Poll: Do you think games such as DOTA2 and League of Legends should have a casual play mode.

[Seishisha]

Allow me to elaborate somewhat on the question from the thread title.

Im not talking about changing how the games currently play, i mean adding an additional game mode with revised rule sets that is more accessible to new players.

With that in mind lets go discussion mode activate! So a little background first, i have played dota the original warcraft 3 mod and dota2 the valve game, the mod is what i spent most of the time playing and i only clocked around 25 hours in dota2 before quitting due to the horrible playerbase more than anything else.

It occured to me that i might have stuck with the game longer if there had been some kind of silent loby mode with no chat at all and no playernames shown, it would remove the abuse by removing communication, a heavy handed measure to be certain but it could be very effective.

As time went on i also thought that, a more simple game mode with some of the more complex mechanices removed or altered, could help ease newer players into the genre.

Being a semi-veteran of the games i was reasonably competent at buying items, last hitting and so on, for new players the sheer depth of knowledge required to play well must be daunting, so a mode where last hitting doesnt exist and item purchase is reduced or removed, perhaps towers and creep waves could be tweaked to make them easier. Last time i played the tutorial was a complte joke and should absolutly have some revisions.

Frankly there is alot of changes that could be made to make the game more accessable. The question is should there be such changes or is the old advice of 'get good' sufficent.

Poll was added for lazy people who do not want to type back.

 

[Neonit]

I believe that more options is always good. However i think that making "easy mode" would be interesting to two kinds of people. One, casual player - which is what you expect. Second - people who want to smurf.

So what i would expect is a lot of matches that are ok, but also a lot of completely one-sided matches, because it is now an easy target for just want to smurf.

That aside, there is also the argument of "learn to play". Sometimes you see that people discourage playing a certain style, because it teaches bad habits. For example, back when i was playing DOTA2 i found out that shadowblade is an excellent item, and should be bought by everyone. I learned that, through playing with newbies. If i was stuck in that experience, it would become something that im accustomed to, and would be difficult to shift away from it.

Honestly, i think good matchmaking, and maybe some kind of "shorter-gametime-mode" (so you can start anew faster) would solve a lot of issues.

 

[Seishisha]

I believe that more options is always good. However i think that making "easy mode" would be interesting to two kinds of people. One, casual player - which is what you expect. Second - people who want to smurf.

So what i would expect is a lot of matches that are ok, but also a lot of completely one-sided matches, because it is now an easy target for just want to smurf.

That aside, there is also the argument of "learn to play". Sometimes you see that people discourage playing a certain style, because it teaches bad habits. For example, back when i was playing DOTA2 i found out that shadowblade is an excellent item, and should be bought by everyone. I learned that, through playing with newbies. If i was stuck in that experience, it would become something that im accustomed to, and would be difficult to shift away from it.

Honestly, i think good matchmaking, and maybe some kind of "shorter-gametime-mode" (so you can start anew faster) would solve a lot of issues.

Better matchmaking and shorter game times, not somthing i had realy considered, i like those suggestions espescialy since some matches can realy drag on time wise.

 

[Auberon]

You'd still get Russians and salt there. Disregarding those, I still think you should learn the mechanics and grow a thicker skin, especially with that playerbase overlapping with League *notorious* for its toxicity.

But in the end, I'm the filthy casual who Smites only simple modes without pressure of laning and rotations after I got tired of Conquest partly over those toxic players.

 

[RJ 17]

The thing is that MOBAs do have a Casual Game Mode...it's called Heroes of the Storm.

Seriously, that's a game where lane assignments are more recommendation than hard set, there is absolutely no item buying so you don't have to worry about getting the right equipment, incidentally this also removes the necessity of last-hitting, and your entire team levels up together, thus removing the notion of "carry" classes.

I'm pretty sure you even have to "turn on" chat, so I think it even has the "silence is golden" mode that you described.

So yeah, go play Heroes of the Storm and enjoy your casual MOBA. If you don't like Blizzard: you can always play against the bots in LoL (don't know if there is a vs bots mode in DotA2, haven't played that one).

 

[Maphysto]

There would be no point. MOBAs have cultivated a culture of the most toxic, hyper-competitive and hostile communities in gaming. Adding a casual play mode would change nothing, and in fact would only give MOBA players yet another excuse to be terrible people. The well is poisoned.

 

[ObsidianJones_v1legacy]

The thicker skin argument that a lot of people throw around doesn't help. In fact, a lot of other player's mentalities don't help at all. If you're new to the game and you want to be an asset, you need time to grow. You don't go to the Army, get handed a gun, and say 'Get good, newb or g0 d13'. You're trained. You're opened up to a wide variety of fields and you see which you can do the best. Your fellow soldiers don't leave you on your own, they carry you along.

The issue is, no one is born knowing how to play. Figuring out... hold on, let me check... any one of the 126 Champions best suits your play style will take time. And if you can learn the mechanics in a place where people aren't so butthurt that they aren't winning this match right now, and in fact are only coming in that lobby to better their skills with champions they don't know... who is that hurting? In fact, I'd think a lot of you hardcores would prefer it because that means not one of your matches would be 'hurt' by someone who doesn't know what he or she is doing.

~and editting on how good of a business model it would be for the MOBA developers. They can make it a test drive for characters.

They can make every character free for these training rooms. And when people get good and want to take their skills to prime time, they'll pay for that character to make sure they can keep it up.

 

[Vigormortis]

Casual play modes already exist in these sorts of games.

If you're looking to play a game like Dota 2 casually, just play a Co-op Bot match or Practice Match, or peruse the Custom Game listings (in the Source 2 version). There's a host of ways to play the game casually. They're even right there on the front page of the main menu.

Honestly, if you want to play it casually, just play any mode that isn't one of the PvP matchmaking options.

It occured to me that i might have stuck with the game longer if there had been some kind of silent loby mode with no chat at all and no playernames shown, it would remove the abuse by removing communication, a heavy handed measure to be certain but it could be very effective.

This also already exists. And moreover, you can mute/silence individual players while in game using the scoreboard. You need not ever hear or see text from anybody in the match.

As time went on i also thought that, a more simple game mode with some of the more complex mechanices removed or altered, could help ease newer players into the genre.

Being a semi-veteran of the games i was reasonably competent at buying items, last hitting and so on, for new players the sheer depth of knowledge required to play well must be daunting, so a mode where last hitting doesnt exist and item purchase is reduced or removed, perhaps towers and creep waves could be tweaked to make them easier. Last time i played the tutorial was a complte joke and should absolutly have some revisions.

Then you should see the new tutorial system. It's vastly improved and directed bot matches alleviate a lot of the problems you bring up.

Frankly there is alot of changes that could be made to make the game more accessable.

These changes have already occurred. You should look into the game again. I feel that a lot of your concerns have been addressed.

 

[KenAri]

Inb4 "LoL is the casual mode to DotA, hurr"

But I think it'd be cool if there were more training game modes. I think splitting the community up isn't always a good thing though; you get better at these games by fighting people better than you and learning from them. Giving players a blunt-edged rubber-coated version of the game would sorta give the weaker players a reason to never improve.

I think moba games are beautiful because of the unforeseeably high skill cap. It'd be cool if there more more newplayer-friendly training modes (Like HoN had that mentoring thing which was awesome), but I think a casual-mode would give the weaker players what they think they want but ultimately would not be good for them.

 

[Vigormortis]

(Like HoN had that mentoring thing which was awesome)

Dota 2 has a mentor system. New players can request to have a mentor watch their game and provide tips and suggestions while playing. Likewise, anyone in a party can set themselves to "Coach", which gives them an overview of the team and allows them to watch the game, utilize ping tools, and provide suggestions on what to do and how to play.

 

[KenAri]

(Like HoN had that mentoring thing which was awesome)

Dota 2 has a mentor system. New players can request to have a mentor watch their game and provide tips and suggestions while playing. Likewise, anyone in a party can set themselves to "Coach", which gives them an overview of the team and allows them to watch the game, utilize ping tools, and provide suggestions on what to do and how to play.

Oh, fair play! I must've stopped playing DotA just before that came out. It's a really good concept for teaching players. I wish HotS had a similar system; it's the moba my girlfriend settled on, which basically means it's the moba I play as well. Would be nice to have those mentor tools there.

Cheers for the info!

 

[Vigormortis]

Oh, fair play! I must've stopped playing DotA just before that came out. It's a really good concept for teaching players. I wish HotS had a similar system; it's the moba my girlfriend settled on, which basically means it's the moba I play as well. Would be nice to have those mentor tools there.

Cheers for the info!

You're welcome. And I too feel more dota-likes should have mentor systems. Would help flatten the rather steep learning curve inherent with games like these.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Not sure if something of that nature would help. I always learn new characters on Bot Matches so there's your casual play mode right there.

Maybe a mode with higher stamina for everyone so you can actually see how you lost that teamfight, but a higher-quality replay mode would accomplish the same thing and not get people used to it. The current one doesn't have a slowdown option and has the Starcraft 2 problem where any replay made after a patch can't be viewed.

On that note, I'm always in the market for a DOTA2 coach. No one's responded yet.

 

[babinro]

Yes.

I realize MOBA's were used as the example but I don't personally care about that genre of gaming. I'm completely in favour of this practice for gaming in general.

Games series like Dark Souls should have this. I understand that Dark Souls has some hidden easier modes of play based on class selection and item use but all of this dictates a certain style of play and are UNKNOWN to the player without outside research. This is an interesting way to execute on casual mode but not an effective one especially if the gamer doesn't wish to play the game(s) in that manor.

I personally believe that everyone should have a very reasonable chance at experiencing a game to it's fullest. Hand-holding difficulties are perfect for gamers who just want the general experience. If the game is good enough then they'll come back for more. I frequently play a game on the lowest difficult and then revisit it on higher ones or simply increase the difficulty as I play if I want more out of it.

The one thing that disappoints me most about gaming is how very few companies have opted to give players massive amounts of options/customization. Ever play games like Civ 5? Any EA Sports game? Don't Starve? Why aren't these practices made the norm for ALL games? Give players the options to customize their experience in a way that best suits their tastes. It only serves to improve replay value for the casual and ultra hardcore alike.

 

[Skin]

No. Public games are not the "real game". The real game is 5 of your team vs 5 of another grouped team, not 10 random people thrown together. Pub games are the "casual mode" of the games anyways.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Dota 2 does: it's called All Random and Low Priority.

All Random is supposed to be "for experienced players", but honestly, it's pretty fun to go into a game where everyone gets randomly assigned a character on the normal map and has to make do with what they have. Amongst the friends that I played here, things were more chill since we weren't obligated to be super serious and dedicate ourselves to the game. Often times, we just fucked about and sometimes we even did this well.

Low priority is the same but literally no one gives a shit. It's where all the trolls/DCers/people with bad internet end up, and it's pretty fun. I've never personally been sent there, but I've hopped along with a few friends who's internet is just incredibly unreliable at times and it was quite fun.

I eventually stopped playing Dota 2 and moved on to CS:GO, since Dota 2 still is very time consuming and can be stressful if you lose repeatedly(in part due to me developing bad habits when playing).

League doesn't have this though. ARAM is kind of...not good, since poke wins that game mode every time.

 

[Risingblade]

We already have this, it's called teambuilder and aram .-..