Dota 2 has been one of the most popular games on Steam for 10 years now. Of course, after the recent announcement of Counter-Strike 2, Valve's peak online MOBA has noticeably dipped, giving way to Global Offensive in first place. Another important reason for the outflow of players was the long non-release of major updates and the lack of interesting events. In recent years, the developers have been sluggish in supporting their most successful game - the 7.33 update, which was released today, we hope will shake up both the game and the gaming community.
One way or another, if you still want to try something new, but at the same time stay inside your favorite genre, we have collected the top games that are worth considering. Some of the projects even overtook Dota 2 not only in terms of the number of active users but also in terms of content quality.
League of Legends
League of Legends is the main competitor of Dota 2. And in terms of the number of active users, it is the most popular MOBA in the gaming industry. It's hard to believe, but next year, in 2024, League of Legends will be 15 years old. During all this time, the game has noticeably prettier, overgrown with content, and has become a real cult with accompanying board games, TV series, pop music groups, fighting games, chess, a mobile version, and so on.
The "war" between Dota 2 and League of Legends fans has not subsided to this day. Some criticize LoL for its cartoon-Asian visual, not the most convenient launcher, and the lack of voice chat. Others throw stones at the Valve project for monotonous characters, vague player roles, a gloomy atmosphere, and in general - “Valve is peeping ideas from Riot.” Judging by the latest updates to Dota 2, it really seems that League of Legends sets the standard for MOBA games, which are then exploited by other studios.
After the release of the mobile League of Legends: Wild Rift and the animated series Arcane (Arcane: League of Legends), the Russian-speaking community of players has grown significantly. Now you can safely play the PC version of LoL and not listen to different comments from a toxic dotter. League of Legends fans are growing every day.
Despite the similarity in genre, League of Legends is very different from Dota 2. It has a different approach to ADK, support, jungler and killing large monsters (was it now in elvish? - ed. note). Most of the characters in LoL have unique mechanics and provide a unique gaming experience. Some of them don't have mana and their abilities can be used all the time, while other heroes don't have the most standard type of interface and game design. Riot regularly holds events and adds new characters. Active support of the game has allowed League of Legends not to lose popularity for 15 years. Just give this game a chance - it's more likely to surprise you.
Awesomenauts
Awesomenauts is a 2D MOBA game. We can say that the same Dota 2, but only in the form of a platformer. Ronimo Studio managed to keep the important gameplay features of the MOBA genre: chic and original characters, divided into map lines, roles, and unique item builds.
Awesomenauts came out in 2012 and is still popular today. On Steam, the game has 84% positive reviews. Users are delighted with well-developed characters, a cool soundtrack, colorful graphics stylized as games of the 80s, and subtle humor that can be found in the description of objects and characters.
Despite the simple visuals and non-standard MOBA "flat" look, Awesomenauts is quite a difficult game for beginners, not as friendly as Dota 2 or League of Legends. Most active users are fans with thousands of hours played.
Due to imperfect matchmaking, “green” newcomers get into the team of professionals, who will definitely “ruin” the game. Often, a newcomer quits the game in the middle of a match, and a bot takes his place - every second session ends with a battle of bots against bots. Awesomenauts doesn't have a serious punishment system.
If you want to try something new and you are not afraid of difficulties due to changing the camera view, you should definitely try this game. It's completely free on Steam.
Brawl Stars
It's hard to believe that Brawl Stars belongs to the MOBA genre. The popularity of the game in recent years has become so huge that videos on YouTube and TikTok collect millions of views. Supercell wanted to create a game in the vein of League of Legends and Overwatch on smartphones but created a phenomenon that captured the minds of gamers from the younger age category.
Brawl Stars does not follow the standard MOBA scheme but borrows key mechanics. The core of the gameplay is the battle of one team against another. Due to the large number of game modes, the conditions for winning may be different. An important condition for victory is the correct choice of a character with unique skills and superpowers. As in League of Legends, you need to open characters for credits, and all other gadgets and items - for in-game coins.
Despite the obvious bias towards a younger audience, Brawl Stars is not the easiest game for beginners. In the five years since its release, the project has formed a huge audience that spends thousands of hours with a smartphone in their hands, honing their skills.
Unfortunately, due to forced circumstances, the developers have removed Brawl Stars from the App Store and Google Play stores. Now the game can only be downloaded by workarounds.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Until the release of mobile League of Legends: Wild Rift, Mobile Legends was the main MOBA on smartphones. In fact, this is a frank copy of League of Legends. Riot Games has been trying to sue the developers of Mobile Legends for years, but since Moonton is located in China, all claims are rejected. Even giant Tencent couldn't handle Moonton's audacity and in 2022 paid the studio compensation for defamation. At the same time, the developers copy all the elements of League of Legends - from the key design to small items. And they get away with everything. Why? Because Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is one of the most popular mobile games in Asia, bringing in hundreds of millions of dollars to creators.
Mobile Legends got into our top because of its popularity and developed system of esports tournaments . While mobile Wild Rift is growing and growing, Mobile Legends already has millions of active players, giving anyone the chance to become a pro without expensive equipment, a special gaming mouse, and a powerful PC. It is enough to download the game to your smartphone and start investing your time in improving your skill.
Mobile Legends is quite easy to learn - the game is understandable to any fan of the MOBA genre. If you want original content, unbalanced matchmaking, and constant rebalancing, then install League of Legends: Wild Rift. And if you are burning with the desire to become a professional esportsman and enjoy an already polished product, then you need to go to Mobile Legends. Despite the plagiarism, the game is not bad.
Paladins
Paladins is another MOBA, only from the world of shooters. Like Mobile Legends, the game has often been accused of plagiarism and theft of Overwatch and Team Fortress 2 mechanics. And yes, borrowings are visible to the naked eye. The project incorporated elements from all Blizzard games, featuring a Frankenstein monster with horses from Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch gameplay, and collectible cards from Hearthstone.
The core gameplay is similar to Overwatch but with a few caveats. You will not be able to take another character into the match if you accidentally choose the wrong one for the situation. Each hero has several abilities and passive skills that need to be pumped. If you assemble the build incorrectly, then professional shooting skills will not save you.
Even with the obvious similarities to a Blizzard game, Paladins is still more of a MOBA than a shooter. Hitboxes are much larger, there is a collection of builds, the purchase of items, and the placement of legendary cards. The gameplay itself provides a completely different experience when compared to Overwatch. Not just because Paladins has a fairly large audience and 85% positive reviews.
Paladins is completely free, and therefore, against the background of the paid first Overwatch, it had an advantage. With the release of the free-to-play Overwatch 2, the audience of Paladins on PC has noticeably decreased, and active players have remained only in the console versions.
Arena of Valor
Another Chinese clone of League of Legends focused on the Asian market. It gained particular popularity with the release on the Nintendo Switch, where there are still no other MOBA games from the stars of the genre. Before the release of the mobile Wild Rift, the game was the main competitor of Mobile Legends. Tencent Corporation wanted to capture the mobile market as soon as possible and prevent competitors from gaining a foothold, so they did not wait for the mobile version of LoL from Riot Games but released the hastily assembled Arena of Valor.
It's funny, but Arena of Valor appealed to many players, gaining a foothold in the MOBA entertainment market. Now this project is a serious competitor not only to Mobile Legends but also to Wild Rift, which is published by the same Tencent. In general, the history of the emergence of Arena of Valor deserves a separate story, its development was accompanied by constant lawsuits, disputes, and accusations of plagiarism. It's funny that Asian developers in most cases copy the game design of League of Legends, not paying attention to the merits of Dota 2.
Arena of Valor sets itself apart from other MOBA games with its unique modes and approach to cyber discipline. It has a very large audience of active players and quite large cash rewards in tournaments. The game is free but with standard microtransactions for the genre.
Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm is Blizzard's failed attempt to take over the MOBA market. Of particular interest is the fact that the first Dota itself was originally a modification to Warcraft 3, but the developers from Blizzard so mediocrely ignored its popularity among millions of players. Only after the success of Valve's Dota 2 did the studio bosses realize that they had missed a goldmine that could feed them more satisfyingly than World of Warcraft.
In the wake of the hype of MOBA projects, Blizzard hastily assembles Heroes of the Storm without copying Dota 2's key features and game design, as the Asian developers from the example games above did. Hots brings a fresh approach to gameplay, non-standard character development, and unique modes. The developers cut out all the complex and intricate features from the usual MOBA plot, leaving only the most interesting and understandable elements for a beginner. Character leveling depends on the experience of the whole team, and there are no shops with equipment at all. It can be said that the game is a casual Dota 2, but at the same time, it has a double bottom in the gameplay, which is revealed with a long study.
Heroes of the Storm gives you the opportunity to get acquainted with the basic gameplay of the MOBA genre, without delving into the economy and the assembly of builds from items. Since 2022, the game has stopped receiving major updates. The developers continue to maintain the servers and monitor their stability.
Smite
Smite is another non-standard representative of the MOBA genre from the authors of Paladins. A kind of "Dota 2 with a third-person view", in which representatives of the mythologies of different cultures became game characters. If Paladins took only some gameplay elements from MOBA and is similar in gameplay to Overwatch, then Smite is a classic representative of the genre. All the key MOBA features are in place: role distribution, clearing the forest, buying items, and pumping more capable.
In nine years, the game has grown significantly, receiving a ton of diverse content. If earlier Smite was simple and understandable for beginners, now it has turned into a real university for learning game mechanics. Hardcore gamers with hundreds of hours of play can't stomach new users and try to avoid them. Because of this, Smite becomes difficult to digest and understand the deep mechanics. Also, fans constantly scold the innovations and do not approve of the developers' attempts to rejuvenate the game - the rating on Steam has fallen to 79% of positive reviews.
Smite is a unique project for those who are tired of Dota 2 and want to take a different look at their favorite genre. The game is absolutely free, but it has paid content.
pokemon unite
MOBA with Pokemon - what else to add? Nintendo knows how to entice players and push giants like Dota 2 and League of Legends. Everyone loves Pokemon, and games with their participation are sold out better than large AAA projects.
In Pokémon Unite, you do not need to destroy the base (throne) of the enemy team, but you need to earn points. If in Dota 2 we get levels for pumping a character, then here we select a certain Pokemon and help it evolve into a powerful individual as quickly as possible. Most battles take place in the forest, where players try to defeat wild Pokémon and earn points. Purchasing items and special equipment is available.
Pokémon Unite takes a unique approach to game design and delivers a new gaming experience. Even if you've never been a Pokemon fan and missed the hype around them, this game is still worth a try, if only for the sake of new experiences. It's completely free to download to your smartphone or Nintendo Switch, but the microtransactions are pretty tough.
Dungeon Hunter Champions
Dungeon Hunter Champions is another mobile MOBA from the notorious Gameloft studio. After the failed clones of Diablo, the developers decided to retrain and create a serious competitor to Wild Rift and Mobile Legends. The main distinguishing feature of the project is the collection of characters, like in some shit game. Gameloft has added more than 250 heroes to Champions, but learning to play them is not necessary, there is an auto-battle option. Whether that's good or bad is up to you.
Dungeon Hunter Champions has absorbed absolutely everything - adventure, story, MOBA, role-playing elements, and the above-mentioned gatya with autoboy. Judging by the numerous feedback from the players, the project turned out to be very versatile, trying to attract as many audiences as possible. But Gameloft forgot the main rule of life: it is impossible to sit on two chairs (and there are even more chairs here). Some criticize the MOBA mode for a clear flaw in the balance, others - for adventures and raids on bosses.
Dungeon Hunter Champions is for those who like to collect heroes and earn in-game currency without much difficulty in battles. It is important to note that players themselves choose how to upgrade characters.
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