POLL: Dota 2 or League of Legends?


Dota 2 or LOL  

117 members have voted

  1. 1. Which to start playing?

    • Dota 2
      50
    • League of Legends
      42


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League. Dota 2 didn't fix what I hate about the game, and that's the fact that team fights are ultimate explosions where you hope things work out.

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League. Dota 2 didn't fix what I hate about the game, and that's the fact that team fights are ultimate explosions where you hope things work out.

Dota is about split second decision making (Action-RTS) and LoL is MOBA. See the difference?

There is a reason Dota 2 didn't "fix" Dota. It is because Dota doesn't need "fixing".

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Dota is about split second decision making (Action-RTS) and LoL is MOBA. See the difference?

There is a reason Dota 2 didn't "fix" Dota. It is because Dota doesn't need "fixing".

MOBA falls within the ARTS genre. The difference here is there is time for a decision to be made. Most of my experience watching and playing Dota 2 has been ulti mobs after laning phase. I also don't like the purposeful over-complexity of the game. There is a lot of things that could be changed to provide a better gameplay experience even if it isn't as "hardcore" as some might think it should be. LoL is as popular as it is not because it takes less skill, but because its easier to play. I am an advocate of easy to learn, difficult to master.

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MOBA falls within the ARTS genre. The difference here is there is time for a decision to be made. Most of my experience watching and playing Dota 2 has been ulti mobs after laning phase. I also don't like the purposeful over-complexity of the game. There is a lot of things that could be changed to provide a better gameplay experience even if it isn't as "hardcore" as some might think it should be. LoL is as popular as it is not because it takes less skill, but because its easier to play. I am an advocate of easy to learn, difficult to master.

Good for you. Play LoL then, I have nothing against that game. But don't try to preach your idea in to dota/dota2 and ruin it.

And you have no idea about dota if you thing ulti mobs after laning phase is dota. Well, can't blame you for that actually. Newbies (including long term players who failed to improve) perceive this game differently. It is like five blind men describing an elephant.

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Dota2. It's a lot more skill/strategy based than LoL, which makes it much more entertaining for me. Can't even deny in LoL :(

Dota2 has a much larger learning curve than LoL, but to me that just means theres more to learn, a games no fun when you've mastered it.

Edit: just to reply to to emin1ty. You must have not played a lot of dota if you think its all 'ulti mobs' late game. Theres so much stuff going on at once in dota, you really have to keep an eye on everything, positioning, map awareness, warding, ganking, it's actually ridiculous how much there is to know if you play long enough. thats why it's so much more skill based. It's fine if you like LoL, but dont come on here and give bs about dota2

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Dota2. It's a lot more skill/strategy based than LoL, which makes it much more entertaining for me. Can't even deny in LoL :(

Dota2 has a much larger learning curve than LoL, but to me that just means theres more to learn, a games no fun when you've mastered it.

Edit: just to reply to to emin1ty. You must have not played a lot of dota if you think its all 'ulti mobs' late game. Theres so much stuff going on at once in dota, you really have to keep an eye on everything, positioning, map awareness, warding, ganking, it's actually ridiculous how much there is to know if you play long enough. thats why it's so much more skill based. It's fine if you like LoL, but dont come on here and give bs about dota2

The same is true for League. There are very few differences between the games aside from the pacing, size of the maps, a few select mechanics and the fact you can deny farm/towers. Other than that the games are very, very similar. My opinion is based on the fact that Dota 2 is popular because it's difficult to play, and I don't enjoy that aspect of it. Denying creeps is all fine and dandy, but what does that add to the game? Why is that specific mechanic better than just harassing your lane opponent as they farm or zoning their creeps? There is just as much complexity in LoL as there is in Dota, just fewer things to clog up the experience. I am of the same opinion when it comes to HoN.

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The same is true for League. There are very few differences between the games aside from the pacing, size of the maps, a few select mechanics and the fact you can deny farm/towers. Other than that the games are very, very similar. My opinion is based on the fact that Dota 2 is popular because it's difficult to play, and I don't enjoy that aspect of it. Denying creeps is all fine and dandy, but what does that add to the game? Why is that specific mechanic better than just harassing your lane opponent as they farm or zoning their creeps? There is just as much complexity in LoL as there is in Dota, just fewer things to clog up the experience. I am of the same opinion when it comes to HoN.

If you think that, sorry my friend, you are in no position to talk about either of these games (LoL and Dota/Dota2).

Deny: one extra deny in a lane can mean one team in that lane level up to 3 (or 5 or 6) before the other team and kill them off. You obviously never died/won a battle because of one deny (or not enough experienced to notice).

Organized deny+last hit from a carry means he doesn't push in to enemy zone unnecessarily and stays less susceptible to gank.

Denying tower = massive gold loss to enemy.

Denying warlock golem in every battle = no free 100g to enemy every time.

As I said, if you like LoL, play it. Just keep in mind that LoL is not Dota and keep your inexperienced comments about Dota to yourself.

It is always a good idea not to talk* about things you do not understand. Though if you fail to understand what you do/don't understand, nothing can be done...I guess.

*as in giving opinion how it should (not) be

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I voted League of Legends for one reason Dominion. I am not a fan of the standard formula for these games however, Dominion is really fun for me.

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I voted League of Legends for one reason Dominion. I am not a fan of the standard formula for these games however, Dominion is really fun for me.

Yeah, Dominion is good. Too bad it didn't take off in Dota. Riot copied the idea from Dota and (probably) did a better implementation which is why it is a success in LoL.

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League of Legends, I love dominion, you don't have to spend 20mins of farming and then 20mins of poking each other it's just 20 mins of non stop fights, it's so easy to learn I don't have time to be learning every tiny thing about the game I just want to play a game and have fun.

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Going with League. I've played both extensively over the years (i played DoTA 1 for a long time) and League is just less stressful for me. Whenever i play DoTA it's a much more hardcore experience and i feel like there's too much going on. I prefer the small map of league, as well as the lack of denying and so forth. Also, when i last went to go play DoTA 2 it felt kinda sluggish to me, i'm not sure if this was intended or what. I think both games are great, and i like that Valve can provide competition to Riot to help both games progress. League is just more of my style.

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If you think that, sorry my friend, you are in no position to talk about either of these games (LoL and Dota/Dota2).

Really? I've played both Dota 2 and LoL, as well as HoN. I may be no expert but I certainly am in a position to state my opinion. The games have 3 lanes, creeps, champions with abilities that use mana and other sources, there are jungles and jungle creeps as well as mobs with buffs. The games are very similar even if their mentalities are different.

Deny: one extra deny in a lane can mean one team in that lane level up to 3 (or 5 or 6) before the other team and kill them off. You obviously never died/won a battle because of one deny (or not enough experienced to notice).

Organized deny+last hit from a carry means he doesn't push in to enemy zone unnecessarily and stays less susceptible to gank.

Denying tower = massive gold loss to enemy.

Denying warlock golem in every battle = no free 100g to enemy every time.

And similar coordination can be found in LoL. Denying enemy jungle, ganking lanes with that jungle, zoning them out of last hits and denying them gold, etc. Again you can explain to me just how essentail denying is to the genre but I can come right back with the Jungler in LoL (and as far as I know Dota never had jungling). You simply cannot argue one is more skillful or in depth than the other, they just have different ways of being played due to slightly different aspects of the game. Just as someone playing CS1.6 won't immediately understand how to play MW3, cause even though they are essentially the same kind of game they are not the same game.

As I said, if you like LoL, play it. Just keep in mind that LoL is not Dota and keep your inexperienced comments about Dota to yourself.

I never said LoL was Dota, I said they were both Moba's, and they are. They are direct competitors in the same genre and have many of the same aspects which is what defines that genre. There is nothing inexperienced about that.

It is always a good idea not to talk* about things you do not understand. Though if you fail to understand what you do/don't understand, nothing can be done...I guess.

*as in giving opinion how it should (not) be

This is the most elitist reply I've seen in a long time.

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Dota 2 is more rewarding, and on the flip side more unforgiving. Dota 2's stats system makes more sense (LoL doesn't have stats). Dota 2 allows you to play all the heroes from the start without grinding for hours to unlock the other ones. Dota 2 doesn't have runes or mysteries so everyone has a fair change from the start. Dota 2 has a higher skill cap, so if you are a casual gamer and don't want to spend hours of time learning the game, just stick to LoL. I think they can both be fun, I just find myself enjoying Dota 2 more because the gameplay is more solid in my opinion. If you have the chance to try them both do that.

Dota 2 does have some negatives though, sometimes it feels like the matchmaking is against you, sometimes it feels like your teammates are making the most questionable decisions or sometimes just flat out feed. Some heroes feel really overpowered if you don't have a counter.

tl;dr Try them both.

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And similar coordination can be found in LoL. Denying enemy jungle, ganking lanes with that jungle, zoning them out of last hits and denying them gold, etc. Again you can explain to me just how essentail denying is to the genre but I can come right back with the Jungler in LoL (and as far as I know Dota never had jungling). You simply cannot argue one is more skillful or in depth than the other, they just have different ways of being played due to slightly different aspects of the game. Just as someone playing CS1.6 won't immediately understand how to play MW3, cause even though they are essentially the same kind of game they are not the same game.

You're fighting a lost argument, even competitive LoL players admit that Dota 2 is the more skillful game.

That said, if you prefer LoL then whatever floats your boat I guess.

I say try out Dota 2, you can pick up an invite fairly easily by trading "chest keys" - or you can buy into the game directly and get a handful of cosmetic item sets. From there you have all the gameplay content too, unlike LoL which has a limited pool.

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You're fighting a lost argument, even competitive LoL players admit that Dota 2 is the more skillful game.

I don't see how that makes this a lost argument. And a more "complex" game doesn't make it more intelligent or more skillful or even better for that matter. If that were true all the hardcore MMO players would be on EVE. The point isn't to make a game complex for complexity's sake, but a game that is both easy to play and difficult to master. This is evident even in the difference of champion design (Invoker, for example) between the two games.

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Really? I've played both Dota 2 and LoL, as well as HoN. I may be no expert but I certainly am in a position to state my opinion. The games have 3 lanes, creeps, champions with abilities that use mana and other sources, there are jungles and jungle creeps as well as mobs with buffs. The games are very similar even if their mentalities are different.

One can drive car a few times. But that doesn't mean he can tell all the difference adv/disadv of farrari/McLaren/Porsche etc. But let's leave it at that. Here is why you are not experienced enough to comment about ANY of these games:

And similar coordination can be found in LoL. Denying enemy jungle, ganking lanes with that jungle, zoning them out of last hits and denying them gold, etc. Again you can explain to me just how essentail denying is to the genre but I can come right back with the Jungler in LoL (and as far as I know Dota never had jungling). You simply cannot argue one is more skillful or in depth than the other, they just have different ways of being played due to slightly different aspects of the game. Just as someone playing CS1.6 won't immediately understand how to play MW3, cause even though they are essentially the same kind of game they are not the same game.

Sorry bro. Dota had (still has) jungling even before Riot came up with LoL name, let alone the game.

I never said LoL was Dota, I said they were both Moba's, and they are. They are direct competitors in the same genre and have many of the same aspects which is what defines that genre. There is nothing inexperienced about that.

You clearly said that Dota 2 does not fix the problems with this game and LoL does. Guess what? LoL is a different game. And Dota/Dota2 is great the way it is.

This is the most elitist reply I've seen in a long time.

I'm not being elitist. This is what you are doing. You are also spreading misinformation about Dota/Dota2 (and probably even LoL). And that is what I have problem about.

btw, why does your reply sound so butthurt about LoL? I do not think I attacked LoL in my posts. The only thing I did is pointing out your Dunning?Kruger effect.

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Sorry bro. Dota had (still has) jungling even before Riot came up with LoL name, let alone the game.

I will concede that. I mispoke this and the truth is not that it doesn't have junglers, but that junglers are not required nor are they as prevalent.

You clearly said that Dota 2 does not fix the problems with this game and LoL does. Guess what? LoL is a different game. And Dota/Dota2 is great the way it is.

No, in context my statement was that it didn't fix the problems I have with Dota, seeing as it is its sequel. Other Moba's also try too heard to replicate Dota (HoN) for example and instead of creating a fun atmosphere end up with a very tense and unforgiving one where the burden of knowledge is of greater influence than your actual skill level at times. I don't enjoy a game where simply not knowing about something the game never tells you about means you are at a severe disadvantage. Dota is considered more skillful because it is the "deeper" game. But I don't think how much you have to know to be able to play the game should necessarily be the only kind of depth measured. Nor does knowledge directly reflect skill. The more knowledge dictates the game, the less influence skill plays. At least that's my experience with every game. Sure, you can't eliminate the fact that knowing how to play will always net an advantage but you can curb that effect. When I sat down and tried to learn Dota 2, even after 10 games I still felt lost even with friends explaining things to me. Much of the game felt redundant and bogged down my experience. I felt like, in comparison to League where I could easily jump in and play, I was juggling 10 different things and wasn't paying attention to actually playing. That can be a downside if the game gets in the way of its own experience. There are very few games where the burden of knowledge factor didn't stop me from playing (EVE, Chromehounds) and that's because of an incredibly constructive and helpful community. I haven't found that in Dota 2.

I'm not being elitist. This is what you are doing. You are also spreading misinformation about Dota/Dota2 (and probably even LoL). And that is what I have problem about.

And I accept corrections. What I know of Dota is what I have heard, viewed and played. I apologize for making incorrect statements and I appreciate your correcting me (which I have addressed above).

btw, why does your reply sound so butthurt about LoL? I do not think I attacked LoL in my posts. The only thing I did is pointing out your Dunning?Kruger effect.

I just don't enjoy people claiming a game is better because it is harder to play. I couldn't car eless about a game "taking skill" relative to other games. The difference between two players is measure within that game, not across multiple games so what it comes down to is whether or not a game gets in the way of a player. I feel LoL gets in a player's way less than Dota.

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I don't see how that makes this a lost argument. And a more "complex" game doesn't make it more intelligent or more skillful or even better for that matter. If that were true all the hardcore MMO players would be on EVE. The point isn't to make a game complex for complexity's sake, but a game that is both easy to play and difficult to master. This is evident even in the difference of champion design (Invoker, for example) between the two games.

No they wouldn't, because we're talking about the Dota-like genre here specifically, not MMOs.

As I said before, if you prefer LoL then fair enough, that's your opinion, great. But let's not rehash old, done-to-death arguments where even the high [skill]level players of your preferred game agree that Dota is the better game/e-sport in this regard.

It would be far more valuable to the OP to discuss more pertinent matters, such as difference in featuresets, upcoming updates (Dota 2 is getting a halloween event next week) and Valve/Riot's respective buisness models.

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Matter of preference,

LoL: Easy learning, (relatively) high skill cap, Pay or play many games to unlock Champs, Runes+Masteries for individual champion settings, Jungling, Division into Attack Damage and Ability Power Champions, Optional Skins (Payd), more Gamemodes (3on3, 5on5, Dominion, Costum ARAM Map)

Dota (2) : High (learning) skill required, highly rewarding but unforgiving (loose gold on death,denying,etc), as far as I know no Jungling (correct me if im wrong), Just a Single Damage Stat, but division into Strength, Agility and Intelligence (I guess),

play all Champs as you wish, (Steam requirement + Steam Workshop), Just one (succesfull) Gamemode

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No they wouldn't, because we're talking about the Dota-like genre here specifically, not MMOs.

That doesn't make my argument wrong. Just because WoW and EVE aren't Moba's doesn't change the fact that 30 million play the supposedly simple WoW over the extremely complex yet amazingly deep EVE Online (which has around 400,000). My point is complexity does not beget better, nor does making things more difficult to do mean it is any better at determining a player's skill. As long as the playing field is even between two players their skill levels will be evident. You don't need a deep game to determine that. Just a balanced one.

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