is busy. Send exactly the amount to the address and network shown in the top-up window, and in time.

If the money has not arrived after an hour, write to the support chat or to [email protected] with the time of the payment, the amount and the method. A payment that arrives long after the time shown in the window may wait for a manual check.

Yes, when this method is switched on. In the top-up window choose “Skins”, add your Steam trade link, pick the skins to deposit — the site shows what you get for each one — and accept the trade offer in Steam.

The balance is credited when the trade is complete. If Steam puts the trade under its trade protection (7 days), crediting or the opening of withdrawals may wait until it ends — the conditions are shown in the window. Skins turn into balance, not into items in your inventory on the site.

• Save your Steam trade link in your profile settings. It must belong to the same Steam account you signed in with.
• Open your inventory on the site, hover the item, press the Steam icon and confirm the withdrawal.
• Accept the trade offer in Steam. It usually arrives within a few minutes; the status is shown in your profile.

You also need Steam Guard switched on, an account without trade restrictions and an open Steam inventory. If you have bonus money left to wager, withdrawals open after you have played it through (see below).

• There may be no suitable copy of the item on the market at the right price right now — the withdrawal waits until one shows up, and you can cancel it (the item returns to your inventory);
• large withdrawals are checked manually before they are sent;
• delivery time depends on Steam and on the market.

A withdrawal returns to your inventory automatically when the trade offer could not be delivered: a wrong trade link, a private or full inventory, a trade restriction or ban on the account, or the offer was not accepted in time. The reason is shown in your item history — fix it and withdraw again, or sell the item for balance. If it does not work out, write to support.

No. The balance on the site is an internal unit, not money, a bank deposit or electronic money, and it cannot be exchanged for cash — this is stated in the Terms of Service. What leaves the site are items: they are sent to your Steam by a trade offer.

Yes. Any item in your inventory can be sold at once: hover it and press the coins icon. The sale price is shown in the tooltip and credited to your balance immediately; several items can be sold at once. The price follows the site’s sale rate and can differ from the market price.

You can spend the balance in the shop or add it to the stake in the next upgrade.

Bonus money — for example from a promo code, a deposit bonus or cashback — has to be played through: you stake an amount in upgrades that is a multiple of the bonus (the multiple is shown with the bonus and in your profile). While something is left to wager, withdrawing items to Steam is closed, so a bonus cannot be turned straight into a skin in Steam.

The shop, selling and upgrades keep working as usual. Every stake in an upgrade counts in full, and what is left is shown in your profile.

No. You sign in through Steam, and the site receives only your SteamID, public nickname and avatar. It never receives your Steam password. One account per person; accounts may not be sold, shared or transferred. Never share your password or Steam Guard codes with anyone.

DOTAGRADE is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by Valve Corporation; Dota 2 and Steam are trademarks of Valve Corporation. Data handling is described in the Privacy Policy and the Cookie Policy.