Warcraft III Ladder Scoring
When you begin ladder play on Battle.net, your account begins at Level 1 with 0 experience points (XP), much like a hero character in Warcraft III. Fighting (and winning) in Anonymous Matchmaking (AMM) games gives the account experience, and the account can begin to climb in level and even gain an icon based on the race played most frequently.

Note that players go up in level in multiple categories: both for single-player AMM and for Team AMM, including levels for each team they play on.

Ladder ranking is based on a player or team's experience.

Anonymous Matchmaking
Pressing "Play Game" on Battle.net; then selecting race, game type, and map preferences; then pressing "Play Game" begins the AMM process.

Battle.net then looks for other players of comparable level to include in a match. The levels of each player will be as closely matched as possible, but during periods where fewer players are online, Battle.net will search for a match within a wider range of levels, as needed. The map played on is then randomly selected, as weighted by the players' preferences.

Match-ups are done randomly, and players will not be matched against the same opponents they played in their last game, although they will be able to play them again in future games.

Experience Points and Levels
A player gains or loses XP at the end of a game, as outlined on Charts 1 through 4. When a player gains enough XP to meet or exceed the amount listed on Chart 1 under "XP Needed," that player then advances to the next level. Players can lose levels when they lose games (some XP are lost with each game loss), but can never go below level 1 and 0 XP.

Game winners receive XP, based on the difference in levels of the players, and losers lose XP based on the same level spread. Thus, low-level players that defeat high-level players will gain a great deal of experience, while high-level players who defeat low-level players will only gain a small amount of experience. The precise amounts lost and gained by the players are listed in Charts 2, 3, and 4.

When the highest-level player on a realm is level 25 or below, Chart 2 is used to determine the XP lost and gained after a match. After any player's level becomes higher than 25, the distribution of XP to winning and losing players is changed. The new distribution is shown on Chart 3. After any player's level becomes higher than 35, the distribution of XP to winning and losing players changes to their final values. These final values are shown on Chart 4.

At levels 1 through 9, the penalty for losing a game is reduced. The actual amount of XP lost are multiplied by the Loss Factor listed on Chart 1.

Players of level 11 and higher may also lose XP if they do not play a minimum number of games a week, as listed on Chart 1. Failure to play once a week - defined as beginning and ending on Monday at 12 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (UTC-8) - is counted as a single loss to an opponent one level below the player.

Note that while players continue to accumulate XP for 50th level play, at this time, there are no levels above 50. The rules for 50+ play have yet to be determined. Note that experience gained at level 50 can serve as a buffer to prevent loss of level due to account inactivity.

Random Team AMM Levels
As noted above, players go up in level in multiple categories: both for single-player AMM and for each team they play via Team AMM. Team AMM level is determined in the same manner as single player, with the following additions: The level of each team is based on the average level of all players on a team. Each player receives XP equal to winning or losing a 1 on 1 game against a player the same level of their enemy team.

Arranged Team AMM Levels
There are separate ladders to track the progress of teams playing in 2-on-2, 3-on-3, and 4-on-4 competition. An individual player can appear on the ladder as part of as many teams on which they wish to participate.