How FogRating works
A community-built reputation score should be transparent. Here is exactly how the number above every player's name is computed - and the guardrails around it.
Bayesian smoothing, weighted blend
Every visible review gives a skill score (1-5) and a conduct score (1-5). For each profile we compute Bayesian-smoothed averages so that profiles with few reviews regress toward a neutral mean.
prior_weight = 5 // 5 fake "neutral" reviews
prior_mean = 3 // out of 5
smoothed_conduct = (sum_conduct + prior_mean * prior_weight)
/ (review_count + prior_weight)
smoothed_skill = (sum_skill + prior_mean * prior_weight)
/ (review_count + prior_weight)
blended = 0.6 * smoothed_conduct + 0.4 * smoothed_skill // 1..5
score = (blended - 1) / 4 * 100 // 0..100Guardrails
- Reviewers need a DBD profile attached - OAuth-verified (Steam/Epic/Xbox) or self-claimed (PSN/Nintendo).
- Each review carries the reviewer's verification level, so readers can weigh self-claimed reviewers accordingly.
- Separate encounters can be separate reviews. Per-player cooldowns (hours between posts), daily and weekly caps, and global burst limits slow harassment; moderators remove abuse.
- Free-text bodies pass a basic PII filter; emails, phone numbers, and street addresses are rejected.
- Self-reviews are blocked.
- Anyone can report a review - reports go to a moderation queue.
Verified vs self-claimed vs community-listed
DBD profiles can land in the directory three ways. The badge tells you which path the profile took:
The owner ran the platform's OAuth flow (Steam, Epic, or Xbox) and we hold cryptographic proof of ownership.
The owner attested ownership but no public OAuth exists for the platform. Used for PlayStation and Nintendo. Behaviour does support cross-progression linking, but they don't expose an API for us to verify the link, so we take the claim on trust.
Someone added the player after a match but no one has claimed the profile yet. Reviewable, and the player can claim it from their dashboard whenever they show up.
Verified conduct warnings
Users with a linked DBD profile can file a conduct report on another player for cheating, exploiting, trolling, harassment, or similar behavior. Reports go into a queue handled by moderators and admins-appointed trusted reviewers. When an allegation is verified, a warning badge appears publicly on that profile so others can make informed decisions. Unfounded reports can be dismissed without a badge; moderators can remove badges later if new evidence appears.
Where do you stand?
Profiles need at least one visible review before they get a tier. New or unreviewed profiles show as Unrated rather than F so the smoothing prior can't punish nobody.
Where it comes from
Maps, perks, characters, the Shrine of Secrets and patch notes come from the open community API at dbd.tricky.lol. We cache responses per-endpoint to avoid hammering it.
FogRating is not affiliated with Behaviour Interactive.
Things FogRating can't fix
A community rating isn't perfect. Targeted brigading, alts, and cross-platform identity ambiguity are real - we mitigate with verified linking, one-review-per-pair, and a moderation queue, but we don't pretend to be matchmaking. Treat your score as a conversation, not a verdict.