Good MOBA to start with

[Maximum Bert]

Been thinking about trying out some of these for a while but it seems everyman and his dog is out making one at the moment hopefully trying to make it big like DOTA2 and LOL I assume.

Now I know absolutely nothing about the genre so I am just wondering where would be a good place to start.

I dont mind trying a few after all it seems most are free but I dont really want ones with aggressive pricing structures. I am thinking of giving the upcoming Dead Breed and the one by Blizzard a go when they come out but as of now Im not sure if I should try Smite, Dota2 or Lol is it even worth playing if not with friends?

Just trying to get a few perceptions on the games and what people think of them also a quick explanation on how to play for dummies would be nice if someone wants to do that just make sure its not overly heavy on the lingo I dont mind looking up what some slang means for the game but I dont want to be doing it all the time.

Also if there are any other ones out or coming out soonish that sound interesting post em so I can have a look. Oh and how does DOTA2 get away with having characters like Lina Inverse? do they have the blessing of those who created (hold the rights to the character) or do they have a deal going on?

I am interested in that KOF MOBA but it dosent look like it is coming to the west anytime soon.

 

[DoPo]

Now I know absolutely nothing about the genre so I am just wondering where would be a good place to start.

I...honestly don't know. Partly because I don't play a huge range of MOBAs...it's mostly just DotA:A/Dota 2 I've played and I tried LoL for a bit.

I am thinking of giving the upcoming Dead Breed and the one by Blizzard a go when they come out

I've not heard about Dead Bleed (should I assume it is something with zombies?) but Heroes of the Storm (the Blizzard one) does sound like something you might enjoy. They are targeting the more (as much as I hate that term) "casual" portion of the market and from what I know, it should be a darn solid game. Easy to pick up and start playing. It certainly is something the genre needs, I believe, and Blizzard may just be the best people to provide it. When it comes out (so...*checks watch* in about 10 years or so...) I would definitely recommend giving it a go.

but as of now Im not sure if I should try Smite, Dota2 or Lol is it even worth playing if not with friends?

Smite, I don't know about, I'll assume it's similar enough to the other two, though, for the purposes of giving you an advice: no, it is probably not a good idea. A team of random can, and probably would, be rather...let's say annoying. Especially if you are new. At least if you have a grasp on what the overall mechanics are. When I played LoL, I found it shares a lot of aspects with DotA:A, so I did have an advantage when I started playing it. But, again, I did play DotA:A quite a lot until that point.

Just trying to get a few perceptions on the games and what people think of them also a quick explanation on how to play for dummies would be nice if someone wants to do that just make sure its not overly heavy on the lingo I dont mind looking up what some slang means for the game but I dont want to be doing it all the time.

Well...the concept is simple, really. Talking about DotA here

- you have two bases on the opposite ends of the maps. One team for each base and each team and both sides are mirrored, except the players.
- each team consists of (up to) 5 players each controlling a hero.
- the pool of heroes is rather big and each has a unique set of abilities, which makes for a distinct playstyle with each, although some may share some concepts in play - say, melee characters who are durable, or in other words "tanks", yet how exactly they do their tanking may differ across them, also what can they do besides tanking is another big difference. For example Axe can also deal quite a lot of damage during taking hits, often times because he is taking hits as one of his abilities is an AOE counterattack, at the same time, Magnus can give his whole team an advantage by positioning, nuking, and stunning the enemy team.
- the goal is to get to the enemy base and destroy their ancient (it's in the title Defence of the Ancients - basically the biggest building there).

That's really it as an overview. How you get about to doing it is more involved, though. I think the biggest challenge is learning all heroes. You don't necessarily need to be able to play them all at expert level - fuck it, I suck a lot with several, however, you do need to know how to play several, and what the overall strengths, weaknesses, and abilities of the rest are. The trouble comes from both there being so many heroes (they are, more then 100, I believe, in Dota 2) and also the exact interactions between them and other heroes as well as items. Some heroes can do some pretty impressive combos. Actually, if we generalise it a bit, all combinations of heroes have them opportunities - say, a team with a lot of stuns is as deadly as just a combo of two heroes that are really deadly when together. And, of course, items are there to make the thing more complicated.

Honestly there is a lot of strategy and theory and I don't think I can cover all. That's probably also a reason why the MOBAs have such a steep entry. Still, if you do feel like playing Dota 2 - I would point you towards Purge - he makes excellent guides and videos about the game and really does offer insight into a lot of it. If you look at his YouTube channel, look for the replays - he also has live games he records and places on there, but they...frankly sort of suck. Well, at least when it comes to explaining what's going on. Understandable as he's, you know, playing at the time - the replays are him commenting about his play - it offers greater insight into what happens, why it happens, and his thought process and decision making during play - that's probably the most important thing you CAN learn about the genre - really, the rest of the stuff, like exact items and heroes, are not as relevant - you can't do without them, sure, but knowing all of them would not help you win as much. However, sadly, they ARE the easiest thing to learn as a newcomer and are also required for a newcomer to be effective. It's a vicious circle.

Oh and how does DOTA2 get away with having characters like Lina Inverse? do they have the blessing of those who created (hold the rights to the character) or do they have a deal going on?

Actually, that doesn't happen. In Dota 2, all copyrighted names have been tactfully removed - Lina Inverse is just Lina now, Rexxar is Karroch, the Nerubian Weaver is Weaver, the Buriza-Do Kyanon is called Daedalus, Lothar's Edg is Shadow Blade, and so on. Weirdly, "Slithereen" still exists, yet I thought it was a Warcraft thingie. Also, the Drow Ranger is still around when I am even more sure that's a D&D race and they protect their stuff (then again, "Drow" may be under an open license somewhere).

At any rate, DotA and DotA: Allstars do use copyrighted names and I am not sure how. I would assume it's because they don't actually make money off them or something.

 

[DustyDrB]

I went into Dota 2 having never played an ARTS/whatever you guys want to call it before. Worked out fine for me. I played bot games with friends for a long time before finally playing my first "real" game (which I believe I solo queued).

-Is it a game that has a lot of nuance and complexity? Yes

-Is there a large hero pool that's all available from the start, making you learn more about matchups right from the start? Yes

-Is there a high skill cap and a lot of teamwork required to play at even an average level? Yep.

But here's the thing people tend to forget when they bring all this up and make Dota 2 sound too daunting: Yes, you suck. But the people you're playing with and against will probably suck too. You don't need to know everything about Dota from the get-go. Hell, I was some pro players stream and they are still learning. You're always learning. That's part of the draw, I think.

I feel people get too wrapped up in the fact there's a lot of complexity. You're gonna have a long time where you're just learning basics, and that's fine. Your competition will be right there with you. Just learn on the go.

So I can absolutely recommend Dota 2, even if you're a total newbie to this game type. I can't speak for other games in the genre as I haven't played them. Maybe they are good too. But I'll personally vouch for Dota. The business model is fair and the game is never boring (balance patches about twice a year that can completely change the metagame, a vast hero pool that is still growing, new game modes being introduced, in-game events that are becoming more and more regular...).

 

[Maximum Bert]

*huge snip*

Thanks for the highly detailed and thoughtful response I am still amazed they get away with just using Lina though I mean the character looks the same (as Lina Inverse) and she even has spells like Dragon Slave and Laguna Blade. Theres got to be something going on, DOTA2 i pretty big business right? ah well.

I think I may wait for Blizzards heart of the storm or if I get bored waiting maybe just try out DOTA2 and give it a whirl, never heard of Purge but I will check out his stuff cheers.

Also Dead Breed seems to be a three on three MOBA with monster type characters centered around the undead but not zombies by the looks of things although I wouldnt be surprised if they were in there somewhere.

 

[SomeLameStuff]

LoL is easier to get into, while Dota is much harder and more challenging. I suppose the easiest way to explain it is "Dota is the Dark Souls of MOBAs".

Note that if you start with LoL, then decide to play Dota as well, you'll have a much harder time than if you start with Dota and switch to LoL.

 

[Terwo]

My 2cents:

Dota is the superior game in terms of balance and fun, and doesnt force you to grind for a,ything at all. That said, the community is the most toxic of all mobas, you are stuck in lost games for up to an hour due to the lack of a surrender feature, and no matter what server you pick it seems that working knowledge of russian seems mandatoryr for teamplay.

Lol is easier and more casual, but suffers from toxic 13 year old syndrome and has way too many champs to be remotely balanced. I thoroughly dislike their business model as it forces you to grind for ages before unlocking champs and ranked mode. At themoment they have too many expensive champs, and too many champs in general to make the limited free rotation worthwhile.

I ended up leaving both after playing each for over 200 hours. They were both fun at the start but quickly become an exercise in frustration. Neither are fun without friends: the community is toxic and rage inducing. If you want to try both, i would go with lol first, so you can appreciate and enjoy dota more for its strengths. If you only want to get inested in one, i would go with dota: i find it a much stronger game in general mechanics wise.

Feel free to disagree though!

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

I dont mind trying a few after all it seems most are free but I dont really want ones with aggressive pricing structures. I am thinking of giving the upcoming Dead Breed and the one by Blizzard a go when they come out but as of now Im not sure if I should try Smite, Dota2 or Lol is it even worth playing if not with friends?

Honestly MOBAs are horrible and frustrating without a few people to play with. When the game goes to shit the community has the tendancy to play the blame game rather than accept being outplayed and if you don't have a friend there to laugh at the guy throwing a hissy fit and calling you a retard feeder or something it's just annoying. I'd say first and foremost if you have friends that play one of them, go with that one.

As for which one is best, it really depends. Most people who play both prefer DOTA. That said, DOTA has a much steeper learning curve in every aspect, is much more unforgiving, and the amount of power each character has is much higher (meaning that if you don't know what you're doing, the enemy will be throwing all kinds of crazy BS you don't understand at you.) So most people that don't like DOTA as much as LoL won't play it long enough to say they play both in the first place.

Smite isn't bad by any means but I don't think it's design fits the MOBA genre quite as well. It's sort of a light version of a MOBA for people who like action games. It's fun, but it's kinda wonky on a competitive level, which makes it more frustrating when some obnoxious tryhard kid is on your case.

Personally I prefer League. Mainly because I've been playing it the longest, its what my friends play, and I don't want to invest that much time in another game that's essentially the same. Also, really big thing for me is that DOTA has voice chat. In a MOBA communication is pretty vital so yeah get used to HEARING obnoxious whiny dickholes as opposed to just reading their text if you want to go with that one.

 

[Aethren]

As much as I'd like to reccomend Dota and LoL, as a newbie to the genre, your best bet would be Smite. It's similar in structure to the standard MOBA game, but done in an over-shoulder third-person view similar to WoW, instead of the top-down perspective common in most games of the genre. So a player coming from WoW, or any rpg, will have an easier time learning Smite.

That said, I'm a regular of Dota 2 and LoL, and have never played Smite (yet).

 

[DazZ.]

I think to just give MOBAs a try and see if you like them it's better to play about with DOTA and bots first over LoL, almost for the only reason that you have every hero given to you from the very start and you don't need to pay money or grind IP to unlock characters, so if there's someone you want to learn how to play or counter you just pick them next game.

I have other reasons but that's a pretty big one.

 

[AliasBot]

Haven't played MOBAs myself, but a friend has been trying to get me into them, and he suggested starting with Smite: it has good basic tutorials, and the basic layout/controls are a bit more 'intuitive' for a non-MOBA player than its brethren (over-the-shoulder third-person and WASD movement versus the top-down and click-to-go-to-location in LoL and DOTA). Just from what I've seen of gameplay of the different games, Smite looks the simplest (probably in part because of the camera angle, which is more in line with what I'm used to) to pick up, and I also happen to be a sucker for mythology, so Smite will likely be the one I jump into first, should I decide to do so...and apart from the mythology bit, most of my reasoning for that would probably apply to most other non-MOBA players as well.

 

[DoPo]

I am still amazed they get away with just using Lina though I mean the character looks the same (as Lina Inverse) and she even has spells like Dragon Slave and Laguna Blade. Theres got to be something going on, DOTA2 i pretty big business right? ah well.

*shrug* I really don't quite know what's going on. I am not sure what degree what degree of similarity is enough to be called out over. If it helps, Lina's model is also very close to the WC3 model of the sorceress (which was the original one for the hero). I actually don't really know how the real Lina Inverse looks, I've just heard she's a character from Slayers (as a side note, all heroes have a name and also a unique class - Dota 2 uses only one of these to commonly call them. Originally, the hero was Lina Inverse and here class was Slayer).

if I get bored waiting maybe just try out DOTA2 and give it a whirl, never heard of Purge but I will check out his stuff cheers.

If you do decide to do that, give me a shout and we can probably play together. Maybe there would be other Escapist users up to it, but having somebody there with you should help out to start. Also, something I forgot to mention - you can play against bots. These games are actually not really competitive and are good to play to get the hang of things. You can play against bots as much as you want, in fact, you don't even need to play against people (though playing against people is more fun IMO. And more frustrating on occasions). At any rate, you can either play that alone, with a random group (it works out OK-ish, to be honest - people are mostly helpful...erm, unless you play against high difficulty bots and you're not that skilled - they tend to lash out at this point :/) or with pre-made group (or even parts of).

LoL also has the same mode and I've heard LoL is overall less complex. Haven't played enough to accurately judge it, but it's perhaps easier to say that Dota 2 has a higher skill cap - while you'd be normally be able to do stuff competently, you can do more complex stuff with bigger payoff if you are better (say, micro-ing a number of units each with unique skills to full potential is more demanding than selecting all and attacking then using each skill once or twice). That's what I've heard, though so I may be off. Note that I'm in no way saying LoL is less fun - frankly, it is. Part of why I stopped, though, is because I didn't want to bother learning the entire roster there. Yeah...I'm just a bit too lazy to play it...

But again, if you do decide to play Dota 2, I'm available.
EDIT: Just to clarify a bit - I'll try to be available. I may not actually be available. Sort of "duh", I guess, but just wanted to say I'd love to help out, it's going to be something else that stops me if I don't, not my desire, or rather lack of.

 

[blazearmoru]

It really depends what you're looking for.
The MOBA experience is basically compressing an entire MMORPG from start to finish in a matter of minutes with a group of friends VS a group of enemies in the form of assaulting the enemy base, protecting your base, and growing stronger while you're at it.

League of Legends put a lot of emphasis on the actual combat.
1. Combat is more enjoyable.
2. LoL also has a lot of emphasis on powering up with gold.

Because of this, it's basically a requirement for each class to continuously power up. LoL also has fairly strict roles for a perfect team composition because it is COMBAT BASED. Because of this, there is less customization and strategy but you get to play more mind games and action. Keep in mind, all the balancing has to do with combat. League's characters fit very well into their roles because they were designed for their roles and roles are required because it's COMBAT BASED. League of Legend's balancing are all combat based. It knows it's weakness so it's designed a catchup mechanic based on combat so you don't have to worry about being slain like a level 2 noob by a level 100 lord knight. (it still happens, but there are some guards up for it)

A good example of LoL is that everyone has a handy, no cost, no cooldown, magical teleport home for the final epic 5v5 showdown "button."


Defense of the Ancients put a lot of emphasis on base destruction / defense but has it's roots on AllStars.
1. This allows for many team compositions and designs as well as completely imbalanced combos.
2. AllStars is basically a battle arena with all the heroes meaning they are all unique not only in playstyle, but in function.

Because of this, there are many playstyles that do not involve 5v5 battling. Because all the characters are different in function, there is the possibility of refusing to fight the enemy team and winning through base destruction or map control by starving them out of growth. You can literally set up a guy to fight 1 VS the world and possibly win given the requirements are fulfilled. And because the characters are functionally different, some characters don't need a single dollar to their name and can still perform PERFECTLY, never falling behind. This is because all the items in the game are by their very nature, Situational. DOTA is a game about STRATEGY. It is slow and more often than not, one side will be completely overwhelmed by the other side and ANY chance of a comeback you may have, you better have planned it in your team composition. This means two things. 1. It's quite possible that your team lost before the game even started and 2. It's quite possible that if you hold on for just a bit longer, and your team strategy is ready to be executed, you will win (also the reverse) If you don't win before the enemy team's strategy is online, it's quite possible that you're going to straight up lose. DotA's emphasis is on team strategy.

A good example is that like LoL, there is teleporting to any friendly structure but on dota it's a consumable item. It cost 135gold. Costs 75 mana. Has 60 seconds cooldown AND it takes up 1 slot which could be used for other combat related things. There's also a guy named "Nature's Prophet" with a *global teleport spell that costs less mana, and only has a 20 second cooldown.* If you're thinking the item is situational, and like a shit version of a character's spell. That's exactly what it is. Everything on dota is situational.

So to conclude: League of Legend's primary focus is combat (The Now). DotA's primary focus is team strategy (The Plan). These overlap but I'm only stating the primary focuses.

Finally : The difficulty is the same because they are PvP games. The difficulty will always be : Your opponent, who happens to be at your level. Their depth are different. Their focus are different. And everyone has their own preferences. I play dota cus I have a more strategic mind. My brother plays LoL cus he likes fighting games and doesn't enjoy spending long amounts of time just to execute possible strategies. All mobas have pretty toxic communities. Be prepared to use the mute button.


Edit : When I say "The Plan", I mean not only the strategy, but also what your options are. There are always many options, for both teams, which opens and closes depending on what happens. The items not only give you more strategical options, but also options to counter your enemies and their strategies. It's a fine line between being able to execute your strategy, and delaying or denying the opponent's strategy. The fun continues when the strategy is allowed space to evolve.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KK7RnsZvs8 Take this for example.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Awesomenauts, it's a 2D platformer crossed with MOBA with bucket loads of charm and a heavy focus on playability rather then dickwaveability that the main contenders are in for.
Game is real quick to learn, still has a good variety of heroes and skills but you get to use them right away in quick succession so you easily get familiar with MOBA mechanics on a simpler level, which also means people have fun and don't just hate you for merely being present. You can also start/join/leave any match at will without getting banned, also don't get banned when players find you inadequate, can always play with bots, matches are nice and short and everyone stays happy to just play.

And latter on if you want to dive into the top end of the genre you go LoL or DOTA 2, there you get no mercy, you either know and play by the entire one million page wiki or players will have your throat (friendly or opposing team, makes no difference to them).You will also sit through 1h+ matches no matter how badly it's going or howmuch abuse you get, otherwise ban, you will perform at the top of your abilities at all times, otherwise ban, and you will absolutely not have a good time in 95% of the matches.

 

[mindfaQ]

Take Dota 2, if you want tactical diversity, good graphics, unique heroes/champions (in terms of how they play), countering your enemies through a lot of choices, the best F2P model and game developer behind it.

Take LoL if you like a more rigid game structure and champion design which will cause fewer surprises to you and thus make it easier to learn, a mixture of more comic/fanservice graphics with fully saturated colors, don't like thinking about what you do, want a boring laning phase, enjoy grinding and where it is more likely that someone of your friends plays it (ask the girls, too).

I would not recommend Smite, I don't think third person view really fits the genre, but if you like the thought of running around with your character, looking over its shoulder, give it a spin.

I don't think Infinite Crisis does anything better than LoL, so I would not recommend it.

Awesomenauts is kind of its own thing (or so I have heard) and if you like 2D platformers, this could be a starting point for you, though only gives a small peak at the whole story of what those games are.

 

[Scorched_Cascade]

As much as I'd like to reccomend Dota and LoL, as a newbie to the genre, your best bet would be Smite. It's similar in structure to the standard MOBA game, but done in an over-shoulder third-person view similar to WoW, instead of the top-down perspective common in most games of the genre. So a player coming from WoW, or any rpg, will have an easier time learning Smite.

That said, I'm a regular of Dota 2 and LoL, and have never played Smite (yet).

I'm with this poster.

[h4]Why you should try Smite[/h4]
Smite is the way to go to ease into MOBAs. It's third person, WASD to move and 1-4 are your abilities. It has an auto buy and auto skill system pre-turned on for newbies (best to turn them off as soon as you're comfortable to though, they'll keep you playing but they aren't all that optimal).

The community tends to be a *little* more friendly because of how fast paced and accessible the game is and there isn't usually any of the gear choice moaning that you'll see in other mobas ("omg, X item on Y hero? Troll. GG.") because people are still experimenting to find good item builds and places to play the gods.

It's generally a very...I wanna say "casual game" but that's a bit of a dirty word around these parts so I'm going to go with it's fun.

There are alternate modes to play in to blow off steam.

Arena is 5v5 moba soccer(ish) with minions as the ball. All teamfights, all the time
Assault is All random, all mid (everyone is given a random god and placed in one big middle lane, once you step off the platform at the start you cant rebuy until you die)
Match of the Day is a random match type from the list each day.
Joust/Joust 3v3 is 1v1/3v3 in a single large midlane.

[h4]Mechanical differences[/h4]

-Smite has a voice macro call out system similar to shooters of old and adapted from Tribes. Press V to start and then follow the menus.

E.g. V-A-T will cause the voice macro to say "Attack the Tower!". (V to start, A is attack, T for tower)

-Gods aren't built for a certain role, several of them pull several different duties depending on how you build them
-Phoenixes (Smite's barracks equivalent) respawn after a few minutes, albeit weaker, so if you can defend a base push and stop the fire (mega) minions killing the phoenix respawn then the lane will re-stabilise.
-Obviously, the previously mentioned, it's third person over the shoulder with WASD to move rather than traditional isometric
-Every God has a passive and then [usually] 4 abilities
-Like Dota, there is no rune system equivalent so everyone starts the game on an even footing.

[h4]Price model[/h4]
This is where I think Smite beats out LoL (the mechanics section is where it beats out Dota for accessibility)
-There are 5 free gods given to everyone when they make an account
-there are a further 5 gods free on rotation, swapping usually on new god release (every 2-3 weeks)
-There is a godpack! For the one time price of $29.99/£20.99/23.99E you can unlock all current gods and all future gods.

http://www2.hirezstudios.com/smite/nav/buy/ultimate-god-pack

Otherwise it's 5.5k favour (free currency) to unlock a god, price is doubled for the newest god released. You'll earn your first new god within about 2-3 days of hard playing (your mileage may vary). If you later buy the god pack then they'll refund any favour you previously spent, I played till level 30 [max level at the time] without buying the pack and then bought it. Very happy with my purchase.

For sale for gems (real money currency) are voice packs for the gods and skins with special effects.


The pack is available till the end of beta iirc, beta ends some point near the end of this month.


I'd love to recommend Dota 2 to you but learning it all can be extremely intimidating, I'm re-learning it atm after a few months away playing smite and I'm still grasping the mechanics.

 

[JettMaverick]

I always thought DOTA was like a fair game of chess, no levelling buffs like LoL, which can put newbies at a severe disadvantage, DOTA2 feels a bit more fair, and you have to play tactfully from scratch, from the start, in every game. Some characters are easier/stronger than others obvs, but you can really nail down a lovely strategy you can feel proud of.


Oh, and the banter from players is priceless, I found out so much information about my mother and her apparent promiscuous lifestyle. There's me thinking she just sat looking out the window with a cup of tea.


Also, DOTA2 has a wonderful set of tutorials/bot matches, so you can really warm up to the game without looking a complete tit.

 

[Caliostro]

I think to just give MOBAs a try and see if you like them it's better to play about with DOTA and bots first over LoL, almost for the only reason that you have every hero given to you from the very start and you don't need to pay money or grind IP to unlock characters, so if there's someone you want to learn how to play or counter you just pick them next game.

I have other reasons but that's a pretty big one.

This. If you just wanna give the genre a chance, try DOTA as it's less restrictive.

That said, I consider LoL a much better game in competitive terms (MUCH less random, more responsive movement, less input delay...etc) but to each their own.

If you feel you like the genre already, then "the best to start" is whichever you plan on ending on. Try both. Watch both at high level tournament play so you get a feeling for how you play them properly. Decide which one you prefer and stick with it. Or play both. There's no rule saying you can only play one after all.

 

[ASnogarD]

I play LoL, and tried DOTA2 during the beta and got ripped a new one by the community but that said the new player experience I had and the one I am experiencing with my 'smurf' account is completely different as far as the community is concerned... its far more toxic than it was when I was learning.

DOTA2 is more challenging to learn as a new player, even with MOBA experience, mistakes are punished far more harshly in the DOTA2 game than in LoL and some mechanics such as the deny mechanic ensure a player who falls behind stays behind.
DOTA2 is also very annoying with its CC and how it really empowers 'ganking', there are many times you really couldnt do a damn thing despite not really making a mistake yourself.
DOTA2 though is the more complex and has I would say higher skill requirements between LoL and DOTA2.

LoL on the other hand has a business model that restricts your access to the majority of champions, but in a way that is actually a good thing as a new player as you are not suddenly presented with a full roster of champions to learn and play, you initially get the 8 (?) free champions that are on a weekly rotation (they change the champions every week, you dont get to keep the free ones) to play around with and if you really enjoyed using one of them you can save in game currency to buy that champion.
The slow 'grind' allows a new player to gradually build up to a level where they can compete against the players who have been playing a long time, the grind allows the player time to build up runes and adjust masteries so that by the time they do hit 30 they have a reasonable idea of how runes and masteries work.
LoL doesnt punish early game mistakes so harshly as DOTA2, you can come back and farm quietly to build back up to be able to fight in the battle.
LoL is easier to get into but still has enough of a skill ceiling to satisfy even the most hardcore player despite lacking in some of DoTA's more hardcore mechanics.

SMITE is the easiest to get into but at the same time I really must question how much longer its going to be around as Hi-Rez have shown a tendency to basically drop support for titles when going onto the next one, and with them on Global Agenda 2 ..they already dropped support of Tribes, Smite is next on the old title list.
Valve who do DOTA2 have a history of supporting games long after release, and Riot only has LoL so its support of the title is not likely to drop any time soon.

Short ver. DOTA2 is harder to get into but has more hardcore mechanics, LoL is easier to learn but doesnt have all the hardcore mechanics, Smite is the easiest to pick up but I doubt it will have the longevity of the other titles.

NOTE: All of them have a really toxic community, you will really need to cultivate a tough skin... it makes the old Counter Strike forums and WoW PvP discussions seem civil in comparison, I am NOT exaggerating here.
Expect to be insulted and threatened, expect comments about family and loved ones, expect some really childish and pathetic behaviour... and try not to get dragged down to that level.
On the plus side the good games you do get are really fun and there are some really great players playing these games that make it worth putting up with the dregs of the community.