DOTA2 or LoL?

[Issurru]

[sub]Welcome, to the League of Cleavers[/sub]

I thought they fixed the "League of Cleavers" by nerfing them to make them go from hilariously broken to just somewhat broken andeveryone and their dogs takes one iinstead of 5. Also Draven called, he wants his league back.

OT : I would say LoL at the moment. Got my beta key for Dota 2 awhile ago but never used it yet, still stuck on LoL. Although if it's community is anything like LoL's, find friends and play with them almost exclusively the amount of ragers in LoL is ridiculous, you mess up once and at least one person will type in all chat "report for noob/feeding/whatever" and it's really annoying. But depending on how competitive you and your friends are be somewhat choosy. You might lose a few if you play with them.

Also, is there a League of Legends group on the escapist even? If not someone should make it. I would but I'm currently using a phone for Internet and it's terrible

 

[Mathew de Detrich]

Having been one of the original beta testers for LoL, and playing DotA since 5.84b, here is my general rundown

LoL attempted to solve the issues that DotA had regarding making the game more approachable, and they did this in numerous ways including
- Allow easy hosting of games (server side)
- Making it more accessible (familiar client, auto uploading)
- Removing a lot of dota2 mechanics
- Adding other layers such as runes and masteries

The problem with LoL though, is although they removed a lot of mechanics, they never replaced that with mechanics that provided the depth that DotA had. DotA, granted, has a lot of silly mechanics, but they are silly for the reason they are unintuitive, not that they don't add depth to the game. Denying is a common one that is brought up a lot, even though it doesn't make any sense (killing your own units, WTF?) it does actually add depth (like you have to CHOOSE between last hitting and denying, you can't do both at the same time, and it matters especially for certain heroes, like Shadow Fiend who are designed to dominate mid lane).

The only real mechanic that LoL added was grass to try and promote skill that was in DotA regarding FoW in trees. Unfortunately it didn't do that at all, instead its basically just used as a camp spot for ganking and hiding.

Even worse, some of the mechanics that LoL did remove were actual very intuitive and did add depth to the game, a very good example is FoW and trees (its intuitive because everyone naturally understands how fog of war/vision works, and it adds a lot of depth regarding ganking and counter ganking)

The other thing with LoL, is that runes and masteries are basically meaningless (especially when you reach lvl 30) because the same heroes are just given the same runes/masteries. They were added to provide "customization", but in reality, runes are only used to either
1. Increase the strenghts your heroes already have (mpen,AP for caster based heroes, damgae/apen for physical damage heroes etc etc)
2. Mitigate your weakness's (extra health if you are a low HP champion)
3. A combination of #1 or #2.

However at the end of the day, most people only have 7-8 rune pages and around 12 saved masteries, and the same type of heroes are always given the same mastery/rune pages.

LoL is basically fun when you first start (and probably more addictive than what is considered 'normal') as you try to grind heroes and play through them and find how fun they are. However once that is done, it gets boring. Because of the way the game is designed/balanced (what I said before), lane,item combinations are completely static and the gameplay is a lot less dynamic. You have to have a jungler, you have to have your AP caster in mid, your carry/support in the safe lane and your bruiser at top. This stuff doesn't really change. Item builds are also almost completely static for the majority of the hero pool

Contrast to Dota2, you have a lot more variety and depth. There are many more unique heroes (look at meepo,tinker,slark,chen as good examples), the lane combinations have a lot more depth to them (you don't have to lane the same way with the same type of heroes all the time). The client is also far superior to that of LoL (and it will also be available on MAC when beta finishes). The game is also a lot more skillfull, individual skill shows a lot more in DotA2 than it does in LoL (thats not to say that team work doesn't matter, it does greatly, its just that individual skill matters just as much). Be aware though, DotA2 does have a ridiculous learning curve. You have to play against bots if you are new, and actually watch people play games (its ridiculously easy to watch people play games in the steam client, and you can easily watch tournaments too). Its also recommended that you pick a group of heroes you like, its not like LoL where you are only given 8 to start.

Having a friend that knows DotA to actually guide you through it does help immensely

I have no idea why, but for some odd reason the community is actually nicer in DotA2 compared to LoL, which I found odd having come from DotA wc3 mod which was greatly notorious for its rage

 

[mrhateful]

LoL no contest, dota2 is basically just plain old dota with better graphics where LoL made an effect to improve the concept. LoL is currently the most played game in the world and thats for a very good reason.

 

[SpAc3man]

I prefer DotA 2. Just seems like a deeper game with more unique heroes.

I have heaps of DotA 2 invites. ANYONE who wants one should add me on Steam and I will give you one as soon as I can. I have seven keys to give away.

EDIT: See my profile page for the link to my Steam profile.

 

[mrhateful]

The other thing with LoL, is that runes and masteries are basically meaningless (especially when you reach lvl 30) because the same heroes are just given the same runes/masteries. They were added to provide "customization", but in reality, runes are only used to either
1. Increase the strenghts your heroes already have (mpen,AP for caster based heroes, damgae/apen for physical damage heroes etc etc)
2. Mitigate your weakness's (extra health if you are a low HP champion)
3. A combination of #1 or #2.

However at the end of the day, most people only have 7-8 rune pages and around 12 saved masteries, and the same type of heroes are always given the same mastery/rune pages.

First of you seem to mistake complexity for depth which is not the same. And secondly the Rune and Mastery system adds so much depth to the game that not having it would make the game a lot worse. For instance I play jungler and learning which rune/masteries to take can sometime double my effectiveness in the game and i get lots of enjoyment figuring out which to pick and chose from.

I've been playing LoL for about a year and I don't play a single day without learning something new that increase my tactical knowledge of the game, and that's why the game continues to be fun.

 

[Risingblade]

Well i'm completely into LoL at the moment and although i'm sure DOTA 2 is a good game and I will try it out once I get a new PC denying must be the most anti-fun gameplay mechanic in the history of anything. More anti-fun than YORICK.

You know what we call denying in LoL? Zoning. If you're that far ahead you place yourself in front of your minions so that the other guy can't last hit unless he has something long range like Ezreal's Mystic Shot or very good wave clear. If he comes to last hit you PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE FOR HIS INSOLENCE!

Basically Cassiopeia's full time occupation.

Oh and Blitzcrank zones by going AFK in a bush. It's retardedly effective. Have I ever told you that Ezreal is the best AD Carry in the game? Because Ezreal is the best AD Carry in the game.

Also you don't lose money if you die in LoL. So if you're playing AD Carry you can't get ridiculously shut the fuck down all game long even if you go like 0/4/0 early on. You just pick Vayne and hyper carry your way through to lategame.

I guess everyone being free in DOTA 2 is sort of a positive I suppose... Though I imagine it would be like all the scrubs picking Vayne before lvl 30 or something like that. I remember that tier being full of AD Yi's and Fiddlesticks, simply because everyone is so shit they don't know how to deal with it.

Overall, DOTA 2 is more complex while LoL is more fun. Take your pick.

Oh and it's weird how nobody has in-built passives in DOTA 2. I know people have passives as an ability slot like CM's global mana regen but everybody in LoL has a passive. Imagine Irelia without her completely ridiculous 81% CC reduction passive. It's just not right.

Go for LoL because it's free and stuff. Also Season 3 is HILARIOUSLY BROKEN!

[sub]Welcome, to the League of Cleavers[/sub]

You forgot the part where you will grow to hate Teemo!

 

[Mathew de Detrich]

The other thing with LoL, is that runes and masteries are basically meaningless (especially when you reach lvl 30) because the same heroes are just given the same runes/masteries. They were added to provide "customization", but in reality, runes are only used to either
1. Increase the strenghts your heroes already have (mpen,AP for caster based heroes, damgae/apen for physical damage heroes etc etc)
2. Mitigate your weakness's (extra health if you are a low HP champion)
3. A combination of #1 or #2.

However at the end of the day, most people only have 7-8 rune pages and around 12 saved masteries, and the same type of heroes are always given the same mastery/rune pages.

First of you seem to mistake complexity for depth which is not the same. And secondly the Rune and Mastery system adds so much depth to the game that not having it would make the game a lot worse. For instance I play jungler and learning which rune/masteries to take can sometime double my effectiveness in the game and i get lots of enjoyment figuring out which to pick and chose from.

I've been playing LoL for about a year and I don't play a single day without learning something new that increase my tactical knowledge of the game, and that's why the game continues to be fun.

I am not confusing them, in fact I have actually specifically made the distinction (which I said as intuitive and depth). DotA has more complexity, it also has a lot more depth. LoL removed both complexity and depth from the game, because they simply put, removed a lot of mechanics from DotA which did provide both depth and complexity without adding anything substantial (apart from grass). Some mechanics which were really good and provided depth without complexity (like proper Fog of War with trees) in Dota they also happened to remove

And as for your comment around runes and masteries, it really doesn't add that much depth once you hit 30 and are in mid level games, I have been playing the game for 3 years now, and I have played Dota for like 6 (or however long ago it was since IceFrog took over). Basically, if you are going to jungle, you always get smite (and maybe flash or w/e other summoner spell you want), your runes are going to be something like flat armor, flat damage (or some combination like that) and your masteries are equally going to be the same.

You may be experimenting now, but if we are arguing in the sense of people picking what is actually effective, there is 1-2 rune pages/masteries for each champion. You are, for example, not going to run an AP page on Tryndamere, and you aren't going to run an AD page on Annie (this is actually more of a side effect of Riot not designing their stat system properly and thinking it through). You might have an extra mastery/rune page if your champion is a jungler, but thats about it

 

[Blackdoom]

I would definitely vote for Dota 2 all round I found it to be a more fun game compared to LoL because every thing isn't set in concrete with character roles and you must do at any point including item builds.

I would definitely say Dota is the better game to learn from as all characters are there to begin with instead of being stuck with whatever is free for that week in LoL.

This also brings up another advantage as Dota 2 is free except for cosmetic items which do not matter however if I remember from when I played LoL it was pretty much impossible to get all the characters that you may want in game without paying money unless you played games nonstop and won every single one of them in roughly 20 minutes.

Getting a Dota 2 key isn't exactly an issue as just about anyone who plays it will have at least 5. I personally have 7 which I am trying to get rid of at the moment.

 

[Larcenist]

I used to play DotA on WC3 ages ago and to this date it is still the game I have logged most hours on. It just pushed the limit of the engine it ran on to the limit (which is shown with the 4MB to 8MB max map size increase on WC3 maps when DotA breached it). When HoN beta was released I started playing there instead since it was pretty much DotA with a faster pace. I played HoN until the Myrmidon patch which made the game go downhill (well still played it while waiting for another better game), then came the DotA 2 beta key.

I really wanted to go back to my DotA roots so I started playing this game, but I just couldn't find myself to like it. I tried really really hard to like the game because I didn't want to keep playing HoN, but for some reason it just felt really slow and sloppy since it's pretty much the WC3 engine limitations with nicer graphics. This is when I tried LoL, and I then started playing this more and more. Now I'm completely hooked to LoL and will not swap to DotA 2 anytime soon.

Both games have their strengths and weaknesses, so I'll just try to list some that I can think off the bat:

DotA:
* Individual skill cap is very high with consistent denying and last hitting. Can be both a + and a - given your personality.
+ Courier can allow you to lose a lot less experience and outplay your lane opponent a whole lot more with the option to purchase from lane without recalling.
+ Teleport scrolls allow for epic escapes as well as great team fight possibilities.
+ Blink dagger allows for very interesting initiations from even hard carries.
- Whoever thought abusing stealth in a MOBA is great was in the wrong.
- Is still a product of an old engine, so there are a lot of heroes with similar boring abilities (though this will most likely change in the future since IceFrog already in the DotA 1 days made an effort to change this).
* Can't say much about community since all I ever noticed was that everyone just instapicked hard carries and didn't farm at all for 30 minutes then came back with no damage (try supporting that and you'll cry).

LoL:
+ Every single champion in the game is unique, and later champions are bringing a whole new dimension to the MOBA genre.
+ Many champions can play many roles, giving you versatility even with few champion options.
+ Learning from good players is exceptionally easy since all roles have excellent players streaming and commentating their gameplay at the same time.
* Focusing on a single role will most likely help you get better faster, but learning more than one role will be mandatory since you will never get to play your favored role all the time (mid or top lane will never be free ever if playing with randoms).
- No teleport scrolls will make mistakes in lane so much more fatal since you can fall behind really fast and not recover without the help of teammates (top lane is notorious for snowballing out of hand really quick if you die once or twice).
- No blink dagger will make champions with built in flashes/dashes very strong in most cases (see Ezreal/Caitlyn), and many new champions come with some sort of mobility spell rendering many less used older champions even more redundant.
+ Riot really listens to the community, and improves the game as they see fit after listening to the community's opinions. They also actively interact with the community.
* The LoL community is like a rollercoaster, there are pretty much three types of players: 1) The silent ones that sits for 30-40 minutes in silence, only to ever utter a miss call once in a while. 2) The completely obnoxious player that will call everyone down regardless of if they are playing good or bad (even if the person in question is performing worst of all). 3) The really fun and polite player that shares jokes and advice with you after the game (if you lose your lane to one of these players, never be afraid to ask what you did wrong and how you could've done instead, they will most likely help you out and improve your gameplay).

This is just my personal opinion as a MOBA player for the bigger part of my gaming life. I have most likely forgotten many important points to both games but I'm currently way too intoxicated to figure them out.

Edit: I'll just throw this in as well since people seem to make it sound as if you have to spend money on LoL in order to get more champions to play. You do NOT have to pay money for champions, this is an option. As you play games in LoL you will earn Influence Points (IP) that you can use to purchase champions (albeit it can range from 450 IP to 6300 IP for a champion so it will take quite a while to get a big list of champions). For real life money you can instead buy Riot Points (RP) which can be used to buy champions (there are three champions on sale all the time, changing every Tuesday and Friday which will cost half the RP cost), champion skins (also usually three on sale at a time, rotations are the same as champions), boosters and other utility stuff for your account (name changes etc).

 

[Vigormortis]

Spoiler: Spoilered for space.

I've played LoL for... how long now? 2 years? Something like that.
I've never played DotA, but I've seen plenty of videos about DotA 2.
Basically, from what I can tell, DotA2 is more difficult and complex. It also gives precisely 0 fucks about such petty faffing as 'fair' and 'balanced'. But when everything and everyone is imbalanced, it creates its own balance, I suppose.
Effects also look much, much cooler.

Why do you say that it gives "0 fucks about such petty faffing as 'fair' and 'balanced'"? Not trying to start a flamewar here, just honestly curious as to what balance issues you find to be in the game.

Well, to be fair, Drow Ranger, Sven, and Centaur Chieftain are kinda broken at the moment.

Sven ulty buffs 300% and let's him kill an entire team of heroes on cleave damage? Sure, why not?

Impossible to push a lane against Drow AND she has over 200 Agility attribute by level 16? Makes sense.

However, it remains that Valve just simply balances Dota 2 FAR AND AWAY better and more frequently than Riot ever does with LoL. No question.

You can also get decent farm in lanes were you nave numerical disadvantage in dota, you just need to pick one of the 10 or so heroes that can deal with that. It is more tactical i guess in the sense that only a few heroes can manage that and only if you are good with them, DotA is indeed way less balanced on a hero per hero basis than LoL, but a good dark seer for example can decimate 1 vs 2 if you are a better player or at the very least get his job done.

Mmmm...I can't quite agree with this.

It's not that Dota 2 heroes are "less balanced", it's that LoL's heroes are often "cookie-cutter". As in, they're built from the same mold so that any given hero can face off against another effectively. (which, to me, is incredibly boring)

In Dota 2, you generally won't be attempting to 1v1 a Sven with Crystal Maiden. If you're Maiden, and you're playing your role correctly for the team, you'll know to wait for back-up or to supplement your allies in a team-fight.

Also, they can only consistently take denies of their creeps under your tower if they are way better than you or for some reason they are winning the lane brutally hard. As for tower diving, its the same, if you got tower dived 1v1 he was just better than you by either picking a hero that owns yours or playing better.

In general from your posts I get constantly the vibe that you are trying to play DotA with LoL knowledge and expecting LoL mechanics, and thus being terrible at it. IMO is like if you knew how to drive a motorbike and failed hard trying to do the same in a car; not that one is harder or better, but you should expect to just fail by doing that.

Or this, I guess. Pretty much what I said. Sort of.

In Dota 2, the key to victory is knowledge. Knowledge of your heroes abilities, roles, and (to a MUCH lesser extent) optimal builds. And, knowledge of other hero skills and roles, as well as map and situational awareness.

Whereas in LoL, it's more about knowing how to spam your characters abilities at the right time and combination and which out-of-game "buffs and addons" to pick.

Each is a form of tactical play, I just prefer the depth and variety of Dota more.

If switched overnight the best teams of dota2 would lose at LoL against the best teams of LoL.

Mmmmm....I actually must disagree with this as well. I've seen matches wherein top-tier Dota players and top-tier LoL players faced off in either game. And, with consistency, the Dota players racked up more wins in both.

If I could find the vid, I'd link it. I'll keep looking.

Yep, zero fucks are given about blanace on each hero, better yet, in almost all gameplay modes there are "experimental heroes", that is when one hero is redesigned it is put immediatly in all but captain mode (the only torunament mode) meaning that there's a lot of bullshit totally retarded op heroes running from time to time (till they are nerfed). This also allow more diversity, fun and uniqueness btw; and right now there isn't any totally retarded hero, maybe the devs finally learnt something.

Also have to disagree with this one.

Valve has actually spent an inordinate amount of time attempting to balance and refine each hero. They've been making constant tweaks with each update.

However, you're wrong about there not beting "any totally retarded heroes". Currently, Sven, Drow, and Centaur Chieftain are a tad OP. Nerfs are inbound, but as it stands they're kinda broken. Not ludicrously so. As in, picking them is not an auto-win, but if fed enough they become stupidly powerful.

(I've already taken 600+ CLEAVE damage from a non-level-25 Sven)

 

[blazearmoru]

LoL no contest, dota2 is basically just plain old dota with better graphics where LoL made an effect to improve the concept. LoL is currently the most played game in the world and thats for a very good reason.

Because McDonalds serve the highest quality of food? =.=;
Sorry I just had to point that out. Please don't hate me! >-<

Edit : OP. LoL is basically a game about grinding for gold, to buy power, to win fights which results in more gold which translates to more power, to win game. If you like it simple, and fun, LoL is for you. In DotA you can have a team that will NEVER lose any teamfights and can still lose because the game isn't centered around team fights. Depth, LoL is completely devoid of it.

 

[Mathew de Detrich]

LoL no contest, dota2 is basically just plain old dota with better graphics where LoL made an effect to improve the concept. LoL is currently the most played game in the world and thats for a very good reason.

Because McDonalds serve the highest quality of food? =.=;
Sorry I just had to point that out. Please don't hate me! >-<

Also there is no proof that LoL is the most played game in the world, it does have the highest number of user accounts, but thats a completely different thing (and considering its a F2P game where smurfs are common practise, that is not suprising)

DotA2 is at least transparent in regards to how many people play it, currently its sitting at around 100k players online at any point in time, and its only in beta

 

[Mathew de Detrich]

DOUBLE POST

 

[White_Lama]

LoL wins by a landslide.

Why?

Because Fiddlesticks.

As for Dota 2 vs LoL, I have never played LoL but do know of some of its inner-workings. The laning structure in LoL is set in absolute stone with 1 top, 1 mid, 2 bot (All of a strict selection of roles) and a Jungler. Nothing else ever, whereas in Dota 2 I can think of at least 3 viable ways to set up the easy lane alone, two for the hard lane, mid depends on the hero, and even jungling can get a weird spin if you pick a hero like Tinker. No denies, because fuck it. Also no rune control, as the powerups are the same and in both team's jungles.

Actually, if I were to count the times I've played 5v5 in LoL, in the hundreds of games I've played, maybe 10ish % has had a jungler

So it's not set in stone, it's all about what kind of team you get.

 

[DarkhoIlow]

LoL is more mainstreamed that DotA 2 is so I would recommend that if it is your first game of this genre.

DotA 2 requires a lot of learning and if you do not have any DOTA 1 pre knowledge since the second one is pretty much the same mechanics, you will have a very difficult time trying to learn it.

With that said LoL is easier when it comes to new players.

 

[TinmanX]

I am surprised no one has mentioned this yet. League of Legends is slowly breaking the mould of traditional MOBA game play, offering different game modes than the traditional 5v5 tri-lane. Some of these are the 3v3 duo lane map, 5v5 large single lane map (usually played as all randomly selected heroes) and the awesomely fun 5v5 Dominion (capture and hold 5 points on a map). You do not see this in Dota 2, which in my opinion is a little limiting and disappointing. There is so much more that you could do with the genre (CTF? Coop survival against waves? King of the Hill?) than just the traditional 5v5 tri-lane everyone seems obsessed with. I am glad Riot Games are taking a different approach and evolving/experimenting with the genre.

As of writing this, League of Legends also has some handy tutorials for newbies to get started with, as well as AI support for all 4 game modes. Dota 2 has AI opponents as well, but for a newbie it will all still seem pretty confusing. While LoL's 10 free heroes a week system may seem like a drawback, it is also probably good that a newbie learn the ropes on a limited hero set, facing the same limited hero set instead of encountering new champions every game and getting owned. It is also a free game, so expecting the full hero list from the start is being selfish and entitled.

League of Legend's Judicial and Honor systems that allow the community to critique the negative/positive acts of players also goes a long way into controlling the vibes that the community exhibits. Dota 2's equivalent doesn't really work the same way.

While I have only played Dota 2 for a small amount, the learning curve in that game for a complete MOBA rookie would be horrific. It is very complex, but complexity should never be mistaken as difficulty. The skill ceiling in both games is roughly the same. Dota 2 is an excellent game, but my vote for the moment has to land with LoL. It is a game that is better designed for people learning the genre and having different types of fun.

Finally, the traditionalist "I am a Dota vet and Dota 2 is the best MOBA because its based off the first and best MOBA. Every other MOBA is crap" mentality can be very off-putting for anyone with any sense of rationality, mainly because it speaks volumes of choice-supportive bias. Don't be one of those people.

 

[blazearmoru]

Actually, if I were to count the times I've played 5v5 in LoL, in the hundreds of games I've played, maybe 10ish % has had a jungler

So it's not set in stone, it's all about what kind of team you get.

How about all games above 1400 elo?

 

[soulfire130]

Becuase I have not played DOTA2 yet so the only thing I can really say about it is that I heard it is more complex than Lol.

LoL is good and I would say its easy enough to undestand. The only real downside is the community can be a pain to deal with sometimes and the only thing worth buying at low levels are champions but only use cash if you are staying with LoL.

 

[Aircross]

Dota 2 has more depth and variety than League of Legends. All the heroes in Dota 2 are free while the champions in LoL have to be unlocked.

Dota 2 is also more balanced (once you are decent at the game) since what you see on a hero is what you get unlike LoL where Runes and Masteries can tweak a champion's power from behind the scene.

Each hero in Dota 2 can be hard countered by another hero, and each hero in Dota 2 is unique in their own way.

League of Legends on the other hand has champions who overlap in their niches, which often causes one champion to be better in the same exact role as another.

Overall, I prefer Dota 2 due to its depth, but I understand LoL's appeal especially since it's easier to get into. Not everyone has the time or want to spend the time to learn Dota 2, and that is absolutely fine.

If you are just getting into the genre of DotA-like games, then it would be best if you start off with LoL then move onto Dota 2. Both games are free.

Play LoL for some time and get used to concepts like last hitting, item build, skill build, champion roles, etc. Once you feel that you have a good grasp of the basics start playing Dota 2 if you want to.

The transition from LoL to Dota 2 will be overwhelming at first, but just keep ignore the bad side of community and keep playing to get better. You can spectate games in Dota 2 and ask questions. People are always ready to answer questions a new player's questions.

Here is a guide for new players who want to get into Dota 2: http://www.purgegamers.com/welcome-to-dota-you-suck

If you want some help getting into the DotA genre, then feel free to add me to your Steam friend list.
http://steamcommunity.com/id/NR_NR

 

[Uszi]

I am surprised no one has mentioned this yet. League of Legends is slowly breaking the mould of traditional MOBA game play, offering different game modes than the traditional 5v5 tri-lane. Some of these are the 3v3 duo lane map, 5v5 large single lane map (usually played as all randomly selected heroes) and the awesomely fun 5v5 Dominion (capture and hold 5 points on a map). You do not see this in Dota 2, which in my opinion is a little limiting and disappointing. There is so much more that you could do with the genre (CTF? Coop survival against waves? King of the Hill?) than just the traditional 5v5 tri-lane everyone seems obsessed with. I am glad Riot Games are taking a different approach and evolving/experimenting with the genre.

Bleh. Twisted Tree Line is generally agreed upon to not be a balanced form of LoL since some champions totally own that map and others have virtually no use on it. I don't think it, nor Dominion, is very fun, personally.

But that is just my opinion, I guess. I don't see the lack of other game modes as a weakness of Dota 2, is my point. The meat and bones, 3 lanes, 5v5 game play has kept me playing for 10 years.