LoL vs HoN vs DOTA2 (Poll + Pros/Cons)

Hey all.

A guy at work has been begging me to play League of Legends with/against him. He goes on and on saying it's a great game.

Basically, I was never into that type of gameplay (tower based hero gameplay?). Anyway, I was looking at his screen today while he played and it picked my interest.

He says LoL is the best of them all. Now I ask you guys what do you think is the best out of all of them?

Which was should I start with?

Which one has tutorials? (I've never played these types of games before)

Pros/Cons?

Thanks

Start with LoL then go to Dota2

LoL is accesible, casual easified version of DotA with no depth.

HoN I don't know, but last time I checked it was tryhard nofunallowed central. Gameplay wise it's DotA with other heroes.

DotA is the original, tried and true, deep and complex, which has been under constant balancing and refinement since 2003. DotA 2 is DotA 1 with better graphics but currently lacks some of the heroes in DotA 1. It has a much higher skill cap which makes it more competitive, and also much less accesible. But it's by far the best. Mastering the mechanics is no easy feat though. Keep in mind that DotA 2 is the only true free to play out of the bunch, with the cash shop being 100% cosmetic. You don't have acces to all heroes in LoL, not sure about HoN. You can eventually unlock everything in LoL without money, but it will take you hundreds of hours just to get to level 30.

Also, DotA has no out of game stuff like summoner skills that destroy balance and dictate metagame, making the metagame a constantly shifting afair.

My response as always:

Warcraft 3

&

DotA is the original, tried and true, deep and complex

QQabitmoar

lol.

Also, DotA has no out of game stuff like summoner skills that destroy balance and dictate metagame, making the metagame a constantly shifting afair.QQabitmoar

LoL is accesible, casual easified version of DotA with no depth.

HoN I don't know, but last time I checked it was tryhard nofunallowed central. Gameplay wise it's DotA with other heroes.

DotA is the original, tried and true, deep and complex, which has been under constant balancing and refinement since 2003. DotA 2 is DotA 1 with better graphics but currently lacks some of the heroes in DotA 1. It has a much higher skill cap which makes it more competitive, and also much less accesible. But it's by far the best. Mastering the mechanics is no easy feat though. Keep in mind that DotA 2 is the only true free to play out of the bunch, with the cash shop being 100% cosmetic. You don't have acces to all heroes in LoL, not sure about HoN. You can eventually unlock everything in LoL without money, but it will take you hundreds of hours just to get to level 30.

Also, DotA has no out of game stuff like summoner skills that destroy balance and dictate metagame, making the metagame a constantly shifting afair.

QQabitmoar

My friend was saying that some heroes you have to buy, but they don't offer any gameplay advantages just a different gamestyle. ???

Can you expand on this? I didn't quite understand it.

AND YES, I want one which is FREE, but not Pay 2 Win if possible.

[QUOTE="QQabitmoar"]

LoL is accesible, casual easified version of DotA with no depth.

HoN I don't know, but last time I checked it was tryhard nofunallowed central. Gameplay wise it's DotA with other heroes.

DotA is the original, tried and true, deep and complex, which has been under constant balancing and refinement since 2003. DotA 2 is DotA 1 with better graphics but currently lacks some of the heroes in DotA 1. It has a much higher skill cap which makes it more competitive, and also much less accesible. But it's by far the best. Mastering the mechanics is no easy feat though. Keep in mind that DotA 2 is the only true free to play out of the bunch, with the cash shop being 100% cosmetic. You don't have acces to all heroes in LoL, not sure about HoN. You can eventually unlock everything in LoL without money, but it will take you hundreds of hours just to get to level 30.

Also, DotA has no out of game stuff like summoner skills that destroy balance and dictate metagame, making the metagame a constantly shifting afair.

FelipeInside

My friend was saying that some heroes you have to buy, but they don't offer any gameplay advantages just a different gamestyle. ???

Can you expand on this? I didn't quite understand it.

AND YES, I want one which is FREE, but not Pay 2 Win if possible.

Ya definatly go with LoL first then dota 2. Dota 2 is so much better imo but your going to get pounded when you start. dkdk999

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"]

[QUOTE="QQabitmoar"]

LoL is accesible, casual easified version of DotA with no depth.

HoN I don't know, but last time I checked it was tryhard nofunallowed central. Gameplay wise it's DotA with other heroes.

DotA is the original, tried and true, deep and complex, which has been under constant balancing and refinement since 2003. DotA 2 is DotA 1 with better graphics but currently lacks some of the heroes in DotA 1. It has a much higher skill cap which makes it more competitive, and also much less accesible. But it's by far the best. Mastering the mechanics is no easy feat though. Keep in mind that DotA 2 is the only true free to play out of the bunch, with the cash shop being 100% cosmetic. You don't have acces to all heroes in LoL, not sure about HoN. You can eventually unlock everything in LoL without money, but it will take you hundreds of hours just to get to level 30.

Also, DotA has no out of game stuff like summoner skills that destroy balance and dictate metagame, making the metagame a constantly shifting afair.

shakmaster13

My friend was saying that some heroes you have to buy, but they don't offer any gameplay advantages just a different gamestyle. ???

Can you expand on this? I didn't quite understand it.

AND YES, I want one which is FREE, but not Pay 2 Win if possible.

You can get all of them for free, but you need to play hundreds of games to do so. In DotA 2 you have every hero for free from the get go. Also in LoL, a level 1 player will be gimped vs a lvl 30, who will have maxed runes and more heores and summoner spells. There are no such things in DotA. As for the heroes, in my experience with LoL the heroes aren't really varied, which is a good thing because buying not buying new heroes doesn't gimp you that much, but a bad thing because there no variety. In DotA, no hero plays the same as any other. There are no clear roles, only vague roles, and each hero has very different gameplay.

tldr

In LoL, people who pay have more options faster, and you have to grind anyway (most heroes are unplayable before you unlock Flash)

In DotA 2 people who pay have more hats, swords, pauldrons, different courier skins, different announcers, etc. 100% cosmetic, and you can get them as well with random drops after every game.

Edit: the forums are durping again

And as for DOTA2 Beta. Do you loose all ur progress when it launches?

Still on DOTA2, so the heroes don't have levels? Relating that to LoL, when you find a match online, does it actually put u against lvl30 when u are just low levels? Or does it match you up with similar leveled players? (like SC2 does)

Another thing is Game Modes: I saw my friend (in LoL) play a quick mode which you had to capture flags (and hold) around the map. Does DOTA2 have different game modes as well? Or just the basic kill the other heroes base?FelipeInside

EDIT: Also, to answer your question about being paired with lvl 30's in LoL... LoL has a pretty good matchmaking system and I'd usually get matched up with people who were close to my level. Dota 2's matchmaking isn't as kind... I've been paired up with people much higher lvl than me, but the game is in beta so once it releases the influx of new players should fix this.

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"]Another thing is Game Modes: I saw my friend (in LoL) play a quick mode which you had to capture flags (and hold) around the map. Does DOTA2 have different game modes as well? Or just the basic kill the other heroes base?heatfanman101

EDIT: Also, to answer your question about being paired with lvl 30's in LoL... LoL has a pretty good matchmaking system and I'd usually get matched up with people who were close to my level. Dota 2's matchmaking isn't as kind... I've been paired up with people much higher lvl than me, but the game is in beta so once it releases the influx of new players should fix this.

[QUOTE="heatfanman101"]

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"]Another thing is Game Modes: I saw my friend (in LoL) play a quick mode which you had to capture flags (and hold) around the map. Does DOTA2 have different game modes as well? Or just the basic kill the other heroes base?FelipeInside

EDIT: Also, to answer your question about being paired with lvl 30's in LoL... LoL has a pretty good matchmaking system and I'd usually get matched up with people who were close to my level. Dota 2's matchmaking isn't as kind... I've been paired up with people much higher lvl than me, but the game is in beta so once it releases the influx of new players should fix this.

Thanks again. So hard to choose. I know LoL is more accessible to newcomers, and I really like the "Domination" Mode. But I love the animated portraits of DOTA2, and also that player level doesn't matter as much as in LoL...FelipeInside

No problem ;).Your safest bet is to try out LoL first and see how you like it. If you like the type of gameplay but want more depth, then Dota 2 is right around the corner (it's releasing very soon and learning the basics with LoL can't hurt).

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"]Thanks again. So hard to choose. I know LoL is more accessible to newcomers, and I really like the "Domination" Mode. But I love the animated portraits of DOTA2, and also that player level doesn't matter as much as in LoL...heatfanman101

No problem ;).Your safest bet is to try out LoL first and see how you like it. If you like the type of gameplay but want more depth, then Dota 2 is right around the corner (it's releasing very soon and learning the basics with LoL can't hurt).

[QUOTE="heatfanman101"]

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"]Thanks again. So hard to choose. I know LoL is more accessible to newcomers, and I really like the "Domination" Mode. But I love the animated portraits of DOTA2, and also that player level doesn't matter as much as in LoL...FelipeInside

No problem ;).Your safest bet is to try out LoL first and see how you like it. If you like the type of gameplay but want more depth, then Dota 2 is right around the corner (it's releasing very soon and learning the basics with LoL can't hurt).

[QUOTE="FelipeInside"][QUOTE="heatfanman101"]

No problem ;).Your safest bet is to try out LoL first and see how you like it. If you like the type of gameplay but want more depth, then Dota 2 is right around the corner (it's releasing very soon and learning the basics with LoL can't hurt).

dkdk999

I hate the 10th person not accepting. As of a recent patch it's a problem in LoL too now, though it fixes and even bigger problem and the queue isn't as llong as in DOTA 2.

DotA 2 doesn;t match people by level. Level means absolutely nothing. Some say it has to do with wins and how well you do, but it doesn't, many people already had tons of wins before the leveling system was introduced in the beta, and it's inflated now. The games matches you based on a hidden MMR, much like SC2 just without the leagues.

I haven't played HoN and you can't really judge Dota 2 since it's not out yet from my understanding. League is fun but can be a pain in the rear, I don't really like the rune system but I do have a few fav heroes (Jayce,Graves,Fiora and Ashe for AD carry, Sonna and Taric for support, and Volibear for solo top).

DotA 2 doesn;t match people by level. Level means absolutely nothing. Some say it has to do with wins and how well you do, but it doesn't, many people already had tons of wins before the leveling system was introduced in the beta, and it's inflated now. The games matches you based on a hidden MMR, much like SC2 just without the leagues.

QQabitmoar

[QUOTE="QQabitmoar"]

DotA 2 doesn;t match people by level. Level means absolutely nothing. Some say it has to do with wins and how well you do, but it doesn't, many people already had tons of wins before the leveling system was introduced in the beta, and it's inflated now. The games matches you based on a hidden MMR, much like SC2 just without the leagues.

FelipeInside

It is the easiest to get into, and the hardest to master at the same time. DOTA2 has a bigger map and there is a less clear meta game, and since any character can carry the game revolves around hypercarry's(basically late game kogmaw equivalents).LoL is the most balanced out of all of them, although there are more useless champs in LoL than in the other two games.All three are almost mechanically identical, except in DOTA2 and HoN you need to last hit your own creeps as well.

shakmaster13

All of this here is incorrect, especially the every hero can carry nonsense.

The leveling in Dota 2 means nothing at the moment (other than getting an item when you level up).

For match matching it isn't fully implemented at the moment. For now it matches due to a MMR, but once they have finished

their match making it'll track you on their performance bar.

Dota 2 is going to become the most successful and well known out of the three. The competitive scene is getting better and better,

it will over take LoL and has the potential to becoming the most popular and well known e-sport.

You asked if Dota 2 has other game modes. At the moment no, but in the future they will. They are adding in a mode in which

when you die you will have to pick a new hero to play with for that same match. There will also be an "easy" mode. But I think you'll be

most interested in their Questing system that they will have (hopefully once it is released).

Dota 2 does not have a tutorial system yet. Once the game is released there will be a tutorial system that will go over ever type of game

mechanic that you must know. So as of now it is not "noob" friendly and is difficult to learn. The best thing about Dota 2 is that every single

hero plays differently and you'll never have the same experience with 2 different hero let alone the same hero.

I love the art-style of Dota 2 over LoL, it is a much bettersilhouet of each hero. That and the game feels a lot more alive than LoL, which

I am betting you discovered the same.

TL;DR If you have friends, play Dota 2, much more fun to learn and play when it is with friends instead of randoms you can't communicate with. If you want

to just learn the genre and play the genre casually (play it ever so often, don't really care much about the meta-game) then pick LoL. If you want a more competitive feel, more alive game, more unique heroes and having the ability to play all the heroes from the get go, pick Dota 2.

[QUOTE="shakmaster13"]

It is the easiest to get into, and the hardest to master at the same time. DOTA2 has a bigger map and there is a less clear meta game, and since any character can carry the game revolves around hypercarry's(basically late game kogmaw equivalents).LoL is the most balanced out of all of them, although there are more useless champs in LoL than in the other two games.All three are almost mechanically identical, except in DOTA2 and HoN you need to last hit your own creeps as well.

GD1551

All of this here is incorrect, especially the every hero can carry nonsense.

I agree with you. I mean when I read "hardest to master" I kinda laughed. Especially when he contradicts himself in the next sentence.

But yeah, you can NOT carry with every hero, unless the other team is completely rubbish and you have been feed to the max. LoL is

also NOT the most balanced out of them all, which you must know when you just said LoL has more useless "champs". I would go more

in depth but it would be futile.

If you seem to be more interested in Dota 2 for visual reasons you can definitely start with Dota 2.

I personally had no experience with MOBA games and started with Dota 2. I've played about 75 games to date with a win percentage around 50%, there have definitely been games where I was more than useless, actually a detriment to my team and my team mates let me know it but in those games I did learn something so it's all good.

---

You asked if Dota 2 has other game modes. At the moment no, but in the future they will. They are adding in a mode in which

when you die you will have to pick a new hero to play with for that same match. There will also be an "easy" mode. But I think you'll be

most interested in their Questing system that they will have (hopefully once it is released).

---

Stream_Beta

He meant other map, like LoL's Dominion, which I will admit is pretty decent, and they should focus on more of that if they don't want to be completely overtaken by DotA 2.

Also, -dm, -em, -wtf etc etc are already in as far as I know, but only for private games, and it will propably stay that way.

LoL has the best competitive scene. It is the easiest to get into, and the hardest to master at the same time. DOTA2 has a bigger map and there is a less clear meta game, and since any character can carry the game revolves around hypercarry's(basically late game kogmaw equivalents). HoN is DOTA2 but faster paced and even less balanced. LoL is the most balanced out of all of them, although there are more useless champs in LoL than in the other two games. All three are almost mechanically identical, except in DOTA2 and HoN you need to last hit your own creeps as well. For a new person, LoL is the best. For a try hard, HoN is the best. For people into actual competitive gameplay, LoL and DOTA 2 are both good but since LoL is more popular it has the bigger competitive scene by far. Also, I have encountered more bad players in DOTA2 than LoL, which I find interesting because almost every DOTA fan thinks of LoL as a casual babby game. Personally, I alternate between LoL and DOTA2. What I like about LoL is the bush mechanics and the less lasting CC effects compared to DOTA2. However, I really like jungling around more in DOTA2 than LoL. Also, I can't get over how fun Storm Spirit and Invoker are to play, but the LoL devs would probably consider them "anti-fun".shakmaster13

[QUOTE="shakmaster13"]LoL has the best competitive scene. It is the easiest to get into, and the hardest to master at the same time. DOTA2 has a bigger map and there is a less clear meta game, and since any character can carry the game revolves around hypercarry's(basically late game kogmaw equivalents). HoN is DOTA2 but faster paced and even less balanced. LoL is the most balanced out of all of them, although there are more useless champs in LoL than in the other two games. All three are almost mechanically identical, except in DOTA2 and HoN you need to last hit your own creeps as well. For a new person, LoL is the best. For a try hard, HoN is the best. For people into actual competitive gameplay, LoL and DOTA 2 are both good but since LoL is more popular it has the bigger competitive scene by far. Also, I have encountered more bad players in DOTA2 than LoL, which I find interesting because almost every DOTA fan thinks of LoL as a casual babby game. Personally, I alternate between LoL and DOTA2. What I like about LoL is the bush mechanics and the less lasting CC effects compared to DOTA2. However, I really like jungling around more in DOTA2 than LoL. Also, I can't get over how fun Storm Spirit and Invoker are to play, but the LoL devs would probably consider them "anti-fun".heatfanman101

Just wait till all the DotA 1 teams move over. DotA 1 still has a huge scene.

Really speaking here's how I see it.

HON = Dota with too much damage.. like seriously..

LoL = Arms race, since there's no gold loss for death nor is there a deny mechanic I'd imagine that most games boiled down to who got their stuff first rather than preventing a person from getting his stuff via ganking.

I think LOL evolved the genre a bit, while dota 2 feels like there was no need for it to be made - we allready got dota in wcIII.

Besides I think lol is more fun than Dota 2 :P

Sorry if all I say has been said already, I didn't read any of the replies.

I have played LoL for 300+ hours, and at the moment playing Dota2 with 203 hours clocked so far. TL:DR answer is Dota 2 is the best.

The biggest strenghts with Dota 2 are hero diversity and denying + courirer mechanics. The skill cap is definitely higher in Dota 2. As an example, runes in Dota 2 makes warding play a bigger role especially in the beginning of the game, so if your team has a dedicated support that wards your chances to win just got alot better. Yes, wards help in LoL too by preventing ganks, but warding rune spots really makes a big difference as long as your team uses them.

Another example, efficient laning. This is crucial in Dota 2, much more so than in LoL where you got a recall spell and denying doesn't exist. Because if you are good at last hitting, denyining, and play smart (use the courirer instead of going back to base, always have enough regen, use runes...) you can completely destroy the opponent you're laning against. When you have gotten a couple of items thanks to last hitting and he's lacking in both exp and gold because of your denying, you're guaranteed to get a kill.

Also, about hero diversity, in LoL you can play any hero once you learn the few arche types. They're pretty much the same with differnet visuals. Dota 2 also have these archetypes, that work as expected like ranged squishy carries and tank-ish melees, but there are lots of quite unique heroes like invoker and alchemist, that really require some learning even if you have played lots of other heroes before.

Dota 2 can be great fun to play while it can also make you really angry and frustrated. If you've never played MOBAs before, I suggest reading and watching some guides first. Read a general beginners guide, decide on a hero to try, read a dedicated guide for that hero on dotafire, play a bot game with it to get familiar with the controls and map, then join a public game. Even though I've played this much I usually have dotafire in the background in case I decide to pick a hero I'm not that familiar with, just to check some possible item builds.

The Dota community can be really hostile, so be prepared for that if you happen to feed a bit the first games, but it's very rewarding once you get better.

[QUOTE="shakmaster13"]LoL has the best competitive scene. It is the easiest to get into, and the hardest to master at the same time. DOTA2 has a bigger map and there is a less clear meta game, and since any character can carry the game revolves around hypercarry's(basically late game kogmaw equivalents). HoN is DOTA2 but faster paced and even less balanced. LoL is the most balanced out of all of them, although there are more useless champs in LoL than in the other two games. All three are almost mechanically identical, except in DOTA2 and HoN you need to last hit your own creeps as well. For a new person, LoL is the best. For a try hard, HoN is the best. For people into actual competitive gameplay, LoL and DOTA 2 are both good but since LoL is more popular it has the bigger competitive scene by far. Also, I have encountered more bad players in DOTA2 than LoL, which I find interesting because almost every DOTA fan thinks of LoL as a casual babby game. Personally, I alternate between LoL and DOTA2. What I like about LoL is the bush mechanics and the less lasting CC effects compared to DOTA2. However, I really like jungling around more in DOTA2 than LoL. Also, I can't get over how fun Storm Spirit and Invoker are to play, but the LoL devs would probably consider them "anti-fun".supras989

There is no lol to use here, only if it's to be loled at lol, you know what imbalance is in MOBAs? that thing that makes a hero invincible, that other thing that immediately makes a bad start as defeat, profile levels that enhance your heroes overall, some builds are better than others and most people don't have level 30, every stat advantage that is not part of the actual match is imbalance, free spells are also imbalances, but I see why you'd whine considering that you think it's unfair for an item with a certain ability to God forbid take up a slot.

You're also full of it with counter picking, people play the heroes they like in Dota 2 and games are still won (no matter the enemy team formation or type of heroes), LoL however fundamentally functions on counter picking for some heroes, because yet again imbalance, most heroes can have absolutely any role in LoL, even something like Malphite can become a carry and that is absolutely pathetic.

As for HoN, nobody said anything, it has sever balance problems, but not like LoL.