Over the years, League of Legends and DOTA 2 have sat at the forefront of the MOBA genre – they’ve also played major roles in the development of Esports as a whole thanks to their active competitive scenes and consistent game mechanics.
However, a long-standing debate remains – what is the best MOBA title to immerse yourself in – LOL or DOTA2?
It’s a simple question to answer, and at the same time, it’s quite complex reason being;
A LOL veteran would quite obviously opt for LOL as the better game, while an active DOTA 2 player would do the same for DOTA 2.
It will be hard to convince either set of players otherwise as they would’ve already accepted the flaws of their preferred title simply because they’ve already gone through the process of immersing themselves in their preferred title.
However, for a new player looking to dive into the world of MOBA games, a more objective approach towards reviewing both games’ strengths and flaws will go a long way, on that note, here’s a look at a head-to-head look at some key aspects of LOL and DOTA 2.
Paywall
Pretty much all competitive games these days have microtransactions, they still remain a controversial topic, but the gaming community as a whole has grown to accept them to an extent.
Some games keep their microtransactions to the bare minimum in a bid to make sure that players don’t feel forced to make any purchases aimed at bolstering their progression in a game, while other games deliberately put a paywall around key items – the latter is by far the biggest pet peeve of most gamers today.
Both DOTA 2 and League of Legends have microtransactions, but LOL’s microtransactions are more pronounced as there’s a paywall surrounding some of the champions available to use in the game.
DOTA 2, on the other hand, has a completely free roster of heroes you can choose from, creating a fun gaming experience for new players who aren’t too keen on spending money to unlock characters.
So in terms of microtransactions, DOTA 2 has a major edge over LOL.
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Complexity
DOTA 2 boasts a steep learning curve, while League of Legends is fairly easy to pick up on.
While this might seem like a disadvantage on DOTA 2’s part, the game’s complexity makes it far more rewarding once you’ve put in the time to understand the game’s mechanics and successfully execute some unusual builds and plays.
DOTA 2 has a unique mechanic called the counter mechanic – this means that, regardless of how strong any hero is on the game, there’s another hero on the roster that is more or less tailor-made for stopping them.
This means that DOTA 2 players need to have an in-depth knowledge of the game’s roster, amongst other things, adding an extra layer of skill to the game.
Community
League of Legends has approximately 70 million users worldwide, while DOTA 2 boasts around 43 million hence LOL is quite obviously the more popular game.
The main benefit to the average consumer of having such a large player base is the amount of content that you’re able to immerse yourself in outside of playing the game, as the quantity and quality of LOL content eclipses what the DOTA community is able to muster.
Verdict
For some, the fact that DOTA 2 doesn’t have a paywall, makes it the obvious choice, while others will look towards the game’s mechanics to make a decision on what they believe to be the better game.
DOTA 2 boasts a steep learning curve, while League of Legends is fairly easy to pick up on.
While this might seem like a disadvantage on DOTA 2’s part, the game’s complexity makes it far more rewarding once you’ve put in the time to understand the game’s mechanics and successfully execute some unusual builds and plays.
DOTA 2 has a unique mechanic called the counter mechanic – this means that, regardless of how strong any hero is on the game, there’s another hero on the roster that is more or less tailor-made for stopping them.
This means that DOTA 2 players need to have an in-depth knowledge of the game’s roster, amongst other things, adding an extra layer of skill to the game.
So to sum up, a player who prefers slow and complex gameplay will opt for DOTA 2, while a player who prefers faster gameplay and simplified mechanics will opt for League of Legends.
It all comes down to personal preference.
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