The new forums will be named Coin Return (based on the most recent vote)! You can check on the status and timeline of the transition to the new forums here.
The Guiding Principles and New Rules document is now in effect.
MOBA: Horrible games for horrible people.
Sterica
YesRegistered User, Moderator mod
YesRegistered User, Moderator mod
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? The correct answer is none, but here's a list just for the hell of it.
GAMES OUT NOW
"Out now" is defined as the developer saying that the game is officially out of beta/testing.
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: Large 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 there's plenty of awesome announcers like GLaDOS and the Stanley Parable Narrator.
Cons: 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? All 100+ heroes are FREE, 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 other features like the ability to call a vote to surrender and tall grass that hides your character from the enemy. 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: MASSIVE playerbase, with Dota 2 being the only real thing to rival it. This means Riot has lots of money to spend to update their older champs and maps with new art and such. 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 may seem 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 and based on champions, there are more yordles in Runeterra than black people (although to be fair they're getting better at it). Dominion never gets any love.
F2P? Standard rotation of free champs every week, but you can get free champs by selling 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 like ward skins. You earn Influence Points by playing, which can buy champions and runes. Regular deals on champs and skins.
Who? Hi-Rez Studios
Premise: The gods are pissed off at each other and fighting. There's some inkling of a conflict between Chaos and Order, but really it's an excuse for Zeus to beat up Thor. There's not even enough here to call it boring.
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 via the in-game shop instead of grinding 15 Summoner Levels.
Pros: Very action based and fast-paced. Arguably more skill-oriented due to pervasiveness of skill shots, and need for map awareness. Offers one of the best deals thanks to the God Pack. 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. A lot of alternate game modes with active playerbases like Arena and Seige.
Cons: Playerbase is particularly shitty whenever HiRez does gem giveaways for winning games, which is actually fairly frequent. Metagame is kinda weird since character roles are pretty fluid, and may feel a bit unfocused with so many alternate gamemodes. Female character design manages to out-do League in eye-rolling pandering. Potentially blasphemous.
F2P? Five gods 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. Gems can buy you gods, voicepacks, premium skins, ward skins, and other goodies. There is also a Ultimate God Pack available for $30 that unlocks all current and future gods, and it is HIGHLY recommended if you intend to play in the long-term.
Who? Ronimo Games
Premise: Giant corporations hire mercenaries to aid their robot armies in attacking other giant corporations. No dang 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 smokes, 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). No free-to-play pricing shenanigans. Has really badass music.
Cons: Playerbase is definitely on the small. Winding up in a half-finished game tends to be an unpleasant experience. 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, free mercs still get released every few months, and you can spend real money on DLC packs that are just skins. There is also an expansion for $8.99 that includes five new mercs and other stuff like maps.
Who? Turbine Games
Premise: Something is threatening the multiverse and five Batmans are fighting five Wonder Women. Eh.
It's not a hero, it's a...: Champion
How it's not like Dota: I have no idea. It's League with DC characters? Apparently actually has the same tri-lane map as most of the games here. I'll fill this out later when I care.
Pros: Finally a game for people that love DC Comics and League. Has the most Batmans of any moba.
Cons: Reeks of Warner Bros. trying to make a quick buck. Not exactly inspired gameplay mechanics or characters. Has Aquaman.
F2P? Textbook stuff: two varieties of funny money, one earned and one bought.
Nobody cares about HoN. Not even the developer as the game is winding down into more of a maintenance mode than active development as S2 starts work on their next game.
COMING SOON, BUT FEEL FREE TO GIVE US MONEY IN THE MEANTIME
"Coming Soon" is defined as a game that is either has no public versions released, or is in some kind of open beta as defined by the developers. This shit gets really murky and sometimes kinda shady as developers will insist that their game is not far along enough to be judged/reviewed but have no problem opening their cash shop. Caveat emptor as you look over the following games.
Who? Blizzard Entertainment, which means this is Activision's attempt to cash in on the fad
Premise: Think Super Smash Bros., only it's a moba with Blizzard characters replacing Nintendo.
It's not a hero, it's a...: They're actually called heroes in this one.
How it's not like Dota: Another game that wants to shake things up, Heroes of the Storm is trying to be a more casual experience that is aiming for quicker (15 minute) matches and removing a lot of the overly complex stuff that scares off the new players. This means big changes like teams sharing an experience bar instead of individual team members leveling on their own, a focus on special objectives like getting a ghost pirate treasure so he'll bombard the map with cannons, multiple maps, and no item shop.
Pros: Appealing to those who have been intimidated by the genre. Games are much shorter, and extra maps add variety. Skins are fairly well done. It's Blizzard, so it'll be polished as hell and crazy popular even if it sucks.
Cons: Runs the risk of being oversimplified to a detrimental degree, removing a lot of the deep strategy and mechanics that moba fans may enjoy. Patches absurdly slowly for a new moba, with sometimes as much as two months between ANY kind of patch...only to then add one new hero and some meh balance changes. Seriously, I know they're called Blizzard, but the patch output is glacial. There is a massive Blizzard Tax on shop prices at the moment. Kotick gotta get paid, I guess.
F2P? Has a standard hero rotation, but uses gold to unlock stuff and real world money to purchase cosmetics or unlock heroes. Gold is earned by leveling and completing a daily task (win a game; play two games with this role, etc.) so it's a bit different from other games. There are also "Heroic Quests" that unlock recolors of both the standard hero skin (for free!) and even the premium skins (gotta buy the skin first).
Progress? Is officially in Closed Beta, but a lot of stuff is in flux like the UI and map balance. But don't worry: you can still spend money on stuff.
Who? Robot Entertainment
Premise: Basically it follows up the Orcs Must Die story where the War Mage fights open war with the orcs. The OMD story was never that compelling, and neither is this.
It's not a hero, it's a...: I think they're heroes in this one.
How it's not like Dota: Really focuses more on tower defense than just trying to shove the OMD gameplay into a moba-shaped hole. You basically have a lane where your minions go down and a separate lane your opponent's minions go down (and both teams can unlock another lane during a match). You build traps to stymie your opponent's minions while protecting your own troops with spells and scaring off enemy heroes. Uses a card-based system for choosing what minions you personally contribute to the waves. Instead of a shop you use gold on traps and custom your character mid-match with preset weaver talent-esque system.
Pros: The tower-defense system is actually smartly implemented and offers a fairly large change in gameplay. The OMD gameplay is here with the satisfying controls and great cartoony art. Might be a bit easier for new players to pick up.
Cons: Hard to wrap your head around, especially if you're a bitter vet of the genre. Too early to say if this system actually works in the long-term. Item shop in alpha is QUESTIONABLE, to say the least.
F2P? Skins, heroes, and...cards? Cards appear to be only purchasable with real money which is pretty sketchy unless I got the shop currencies mixed up. Cards determine what minions you spawn, so it actually would be buying power.
Progress? Closed Beta, but has a "spend a shitload of money to get in" offer. Alienware has been doing generous key giveaways.
Who? Stunlock Studios
Premise: I really don't care
It's not a hero, it's a...: Survivor
How it's not like Dota: Uses WASD control while maintaining the traditional overhead camera, and the main competitive mode is three teams fighting for area control. Has weaponcrafting which gives you some custom flavor to the whole affair. It looks like everything is a skill-shot and thus has to be aimed with the mouse instead of relying on auto-attacks.
Pros: Weaponcrafting holds promise, and some have said that the character control does feel good. I've also heard that the game actually features some rather robust co-op options compared to most games in the genre. A three team paradigm can give you people besides your teammates to blame and cuss out.
Cons: Dead Island fucking sucks. The whole "three teams" set-up can be really frustrating and complicates the competitive angle. Dead Island fucking sucks. Weaponcrafting could lead to balance headaches. Dead Island fucking sucks. Zombies were played out when the original came was released. Dead Island fucking sucks.
F2P? Looks like you buy characters and weapon parts. I assume you spend real cash to unlock them faster.
Progress? Open beta
I got a beta key to this and still haven't used it. Oh, and I won a giant plushie of the ugly purple cat while at PAX. It's more of a pink ugly cat really.
Dead Games
It's a crowded market, and the moba boneyard is quickly filling.
2013-2014
Who? Waystone Games, and notably published by EA
Premise: I dunno
It wasn't a hero, it was a...: Shaper
How it wasn't like Dota: One of the first games that tried to shake up the standards by adding a lot of stuff. You could pick a role which influences how your character plays (a carry role may get currency from last hits whereas a jungler rol may get bonuses for attacking other players) which in theory opens up more options for each shaper. There were also little NPC works much like in Starcraft that you could attack to hurt the enemy team's income and even take it over to bolster yours.
Postmortem: Never made it out of beta. While it did do a lot of different things, the game looked a LOT like League which probably hurt Dawngate's ability to attract new blood. It doesn't help that the game took a lot of the less loved "features" of League like stat boosts you had to grind out.
Sterica on
+1
This discussion has been closed.
Posts
Strife seems like a blatant League rip-off. Like...League 2009 if you look at some of those ugly character models.
mostly League because fuck teleport scrolls
on the one hand, herc's is one of the oldest models still in the game, but on the other hand, there are others who've been in there longer and need a rework more badly
above all else I'm surprised his new look is so different from his old one, mainly the lack of long hair and full beard
On the plus side, he definitely has a more Roman look and feel to him, but it's just really overdone. Hercules is typically depicted as wearing little more than a loincloth and the hide. Maybe a tunic or something, but not a metal shoulder pad and huge metal maul like he just got finished with a WoW raid.
I've been playing Smite (mostly at like 2-3AM to 7AMish EST, so if anyone is on at that time we could play sometime :P) I would get back into League, but my brother won't reinstall it, so looks like I'm going all in for Smite. I find playing ADC types is a lot different because in League I could focus more on positioning and such things without having to worry about manually targeting my opponent. I almost have enough for a new god and I'm debating who to get.
and I was jungle Vayne
muck feta
the gold gain for hots is actually super fast per games played, but you cant really put in much more time than blizz allows you to..
This is a gross injustice
Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better
bit.ly/2XQM1ke
Why is Hercules a champion of a place none of his adventures had anything to do with?
That's a thing
Not true
There are plenty of tales set in and around rome about hercules because they adapted tales when they stole him from greece
what
Steam: Chagrin LoL: Bonhomie
It was amazing.
Steam: Chagrin LoL: Bonhomie
http://www.complexmag.ca/video-games/2014/06/twitch-streamer-robbed-at-gunpoint-dota-match-video
He's more "Roman" now than his older incarnation.
I'm not sure if that's really good, but there it is.
at least his hands aren't covered in spikes for no reason!
AP Morg is amazing
All Morganas, forever. I don't care if you're a support (hi hello yes that is me) you are going to be building a Zhonyas at some point and you will goddamn well like it.
holy shit
edit: this link has local news coverage
http://www.reddit.com/r/DotA2/comments/27oxcs/update_to_sunsfan_and_sajedene_situation/
HOLY SHIT
THIS GENUINELY CHANGES EVERYTHING
My feelings on this matter are extremely mixed
Path of Exile: snowcrash7
MTG Arena: Snow_Crash#34179
Battle.net: Snowcrash#1873
Path of Exile: snowcrash7
MTG Arena: Snow_Crash#34179
Battle.net: Snowcrash#1873
WORST PATCH EVER.
he's way less fun
on the upside slaughterhouse chaac gets gradually more and more covered in blood the more gods he kills