Given that the genre has only had a unique identity for the past three years makes it one of the "new kids on the block." A quick look at the Wikipedia page shows a startling short list of MOBA games despite League of Legend's runaway success, which suggests that developers are only just now catching on to the fact that this is a genre that people enjoy playing.
So what characterises a MOBA game? It's a very basic competitive action RPG where heroes start each battle at level 1. Soldiers continuously spawn from a home base and the idea is to, RTS-style, work your way across the map as a team slowly gaining ground on your opponent's territory until it comes time to finally attack the head base. Characters level up and become more powerful as they kill enemies, and the fact that there is usually multiple routes through each level means that the more successful teams work together as a unit and implement some basic strategies.
These games might not be all that complex, but because they typically use a free-to-play model to ensure that people find online games easily, they also tend to be quite addictive.
Now that there is some competition to League of Legends out there, you might be wondering which MOBA game to try out first if you're new to the genre. I've played three, and I'll list my thoughts below on each. If you've got a recommendation of your own please let us know in the comments section:
Characters have plenty of personality too (and there are masses of them to choose from), which helps attract newcomers in. That said, it would be remiss of me to suggest that this game is necessarily easy to get into now. There are certainly less friendly communities out there, but the League of Legends community don't tend to tolerate fools and without a dedicated single player game, it's very much a case of sink or swim. Once you get over that initial hurdle, however, you'll find a competitive environment that isn't matched by many for sheer depth and interest.
The game also does a great job of mapping the MOBA-style gameplay to the relatively limited DualShock controller, and it balances things out well enough that you feel a sense of progression while never alienating new players.
All that said, Guardians of Middle Earth has a very small community comparative to other MOBA games, and I've struggled to ever get a game going which doesn't feature AI opponents. The lack of replays and high-level competitive play also hurts the game overall, and I'm not sure how long a game like this can last without a strong community.
And, critically, it's balanced badly. The most crucial, unforgivable mistake that Heroes of Order & Chaos makes is making a surprisingly large group of heroes useless in the face of a few more powerful individuals. Predictably, these heroes are the most expensive and at every turn Gameloft encourages you to spend real money to make the purchase of these heroes happen sooner.
There's a general lack of energy in the levels, which are bland to a fault, and though the game saves replays and it's relatively easy to find online matches, I can't help but wait for a better developer to come up with something better for the iPad, because it would be a great platform for MOBAs.
So, MOBA fans, which is your favourite game in the genre?
6 comments:
Surprised you haven't tried DOTA 2. Without a doubt my favorite MOBA out there with "THE" best Cash Shop available.
I very much dislike other MOBAs, LoL included. Although I'll be honest and say that Leagues of Legends is the most newbie-friendly MOBA on the market. Since it limits the amount of free heroes to 7 (was it?) weekly, coupled with the ELO ranking pitting players or similar rank together, it gives a chance for new players to gradually learn every heroes without being overwhelmed with things to learn(since they are less likely to meet the those not available for free initially).
In DOTA 2's case however, a new player is immediately faced with about 100 heroes available (all heroes are available for free) which makes the learning curve pretty steep and bot matches almost mandatory for new players to learn heroes (and the bots are not really nice). DOTA 2 also adds a few additional layers of complexity such as Creep/Tower/Hero Deny, Pulling, Wards to block the pull spots, tri-lanes, roaming, etc. On the other hand, DOTA 2 does not have Summoner Skills and Summoner runes, meaning that players will always fight on an "even" field (outside of the player's knowledge of the game and strength).
Once you go DOTA, you never go back.
I guess for me LoL is about as far as I can go given how much time I have. Unlike you I didn't find LoL that accessible. Sure it has some standard elements to help people out but I was so overwhelmed when I first got into it. Lord of the Rings really nails that accessibility part I felt.
If I ever had the time I would love to get into DOTA though.
I've not tried Guardian Of Middle Earth so I'm not sure how it works in comparison. Purely out of curiosity, do you think Guardian Of Middle Earth to be more accessible because you already had prior experience (if you tried LoL before), the LotR setting of the game (which is well-known), or for a different reason?
As far as LoL goes, DotA players often refer it as a stripped down version of DotA. It's generally meant in a mean way towards the game, but I don't think LoL would've worked so well otherwise. DotA is a fairly hard game to get into in comparison to LoL, even more so for players new to the genre.
LoL is also usually the first game gamers who've never played MOBA will come across and it definitively keeps a good bunch hooked.
Luckily for DOTA 2 players, they've got some really great members of the community dedicated to teaching new players the different heroes and techniques in the game. LoL must have some as well, but since my interest is not there I haven't looked into it. That's how my friend has been learning DOTA 2 and also what is often recommended to new players. Watching videos about different heroes, playing a lot of Bot matches and after a while he's getting the hang of it and he's now hooked.
It's a good question with Guardians of Middle Earth - I haven't thought too much on it, to be honest.
I think the Lord of the Rings license helps a lot. After all, when you pick Sauron or Legolas or Gollum, you're going to have a fair idea how they play without so much as looking at the statistics/ abilities of them. That makes it easier to get an idea of which hero to play with as you get a feel for the game. The other MOBAs overwhelm with choice and it's hard to pick a "favourite" without a few dozen hours practice from the outset.
The mechanics are also nice and consolefied. A quick tutorial and you're up and running. It takes patience to master each character, as with other MOBAs, but the barrier to entry is a little less.
That said, when I do finally get a new gaming PC, one of the first things I do will be look into DOTA 2. You've sold me on giving it a go, at least :)
Then I suppose I might as well suggest the DotaCinema youtube channel which is the "go to" channel for hero information, guides, tips and tricks, and more.
It should come in handy if you ever give DOTA 2 a shot.
Thanks for that - I'll look into it.
See you in DOTA 2 some time in the future perhaps :)
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