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[MOBA] i want to taste you like yorick
SoaL
fantasticRegistered User regular
fantasticRegistered User regular
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wygLNFdUgtw&feature=youtu.be&a
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0hKIgsfooU
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ineedmayo.com Eidolon Journal Updated
Steam
very very disappointing
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=l-UdYYLvbXo
lollipoppy is the head executioner
Sup?
Steam
That last game suuuucked
jungle is my worst role
Steam
A MOBA, for the sake of this post, is any PvP-oriented game where teams face off to destroy each other's macguffin that happens to be inside both teams' bases. There a typically multiple paths or "lanes" to each base, and AI-controlled NPCs (called minions) will automatically head down each lane. This will result in a stalemate, until the player characters come in to kill minions, crush towers, and eventually cut a bloody swathe to the enemy base. What sets apart MOBAs from similar games is currency and leveling. By doing well, you gain experience and levels that make your stats and/or skill better. You also can get currency that allows you to buy items that make you better (unless you buy the wrong item). This adds a natural slippery slope to the game: by doing poorly, you can eventually fall so far behind the other team that victory is almost impossible. HOWEVER, typically higher level enemies are worth dramatically greater amounts of exp and cash, allowing for exciting turnabouts if your team can work together and catch your opponents off guard. MOBAs are inherently about communication and teamwork, which makes their popularity a mystery given the asocial nature of the internet.
There's a vast garden of MOBA games out there, so which should YOU play? Here's a list.
Who? Valve/IceFrog
Premise: The hippie Radiant protect their ancient while simultaneously trying to destroy the ancient of the evil Dire. But Radiant and Dire will be on the same team anyways because the story is just an artifact of the game being a Warcraft 3 mod. Boring, but the comics are pretty.
How it plays: THIS IS A REMAKE OF DOTA 1. It has denying, the same heroes, the same map, and the same goddamn everything. This is the granddaddy of the genre, and it has all the classic pieces. Whether that is a boon or a bust is entirely dependent upon tastes.
Pros: Massive playerbase, Steamworks support, built for eSports, lots of tools to help new players such as in-game hero guides that actually add guide tooltips to items and skills, weird holiday events, and the Bastion narrator can be the announcer.
Cons: Currently requires $40 to get in the closed beta (wtf?), though that can be circumvented via the millions of beta invites they give to current players. Is the primordial toxic soup from which all asshole MOBA communities oozed out. Steep learning curve, and games tend to be on the long-side (40min) due to no surrender mechanic.
F2P? Currently in closed beta, but you can get in via paying ($40) or an invite from a beta player (free). ALL HEROES ARE UNLOCKED FOREVER, and the only thing you pay for are cosmetic items like couriers, announcer packs, and of course hats.
Who? Riot
Premise: A world is so fucked up that it cannot afford any more wars, so disputes between nations are handled in arenas where champions fight on behalf of their nation except this is a MOBA and thus you can have champions from two bitterly hostile nations on the same side. Boring.
It's not a hero, it's a...: Champion
How it's not like Dota: Debatable faster pace, with some of the less intuitive mechanics removed (denying, runes/bottles, couriers) and features like the ability to call a vote to surrender. Champions have a passive skill in addition to the standard three skills + ult paradigm. Has the meta mechanics of runes and masteries, which are features that allow you to tweak the stats and performance of your champions before the game even begins. You also unlock summoner spells of which you can take two into games and work for all champion. For example, Flash lets you give any champion in the game a short teleport with a fairly long cooldown.
Pros: In case the lack of other moba titles didn't give you a hint, this has a disgustingly huge playerbase. Easier learning curve. Has some of the lighter system requirements, but that is changing as they update art assets. Copied Starcraft II's league system, freeing everyone from the phrase "ELO Hell." Tries very hard to police playerbase.
Cons: Has such a shitty community that Riot actually might be a government front to track the world's asshole population. Meta seems a bit more stale than Dota, following a pretty strict "1 Top, 1 Mid, 1 Jungle, 2 Bot) set up every game. Character design is pretty goddamn sexist. Based on champions, there are more yordles in Runeterra than black people.
F2P? Standard rotation of free champs every week, but you can get free champs by whoring yourself out on Riot's Facebook and YouTube accounts. You spend real currency on Riot Points, which buy champs, skins, IP/XP boosts, and similar goodies. You earn Influence Points by playing, which can buy champions and runes. Regular weekly deals on champs and skins.
Who? Hi-Rez Studios
Premise: The gods are pissed off at each other and fighting. Okay, there really no story but, given the hair trigger most gods are depicted as having, I guess you don't need a huge excuse for deities to beat the shit out of each other. I'd call it boring, but you need a story in the first place.
It's not a hero, it's a...: God
How it's not like Dota: The game is in the third person, meaning ganking is significantly easier since you lack complete vision around your god. Practically every ability is a skill-shot, including your auto-attack, meaning you have to aim everything you do. Borrows League's buff system and runs it into the ground, providing jungle monsters with speed, cooldown reduction, attack, and mana buffs. Crowd control is much more common, and characters get their ultimate at level 5, which means aggression starts much earlier. Items do not "build" into anything, but just upgrade and give you their passive effect at the max upgrade. The item shop also contains "active" items which are similar to League's summoner spells but purchased instead of grinding 15 Summoner Levels.
Pros: Very action based and fast-paced. Arguably more skill-oriented due to pervasiveness of skill shots. Item shop is way easier for newbies to get a handle on. Perverse pleasure in seeing Cupid get crushed by a belly-flopping Bacchus. Has one of the best communication systems out there, allowing you to call out missing or ganks with a quick series of key presses.
Cons: Relatively new, so smaller playerbase. Still in beta, so the metagame is all over the place. Jungling less viable than in other games if you get off to that sort of thing. Character design is somewhat boring in general, and is one of the contenders for "most sexist character design in a moba." Potentially blasphemous.
F2P?: Five gods (Kali, Ymir, Sun Wukong, Ra, and Artemis) are always free, and another five do the standard free rotation. Spend real cash on gems, earn favor through playing. Some skins (mainly recolors) can actually be earned for free via favor. Also has a $30 option to buy all gods for free, including any future ones they release, making one of the few mobas to at least try and prepare to counter Dota 2's generous offerings.
Who? S2 Games
Premise: Just read Dota 2's and replace "Radiant" and "Dire" with "Legion" and "Hellbourne." Shamefully boring.
It's not a hero, it's a...: Hero, actually.
How it's not like Dota: HoN's original selling point was basically to be Dota without being shackled by being a mod in Warcraft 3. So, it's actually very, very similar to Dota, as the game was basically trying to do what Dota 2 is doing now, and many heroes and items are straight-up copies of old Dota stuff. However, the game has been out for years now, and I imagine a player well-versed in Dota or HoN will easily be able to see where the two game have diverged from each other. I cannot profess to have enough experience with either to give a precise list, but you'll undoubtedly see things in one that you prefer.
Pros: Established game with stable playerbase. Built from the ground up to support competitive play. Lotsa heroes, and no meta aspects like LoL. Arguably more skill-based than other games. You can have Jon St. John as an announcer.
Cons Juvenile as fuck at times, with shitty character designs. Not friendly towards newbies. Community possesses assholes of the esporting kind. You can have Jon St. John as an announcer.
F2P?: Originally a paid title, so if you bought the game before they flipped over to free-to-play, then you'll have every hero they ever release. Otherwise, you have the real dollar Gold Coins and earned in-game Silver Coins. Gold Coins can buy heroes, voice packs, skins, early access to new heroes (even ahead of legacy buyers), and so forth. Silver coins can buy a lot of the same stuff gold coins can, but it takes longer. There's also stuff about tournament access in order to keep asshats and smurfs out, but you'll have to read about that for more details.
Who? Ronimo Games
Premise: Giant corporations hire mercenaries to aid their robot armies in attacking other giant corporations. No fucking factions, nations or other bullshit, and actually acknowledges that the other side might have your clone on it. It's all wrapped under the guise of a Saturday Morning Cartoon, complete with cheesy theme song. Holy shit, not totally boring!
It's not a hero, it's a...: Mercenary
How it's not like Dota: Features 3v3 fights with two lanes, and it's all in glorious 2-D. A bit more of a casual affair, even including the option to drop-in a game already in progress to fill in for a leaver. Tries to spice up certain elements by having the respawn timer replaced with a gold grabbing minigame, and multiple maps. Slight de-emphasis on getting gobs of exp and money, but a fed dude will still wreck your shit. Has meta elements for cutsomization.
Pros: A more light-hearted moba, which tends to ease some of the pressure. Games are much quicker. Fun, platforming and shooting that is kinda giving me Soldat flashbacks (KINDA). Character designs are pretty good. Can be played with a controller (on PC or X-Box 360).
Cons: Playerbase might be on the small side. Winding up in a half-finished game tends to suck more often than not. Might lack the depth that some seek in a moba. A lot of new mercs are voiced by YouTube personalities, testing your ability to endure TotalBiscuit's shitty gangster impersonation.
F2P?: Is NOT free-to-play, costing $10, but I swear it'll go on sale for like four bucks at least once a month. New mercs still get released every few months, and you can spend real money on DLC packs that are just skins.
I got Sona twice last night. Just built up Lichbane, Malady, Nashar's tooth and berserker boots and just punched fools with music.
Steam: YOU FACE JARAXXUS| Twitch.tv: CainLoveless
Wow, I didn't think anyone could have had a closer daily match than I did. I just solo'd the queue and, despite my protestations ("MOR THOR") we ended up doing 3 Zeuses and the other team did 3 Thors. We were desperately behind the entire game until we surged forward at the end and beat them by two points.
i mean most junglers have the ability to fall back on farming the jungle if the ganks aren't happening, i just don't own any of them and was left with the jungle slot on our team
this is actually @Sara Lynn irl
I've had an arena match end at 0-0. I got the "Defeat" pop-up in the game and then went to the "Victory" post game screen.
What are "ganks?" I feel like it gets used to describe both 1) Killing the mobs for cash while no one is around and 2) Killing enemy players while they are at low health.
farming is killing mobs for cash
A gank involves a player coming from elsewhere to murder the guys in your lane. I.E. if your Ra comes from mid to fuck up the enemy Hades/Guan Yu combo, that's a gank. You'll hear it more in a MOBA with actual junglers.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JBo4RGQfc-D5LdovitT2NrJ0K6ABLwO429VvNH6SDsg/pub
Yeah the lack of having to constantly skirmish with lane opponent makes jungling way more relaxing for me.