DotA vs LoL: The Unending Battles

Hello and welcome to Nubtrain's blog about Dota vs LoL: The Unending Battles. We'll be taking a look at the differences in both games, whether X game is better than Y and company design principles. So enjoy the read both new and seasoned players!

Disclaimer: I will try my best to be as non-bias as possible!

Borrowing a few ideas from a mod in Starcraft called Aeon of Strife gave birth to Defense of the Ancients which in-turn spawned games like League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth. The most successful out of the Dota-like games is League of Legends which had about 1.3 million active players at its peak (at the current writing time). League of Legends was very successful thanks to its easier accessibility and free to play model while the DotA mod suffered in countries other than Asia mainly due to Warcraft 3 being needed to play. Since DotA was a mod in another game, it was very limited to what it can offer to players like a reconnect feature, hard to access compared to a free to play model and the graphics became very dated which pushed away potential gamers. With the aid of some Valve employees that love playing DotA, Icefrog was hired by Valve and started developing a sequel free from any limitations called DOTA 2. Even in BETA, DOTA 2 is doing very well in the eSPORTS scene with sponsered tournaments like The Defense, joinDOTA Masters and The International. With teams like Na'Vi, M5 and Mousesports investing and being totally free, the future of Dota 2 is secured.


League of Legends offer a system of account level progression that makes the early experience of gaming more enjoyable. As you level up you can also put points into MASTERIES so that your champion is a bit more customized like a character in an MMO.

You'll be paired against other accounts at your level range and you'll be at an even footing with other low level accounts(until level 20). If you pair up with a high level friend, you'll also pair up with other players doing the samething. There's also a tutorial tab under the big red PLAY button on the main menu that guides you to understand the basic gameplay and mechanics of the League of Legends.

You can also spectate a live game that your friends are playing in the friends list and while spectating, the client shows the current status of both teams. You can see the gold advantages and have vision of everyone's champion. You can also "go back in time" in the spectate mode and see what happened previously. To counter "spectate cheating" there's a 3 minute delay so friends don't hop on the spectate feature and tell everyone what the enemy is doing.

Unfortunately an official replay system was not developed (yet) for League of Legends and players have to use a third party software to record older games. Riot did mention they'll implement one but for now we'll be relying on a buggy system from leaguereplays.

In the client, you can learn what spells a champion uses with their pro/cons in their Champion profile. There's also information on how to play and beat that specific champion. User interface is minimalist with the option to turn off the wall that blocks the lower screen so that you can get as much information as possible visually during the match.

At the time of writing, League of Legends has four maps available to play which cater to all types of gamers. Those who want something short and different can play Dominion, a capture the base type of game. There is also ARAM (All Random All Mid) map where players can dish it out in one lane and a smaller 3v3 map where gameplay expereince is a lot quicker. Finally, there is the standard 5v5 map where all balance changes are focused heavily on and the most popular.




Dota 2 is still in BETA but offers a lot of features that supports both the competitive and public scenes for example an INGAME MIC SYSTEM. When completed, DOTA 2 will offer a tutorial system by having other players coach newer players on how to play. Guides will also be offered in the client written by players to help new DOTA players get started. Though this system is not offered yet it is currently in development with examples like the HEROPEDIA and the videos showing each spell use.

Dota 2 also offers a fantastic replay system which allows anyone to look up your exact name and a list of games will be shown. You can also watch live games from strangers under the WATCH tab or spectate your friends in the friends menu.

Valve is also heavily supporting competitive tournaments by allowing players to spectate all matches of that specific tournament for a small price.
In each tournament there are 4 possible broadcasters like joinDOTA|Tobi-wan to cast epic battles which can be heard ingame so for people will weak/unstable internet connections, you don't have to go watch a stream.

In addition, you can buy team pennants to support the team that is currently playing so that they can make some money in the process. In both games, making a good income in esport is very tough and Valve is doing a great job supporting them. Not only can you help your favorite team make an income, you also have a chance to win free cosmetic items when witnessing a first blood, triple kill, etc.

Though Dota 2 only has the classic 5v5 map for now, it still retains popularity through both competitive and public scenes. DOTA's map allow funny moments that otherwise can't happen (or rarely) in LoL's 5v5 map. For example:
Here's the Dota 2 mini-map to look at:

Though it's still in beta, Dota 2's GUI is very clunky and has a lot of wasted space. Unlike LoL's minimalist GUI, Valve has yet to implement any option to remove the wall that blocks up a good portion of the screen(which many have stated they didn't like). GUI however is never final since Dota 2 is still in BETA and we will have to wait and see what it will be like when Dota 2 is officially released.



In the LoL's free to play model, you're given two choices, either farm up Influence Points (ingame currency) or pay with cash (Riot Points).

Older champions tend to be much cheaper for example: Ashe for 260 IP points (450 RP) and Vayne for 6300 IP or (975 RP). You can also buy runes which are powerups that affect the stats of the champion and you'll need a bunch to complete your champion. Although you cannot buy with real money, you can boost the amount of incoming IP with boosters by spending a bit at the cash shop.

This system adds a bit of customization and adds an MMORPG progression element as your account levels up. So instead of farming boars, you're farming games. You get more IP when you've successfully completed a game and it doesn't matter whether or not you win, you'll get IP. If opposing team surrenders and you win (or vise-versa), you get less IP than if they didn't surrender which is the case in most games. You'll also get more IP if that specific game has been playing longer.

So the question is, does this free to play affect you at all? Yes it does, Riot's system has a huge influence that greatly determines the structure and its building blocks of League of Legends. Although you'll eventually get everything if you play more games, obtaining IP is extremely slow. You'll have to play about 10-15 games (including first win of the day) and with games averaging about 35 mins that's at least 6+ hours of gaming for ONE champion.

In this genre, knowing how each hero/champion operates is a must in any ARTS/MOBA game but to actually have the champion in your arsenal is another story. So far to sustain this type of business model, Riot has to design champion(s) every month. With each new champion, there's usually a balance change, a strengthen or nerf patch. (Note: Zyra was released a patch ago)
At the current rate of champions releases, there will result in champions having similar type of spells, feel or overall design for the role they're in (especially the newer champions), i.e: Viktor vs Ziggs. So as champions become similar, it's causing some champions to be rarely played since X champion has similar spells to Y champion and does a better job at that role, i.e: Wukong vs Xin Zhao.

Another issue with gameplay is that you have to have the runes for that champion to be at an even footing with other level 30 players. You'll most likely lose your lane if you're a fresh level 30 going against seasoned players simply because s/he got more power-ups than you. Solution? Play for an extraordinary amount of time or spend some cash and that all ties into your level of patience.

If you're an impatient gamer but love playing LoL or someone who doesn't have that much time to play but have money, you're the perfect customer that Riot wants. From the bottoms-up League of Legends is designed to be a casual version of Dota by removing all the "dated" or "anti-fun" mechanics and streamlined the experience.

Valve's free to play model testing with Team Fortress 2 proved to be very successful since it has generated a lot of revenue and information to use for other games. For Valve's system, you don't have to spend anything to enjoy everything Dota 2 has to offer.

All heroes are unlocked with no cost and you're given an account progression with Battle Level. You steadily progress in "Battle EXP" and upon leveling up you're given a free item; that's it. At the end of each match, you also have a chance to win one item or two items of different rarities, higher the rarity the cooler it looks (usually).

The Workshop, another feature that's included into Valve's free to play model, give gamers a chance to "craft" items for each hero. When models are approved by Valve, you're given a percentage of the money earned. Valve's thinking is that there are a lot of smart people outside the company so why not open the market to those amazing designers. This system relieves stress from Valve's own employees at a revenue perspective and opens for more awesome designed cosmetics. In addition, gamers are able to view unapproved item/sets and rate them which in-turn shows a quantitative number of demand.

With Steam, The Workshop and Dota 2's free to play model, Valve has created a self-sustaining system that has free-lance designers model for them and that works for everybody involved with Dota 2. This speeds up the development of Dota 2 to be released officially much quicker since Valve's designers can worry about shipping Dota 2 instead of hats. This model does so well that S2 Games changed their revenue model for Heroes of Newerth from Riot's model to Valve's model (or at least close to it).


LoL offers a much easier initial gaming experience so that makes LoL easier to get into than Dota. Thanks to the summoner level system new players can learn a bit before they reach level 30 where the influx of skill level varies. If newer players are a bit intimidated to play other players then there is an option to play against bots to further refine the basics. Gameplay is focused throughout the map in with objectives like killing Nashor Baron at top or Dragon at bot river. Other important spots are the blue and red golems which offer a nice power-boost to gain an advantage over the other teams. This forces team battles in those general areas to occur since gaining a strong lead with gold and buffs will help win games.

An alternative to juking with Fog of War are bushes, they're to cover champions from unsuspecting preys (unless there is a ward to reveal them). This makes early action in public games at top/bot a bit intense if players are aggressive since bushes help you get the first hit in. If you die in LoL you will not lose gold upon death which in-turn helps you get your items much faster than in DOTA especially if you were on the losing side. Some summoner spells in LoL are Dota item effects for example, Flash is a Blink Dagger on a very long cooldown. All in all, the features are to make the gameplay experience streamlined for all players.

However, not losing gold upon death is another big factor on how the gameplay runs in League of Legends. This makes roaming much less effective since there is no point in having that roamer be so far behind in levels if it's not successful. Only a few champions like Evelynn can make use of roaming successful since she has a passive invisibility that only breaks upon combat and the other viable option is Alistar who does not need much levels to be effective. This forces gameplay in high level competitive matches to be very passive unless the chance presents itself. Players rather farm than risk losing out on EXP and gold if isn't worth it. That's why jungling is very effective since it causes disturbances in the free-farm flow and technically allows 3 solo champions in each team. There is also counter-jungling to slow down the other jungler in levels and that means less ganks from them. However, counter-jungling is now less effective since Riot nerfed the jungle twice(or three... forgot) making it easier and faster to clear through.

All of these gameplay choices and how Riot design champions force a standard metagame of 1 top, 1 mid and 2 bot. The viability of each champion for their role depends on the balance changes Riot makes. For example, why choose Viktor mid when you can choose Ahri who is much more mobile and harder to kill. Another example is Olaf vs Garen at top; Olaf has better sustain and damage than Garen since Garen relies his long cooldowns to do anything.

In competitive play there is also a lot less ganking compared to Dota since towers deal a lot more damage in the beginning to champions and is harder to avoid wards unless you go into their jungle entrance near the middle lane. There is no item similar to Smoke of Deceit in LoL and so mid game doesn't happen as quick as in Dota. To kill the ward, someone has to spend money on a vision ward which is mostly the support's job but to be a good support you cannot steal farm from the carries. So it takes a while to destroy the standard two wards in river at at lane. It's easier to gank blue team's bot and red team's top since there is a way to intersect if enemies pushed too far. In most good teams, lane equilibrium will be steady unless one is being aggressive and if the current metagame has not changed in about a year. Basically to play optimally, the game is going to be very slow in the beginning of a match.

If you have heard of the phrase "League of Legends has a learn curve, Dota has a learning cliff", that's pretty much the correct analogy when you compare the two. There is more mechanics in Dota than there is to LoL and to utilize them all effectively requires a lot of practice. Abilities in Dota have a much bigger impact in the game compared to LoL with longer disables or game changing ultimates (Engima's Black Hole). With great power come higher mana costs and longer cooldowns which force players to be decisive on when to use them. So important abilities with stuns or slows are saved for important moments like ganking or to save an ally. Gameplay is heavily dependent on the current every changing "meta-game".

Unlike the system in LoL however, there isn't an account level bracket that pits you against other accounts of the same level range. Newer players in Dota will sometimes be put against veterans of Dota and get stomped so they'll have to find ways to learn the game by other means. Valve knows this and that's why they want to include systems where veteran players teach new or less experienced players on how to play more effectively. If new players are having trouble, they can play BOTS with difficulties that match their skill level, BOTS in Dota 2 are pretty damn good compared to LoL's.

Juking in Dota is much more dynamic than LoL's static bush system. Other than using their hero abilities to keep stayin' alive, players in Dota abusive Fog of War and line of sight in hopes to stall for allies, live or get a kill. Trees in Dota serve as the basis for the jukes as they act like barriers, blocking both path and vision. You're able to destroy trees which allows for awesome moments to happen.

Learning how to position yourself is game breaking in both games but in Dota if you positioned poorly then died, not only did you give gold to the enemy and missed farm time, you also lost gold based on your level. This single mechanic allow roaming to be much more effective since you're essentially destroying a player's income. Combined with the fact that you can buy Tower Portals that teleports you to a tower's lane and Smoke of Deceit that shield you from wards, ganking becomes much more lucrative. Since the game allow people to buy Town Portals, counter-ganking or defending a tower happens very often too.

Towers in Dota does less damage per hit compared to LoL's tower but is tougher. Also Dota towers shoot faster and further away so tower diving in both games is risky. How one big difference is that towers in Dota are a lot smarter than the ones in LoL. If there are no creeps or minions attacking the tower and you're the first to attack it; the tower will redirect its attack towards you. If you're ganking or being ganked, there are areas next to your towers where you can juke to try to stay alive as long as possible for reinforcements.

Dota's gameplay also revolves around a lot more on counter-picking, team composition and building the right items for the current situation. Foe example, Windrunner is good at surviving against auto attackers with Windwalk and is flexible in many roles like being a mid laner or support. (That's because Windrunner is well designed). Another example is Mekansm which is a mandatory item that effectively adds 250 hp to all heros or Pipe of Insight which heavily reduces the amount of magical damage a hero like Zeus. Dota also has multiple metas stretching from push strategies, deathball strategies, 4-protect 1, turtle, etc. Each strategies have their pro and cons, for example, heavy push strategies lose their strength if their pushing is successfully delayed and heading towards late game since a majority of pushing heroes are strong early-mid-game heroes.

Many heroes have more than one job to do like Crystal Maiden who is a great support can babysit or roam the map, winning lanes. Supports have more than one job to do than to just babysit which allow for more dynamic plays in mid-high level games. Shadow Shaman is a good example that has strong pushing power, decent babysitting power at early game(depends on skill-build) and has strong control in teamfights. Take a look at Leshrac who is a strong pusher and becomes an AoE nuke carry late-game, effective at both pushing, ganking if able to land Split Earth and teamfights.

In general these examples point for a more dynamic and fast-paced game than League of Legends at mid-high level games while low-skilled games might feel slower than League of Legends.

DOTA 2 Very fast-paced at mid-high level games Dynamic gameplay Fantastic F2P model All heroes are unlocked/free Amazing features for competitive/public games IN-GAME MIC WITH POWER TO MUTE PEOPLE! Free item upon leveling up Customizable skins Incredible voice work on all heroes

LoL Tries to be different and succeeds very well Account Level Progression system Less punishing that DOTA Streamlined gameplay Action focused throughout the map Awesome looking skins (Firefox Ahri ^-^) Very fast paced at low/low-mid level games An official surrender button

Very strong eSPORT Scene Core basics are fundamentally the same Free to play Have good and bad communities Both companies are supporting the eSPORT scene Easy to learn, hard to master Frustrating to play at times Fun(which is subjective)

DOTA 2 Slow at low level games Steep learning curve UI is clunky(subject to change) No surrender button which can be frustrating Treasure chests, those damn treasure chests

LoL Terrible game client (Adobe AIR) No official replay system Overall very grindy Riot's F2P system affects gameplay Stale meta-game(subject to change)

Both games at it's core are fundamentally the same but other than that it's totally different. For LoL, it's designed at it's core for the casual crowd while in DotA it's designed at it's core for the competitive scene. Both games are subjective to what fun is but there are definite worries for LoL and DotA. The steep learning curve for DOTA 2 might turn off newcomers especially those coming from LoL so Valve has to do a good job with their tutorial system and features to keep them to stay playing(especially LoL players). In LoL's case, the biggest drawback is the F2P model, it's not self sustainable like DOTA 2's workshop and totally affects gameplay; one bad move and it'll lose players. Either way both companies have good marketing so I won't worry that much.