DotA vs LoL...which is better?

[RJ 17]

I really don't have much experience at all with MOBA's beyond the WarCraft III custom-maps that were based off of DotA. I recently got Steam (finally, I know, I'm just a wee bit late to this particular party) and have been wondering what games I should start building a collection out of. Of course I picked up Team Fortress 2 seeing as how it's at the delicious price of Free, but now I'm looking to branch out.

As I mentioned, I played the DotA custom maps in WCIII and always had a fair bit of fun with those, but I also here (some) good things about LoL. So I'm looking for some opinions on which would be the better MOBA for a newb like myself to try and get into: DotA or LoL?

From pretty much every article/thread I've read on this site, it seems like the LoL player community is full of a LOT of royal douches...could just be "only bad news gets reported" but judging by the comment sections in a lot of those articles/threads there actually seems to be a trend of "prickish" people playing LoL.

On the other hand, everything I've heard about DotA seems to be that a good 90% of the people that play it are Russian. Not that I have any problem with the Russians, just seems like it might be a bit difficult to play a team based game if I can't understand my teammates and they can't understand me.

So are these rumors/stereotypes accurate? What are your suggestions for picking one over the other?

 

[DazZ.]

Both communities have douches, and both communities have foreign people in your depending on where you're located. The kind of people you'll encounter in both games is the same.

On payment models Dota wins hands down though, you get every hero for free given to you at the very start and the only thing behind paywalls is cosmetic items. The same is true for LoL apart from you need to grind ingame currency to buy champions and runes (runes are things to equip to your character to give them slightly better stats).

League will likely run better if you have older hardware, and it has the better Ranked game system, with fact it has one.

Honestly I think you should download both whilst you don't know much about either and give them both a go to see which one you prefer and go from there.

I prefer one majorly over the other but my opinion doesn't matter, just try them both and play the one you prefer.

 

[LetalisK]

I've never played LoL but I can say with a 100%* guarantee that DotA is better.

Basically, this is the way I've heard it: DotA is a little more complicated, but it's less spammy, doesn't promote the bad habits LoL does, and learning to play DotA well translates much better into LoL than LoL translates into DotA if you were to switch at some point. Also, I think having more teammates that don't speak your language just means you won't understand them when they call you a feeding noob.


[sub][sub]*Up to 100% with the possibility of 0%[/sub][/sub]

 

[BloatedGuppy]

So I'm looking for some opinions on which would be the better MOBA for a newb like myself to try and get into: DotA or LoL?

LoL is the easier, faster paced, and more accessible game. DOTA 2 is the meatier, deeper, more tactical game. DOTA 2 has a higher skill cap than LoL, and while both games have a LOT of transferable skills you'll do better in transition from DOTA to LoL than the reverse.

DOTA 2's business model runs circles around LoL in terms of friendliness to the player.

Both communities are borderline toxic and brimming with assholes. It's a MOBA problem, not a specific game problem. Same goes for Russians/Chinese bumbling into NA queues (maybe 5-10% of players in the NA queues are non-english speakers).

If you're willing to deal with a steeper learning curve, I'd start with DOTA 2 for the business model alone. If you ever decide to shift from DOTA 2 to LoL, you'll have a relatively easy time of it. If you start with LoL, switching to DOTA 2 will be painful.

 

[5ilver]

Dota is better in every way but more people play League (it was free while Dota was not so it'll probably take years until people wisen up and move on to dota).

 

[synobal]

I'm gonna have to say Dota2, mostly because LOL put me off with having to buy/earn heroes. I didn't think that was fun or made for a very competitive gameplay.

 

[Arafiro]

Dota is better in every way

Yea, no.
Dota 2 character control is sluggish, whereas LoL feels tighter and more responsive. It's like controlling CoD vs. controlling TF2.
Also, LoL CC doesn't last as long as the insane times on some of the Dota spells. Along with that you generally don't dump your entire mana in the space of a few seconds. While Dota may be the "deeper game" due to its extra complexities, that makes it far less accessible. LoL is also much, much easier to run on weaker PCs.

Anyway, those are just one of the ways that Dota 2 is inferior. However, both games have advantages and disadvantages, many of which have been listed in this thread. Dota 2 heroes are free whereas LoL champions have to be bought with RP or earned with IP. Also, Dota 2 has Steam as a launching platform, which is better than the shocking LoL client.

Personally, I play LoL. Could you tell?

 

[Aircross]

Here's my take on Dota 2 vs. LoL:

Dota 2 is better if you want a dynamic and complex game with an incredibly open metagame.

LoL is better if you want a game that is easier to pick up and "get your feet wet" if you are new to the genre.

My suggestion would be to play LoL first to establish a foothold into the genre then slowly learn Dota 2. After you've gotten a good grasp of both games then you can decide which is best for you.

 

[The Wykydtron]

Well Valve's EU servers actually work most of the time so there's that, EU West OP. In terms of gameplay I prefer League because the engine DOTA 2 runs on is absolute wank. Apparently they just took the original DOTA Warcraft 3 engine or what have you and HD'd up with zero attempt at improvement.

Oh but don't worry guys, it means that all the guys who played DOTA 1 can still be familiar with the shit controls if they transition! Instead of taking a week at most to get used to how not shit the new engine would feel. Logic.

I could go on about the engine for all the minor annoyances but mainly, pathfinding. The amount of times my character has ran in a little circle then finally decides to move the way I fucking told her to five seconds ago when she's already been stunned senseless and killed. That or getting blocked on every single minion ever.


For hero balance, DOTA doesn't have any, League is trying to balance over 100 of the bloody things so it's a little bit trying for them, it's item balance they have trouble with (lol Trinity Force strikes again) DOTA 2 has a fucking hard on for stealth mechanics for fuck all reason, League has a strict meta and DOTA just does whatever and nobody cares.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

I could go on about the engine for all the minor annoyances but mainly, pathfinding. The amount of times my character has ran in a little circle then finally decides to move the way I fucking told her to five seconds ago when she's already been stunned senseless and killed. That or getting blocked on every single minion ever.

Sounds like a mis-click to me.

Or maybe I'm just super lucky and this has never happened to me through hundreds of hours except on those occasions I misclicked.

 

[synobal]

I could go on about the engine for all the minor annoyances but mainly, pathfinding. The amount of times my character has ran in a little circle then finally decides to move the way I fucking told her to five seconds ago when she's already been stunned senseless and killed. That or getting blocked on every single minion ever.

Sounds like a mis-click to me.

Or maybe I'm just super lucky and this has never happened to me through hundreds of hours except on those occasions I misclicked.

Ya sounds like when I accidentally click on the hud, instead of the ground.

 

[thatonedude11]

In terms of gameplay I prefer League because the engine DOTA 2 runs on is absolute wank. Apparently they just took the original DOTA Warcraft 3 engine or what have you and HD'd up with zero attempt at improvement.

Umm, Dota 2 uses Valve's source engine, not the Warcraft 3 engine. Pathfinding and controls, while very similar to Dota (well, from what I've heard. Never played the original Dota), it is that way due to intentional design decisions, not what engine they are using.

However, based on my understanding (please correct me if I'm wrong), the League of Legends engine was slapped together as quickly as possible to get it out before Heroes of Newerth, and is a lot buggier than Dota 2 (Valve has never had to disable ranked play because of broken skins).

OT: In the Dota vs LoL debate, I would pick Awesomenauts. It is a lot more fun and a lot less complicated or stressful then either of those. And it has a bitchin theme song.

 

[Atmos Duality]

DotA is the more complicated less popular MOBA, LoL is the easier-to-learn most popular MOBA.
All MOBAs are tough games to actually learn.
(most people who play, even for years, will never really learn anything beyond the basics and how to copy others)

 

[ohnoitsabear]

Dota is better in every way

Yea, no.
Dota 2 character control is sluggish, whereas LoL feels tighter and more responsive. It's like controlling CoD vs. controlling TF2.
Also, LoL CC doesn't last as long as the insane times on some of the Dota spells. Along with that you generally don't dump your entire mana in the space of a few seconds. While Dota may be the "deeper game" due to its extra complexities, that makes it far less accessible. LoL is also much, much easier to run on weaker PCs.

Eh, I disagree. While I'm not saying there's anything wrong with the way LoL does things, there's nothing really inherently "better" about shorter CCs or larger mana pools relative to mana cost. It just means that the strategies are going to be different to account for that.

And for the movement responsiveness thing, while I haven't actually played League for a variety of reasons, I imagine that it's more of a matter of what you're used to than anything. I think a Dota player picking up League for the first time would be just as put off by League's movement as a League player picking up Dota for the first time. I never really had any problems with the controls in Dota, aside from some of the attack animations taking a little time to get used to.

I will concede that League can run on weaker hardware and is more accessible, though. Although I don't think the accessibility difference is as great as people make it out to be.

Anyway, I play Dota 2 myself. I'll admit I never actually tried League, and I'm sure it's a great game, but I really can't say no to a game with only cosmetic microtransactions. I mean, how much more consumer friendly can you get? Okay, they could get rid of the bullshit chests and keys system, but other than that I have no complaints.

 

[GigaHz]

Dota2 if you like waiting for queues, LoL if you like waiting for decent players.

Pick your poison.

 

[BloatedGuppy]

And for the movement responsiveness thing, while I haven't actually played League for a variety of reasons, I imagine that it's more of a matter of what you're used to than anything.

DOTA characters have turn speeds. LoL characters do not, they snap instantly. 9 times out of 10 when a LoL player complains about DOTA characters feeling "sluggish" it's because they're struggling to adapt to the existence of turn speed.

 

[Verzin]

both are good games. they are just different. You have given no criteria to help define what is 'better' in a MOBA, and unfortunately, most of it comes down to opinion.

Both are fun games.

League games are shorter, the map is smaller, and the power scaling at all stages of the game are fundamentally different from DOTA. There is a surrender option and snowballing champions don't necessarily reach critical mass before you can do something about it.

DOTA is longer, has more extreme level/item scaling, has a larger map, more 'potential' for teamwide pick and general strategy, and less cartoonish graphics (it is also worth mentioning that there is no surrender option and snowballing is BRUTAL to the point of hilarity in low level games.

 

[EtherealBeaver]

Dota is much deeper, more advanced and more rewarding once you get to know it better. But thats just the problem - it has one hell of a learning courve compared to LoL. LoL has a lower skill cieling, many skills are similar, it is generally less advanced, has simpler characters and much of the tactical stuff (like denying or roshan) has been removed in LoL). What you like more is up to you really.

It is pretty much like that. LoL is easier to learn but also has less variance from a mechanics perspective, dota is harder to learn but also more rewarding and rewards more diverse play styles. Both has its merits and flaws but if you have the interest to put into it, I personally prefer dota over lol, simply because of the depth.

Sources: I have been a pretty central part of the old dota1 community, been helping valve with QA when porting it to the source engine back in alpha, was one of the first beta testers invited by riot and also one of the first beta testers to get invited to hon.