
With a total of 14 abilities at his disposal, the Invoker is considered by many to be the most complex character in any MOBA game. Another distinguishing factor of Dota 2's hero pool is the Invoker-playable proof of the wide variety of heroes available in the game. These powerful spells come at a cost-the mana required to cast these spells is usually high-which prevents them from being used constantly. Dota heroes have much more explosive power with the ability to execute combos that usually leads to battles that last only a few seconds. It makes up for it by having a diverse pool of heroes that are able to build items to satisfy different roles. The comparatively lesser emphasis on skillshots doesn't mean that Dota 2 isn't a skill-driven game. He's clearly asking for me to push his buttons. Destroying the nexus or ancient is the only way to end the game without forcing a surrender vote. As the end of the game approaches, teams usually start to stick together to knock down towers and eventually the base structures-the melee and ranged barracks in Dota 2 and the inhibitors in LoL which strengthens creep waves. The later section of both games is reserved for team fighting and coordinated pushes to try and reach the enemy base. Laning is usually a matter of last hitting while throwing out a spell or two to try and push your opponent out of lane. You'll be casting your spells far more often than you do in Dota 2 because of LoL's emphasis on skillshots and low mana costs. The first kill might take place 10 minutes into a match, but that isn't to say that the game is any slower paced. League of Legends is a little less chaotic. Fights in Dota 2 are quite a bit like food fights-you look around to make sure no one's watching, then let loose a few cups of pudding or an Arcane Bolt or two. During a game, it's not uncommon to see first blood claimed only a few minutes in. It usually only takes a second or two for the first casualty in a fight. Once a team commits to a fight, enemies will be stunned and spells will be unleashed. You'll still earn a slow trickle of gold over time, but killing a few extra minions can be the difference between buying the item that you need or missing out on XP for nothing.īattles are more frequent and abrupt in Dota 2. Wait until the minion gets low enough for you to kill it with a single attack before you hit it. Last-hitting minions is your primary means of accruing gold. Last hitting-delivering the killing blow to a minion-is likely the most fundamental skill you'll have to learn to play either game. Some champions with more than four abilities also require the use of other keys like D and F. Dota 2 does things a little differently with the number keys reserved for control groups-similarly to StarCraft-and Z, X, C, V, B and N bound to your item slots. League of Legends uses Q, W, E and R for your main abilities with D and F reserved for summoner spells. Left-clicking selects units while right-clicking moves your character or attacks. These are top-down games where you control your champion or hero alongside four other players in five-on-five fantasy action. If you've ever played any sort of RTS, then the basic layout of LoL and Dota should be at least somewhat familiar. Carry : A hero or champion that is farmed or fed and can carry a team to victory.Skillshot : An ability that needs to be aimed.b : Back-used to tell someone to be careful, literally move back, or return to base.


Lane : The paths that run along the top, middle and bottom of the map also refers to the minion waves in the lane.Farm : The act of killing minions to collect gold also refers to the number of minions you've killed.Creep or Minion : AI-controlled monsters that are regularly spawned to push down the various lanes.MOBA : Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, a mix between RTS and action with players controlling a single, main character.Be warned, both of these games have pretty steep learning curves, but it shouldn't take long to grasp the basics.
