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[Pinko Marx]

I've been playing DotA for years and years and years.
LoL for about 3 years.
And about 20 or so games in HotS.

They're all fun in their own ways but DotA is the one that keeps me coming back. In my eyes it has the most mechanical depth and skill ceiling.
LoL has way more fun heroes to play tho. And the waifu factor cannot be ignored. If I could have some sort of mix between the two I'd be heaven.

 

[The Technomancer]

The ceiling for strategic play in Dota is just so high, and while I'm never going to get anywhere near it any time where I get even close just feels like magic

 

[JusDoIt]

none, i aim to play games that take 5-10 minutes to finish and no one calls me a "nigger faggot"

fighting games welcome you with open arms.

 

[HappyPuppy]

I've tried all 3 and LoL is by far my favorite. After LoL is was really hard for me to enjoy Dota, the turning speed each character had frustrated me, special shops, all new abilities. It was too much and already found my home with LoL. Also they have Teemo, Janna and Annie wuuu!.

Hots is kinda cool, never got too invested in it. I mostly play brightwing and other supports, once in a full moon.

 

[Caffeine]

STRIFE is the only MOBA in my eyes

isnt that game abandoned ?
http://steamcharts.com/app/339280

 

[ModernBoxes]

Dota2.

I started off with league of legends beta, but dota2 is in a league of it's own. The game is so complex on every level I can't help but respect its top teams and watch them.

 

[E-flux]

HOTS for me.

I really like DOTA, but I find the last hit mechanics to be a pathetic, lazy, degenerate, excuse for gameplay.

Please explain why, it adds complexity to the game since the enemy team can deny their creeps, thanks to the creep waves that don't always have the same composition create an uneven tug of war on the lane even without the heroes which create farming patterns for carries who know how to utilize the map. I get that many people find it hard to learn to last hit but that doesn't make it a bad mechanic.

 

[scoobs]

Please explain why, it adds complexity to the game since the enemy team can deny their creeps, thanks to the creep waves that don't always have the same composition create an uneven tug of war on the lane even without the heroes which create farming patterns for carries who know how to utilize the map. I get that many people find it hard to learn to last hit but that doesn't make it a bad mechanic.

I get that there is a complexity and skill that goes along with it, but as a mechanic from a very broad perspective I find last-hitting really uninteresting.

Would you rather focus on last hitting your lane for 15 minutes (or whatever it is, I'm just guessing since I don't play DOTA2), or go team fight at the new objective that spawned. For instance, in HOTS they have a map where two giant Angel/Demons are fighting each other and the objective is kill the enemies Demon faster, and this happens once every like 3 to 4 minutes. It's fucking cool, and it forces people out of lanes.

And that is just one map. There are 13 unique maps with unique objectives that are all just ridiculous and fun (except maybe Garden of Terror, not a fan of that map)

If you're super into last-hitting, there are a couple of heroes that have similar mechanics built into their kits through their combat traits or talents. But for the most part HOTS is great because it does away with the "work" portion of MOBAs and forces you to group up and team fight.

Its really fun, I'm just glad I took the time to try it. I never enjoyed my time with LoL, and never thought I'd actually enjoy HOTS but here I am 3,000 games later.

 

[Capitan]

I get that there is a complexity and skill that goes along with it, but as a mechanic from a very broad perspective I find last-hitting really uninteresting.

Would you rather focus on last hitting your lane for 15 minutes (or whatever it is, I'm just guessing since I don't play DOTA2), or go team fight at the new objective that spawned. For instance, in HOTS they have a map where two giant Angel/Demons are fighting each other and the objective is kill the enemies Demon faster, and this happens once every like 3 to 4 minutes. It's fucking cool, and it forces people out of lanes.

And that is just one map. There are 13 unique maps with unique objectives that are all just ridiculous and fun (except maybe Garden of Terror, not a fan of that map)

in dota, you're not just last hitting for those minutes. it's important for the carries to do so, but you really have to be mobile early on, especially as a support. there are runes which spawn every two minutes, which give you various bonuses or money. you can gank other lanes. you can pull your own creeps to fight jungle creeps. plenty of stuff.

and gold means you can have items, which add a ton of complexity.

which isn't to say the giant fighting statues in HOTS aren't cool, they're rad. but there's a lot of stuff do do in dota early game as well.

 

[manfestival]

Its a dirty game, its a dirty world

 

[E-flux]

I get that there is a complexity and skill that goes along with it, but as a mechanic from a very broad perspective I find last-hitting really uninteresting.

Would you rather focus on last hitting your lane for 15 minutes (or whatever it is, I'm just guessing since I don't play DOTA2), or go team fight at the new objective that spawned. For instance, in HOTS they have a map where two giant Angel/Demons are fighting each other and the objective is kill the enemies Demon faster, and this happens once every like 3 to 4 minutes. It's fucking cool, and it forces people out of lanes.

And that is just one map. There are 13 unique maps with unique objectives that are all just ridiculous and fun (except maybe Garden of Terror, not a fan of that map)

If you're super into last-hitting, there are a couple of heroes that have similar mechanics built into their kits through their combat traits or talents. But for the most part HOTS is great because it does away with the "work" portion of MOBAs and forces you to group up and team fight.

Its really fun, I'm just glad I took the time to try it. I never enjoyed my time with LoL, and never thought I'd actually enjoy HOTS but here I am 3,000 games later.

The thing with Dota and last hitting is that it's just one part of the equation, if you don't enjoy last hitting you can pick a hero that is strong from level 1 and pretty much fight all the game where ever you want, disrupting the enemy team. That whole idea of nothing happening in the first 15 minutes in dota is there mostly because people have no idea how to play, i have coached enough games where everybody just farms and those are the worst.

But in Heroes of the storm, even though there are now 13 unique maps which have different objectives, in my mind those all kinda blur together, either you are capping points or collecting tokens from the jungle, Hots feels a lot more scripted to me than dota where anything can work. In the last big update of dota they changed the forests, making a lot of small paths for people which i kinda dislike since before you had to and could create your own routes either for ambushes or escapes.

 

[Soule]

Played hundreds of hours in LoL, thousands in Dota2 and a handful of hours in hots. I really started in LoL but I prefer openness of Dota2 however i havent got the time for the genre at all anymore. I still watch games occasionally

 

[sandy1297]

I prefer dota2 compared to the other dota clones

 

[Cato the Censor]

I played all three but prefer DOTA 2 because I realised that when I want to play Dota, I can as well play DOTA.

It is the most authentic self-torturing software available in the genre.

 

[Sparrowhawk]

HotS because I'm a casual and enjoy the Blizzard characters/maps.
Still really dislike MOBAs, though.

 

[StromboliProtocol]

LOL. Because ARAM. 5v5 classic mode from LOL and DOTA2 are for specialists and guys like me that will never give this mode the required commitment are insulted at every game for not being good enough. So yeah, LOL because ARAM.

Yeah and last hit mechanics is tedious and uninteresting and I hate turret logic - seriously they are being attacked by a champ that can destroy them in 5 hits but still they focus on the creeps or the tanks. Last hit and turrets logic are forced gamey twists that make LOL and DOTA2 classic modes look like work to me.

 

[CupONoodos]

The thing with Dota and last hitting is that it's just one part of the equation, if you don't enjoy last hitting you can pick a hero that is strong from level 1 and pretty much fight all the game where ever you want, disrupting the enemy team. That whole idea of nothing happening in the first 15 minutes in dota is there mostly because people have no idea how to play, i have coached enough games where everybody just farms and those are the worst.

Agreed. Dota 2 is the only game where I truly ENJOY playing the support. Its the most active role where you're constantly thinking about a multitude of objectives and trying to accomplish all of them within a time frame. Stacking, pulling, warding, dewarding, ganking, smoking, rotating; the support life.

 

[gogosox82]

Maybe I'm biased because I love the game but why isn't Smite here? Smite is bigger than HOTS. They also get more viewers on twitch when they have big tournaments like this weekend.

 

[ElBoxyBrown]

And here's this guy, to bring us all together for some laughs. Thanks, buddy. SeemsGood

I'm being serious. It'll be some of the best MOBA action you'll get on console.

 

[mooncakes]

Dota 2 hands-down. It has way more depth with many ways to play. I do play LoL but only with friends. LoL feels really homogeneous with the same role in every lane. It feels like there are only 5 types of heroes (AD/AP/support/tanky dps/jungle) in different skins.

 

[HappyPuppy]

LOL. Because ARAM. 5v5 classic mode from LOL and DOTA2 are for specialists and guys like me that will never give this mode the required commitment are insulted at every game for not being good enough. So yeah, LOL because ARAM.

*high five
I mostly play Aram these days. Love it when I get Brand, Lux or Malz. Cry when I get Urgot or Udyr.

 

[jetsetrez]

Maybe I'm biased because I love the game but why isn't Smite here? Smite is bigger than HOTS. They also get more viewers on twitch when they have big tournaments like this weekend.

I think Smite absolutely deserves to be in the conversation (as evidenced by how much love its got in the thread). I do think HotS is bigger than Smite, though. HotS generally has more viewers than Smite when nothing eSports is happening on Twitch (though not by much, they're always relatively close), and the HotS' reddit is usually over twice as active than the Smite reddit. And if you look at Youtube, almost all of HotS' videos have way more views.

You might be right about esports viewers, but I think HotS' player base is disproportionately less interested in the esports scene compared to the LoL, DotA2, and Smite. Blizzard only just a few months ago finally even introduced an organized league system for HotS' esports scene. Also, last weekend wasn't a big HotS tournament, it was just the first week of a 2 month long series of up and down matches that decides who goes to the actual big tournament. And just look in this thread how many people enjoy HotS but just play against bots with friends. I personally know a few people who are big on WoW, but play a lot of HotS on the side with their guildies against AI, and never play competitively.

 

[Alchemy]

HotS is the only one that fucking is short enough in most matches for me to ever give any fucks about

 

[danmaku]

Dota 2, without a doubt. I started with Dota 2, though, so obviously it gets an advantage. LoL feels like "Dota lite" and HotS doesn't even feel like a moba and is plagued by the terrible Blizzard character design.

 

[Ketch]

I will cross post from the HotS community thread:

DOTA2 is like in a three way tie for my favorite game of all time, the other two being TF2 and Heroes of the Storm.

to me the best comparison has always been mario kart to forza, or NFL Blitz to Madden.

It doesn't make forza or madden bad, it's just that there's something to be said for playing the "for fun" version of a thing instead of the simulator version of a thing... and vice versa.

Heroes is like the arcade game version of a MOBA where as DOTA is what I imagine defending an ancient in real life would be.

There's completely valid merit to wanting either or both of the experiences, which I think is shown from the replies in this thread.

I don't play DOTA anymore outside of occasional bot games or solo que funsies because I just don't have the time or ability to give a shit anymore. HotS fills that gap extremely well, I can have fun and play competently with other gaffers without putting in 40 hours a week on it, AND as a parent I appreciate knowing I'll be done in a half hour.

 

[hobblygobbly]

Never been into them but back in the days when my friends and I used to LAN, we'd play DotA (as the Warcraft 3 map) among other games and it's the only time I played, even though they played it excessively online when we didn't LAN as well. So I'd pick DotA 2 because of the familiarity, but not a fan of the genre - I have played DotA 2 but only a few matches and that was back in the beta. I gave HotS a few matches as well, but these games have never grabbed me.

For the most part most multiplayer games don't grab me, I only used to play Diablo 2, Ultima Online, and Quake/CS back in the day, nowadays the only multiplayer game I still continue to play is EVE Online because it's the only one that presents an interesting online experience for me.

 

[eizarus]

League of Legends.

It's my first moba but every time I've tried to play Dota 2, it's always felt too slow compared to League.

 

[DSix]

I had a lot of fun playing and learning Dota 2 for years (2000h playtime). But after so long it became less and less fun as I learned less and less new things. Nothing but absolutely pitch perfect execution was tolerated and I became sick of it.

But, after a few years without moba, I came back with HotS recently, and I have to say it is a lot more fun to play with friends and without getting angry over everything all of the time.

 

[Kagoshima_Luke]

LoL over HotS by a slim margin, and then Dota 2 far, far behind.

 

[schlynch]

DOTA2.

 

[McBradders]

DOTA 2 for me. Love it. Started with LoL, got into the DOTA 2 beta and had a horrid time, came back to it just before it went live and haven't looked back since. It's incredible. Also I love hats and the International is just the best fucking thing!

Lotta people playing dota in here that aren't posting in the dota OT in community 🤔

That thread is super weird, man. At least it was last time I poked my head in there like a year ago. Also I only play at lunch with work colleagues and it seems more a place to hang with people you're playing with and weird in-jokes.

 

[Throwaway123456789]

Dota 2 by a great amount. LoL is fine, but HotS felt like the Smash Bros version of a MOBA. I really like the slower pace in Dota.

 

[Mechazawa]

HotS has definitely been my go to now for the past three years.

15-30 minute matches and being able to pick and get familiar with whatever character you want in Quick Match without worrying about picking around a comp can't be understated. You're in, you're out, and you're way more familiar with ____ after 3 matches since you didn't have to spend two of those matches falling back to picking a solo top/off-lane/jungler/support.

 

[Dremark]

I quit DotA 2 for LOL several years ago and never looked back. Still play LOL on a fairly regular basis.

 

[Atomski]

I really want to get I to dota2 or LoL but 45 minute matches just don't work for me..

I like to watch but 45 minutes without interruption is impossible for me :/

 

[Dreams-Visions]

I prefer Dota 2 in general over League, though they both have strengths and weaknesses that are evident after playing both for thousands of hours. I find Dota 2 considerably more complex, while League is more entertaining. League succeeds at not having any roles that can feel like shit all game long where Support and Off lane can feel like shit depending on the picks.

But better community features, communication features, spectating features (including VR! also, spectating league matches sucks dick), and a better visual presentation make Dota a better experience for those looking for a bit more complexity in their MOBA. If you prefer a MOBA that is a little simpler to understand (more rigid, less flexibility) but still clearly challenging in its own right that lets you more or less spam abilities (rather than being heavily limited by mana), and if you like brighter colors and waifu characters, League is the better choice. I play based on mood. Some days you prefer Overwatch; other days you prefer CSGo, you know?

I think League has the stronger future since it is the better supported game, but it needs to break away from the rigid role limitations, forced 1-1-1-2 laning, and one or two acceptable itemization paths on core roles. I don't know what to expect out of Dota 2's future. New hero releases happen maybe once or twice a year tops, most of the team that was working on Dota 2 in its beta days are doing other things, leaving only a skeleton crew on Dota 2 and it shows. Bugs abound and Valve continues to struggle with basic communication. League struggles with balancing issues and occasional bugs, but nothing major. League gets a couple new characters every fuckin quarter and they stay in constant communication with their player base. Things Valve should learn from.

That said, I expect to play both well into the future.

 

[Wafflecakes]

Please explain why, it adds complexity to the game since the enemy team can deny their creeps, thanks to the creep waves that don't always have the same composition create an uneven tug of war on the lane even without the heroes which create farming patterns for carries who know how to utilize the map. I get that many people find it hard to learn to last hit but that doesn't make it a bad mechanic.

Artificial complexity that is neither intuitive or purposeful.

It is essentially some developer saying "lets keep out teh durty casuals by adding some APM spam to our game!"

 

[SilentRage47]

Dota 2, all the way.

 

[paradise_circus]

I started back in the warcraft 3 custom map era with dota, tides of blood, aos and footmen frenzy. Back in the day these maps were for people who couldn´t handle the main game skillwise. DotA got huge and I could never get warm with LoL. I had a very fun time and the community got huge especially with sites like dota league where people could play in a ranked mode where the community really was not so toxic and even less in the vip ranked mode. I think I had 4 vip accounts over the years, because I got toxic and tilted sometimes.
DotA 2 is pretty good with dedicated servers, but it looks like Valve can´t satisfy the performance issues after bigger updates. I plaz it verz occasionally due to the lack of a desktop computer.

 

[Artanisix]

Adventure time moba

 

[AzureSkies]

Played LoL from the end of Season 2 to midway through Season 6 and I just lost interest. It felt like it took too long for me to keep up with the game, and I never was a truly great player.

I've played some HotS and I feel like it's a good match for anyone who is interested in playing a MOBA, but not interested in spending years to become competent.

 

[GetSomeSponge]

Adventure time moba

This was surprisingly some of the most fun I had on a moba for the week or so me and a friend messed about on it.

I was lol for life, played it since beta, played it competitively in a team and then dropped off to playing it most nights with friends. I hated just about every change from the adc changes onwards, and the game doesn't even resemble what it once was. Every single one of my friends, even the ones who only played arams also began to hate it and since last year we all slowly quit.

Me and another friend play hots occasionally, the great heroes and map rotations keeps us enjoying it. And the more casual playstyle means it doesn't matter that we only play a few games a week in-between other games.

I did try dota 2 a few times but always found the gameplay a relic from years ago, and it never stuck for me. I think it mostly comes down to playing lol before it or I may have enjoyed it more.

The real goat moba was dawngate though, I'm still pissed ea shut it down before it was even officially released.

 

[darklin0]

Dota2.

I have played LoL the most but Dota2 was more fun.

I would of ended up playing more Dota2 but Overwatch came out and I remembered I like FPS games and broke out of the hate cycle that are MOBAs.

 

[Endruen]

I haven't played Dota 2, but I prefer Heroes of the Storm over LoL.

 

[E-flux]

Artificial complexity that is neither intuitive or purposeful.

It is essentially some developer saying "lets keep out teh durty casuals by adding some APM spam to our game!"

It's far from artificial, without last hitting and denying the laning phase would be a lot more boring, hell in the mid lane people would just hang around on the exp range without doing nothing. It might work in HotS thanks to the level objectives but it would not work in Dota and would kill of multiple roles you could play.

Dota has been simplifying the game a lot in the last few years, they have been removing exceptions and even removed true damage, and i think hybrid damage has been removed too. i would put those things like that under the artificial complexity but not things like last hitting.

 

[SaniOYOYOY]

Dota 2 is the best game on this planet. 1000 hours of entertainment (and rage) for virtually 0 money. there i said it

even if its still harder than the other 2, I think its easier for newcomer to learn dota 2 compared to the old wc3 dota allstar

 

[eva01]

No mention of Master X Master? This NCSoft moba is pretty damn good. You pick two champions and can switch on the fly adding a new dynamic to the genre. Its in closed beta atm.

https://www.playmxm.com/en

 

[SoundLad]

HotS for me. I had a handful of experiences with DOTA and LOL my friends and I did like those games but the game length in both was a dealbreaker and didn't continue.

HotS on the other hand is very accessible straight off the bat. At the start I did feel like the game was a bit shallow compared to the others but after spending some time with it I realised that there is plenty of complexity and different strategies to play around with.

I also love the hero roster, being a fan of Blizzard games definitely pays off here.

 

[Giard]

HotS only because it's less complicated.
Not really a big fan either way.

 

[kraspkibble]

LoL. HoTS was the first one I played and quite enjoyed it but didn't enjoy it as much when I went back after playing LoL. DOTA2 I could never get into at all. I don't even play any of them anymore but might give HoTS another shot.