Hots Vs LoL? your thoughts?

[Leyre]

Dota=Runescape
Lol=WoW
HotS=Chinese MMO

[Ichifails]

Heroes is more simple on the surface but anyone who says that Heroes is easier is honestly ignorant.

Just out of curiosity, what was your peak rank in both games? If in LoL it was anything below D3 pre mid 2014 or D1 after, you can't really compare the games. Same goes for HotS, if your rank is below Master you can't really compare the two.

I was almost Challenger in LoL in S4 as exclusively support so I had no idea how to properly attack move or stutter step. I took a break from playing MOBA games till winter 2015 and focused on being a remote analyst for LCS/CS LoL teams. I started playing HotS that winter on my alpha account that was level 27, got to 30 and jumped into ranked where I played Raynor/Jaina and I was shit at the start so I got placed @Rank 34. After I got used to the game a bit I got to rank 1 in under 40 games (50 total with placements) and won 13/15 games I played at rank 1.

Team fighting in HotS simply feels bad because literally no one knows how to stutter step and ability animations are slow so even someone with bad reflexes as myself could dodge most stuff or Raynor Q intrerrupt gap closers. For example, I rarely see an immobile mage like Jaina auto attack in HotS however when I played her, auto attacks were my highest damage source. Having multiple maps simply feels like it restricts creativity and limits what you can do because if you choose to ignore the OBJECTIVE, you straight up lose.

On the hand, LoL is at a point where knowledge just trumps everything. If your game knowledge is at a high enough level you can literally tell if you will win/go equal/lose a lane based on the way your enemy is moving in lane or which/what/when he attacks in the minion wave. Even if it's a single map, there are multiple win conditions and in order to win a game, you must take care of almost every single one of them.

Let's take last hitting for example: You know both team compositions and you should also know what every champion wants to build in general and in specific situations. You should know the cost of the items and the value of minions. With that information, you can pay attention to which minions your enemy kills so you'll have a very good idea of how much gold he has. You can then force trades in such a way that you make him go back to base with not even gold to buy a good item for his champion and also you having enough gold for your items(through better CS or winning the trade when he goes for big creeps such as cannons). Doing this multiple times (most of the time at high elo once is enough) will allow you to hit item spikes faster. Hitting item spikes faster means you can not only snowball your own lane but also win most team fights you are involved in or roam to give your other team members and advantage.
That's something very simplistic but with high impact that literally stems from proper cs/wave management. There's a lot more to this particular example and there are a lot more examples like this that simply can not be replicated in HotS, the ways you can improve, the strategical depth or what you can analyze in HotS seems to be very restricted or one dimensional because the lack of some features like item shop, last hitting, multiple win conditions, etc.

[Poppincaps]

Just out of curiosity, what was your peak rank in both games? If in LoL it was anything below D3 pre mid 2014 or D1 after, you can't really compare the games. Same goes for HotS, if your rank is below Master you can't really compare the two.

I was almost Challenger in LoL in S4 as exclusively support so I had no idea how to properly attack move or stutter step. I took a break from playing MOBA games till winter 2015 and focused on being a remote analyst for LCS/CS LoL teams. I started playing HotS that winter on my alpha account that was level 27, got to 30 and jumped into ranked where I played Raynor/Jaina and I was shit at the start so I got placed @Rank 34. After I got used to the game a bit I got to rank 1 in under 40 games (50 total with placements) and won 13/15 games I played at rank 1.

Team fighting in HotS simply feels bad because literally no one knows how to stutter step and ability animations are slow so even someone with bad reflexes as myself could dodge most stuff or Raynor Q intrerrupt gap closers. For example, I rarely see an immobile mage like Jaina auto attack in HotS however when I played her, auto attacks were my highest damage source. Having multiple maps simply feels like it restricts creativity and limits what you can do because if you choose to ignore the OBJECTIVE, you straight up lose.

On the hand, LoL is at a point where knowledge just trumps everything. If your game knowledge is at a high enough level you can literally tell if you will win/go equal/lose a lane based on the way your enemy is moving in lane or which/what/when he attacks in the minion wave. Even if it's a single map, there are multiple win conditions and in order to win a game, you must take care of almost every single one of them.

Let's take last hitting for example: You know both team compositions and you should also know what every champion wants to build in general and in specific situations. You should know the cost of the items and the value of minions. With that information, you can pay attention to which minions your enemy kills so you'll have a very good idea of how much gold he has. You can then force trades in such a way that you make him go back to base with not even gold to buy a good item for his champion and also you having enough gold for your items(through better CS or winning the trade when he goes for big creeps such as cannons). Doing this multiple times (most of the time at high elo once is enough) will allow you to hit item spikes faster. Hitting item spikes faster means you can not only snowball your own lane but also win most team fights you are involved in or roam to give your other team members and advantage.
That's something very simplistic but with high impact that literally stems from proper cs/wave management. There's a lot more to this particular example and there are a lot more examples like this that simply can not be replicated in HotS, the ways you can improve, the strategical depth or what you can analyze in HotS seems to be very restricted or one dimensional because the lack of some features like item shop, last hitting, multiple win conditions, etc.

I don't know how you can say that Heroes doesn't have multiple win conditions. Especially on maps like Temple of Doom.

Regardless, you listed off things that add complexity, but don't make necessarily make the game harder. Also your post is very biased. I could list off several points you made about League that also apply to Heroes. But ultimately, I am confident in my love of Heroes and I don't feel the need to defend it or convince others of its merits.

If you love League more, then more power to you.

[Thelxi]

Lol is infinitely better than HotS imo for one very simple reason: it has reasonable matchmaking. Nothing else matters when your matchmaking is garbage.

I do think HotS did some things right, like removing last hitting and gold.

I don't like HotS' aesthetic. It is cartoony, but not in a good way like WoW. It looks ugly imo, the entire art direction for the game is in poor taste imo. Impossible to take seriously. Meanwhile LoL has stepped up their game hugely in the art department. I'm very picky when it comes to art, but much of what Riot has been doing for the past couple of years has genuinely impressed me.

When it comes down to it, LoL>HotS.

[Ichifails]

Regardless, you listed off things that add complexity, but don't make necessarily make the game harder. Also your post is very biased. I could list off several points you made about League that also apply to Heroes. But ultimately, I am confident in my love of Heroes and I don't feel the need to defend it or convince others of its merits.

If you love League more, then more power to you.

Oh you can love it as much as you want and try to justify it with whatever makes sense to you. However objectively HotS is worse in every competitive/complexity aspect when compared to LoL or DotA2.

[Frozen Death Knight]

I don't like HotS' aesthetic. It is cartoony, but not in a good way like WoW. It looks ugly imo, the entire art direction for the game is in poor taste imo. Impossible to take seriously. Meanwhile LoL has stepped up their game hugely in the art department. I'm very picky when it comes to art, but much of what Riot has been doing for the past couple of years has genuinely impressed me.

Strange, because I find the art direction in LoL to be as ordinary as they come. WarCraft and other Blizzard influences on the MOBA genre as a whole are very prevalent in games like LoL and DOTA 2, both from a gameplay and an aesthetic viewpoint. While LoL is at least a bit more original than DOTA 2's art direction which is borderline rip-off at times, it is nothing to write home about.

Anyway, if talking about very strong art direction in video games, then you should look elsewhere than the MOBA genre. There are so many influential games out there that dwarf anything this genre can muster.

[Highdark]

Hots- Casual, League- serious. I currently only play hots. I used to play league but got tired of the repetition. Hots shorter games and unique heros won me over. I like broing out with cho gall or being everywhere with abathur

[DesoPL]

HOTS is less toxic. League is more punishing. Dota is the most punishing of the three.

HOTS offers a hell of a lot more real options, but I wonder if it's because the meta just hasn't had time to settle in the way League's has. I personally like the talent system more than the store system, but I do find myself occasionally wishing I could buy a tank item on Chromie after seeing Illidan ult me for the 7th time in the same game, 100-0 me and skate away as if nothing happened. :<

HOTS' random maps make some characters unplayable due to excelling on one map but being awful on another(Abathur comes to mind).

League is way more toxic due to the "I can carry every game" mindset. With team-wide power gain, the games are less spikey, in terms of power, and lend themselves towards more team-oriented thinking. It's not uncommon for side lanes, in league, to not see their friendlies for 10-15 minutes. In HOTS, it's rare to go 2 minutes without one of them crossing into your lane.

HOTS' objectives are so varied and interesting - while league has 2 Major objectives that spawn at 20 minutes and 35 minutes, and a handful of minor objectives on the rift. Generally, the only way League's objectives are captured are either sneaked or on the back of a large loss on the opponents team(lost team fight, dead jungler, etc.)

Both games are good, in my mind. Riot needs to chill with the reworks changing balanced champions(50% win rate on the nose) into broken overpowered mess that Rengar is today, or the depressing mess that Ryze has become after his..what..4th rework? HOTS, on the other hand, just needs to learn to balance heroes on release. I see that 65% win rate Ragnaros.

Now comes to my mind, what win ratio got Gul'Dan when he was released, since i forgot.

I kinda agree at some points here for example. On second brawl match today, i encountered setup where was 1 butcher and 2 novas. How the hell i should win this? i didin't make yet 3 wins steak in any brawls due to troll setups in brawls i got. ;/

Also... I would consider not be taken serious LoL... Community is pure toxic, well HOTS as well but in less scale for now. Also at least when i asked for issues with HOTS i got by ticket system, at least i got reasonable answer and treated as valuable customer. While in LoL when i contacted support, i feeled i talked with bots.

[shonist]

And why are we comparing them?

[Lightning-]

I don't know which is better, but I have way more fun playing Hots. It's easier, faster and I really enjoy the Blizzard characters.

[BananaHandsB]

While I do agree LoL and DOTA are more hardcore/competitive than HoTs, I think the sacrifices HoTs has made in the hardcore department have ultimately made the game much more fun than its counterparts, without completely sacrificing the esport/hardcore viability.

[Treeskee]

Dota=Runescape
Lol=WoW
HotS=Chinese MMO

Sure glad you were here to sort that out!

And why are we comparing them?

If you can't be bothered to read the OP or article and make a real contribution, no one is forcing you to post in this.

I think the fact that you can just single-handedly carry is what actually keeps a lot of my friends playing LoL over HotS though. I was never amazing, but I was a good enough at supporting the friend I laned with that they would easily be able to make up for my lack of skill. Which like the article says... Is a lot harder in HoTS (especially when the bad players just ignore objectives outright making victory impossible).

[shonist]

Sure glad you were here to sort that out!



If you can't be bothered to read the OP or article and make a real contribution, no one is forcing you to post in this.

I think the fact that you can just single-handedly carry is what actually keeps a lot of my friends playing LoL over HotS though. I was never amazing, but I was a good enough at supporting the friend I laned with that they would easily be able to make up for my lack of skill. Which like the article says... Is a lot harder in HoTS (especially when the bad players just ignore objectives outright making victory impossible).

Yes, after reading, failing to understand the reasons to compare different games.

[De Lupe]

Played League for about a week before the unfriendly environment (both the gameplay and other players) made me glad I uninstalled it.

Been playing HotS since beta and I still enjoy it. HotS wins for me, every time. Guess that's why I prefer Smash Bros. Over Street Fighter.

[Shiny212]

Different games, HOTS is alot more relaxing to play, but in turn also alot less exciting. HOTS doesn't punish players for playing badly nearly as hard, but in turn also doesn't reward players as much for playing really well.

A good game in LoL feels infinitely better than a good game of HOTS.

[hulkgor]

Dota2 and LOL are full-fledged mobas, each with its own pros and cons.

HotS is a different thing... instant teamfighting action with no downtime\build up, in very quick games.

I'd never play HotS 'seriously' or for ranked play, but it is fun to just run a couple of games with a couple of friends.

[Thoughtful Trolli]

That one Riot Games developer who said they had to keep "Summoner's Rift" official and avoid adding new maps to create the atmosphere of authenticity nailed it.

There will NEVER be reliable HOTS tournaments because... What fucking map are they playing on?

[Frozen Death Knight]

That one Riot Games developer who said they had to keep "Summoner's Rift" official and avoid adding new maps to create the atmosphere of authenticity nailed it.

There will NEVER be reliable HOTS tournaments because... What fucking map are they playing on?

That is such a stupid reason, to be frank. What, so because a game like Counter-Strike has multiple maps that are played on a competitive level, it can therefore not be taken seriously for tournament play? Yet strangely enough, the game has been regarded as one of the top competitive games ever made. See how little sense that logic makes? This is also coming from a guy who doesn't even like CS.

As for LoL needing to be played on the same map, Riot put that limitation on themselves. Their entire balance and character design philosophy are based around having to play on a single map, which is not an easy mindset to get out of. Still, at this point in time there is probably no incentive for Riot to add a new competitive map in LoL. They would have to rethink their design strategies for a soon decade old game to make it work, which is probably not what they wish to do for such a successful game.

[Fabray]

That one Riot Games developer who said they had to keep "Summoner's Rift" official and avoid adding new maps to create the atmosphere of authenticity nailed it.

There will NEVER be reliable HOTS tournaments because... What fucking map are they playing on?

In my head I tell myself that right after you posted this, you realized what a silly point it was. No one could actually think this logic makes any sense. Makes me feel better about the Internet, and people in general.

[Ham on Rye]

HOTS, on the other hand, just needs to learn to balance heroes on release. I see that 65% win rate Ragnaros.

But why would people spend money to buy the hero if it wasn't better than other heroes?