This is not something new, you can Google and find a great deal of same topics such as; Dota 2 vs LoL, Dota 2 vs Heroes of the Storm, HoS vs LoL... etc.
But most of the people don't like reading long paragraphs just to learn a small amount of information... I am among them! I don't like word salads about such topics so I will cut to the chase and I will try to make it as short and useful as possible.
First, you need to understand that these 3 games are very different from each other despite being in the same genre: MOBA. And these 3 MOBA games are perfectly fun and they are the most popular ones of their genre. And thus, it is so very normal that you love 1 of them much more than other 2. However, it's not normal to trash talk about other 2 you don't like as much as your favorite. Don't do it! You seem like a moron when you do that so stop it for your own good!
Don't even read paragraphs starting like: "This is the best, that is the worst... ", "Not even worth comparing the answer is clear... ", "This is just a copy of that... "... etc. Just run away from stupid content, your brain deserves it!
Now here, I will try to share my and only my own thoughts with you.
Features of Dota 2:
*All heroes are unlocked
Thank you for this Valve! This is really good, I hate the way other companies sell heroes. Yes, we don't have to spend our real money but, in this case, we have to spend hours of hours gameplay and spend a great deal of in-game currency to unlock a hero to play. Dota 2 lets us play all the available heroes at no cost, that is a big plus. Don't forget, you can still support buying awesome skins.
*Rewarding/Punishing
When compared to LoL and HoS, Dota 2 is more punishing when you feed your enemies or vice versa; it is more rewarding for your kills. So you can count this however you like; rewarding or punishing. Feeding and getting fed really matter in Dota 2, more than in LoL and HoS. Don't do stupid mistakes, your enemies may (and probably will) make the most of your stupid mistakes!
*Items are very important
In Dota 2 you have to choose your items really carefully, some items are really hard to get, you have to save a good amount of gold without dying, you also have to deal with courier micro controls when you have enough of gold. Most of the usable items almost change your hero's mechanics and the match! Also, your enemies will do their best to avoid getting killed and you have to farm carefully, it is not easy to buy items, so be sure that you buy the best item according to your budget. Be sure to buy the item you can make the most of.
*Hero selection and meta
I know that you are thinking it is important for LoL and HoS too. Well... Not all of us attend tournaments, not most of us are "Challenger". I am myself diamond 3 in LoL, 2.5K MMR in Dota 2 and 25 in HoS. I can say that I have never picked calculating "counter-picks" in LoL or HoS, In fact, most of the time I picked what I wanted! But in Dota 2 this situation is crucial even for 2K MMR. If you want to make your winning chance higher, you need to take your enemy team into consideration and have a good pick. There are even times that picking the right role is not enough, you need to pick a specific hero for certain reasons.
Features of League of Legends:
*Clean graphics and animations
You really wouldn't want to argue this topic with a Dota 2 fan (not a fan but a nerd), but I don't support any sides here! I am a fan of all 3 games. And yes graphics and animations of LoL is cleaner than Dota 2. If you are a LoL player please try Dota 2 and you will see that cast animations are slow. You will miss lots of last hits until you figure it out! This is same for skills.
*Community problem
No need to hide it from ourselves, we all know that juvenile kids are the majority in the LoL community until you get your way to diamond and get rid of the most of them at last. Although Riot works a lot to make this community better I don't think it will be as good as Dota 2's mature community in a near future.
*Not so punishing
As mentioned, we don't assume we are in a tournament! We assume that we are just average players. So from this point of view LoL is not very punishing. 2 or 3 early game kills doesn't change anything, it is not that hard to fix it especially with your teammates' help. It is an advantage for the killer, of course, but not as crucial as it is in Dota 2. And even if you are better than your enemy, you can't get a huge advantage with early kills like in Dota 2, you just have to keep it.
*Lots of heroes
Riot used to create more heroes/champions once, then they slowed us a bit, but still there are many champions in LoL compared to Dota 2 and HoS. And it will always be like this unless 3 games change their strategy about this. I accept, you can't play some of them at higher rankings because there are better options, but I think Riot will fix this balance problem in future and hopefully there will be more champions to play in higher rankings
Features of Heroes of the Storm:
*Lots of maps for ranked matches
You know there are several kinds of maps and different game plays in both Dota 2 and LoL. However, HoS is separated from them because there are many maps for RANKED matches. You queue for a match and you get a random map no matter it is a ranked or a normal match, I think this is great and this makes the game very dynamic. Sticking to only one map can be boring, don't you agree?
*Events are important
While playing HoS, you need to dominate the event area, you don't have any other chance to win. This is another beautiful feature because believe it or not, that means more team fights than Dota 2 or LoL, even for low ranking matches.
*One for all, all for one
Another feature I love. Like in Dota 2 and LoL, there is not something like "feeding" or "getting fed", as an individual at least. In Heroes of the Storm, you don't level up as an individual; everything team members do is a contribution to the team's experience pot. When it reaches to enough of experience points, all team members level up. Just avoid being far behind of enemy team about levelling, especially getting ultimate. Because, in a team fight, it is a huge difference to have 1 more talent point.
*There are no gold farming, no items and no last hits
Shocking, isn't it? Blizzard tried something new and it is working quite fine in my opinion. You don't need to chase last hits. Some of you think this is bad while some of you think this is perfect. Well... I am not a fan of last hit system.
*Hero selection and meta
As long as your team has all needed roles, it will be OK. Don't forget to consider that some heroes are clearly better than others.
*Different skills and talents
I almost forgot it! In HoS, you are not limited with 4-5 skills given to your champion. You start with all your active and passive skills and this makes the game very fun even at the beginning. Then you choose one of the several upgrades when you level up. All heroes have 2 ultimates and you choose one of you want when you reach required level. This way, you can combine different skills and play the same hero in a several different styles.
Conclusion:
All these 3 games have their own features, advantages and disadvantages. And the truth is while some people consider a feature as an advantage, others may consider it as a disadvantage. Yes, taste comes in all shapes, to each his own.
And I am sorry, I didn't want to keep this article long, I just hope that you think it was worth reading, though.
Comments