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LoL v Dota 2 v HoN v Smite: Which one do you play?
d_20
Member RarePosts: 1,878
I haven't really played any mobas yet, since I've been living under a rock. Now that I have come out into the sunlight, I was wondering which game to play. I know they are f2p but I'm a bit busy these days with work and a lot of other games. So if you all could have an intelligent and enlightening conversation on the subject, I think it can help me out.
Which moba do you play and why?
Comments
I've played all but HoN so I will give a short review based upon my own subjective findings.
Dota 2
Most complex but according to me also the most satisfying. Every hero have roles such as jungler, support, carry etc. In Dota these roles are a bit free flowing, a support character can become a real late game carry and a jungler can be a nuker. Dota 2 has a graphic style i prefer as well. The amount of frustration it can cause is however epic :P
All heroes comes for free as soon as you have done the tutorial.
LoL
Simpler according to me, if you are a carry you are a carry, if you do magic damage you do magic damage. Also you have to play a lot or pay a lot to get access to all heroes. Don't like the graphics, feels dated.
Smite
Just a new take on moba with the 3rd person perspective. Have some nice quick game modes where you play 3v3 or just a large arena where you kill the other team and nothing else. You have to play or pay to get all gods. This is also easy to get into and not very complex.
To me Dota 2 i the clear winner.
Smite is the one that stands out the most for me and it is the only MOBA I consider worth playing.
LoL
Dota
....and before you know it DD2 moba and then Blizzards Heroes of the Storm and even a DC Universe or whatever its called moba with your favorite superheros like batman and superman. Smite stands out from the rest and offers something that no other moba offers and that is a third person perspective. In all the other moba's you play the game from above, in smite you play it and feel the carnage happening around you.
>Ultimately< it is up to you
They each offer something different and they are all pretty fun ;D
Thanks for your quick reviews, Madatan.
Actually, I'm a total noob in mobas, so I don't even know what any of those terms mean. I've hear about "jungler" but I don't know what it is. That's how much of a noob I am.
It's a good dilemma to have so many choices at least.
EDIT: As for Smite being 3rd person, then how about Nosgoth? Is that a moba too?
Currently I play SMITE, imho it's the most fun & satisfying (considering it requires a lot more aiming / plays more like an MMO PvP arena in a way). The 3rd person makes you feel like you're right there in the action, as opposed to just floating overhead & observing. That said, I'd break down the games as such:
Dota2: Is easily the most complex of the MOBAs you mentioned. It's a very mechanically challenging game, so if that appeals to you it can be a lot of fun. It does have quite a large learning curve, as you need to learn more than in the other games to be a good player, and the game doesn't do much in the way of hand-holding. It also tends to have the longest Ques when it comes to games, and has the fewest game modes (it's mostly based around 1 standard map).
HoN: Is nearly identical to DotA. But it has much much worse graphics.
SMITE: Is arguably the 2nd/3rd most complex of the games after DoTA / HoN. Similar to Dota, the jungle in this game is a hugely important farming tool, and not primarily gank space. Furthermore, there is much more of an emphasis on aiming your skills, as there are barely any lock-on skills in this game, unlike LoL / HoN / Dota2 in which many attacks are target selected (including auto-attacks). Furthermore, SMITE has the most game-modes out of the MOBAs mentioned. It has standard map (conquest), an arena type game mode, an ARAM (all random, all mid) game mode, and 1v1 / 3v3 'joust' game modes. In addition to daily 'theme' modes, which vary from all of the above game modes, including an older game mode (Domination), and they usually have a theme (like all egyptian gods, all olympians, etc.)
LoL: Is probably the least complex out of the games listed. It has the most champions, though, (which is both a good and a bad thing). It's also the most popular. Graphics are definitely very dated, though.
HotS: Blizzards (attempt) at a MOBA. Not yet available to the general public, and I honestly wouldn't technically consider it a MOBA. However, if you do not enjoy the mechanics of MOBAs, this game is the most extremely casual game you will see to mimick this genre. It functions very similarly, except you don't have to worry about item builds, you don't have to worry about last hitting / jungling / etc., and EXP is currently shared, so really all you need to worry about are some very simple objectives, and mostly killing others. Plus, it's Blizzard, so you know it'll be popular.
- Hope this helps you make a decision. Personally, if you wanna learn how to play MOBAs well, I'd recommend getting into DotA2 (or maybe LoL). The core mechancis are there, and they're both fairly popular games. SMITE is a ton of fun, but it's the most unique (imho), and while it has a good number of players, it doesn't have the following LoL / DotA2 does. Maybe that'll change once it officially launches, but who knows for now.
Thanks for the thoughtful and detailed write-up aesperus. You explained it in a way I can understand. Thanks also, Robokapp, for your explanation of "jungling."
I'm leaning toward giving Dota 2 a go, since I can just dl it off of Steam right now.
HoN:
Horribly outdated, unbalanced and not at all welcoming for the newcomer. This game essentially died when Dota 2 was released.
If interested: Dont be, play Dota 2 instead.
LoL:
Fairly easy to get into, very rigid metagame, not as much potential for snowballing compared to Dota 2 or HoN, very few game modes and each session play out very similar to the last and the next one, easy to learn the basic mechanics but still some to learn. LoL can be enjoyable even if you're bad.
Dota 2:
Harder to get into, more leavers than in LoL, more freedom in gameplay and there isn't a enforced metagame like in LoL, very snowbally, initially you will see a lot of leavers and a lot of plain dumb games because the noobies you play with (you included) have no idea how to play the game. Get good or Dota 2 won't be any fun in the long run.
Smite:
Very different critter compared to HoN, LoL or Dota because of the wasd movement and over-the-shoulder camera - it very much comes down to a matter of taste which style, if you want MMO-style combat and movement in your MOBA then try it out, it shouldnt really be compared with the other MOBAs.
Dawngate, it is in beta and it is surprisingly fun. Im not a moba fan but i sometimes play some of them for a short while. Looking forward to Heroes of the Storm too just because it has warcraft stuff in it and different mechanics other than pushing lanes like a minion.
I've only played LoL and DOTA2, and I prefer LoL.
Maybe because I started with LoL, or have money/time invested in it, but DOTA2 just, I don't know, wasn't for me.
Maybe it is because LoL has ARAM (which is a 15-25 min game), compared to the "normal" MOBA maps which can take up to (i've had an hour and 30 min match).
So, maybe I say LoL because of the ARAM mode, if DOTA2 had it, maybe I would play DOTA2 more, but...for now, and the past couple years...LoL has been my MOBA of choice.
-----
DOTA2 is superior in the fact that you can play any champion at any time without having to unlock them via points/$$...but unlocking champions/runes and such in LoL is a carrot on a stick, so I guess it gives you "something" to work toward?.../shrug
I am entitled to my opinions, misspellings, and grammatical errors.
I've played all of them extensively with the exception of Smite which I dabbled in but took no real interest in.
Dota 2 is far and beyond the superior game. HoN was amazing when it first released as it was a true successor to the wc3 mod, but s2 went in some odd directions and had trouble balancing the game after adding so many unique heroes. Now HoN is a shell of what it used to be and not much fun to play.
LoL is a good game, don't get me wrong, and I did enjoy playing it quite a bit. But to be honest the only real reason I stuck with it is my ex played it and I wanted something to play with her. After that ended there was little reason for me to stick with the game as I just have a better time with Dota 2.
The original DotA stands as one of my favorite games of all time, so it is no surprise that Dota 2 is my favorite here, and yes I am biased because of this. I think the systems surrounding it, from coaching to spectating to tournaments and all that are reall the best in the business though, and take an incredibly balanced and solid foundation and just add to it, rather than messing it up with custom unbalanced heroes and stuff like that. Plus it is easily the most generous free to play game I've seen. You really don't need to pay a cent and have everything unlocked with absolutely nothing held back., that's a gigantic plus for me.
edit: keep in mind the communities to all the games are vile in general and the learning curve is steep, especially in Dota 2. If you have friends who have stuck with any of those games, I suggest playing with them, it will make it much more enjoyable. I do believe LoL is the easiest to jump in and learn though.
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hey there.
I played only LoL and Dota 2 so i can't speak for the other games
Don't ask me which one of those 2 i like better cuz i don't have a answer, I like both as much ( yes, it is possible )
Dota2 : you get all the heroes from the start, you don't have to pay a thing. The only items u can buy forreal money are pure cosmetic.
Dota 2 has a steep learning curve, so as a new player you can have a hard time getting into it. Grafics are more mature ( I'm not saying better than lol's, just diffrent ).
Item builds are very fun to play with in dota, most items have cool "actives" ( u click on the item and it's like a new ability ur hero have ).
Heroes are much more powerfull than in LoL!! ( u are full hp, no problem some of them can just burst u down in a second ) BUT the counters are also much greater. it's like they are fighting broken with broken. Spells cost more mana, the mana pool is smaller.
There is much more freedom in dota, u dont have a hero that can be played in X possition or with Y build. u can have a caster with full phisical damage items and still be effective.
so if u like this so far u should go and try dota 2. it's much more puishing, making a mistake will cost u alot!! u need strategy, and good sync with ur team mates.
Now League of legends:
U don't have all the champions from the start : u get 10 free every week ( in rotations they are not permanent ). there are alot of cheap champions out there u can start with ( 3-4 games and u can buy one ) but there are also some that u need to play all week to buy one... or u can spend real money
LoL is much more forgiving ( at a non competitive level, cuz there god help u if u make a mistake ) u don't lose money when u die like in dota. u can easly get back in the game after 1 death.
Spells cost less mana and the mana pool is bigger, same with cooldown, they are lower. that means the gameplay will be much more intense, u need to use skills FAST, for good bursts u need to press 4-5 buttons in 1 sec
. Spells are not that powerfull but u need to use them much more for sustained damage.
LolL doesn't offer so much freedom, meaning some champions will be effective in one role, and if u dont do it like that, god have mercy on u cuz u will get flamed!!! ( bot lane carry + support, mid ap caster or assassin, top usualy tanky fighter ) if u try to go fizz ( ap caster ) bot lane, u will be flamed and / or reported
The jungle is much more important in LoL. U have 2 buffs between each lane and u need to control those if u are a jungler, also gank ( ambush ) lanes to help ur team. There is no such thing as a game w/o a jungler. Well it is but the non jungler team will probably lose
Problems in both games: dota is full of Russians ( and they play bad and should feel bad ) and alot of other non english speakers.. so u wont be able to communicate with your team most of the time.
League : lot's of kids and flamers, do 1 mistake and they will curse u for the rest of the game. also reporting is done in every game.. do something they dont like, ppl will report u shouting " REPORT X PLAYER HE RETARDED "
I hope this will help u! as I said I personaly play both games at a regular basis, and enjoy both.