We've all been there. Everyone at some point has played a game with the design motto of "Eh, they'll get it eventually" despite the mechanic in question being completely unintuitive. Nothing mentioned in the manual, or in the game. And yet there's no way you'll ever succeed without knowing this crucial piece of data. Case in point: Dota 2.
Now, I know that a lot of you are already composing comments about "Noob, go back to LoL, we don't want you in our much better game anyway." Hear me out. The game comes with no manual to begin with - but neither do a lot of Steam games, so. The game also has no in-game tutorial. Fine on its own - it does at least allow you to say "I'm a noob" and get slightly easier matches - but here's the fun part. Everyone who's played any (edit: straight-up) MOBA/Action-RTS (I prefer MOBA since every RTS involves some degree of action) ever, knows that in order to succeed, you need items.
How to get items in League of Legends:
-Be at base.
-Open store.
-Find and select item.
-Click 'buy' button, or double-click item.
How to get items in Dota 2:
-Be at base.
-Open store.
-Find and select item.
-Right click the item.
There is no other way to get items than to right click them. It is never indicated that you have to right click items to get them. It's also difficult to see the 'O' prompt on the 'Level Up +1' box, whereas LoL's + icons above the abilities are tough to miss. Sure, it may have more strategic depth, but it's impossible to reach through all the lazy design.
So what about you guys? What's a game that gave you a mechanic it never told you about and expected you to know?
Now, I know that a lot of you are already composing comments about "Noob, go back to LoL, we don't want you in our much better game anyway." Hear me out. The game comes with no manual to begin with - but neither do a lot of Steam games, so. The game also has no in-game tutorial. Fine on its own - it does at least allow you to say "I'm a noob" and get slightly easier matches - but here's the fun part. Everyone who's played any (edit: straight-up) MOBA/Action-RTS (I prefer MOBA since every RTS involves some degree of action) ever, knows that in order to succeed, you need items.
How to get items in League of Legends:
-Be at base.
-Open store.
-Find and select item.
-Click 'buy' button, or double-click item.
How to get items in Dota 2:
-Be at base.
-Open store.
-Find and select item.
-Right click the item.
There is no other way to get items than to right click them. It is never indicated that you have to right click items to get them. It's also difficult to see the 'O' prompt on the 'Level Up +1' box, whereas LoL's + icons above the abilities are tough to miss. Sure, it may have more strategic depth, but it's impossible to reach through all the lazy design.
So what about you guys? What's a game that gave you a mechanic it never told you about and expected you to know?