Comparing Dota to LoL

Introduction

I'm LucariStar. I"ve played both Dota and LoL quite a bit. I quit LoL a while back when I had (finally) got my beta key.

When I watch Dota vids on popular channels like DotaCinema and LuminousInverse, there are always discussions about whether LoL or Dota is the better game. IMHO, neither of them is better. Both are MOBA, but the styles in the two games differ greatly. So I don't mind when someone says: I think LoL is more fun than Dota. I don't care, I'll respect your opinion.

What I HATE is when I see people say: LoL is better than Dota because Dota is a copy of LoL. Sir, get your facts right. Dota came before LoL. Many Champions (Twisted Fate, Karthus) are a copy of Dota, at least inspired by. 90% of Dota heroes were out before LoL was even created.

When people say: LoL is better because Dota heroes are OP, that's fine. IMO, some are. The facts are pretty straight, so I can accept the thought.

In this guide(?), I will explore explain the differences between the games by presenting a multitude of FACTS, leaving opinions behind.

X game copied Y

-

Dota was released first. IceFrog (the THIRD developer) took over in 2005, LoL started in 2009
-Guinsoo, the developer of Champions like TF, Shen, NuNu, Karthus, worked in Dota first
-Rylai's Crystal Scepter is based of Rylai Crestfall the Crystal Maiden of Dota

-Clockwork was out before Amumu
-Warlock was out before Annie
-Pudge was out before Blitzcrank
-Drow was out before Ashe
-Lich was out before Brand
-Axe was out before Darius
-Jugg was out before Fiora
-This can go on
-Yeah


Summary

IF X game copied Y, then X would be LoL and Y would be Dota. So I don't believe the argument Dota copied LoL is valid, but LoL copied Dota is fine.

X game is harder than Y

Well lets see.
It was clear to me, even before I began to type this, that Dota is harder.
But let's see what LoL has going for itself.

-Summoner spells. A LoL Champion can have 6 active spells and 1 passive to Dota hero's 4 actives. But, most summoner spells can be purchased in Dota as items(Flash/Blink Dagger, Ghost/Phase Boots).

-Runes and Masteries. These create new ways to build a Champion and new ways you have to deal with them. If you normally deal with a certain Champion without considering Runes/Masteries, you're in trouble.

-Dragon & Baron to just Roshan

But look at Dota.

-There are many more viable team-strats in Dota. (Navi push strat, Chinese turtle Strat)
-Hero roles are more defined in Dota. In LoL, its Tank, Jungler, Support, AP, AD. In Dota, it's classified as carry, support, ganker, jungler, initiator, babysitter, tank, semi-carry, pusher (not the player, the player's role is classified as "feeder"), and disabler.
-Early game, mid game, late game have more definite times than LoL. In an average LoL game, the late games of both teams should be pretty even as there are always only 2 carries (AP, AD). In Dota, some line-ups must win early-mid, or they will lose late. What I'm trying to say is time is essential in Dota, but not so much in LoL
-In Dota, Observer wards have CD. There is such thing as using sentries to counter-ward in Dota, but in LoL it's just using Oracle's Elixir.
-High ground vision in Dota
-Runes make the heroes who get the runes much more dangerous than the buffs in LoL
-Bottle, crow, TP scoll, and Smoke of Deceit of Dota are just invaluable parts of Dota that makes the game so much more interesting
-Most active items in Dota than LoL.
-Trees are much more complex as a FOW modifier than brush
-Overall more mechanics in Dota

X game has a better scene than Y

The answer is LoL has a better scene than Dota. LoL currently has more active players than Dota. LoL also has the greater monetary prize pool than Dota currently. But, Dota has more tournaments per year than LoL, and Dota is still in beta (at Dota 2 is). There are still many players in Dota 1 right now, so this question is unsolved for now. But currently ( July 11, 2012), LoL has a better scene than Dota.

There are also a bunch of mean people in Dota, not so much in LoL. I'M talking ingame here. There are not as many flamers in LoL than Dota. But the funny thing for me is that outside game, there are a bunch of LoL players hating on Dota videos after watching said Dota video. Why would you watch a vid just to flame it... I've never seen Dota players flame LoL vids yet.

All heroes are op, all Champions are balanced

Lets bring math into this logic. Say all Champions are balanced, so let's assume all Champions have a power level of Y (Y is a stand-in for the word "balanced"). So everyone is Y, Y=Y, everyone is equal. Now, say all heroes are op, so let's assume all heroes have a power level of X (X is a stand-in for the word "OP"). So everyone is X, X=X, everyone is equal.

Of course, in every game, there are more favored characters (Jax/Ahri and Dark Seer/Lycan) and less favored characters (Yorick/Volibear and Bristleback/Centaur). These characters aren't stronger/weaker, but they just have bonuses/flaws that allows/stops them from getting into the metagame. If ever the Dota metagame evolved into a more tank-carry one, Bristleback and Centaur would become awesome heroes. The problem with Yorick/Volibear getting into the metagame is the simple fact that the metagame in LoL will never change. There will always be AP mid, ad jungler, ad bot, support bot. That leaves only the slot of solo top available. It is unlikely that the metagame will evolve off that. It is equally unlikely that Riot will buff those Champions so much they get into the metagame just off being OP because, as stated, all Champions are balanced.

The major difference in heroes and Champions is the skill level. In LoL, for the most part, all Champions are equally difficult to play. In Dota however, you simply cannot compare the skills required to play Meepo to that of a Lich. Not saying either hero is bad. What I'm trying to say is that the skill difference between Meepo/Invoker to CM/Lich is just not comparable to the small gap between TF/Orianna and NuNu/Yi.

One reason is in Dota, you can control more than 1 unit. Many heroes have summons that you can control (treants, lycan wolves). In LoL, Champions can summon units, but they can't control them. Other things like Orb Walking are just not present in LoL.

Lastly, heroes like Silencer and Earthshaker, are difficult to play simply because the positioning in a teamfight is so extreme and no Champion can compare. It is also much easier to position in LoL due to Flash, while not every hero in Dota buys Blink Dagger/Force Staff.