RANKING the FOUR BIG MOBA's (DOTA 2, LoL, HoTS, Smite)

[JamColour]

I've played all of the big 4 MOBA's (League of Legends, DOTA 2, Heroes of the Storm and Smite) for more than 100 plus hours, with LOL being my first MOBA experience (where I have probably more than 1000 hours) and Heroes of the Storm being my second MOBA experience (started playing two months after launch and I know I am well over 1000 hours most likely). I also tried Smite and DOTA 2 as well. Here is my personal opinion on each - Pro's and con's and a ranking (my personal opinion, don't get triggered) - 4 being the lowest, 1 being the highest:

4. Smite - I had a bittersweet experience with Smite and despite my 300 plus hours in it, I grew more distant from it overtime.

Pro's:
+ The third person perspective provides an interesting and unique perspective and gameplay to the genre, which may challenge MOBA players who are used to the traditional isometric view.
+ Multiple game modes, with different maps, with the three most popular ones (Conquest, Joust, and Arena) are actual fun and are actually played.
+ If you like mythology, this is the one for you - with lore summarized in character spotlights
+ Rewards you for getting one win in each game mode daily
+ Can buy all characters current and future for 30 dollars or even 15 dollars when on sale - seems like a steal to me
+Some characters are fun to play with interesting skills (Hel's ability to change between a damage of healing form, or Rataskour ult which makes you go into the air on tree branches- which works with the game's third person perspective).

Con's:
-Graphics are lacking in comparison to the other three
-Character animations for movement and even for some attacks just look straight up bad
-Punishment system for leaving feels non-existent (leaving a match or getting reported doesn't seem to do much as the "leaver" or "troll" is barely punished).
-Most of the best skins are locked to events and chest
-A lot of unnecessary fan service in skins and for some characters for their default design (Look at Neith for example)
-Character voice actors and lines can sound awful
-Lane phase can feel boring (especially with last hitting not within the game)
-Some characters are clearly stronger than others, resulting in a lack of balance.
-User interface looks bad.
-Some character skills are very similar to one another.

Additional info - Favorite Heroes include: Hel, Aphrodite, Chang'e and Nemesis

3. League of Legends - My first MOBA was honestly fun for a long time, but got boring after awhile. Despite this, I come back and play every once in awhile for certain reasons:

Pro's:
+Probably the best character design and character art (I legit comeback to this game to play my mains)
+Gorgeous art style and very colorful
+Graphics are beautiful on max
+Wonderful skins for the most part
+User interface looks good
+Huge champion roster
+Fun lane phase (with more "poking" and last hitting being important)
+Some abilities and move sets are straight up fun to execute

Con's
-Restrictive lane phase with most characters stuck to certain roles
-Basically one game mode and map as no one plays the others which makes things seem repetitive
-Leaver system has improved (from easily getting banned) but still can be annoying - even if you return and win, you can still get punished (where you have to wait 20 minutes before you can queue up, which is dumb as matches are already long).
-Due to one game mode, matches are always long for the most part.
-The runes and mastery system before you get into a match is unnecessary in my opinion, and you have to purchase the best runes with in-game currency (which can cost a lot)
-Characters cost a lot
-Takes forever to get in-game currency
-One of the most toxic communities overall
-Lacks proper balance


Additional info: Favorite Characters include: Rammus, Lulu, Poppy, and Taric

2. Heroes of the Storm - Was recommended to me from a friend who was an ex League Player, and Heroes of the Storm had just launched. I looked into it and bought the starter pack and is probably the most innovative of the bunch, and I still play it.

Pro's:
+Maps, Maps and more maps - with different objectives, and interesting designs
+User Interface looks good
+Some skins are awesome (for characters and for mounts)
+Leveling up is rewarding
+Mounts are cool and convenient
+Heroes added every three weeks to a month
+Events happen often
+Innovative character abilities (Check Ragnorous, Cho'gall, Abathur and the lost vikings for examples)
+Characters not restricted to lane
+ Kill stealing isn't really a thing
+Talent system is effective
+Fast paced and short matches
+Team fights happen early on
+BEST leaver punishment system (a bot replaces the player who left and the player now plays matches with other leavers until they stop leaving)
+Easy to learn, hard to master
+Best character balance of all four MOBA's
The most friendly MOBA community
+Can get some good skins for free just by playing

Con's:
-Hard to carry due to more emphasis on teamwork, resulting in every one sharing the same level, making it hard to win in certain situations (making ranked matches hard to move up in especially).
-Team can literally hold you back as a result of shared levels
-No last hitting can make the laning phase feel somewhat pointless
-No currency to buy items can also make gameplay less exciting
-Some character design look strange in this game in comparison to where they came from (check out lucio)

Additional info: Favorite Characters include: Anub'arak, The Lost Vikings, Brightwing, Alarak, Lt. Morales and Slyvanas

1. DOTA 2 - Although my most recent MOBA, the complexity and other interesting features make me regret not trying it years ago.

Pro's:
+Very interesting abilities which can be executed in a number of ways for the most part.
+Best graphics on maxed (absolutely beautiful)
+Good character designs (looks stunning on maxed)
+Good user interface
+My favorite out of match home client
+Items have a lot of active abilities, making them rewarding to learn
+Many complex heroes who can take up multiple roles
+DENYING CREEPS, TOWERS AND YOURSELF IS LEGIT ONE OF THE BEST FEATURES and is very rewarding once mastered
+All characters are FREE! (however you only get characters who are difficult after 25 matches)
+Team fights can be unpredictable due to items and talents and even abilities to some extent
+Good item selection and talents (best of both worlds)
+Being able to last hit is again makes the laning phase more interactive and rewarding
+Complexity makes learning the game rewarding
+Turbo mode makes matches shorter and is actually played
+Different gamemodes made by the steam community are also played with short queue times for the most popular ones - some are absolutely fun
+Steam community players sell a lot of the skins - which means some can be super cheap (like 50 cents for some rare ones)
+Chest don't give you duplicate skins
+Some skins are badass
+Courier is useful

Con's:
-Toxic community, especially towards new players
-Most serious atmosphere
-Leaver system is the most harsh (even if u connect back after 5 minutes and win, you still get an abandon which traps you into a certain gamemode where you have to win to get out and team members can't lave or it doesn't count)
-Players sell some skins, meaning some can be super expensive (a legendary one was being sold for 1700 from a player in the steam community)
-Best skins are limited to chest
-Hard to get good skins for some characters (such as IO and Puck)
-Matches in the regular "All Pick" mode can be super long
-Last hitting is challenging and much harder in this game
-Some characters are OP
-Learning this game can be frustrating
-Can't teleport to home base for free
-A lot of the time some team members speak a different language

Additional information: Favorite characters include: Rubick, Puck, Shadow Shamen, Arc Warden, and Undying


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This is just my opinion and I would like to hear yours.

[JamColour]

Oh another con for DOTA 2 is that it is the most graphically demanding of the four so on maxed graphics it can heat up your device pretty significantly

[Absche]

Thanks for your effort to compile this comparison!

[JamColour]

Originally posted by absche:

Thanks for your effort to compile this comparison!

Thanks, man! Who are your favorite characters and have you tried any of the other MOBA's?

[Lixire]

I have to say that I'm very impressed with the comparison and I'm pretty sure that you spent quite some time while doing it
I'm mostly a League player but I did give a try for other games in the past (HotS, Using Dota 2 as a benchmark for different hardware)

While HotS is nothing bad of a game, I simply didn't enjoy it and felt bored quite quickly. I used to try the game while there was a promotion from Blizzard that if you have Overwatch, You can get some skins for D.Va and Genji by doing missions on HotS.
I really wanted to get the Officer skin for D.Va so I've decided to play and try it out. It felt nice and quite easy to play and I saw it as a simplified version of the traditional MOBA but I couldn't enjoy it for more than a few hours and after I've finished all of the missions. I just went back to Overwatch

And about the favorite characters (From LoL in my case) : Nami, Sona, Ahri and Irelia

[JamColour]

Originally posted by ★Sinon★ <3:

I have to say that I'm very impressed with the comparison and I'm pretty sure that you spent quite some time while doing it
I'm mostly a League player but I did give a try for other games in the past (HotS, Using Dota 2 as a benchmark for different hardware)

While HotS is nothing bad of a game, I simply didn't enjoy it and felt bored quite quickly. I used to try the game while there was a promotion from Blizzard that if you have Overwatch, You can get some skins for D.Va and Genji by doing missions on HotS.
I really wanted to get the Officer skin for D.Va so I've decided to play and try it out. It felt nice and quite easy to play and I saw it as a simplified version of the traditional MOBA but I couldn't enjoy it for more than a few hours and after I've finished all of the missions. I just went back to Overwatch

And about the favorite characters (From LoL in my case) : Nami, Sona, Ahri and Irelia

Thanks! I forgot to make mention of certain things for some of them. I got in most of what I wanted to say. I can understand why people think Heroes of the Storm is boring.
Oh, and I wasn't trying to bash League of Legends. I think it's fantastic. I like all of them. Also League's character design and art style is on point. Some of my favorite MOBA characters are from that game. Also I love Nami as well. Nice mains. All four of them are great. I still play it and was not trying to bash any of these games.

[Saana]

Good post.

Positive:
✱ Time investment clearly stated, giving people an idea on how deep You know the games.
✱ Points are made for casuals, to introduce them to the game. Competitive aspect is pretty much left out.
✱ Mostly accurate points.

Flaws:
✱ Outdated informations. For instance, runes are now free in League of Legends.
✱ Information about business models are not accurate or missing. For instance, nothing is mentioned about official event modes in Dota 2 being pay-to-play.
✱ Nothing mentioned about PR.

[JamColour]

Originally posted by Saana:

Good post.

Positive:
✱ Time investment clearly stated, giving people an idea on how deep You know the games.
✱ Points are made for casuals, to introduce them to the game. Competitive aspect is pretty much left out.
✱ Mostly accurate points.

Flaws:
✱ Outdated informations. For instance, runes are now free in League of Legends.
✱ Information about business models are not accurate or missing. For instance, nothing is mentioned about official event modes in Dota 2 being pay-to-play.
✱ Nothing mentioned about PR.

Oh I didn't know that LoL runes are now free because whenever I play I don't really care about the runes I have on. I have not looked into that. But besides that, what else is outdated? I tried to keep things fresh. Thanks for letting me know tho.

I don't consider paying for the battle pass in DOTA 2 a negative as it's a free to play game. You don't really have to purchase the battle pass. All these games are free to play so there will be some inconvenience (for example, characters in the other MOBA's have to be purchased, unfortunately, and yes I know you can buy them with in-game currency but this can take up a lot of time just to get like one).

What was I suppose to mention about PR? Please explain.

I want to note that I wasn't trying to sound bias with any of this as I actually like all four of these games.

Thanks for the feedback. I know not everything would be 100% accurate. There is a lot to mention. I did try to focus the point towards casual players although I did mention a point which referenced ranked in HoTS briefly.

[1MantisPhoenix]

Originally posted by JamColour:

Oh another con for DOTA 2 is that it is the most graphically demanding of the four so on maxed graphics it can heat up your device pretty significantly

You need to learn to -Vulkan - It's THEE best.

[1MantisPhoenix]

Originally posted by Saana:

Good post.

Positive:
✱ Time investment clearly stated, giving people an idea on how deep You know the games.
✱ Points are made for casuals, to introduce them to the game. Competitive aspect is pretty much left out.
✱ Mostly accurate points.

Flaws:
✱ Outdated informations. For instance, runes are now free in League of Legends.
✱ Information about business models are not accurate or missing. For instance, nothing is mentioned about official event modes in Dota 2 being pay-to-play.
✱ Nothing mentioned about PR.

Runes are free in the river every 2 minutes, and currency-runes ever 5 minutes.

[1MantisPhoenix]

It's a very in-depth post, thank you.

[JamColour]

Originally posted by ∞ΣφOne-For-αll-Phoεnix∞:

Originally posted by Saana:

Good post.

Positive:
✱ Time investment clearly stated, giving people an idea on how deep You know the games.
✱ Points are made for casuals, to introduce them to the game. Competitive aspect is pretty much left out.
✱ Mostly accurate points.

Flaws:
✱ Outdated informations. For instance, runes are now free in League of Legends.
✱ Information about business models are not accurate or missing. For instance, nothing is mentioned about official event modes in Dota 2 being pay-to-play.
✱ Nothing mentioned about PR.

Runes are free in the river every 2 minutes, and currency-runes ever 5 minutes.

Yeah, I know the runes are a plus. I just wrote a lot already. Couldn't put every positive point

[JamColour]

Originally posted by ∞ΣφOne-For-αll-Phoεnix∞:

Originally posted by JamColour:

Oh another con for DOTA 2 is that it is the most graphically demanding of the four so on maxed graphics it can heat up your device pretty significantly

You need to learn to -Vulkan - It's THEE best.

what's that exactly?

[JamColour]

Originally posted by ∞ΣφOne-For-αll-Phoεnix∞:

It's a very in-depth post, thank you.

Thanks

[1MantisPhoenix]

Originally posted by JamColour:

Originally posted by ∞ΣφOne-For-αll-Phoεnix∞:

You need to learn to -Vulkan - It's THEE best.

what's that exactly?

a replacement for laggy DirectX 11. Download vulkan SDK seperate for steam - Dota 2 DLC: Vulkan -
Once all downlodead and installed Google vulkan RT ['run time'] download and Khronos is your group

Assuming you have more than 2GB Video-RAM _

It communicates directly between GPU &* CPU _ better than dx12; SO :)
Advice; get it, and spectate some games in-game to get the engine successfully calibrated -
In 2-3 days you should have noticed the same games which take frame drops, now becoming constant. It never stutters anymor.e..

Dota 2 Launch options become: -vulkan -vconsole and you can check Settings < Video if it worked- in-game

[Absche]

Originally posted by JamColour:

Originally posted by absche:

Thanks for your effort to compile this comparison!

Thanks, man! Who are your favorite characters and have you tried any of the other MOBA's?

I only play Dota2, but I have some insight in the others because my son is very active with friends trying all the other MOBAs.

I tried almost all heroes in Dota2 but because I‘m a mature and slow Dota2 player I prefer the ones which do not ask for a lot of micro management and active items. Mostly I play support or tank at offline.

Which game you prefer is mostly a matter of taste. It‘a a Beatles or The Stones question.