League of Legends and Dota 2 players are often at odds about which game is harder, more demanding of skill, and every other vague criterion imaginable. But which is really the better game?
Despite the many similarities between the two MOBA games, not many players end up reaching the top levels of both, but there are a few. A top-ranked LoL player made the jump to Dota 2 and has spent some time getting familiar with Valve’s MOBA. They took to social media to compare and contrast the two games.
The player was generally positive regarding the Dota 2 experience despite primarily coming from a League of Legends background, where they reached the Challenger rank. Challenger is the top rank in League of Legends, and the huge player base of the game makes hitting this rank a massive feat. That skill in LoL translated well to Dota 2, where they’ve achieved Immortal rank in just two months of play.
The primary difference between the two games is the differing emphasis on micro play against macro play. League of Legends has constant execution demands with each champion being built around skill shots. Dota 2 has a larger emphasis in out-strategizing opponents.
“Dota is able to reconciliate (sic) macro and micro, while League is strictly focusing on micro. Riot Games has turned everything into skillshots. Everything is revolving around the lack of turn rates to win the game by dodging the highest amount of spells…The micro play rules the game, leaving almost nothing to the macro play when most of the champions are countered by walking left or right instead of picking or putting the correct ally against the correct enemy,” they said.
Another key difference was the ability to “one-trick” in League of Legends. Even at the professional level of LoL, elite talents can thrive with just four or five champions played at a high level. That’s impossible to do in Dota 2, where pro players can play many more heroes in just one event.
Dota 2 and League of Legends are equally hard to play. They ultimately just prioritize different things that will make one game harder than the other depending on the individual player.
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WIN.gg previously spoke with Dota 2 pro Ylli “garter” Ramadani, who looked to pivot into professional League of Legends. Parsing between the two is difficult as LoL can require intense drilling for champions while Dota 2 has micro-intensive heroes like Meepo, Visage, and Chen. The numerous mobility options in Dota 2 also changes how core mechanics fit together, particularly for melee bruisers like the Primal Beast.
Both games have their challenges, but it’s impossible to deny that becoming a pro League player is much more difficult than becoming a pro Dota 2 player. With LoL boasting many more users than are on the entirety of Steam, much less than those who actually play Dota 2, the increased competition makes it harder to rise to the top.
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