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Dota 2 vs League of Legends. How to make Dota 2 better than LoL

Last updated:  dota-2-vs-league-of-legends
To date, the most popular MOBA games are Dotа 2 and League of Legends. Despite the fact that both disciplines are widely represented in esports at different levels, the popularity of LoL in the world is higher. With the exception of esports and TI, Dota is little known to the general public, despite its large player base. This is partly due to erroneous decisions in the development of Dota 2 and its promotion model. Below there are some steps that can resolve the issue of Dota's popularity and reputation with gamers and the general public.

Step 1. Make Open Source code for Dota 2 community


Updates in Dota are rare and depend on the desire of the developers. They are not systematized and most often are small patches that change the characteristics of meta heroes and some items. Major updates can bring new heroes, mechanic and map changes, unique modes, etc.

Open Source Programmer

At the same time, these updates are extremely rare and do not have any global impact on the gameplay. The same applies to new heroes and skins, Vavle explains that this happens because of a small staff of developers and frankly does not want to take the time to improve their game. Instead of excuses and regular announcements with apologies, the company could use the resource of the community, ready to help in the development and debugging of the game, and introduce open-source code. The positive contribution of the players can be seen in the example of hundreds of developed modes in the workshop, popular among professionals and casuals.

Open source will allow to notice and fix critical bugs faster, since the functionality of Dota 2 has the mode necessary for testing heroes, abilities and builds. It also simplifies the process and speed of development, as enthusiasts are more interested in the development of the game than Valve staff. Moreover, it will create a dialogue between the community and developers, and people themselves will be able to improve the game. Independent developers could release events inside the game, make the interface more convenient and finally remove these eternal in-game pauses. Valve would not spend a single minute on its development.

Step 2. Influencers as a way to increase Dota 2 online 


Despite its scale and position as the ancestor of MOBA games, the number of players in Dota is much less than in LoL. The average online Dota 2 fluctuates around 450-500 thousand people, while about 4 million players play League of Legends at the same time.

The problem here is that Valve doesn’t want or don’t know how to buy influencers and promote their product in the media. Having a tournament with the largest prize pool in the world (TI), Dota media personalities use it as a platform to recruit their fan base, while doing nothing to promote the game itself. There is no talk of attracting personalities from outside. The circle of media faces ends with Gabe and the players themselves with commentators. No guest celebrities or bloggers, streamers or singers. None of this has been done by Valve and is not going to be done.

LoL Ultimate Crown Battle

At the same time, LoL actively engages well-known streamers in tournaments for show matches and special events. An example is the best-of-3 match within the Ultimate Crown - The Ultimate Battle, where the teams of streamers MrBeast and Ninja met. Bringing popular content makers to more tournaments as special guests and commentators is one way to attract new audiences.

Step 3. New Dota 2 tutorial or how to hold a new players


It is not enough to attract new players – it is necessary to keep them in the game. Dota is one of the games where a high level of understanding of game aspects and mechanics is required. A new player needs a thorough and comprehensive training that prepares them for matches against real players.

Dota 2 Tutorial

Valve provides the player with a set of videos, scenarios and training games, after passing which, according to the developers, beginners will have the necessary understanding of the main mechanics and aspects of Dota. Also, experienced players write guides for individual heroes and game mechanics and upload them to the Steam workshop. The Dota 2 gaming community has developed its own training script in collaboration with English-speaking commentators and professional players.

But all the efforts of the community and players are not important, since people simply cannot see them. When entering the game for the first time, no one will look for guides from the community or watch videos on YouTube. A good guide for beginners should be inside the game, it should be simple and structured and interesting. A great example is SirActionSlacks' guide, which explains the complex mechanics of the game in a casual style with a touch of humor. Unfortunately, Valve, instead of replacing their main guide, shoved it into the custom section, where it is gathering dust to this day.

The new user does not even know that such a section exists and will probably pass by it. There are also good sites that provide more advanced training from professional players. All Valve should do is simply combine these two training options into one or simply integrate them into the standard game training, this will help the beginner to quickly get used to and stay in the game.

Step 4. Different league for the new players and smurf punishment system


To adapt newcomers to the control features, game mechanics and abilities of the heroes, the tutorial mode is not enough. To understand the game, it is optimal to play against the same players. However, a team with a rookie in the roster is very likely to lose due to inexperience and lack of understanding of the game aspects. A rookie will be flamed, he will become upset and will not want to continue playing anymore. And it's not his fault, because he fights against experienced players who have hundreds, if not thousands of hours of studying all aspects of the game.

hero vs big ogr

The solution to this problem can be the creation of a clear pool of rookie players, where they will play against each other. Rules can be changed for them or training can be added to help them make the right decisions throughout the game. It should be noted that Valve added a rookie mode. In it, the most easy-to-master heroes of all roles are selected. The main disadvantages are the optional mode, the small number of players and the lack of incentives. Due to the lack of players, the teams are filled with bots and it is no longer so interesting to play, moreover, the players do not receive any rewards for winning. Instead of mmr, players can be given some kind of in-game items or attempts to play matchmaking.

In Dota 2 matchmaking, the number of hours of players is taken into account, while the system is able to calculate players who do not play from the main accounts, put them in matches with the corresponding level of play. Unfortunately, this system works only on words, because there is still a huge number of boosters and smurfers, which simply do not allow new players to get used to it normally. Vavle needs to redesign the booster detection algorithm or allow to create accounts based on previous ones with a certain rating based on their previous achievements. This will give newcomers the opportunity to enjoy the game at least at the initial stages.

Step 5. Toxic community and CS:GO ban system


An important aspect of multiplayer is punishing players for playing unfairly or harming the player community. The presence of a well-functioning mechanism of restrictions encourages players to play honestly and to the end.

Dota 2 Overwatch

The current punishment system in Dota 2 is called "low priority". Players can get into it:
  • exiting a match without a mark saying that the game can be left without consequences;
  • receiving a large number of complaints due to unacceptable behavior or unfair play;
  • leaving your computer for more than 5 minutes;
A low-priority account comes into a separate matchmaking system. It does not allow you to complete daily tasks, upgrade the battle pass, and the selection is carried out only within the framework of players with a low priority.

Theoretically, such a system should motivate the player to play fair. Often people come to upgrade purchased battle passes or complete daily tasks to get in-game currency. In practice, the punishment system is implemented very illogically. To exit it, you need to win a certain number of games. At the same time, the parties themselves are played in the Single Draft mode, where each player is given three random heroes to choose from - 1 for each attribute.

The main stumbling block is the illogical requirement to win. A more reasonable solution is punishment from another game from Valve - CS:GO. When leaving a ranked game, a player is prohibited from participating in matchmaking for a certain period of time. The more a player leaves matches or breaks things in the game, the more the waiting time increases. After 1-3 months, the search time should be updated, and the accounts with the least integrity will be punished several times harder than the rest.

Step 6. Faceit and FPL as an alternative to matchmaking


Ranked matchmaking in games is designed to create a competitive atmosphere among a wider range of players. People are rewarded for victory in the form of promotion through the rank system, and for defeat they go lower.

Verification is required to access the rating matchmaking system. To do this, a phone number is linked to the player's account. This guarantees protection against multi-accounting. After verification, access to calibration games is opened, after which the player is assigned a place in one of the divisions.

Dota 2 Faceit

While the division system itself is already in use in Dota 2, the sizing and distribution system is still not fully understandable. The player completes the calibration based on the results of 10 games. Seeding into a division depends on many factors: pre-calibration game performance, a player's personal contribution, and the number of wins in calibration matches. Approximate progress is estimated based on the rating of teammates and opponents - calibration matchmaking is not exclusive. As a result, the player cannot be sure that one of his allies was lucky to get a high rating as a result of calibration.

An alternative would be a system similar to Faceit, in which the player is first given a fixed position in the ranking system, after which he progresses on the basis of wins and losses without the influence of calibration. Thus, the rating will more accurately reflect the skills of teammates and opponents. Also, the Faceit analogue for Dota will simplify the training process for active and future professional players, as the process of boosting accounts will become more complicated.

Playing and searching for ranked games for pro-players and high-ranked players becomes similar to testing, as they may not trivially give up their role, but wait for a role search for too long. By analogy with the FPL in CS:GO, you need to create a limited pool of players for pro players, which can only be accessed by invitation. In this case, conditional Larl and Noone will more often come across against each other, and not against players from the public. This will improve the process of training players outside of private 5v5 games - despite the high rating, the meta of professional games and public matchmaking is different. In the latter case, there are drafts based on fun, non-obvious and unexpected strategies, such as building 5 Dagons regardless of the pick. Such strategies cannot be implemented in a professional game due to the high level of interaction within the opposing team.

Step 7. More variations in Dota 2 metas


In all competitive online games, there is a concept of meta-strong heroes, items, skills or other attributes that give the best result to players during the game. Knowing the meta makes it possible to play more efficiently, win more often, and be more useful to allies.

Dota 2 Meta Heroes 7.32d
Source: Reddit

In the case of Dota, the meta makes the games the same. 30-40 characters are strong, and given the ability to ban a hero at the pick stage in the All Pick rating, this number can be halved. As a result, already by the peak, you can determine the chances of winning and the scenario of the game. For MOBA, whose hallmark is a huge number of characters and a wealth of strategies, this state of affairs is unacceptable. Monotony kills the desire to learn and progress, tempting players to play 1-2 handy and meta heroes that are easier to win.
Dependence on meta is something that Valve struggles with, but it's hard to get away from it completely. To do this, you need to balance 123 heroes, which is difficult. However, the monotony and boredom of the gameplay is felt not only because of the presence of the meta in Dota.

Step 8. Reduce the average game time


This question is difficult to answer even for an experienced player. On average, a game lasts from 30 to 50 minutes, but prolonged games can easily cross the 1 or even 2 hour mark. Add to this a 10-minute search and pauses and you get an hour for a simple session. In the modern world, an hour of time is a lot and it's time to adapt to the modern realities of session games and reduce the average game time.

game is waiting

There are two ways to solve the problem of long games:
  • Changing the existing meta - speed up games by reworking the gameplay. In this case, the game will flow faster in the lane, the developers will need to rework the characters so that they are implemented in a new patch focused on aggressive play. In doing so, Dota will become similar to a large number of other MOBA games that already use this model. Therefore, it is possible to develop an alternative;
  • Refinement or creation of a new mode focused on aggressive gameplay. It should be noted that Valve introduced the Turbo mode - it accelerates farming, pumping, destroying buildings and other aspects of the game. However, sometimes players want to participate in continuous hero fights, and at the same time always have a chance to win. The development of the new mode will take a lot of time, but its development and potential can be seen in the example of the fan-made map Overthrow, which is directly focused on the endless fights of heroes among themselves. Also, such modes do not give rating numbers, which deprives players of the desire to play them.

Step 9. Valve, give Diretide back!


Dota 2 Diretide 2020

Special events —New Bloom, Rise of Darkness, etc boosted online players. They attracted users with special game modes, the opportunity to get seasonal rare items, and increased in-game rewards. Events and their rewards were dedicated to significant events for the Dota 2 community or holidays; the "Feud" event included a copy of the Dragon Knight model from the anime "DOTA: Dragon's Blood", and the "Frostbite" event was timed to coincide with Christmas and New Year.

The main disadvantages of events are the impossibility of obtaining all the rewards without a donation and the irregularity of events. Unique content cannot be produced on a permanent basis, but in order to attract a new audience and retain already experienced players, it is necessary to add variety to the competitive gameplay of Dota. The most positive reviews for the game come during the events; players fought 5v5 on a meteor-falling battlefield during the Feud, and Aghanim's Labyrinth demonstrated the potential of Dota 2's co-op mode. on the gameplay - skins, weather effects and loading screens straight to the player's inventory. The problem with the need to donate to receive all rewards can be offset by an increase in rewards for completing tasks and displaying some of the unique content that does not affect the gameplay - skins, weather effects and loading screens straight to the player's inventory.
 

Step 10. People should earn from the Steam marketplace as before


Even before tournaments with huge prizes, online Dota was gradually growing and even without proper investment in marketing, the game was becoming more and more popular. This was due to the open RMT in the game. After each game, the user had a chance to receive a chest or skin. After that, players could sell it on the trading floor, at the moment there is no such system, which deprives players of additional motivation to play. All this worked fine until Valve began to introduce a restriction.

earn on marketplace

A significant change in the rules of the marketplace in itself did more harm not to the merchants, but to the players themselves - it became impossible to sell items from the new treasures, temporary restrictions were imposed on the operations themselves. New players were not given the opportunity to receive skins or trade them. Treasures became the main source of custom clothing for heroes and other accessories, and they had to be bought. In order to return the influx of audience to the Valve game, you need to return the old item drop system or simply remake the current items into nft.

Will Dota 2 become better than LoL?


In fact, the answer will always be subjective. The above mentioned steps will make Dota friendlier and more accessible to players. The current reputation of Dota 2 among the general public is low due to community reasons, bugs in the first days after updates, and the monotony of gameplay. At the same time, solving these problems will attract new players and, perhaps, they will form a new long-term base of gamers for whom Dota will be better than League of Legends.
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