Dota2 review: is Dota2 still the king of MOBAs?

‘Dota2’ has changed significantly throughout time. But does it still hold the first place in 2021 as the best MOBA?

Introduction

If you are unfamiliar with the title, ‘Dota2’ as in Defense of the Ancients 2, is the most famous MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) game. Its predecessor was the first in this category back in 2003 to be widely recognized and accepted as a new genre, even in the competitive world. This game started initially as a mod for Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne made by Blizzard, but due to its fast gain in popularity, it attracted Steam’s attention, which turned it into its final adaptation as a stand-alone game in 2013. The competition was strong at that time, and even though it was difficult to obtain the copyrights over the title, other MOBA variants were directly inspired by ‘DotA’ (e.g. ‘Heroes of Newerth’, ‘Heroes of the Storm’, ‘League of Legends’, etc.).

Fast forward to 2021, we can see the game is still retaining its popularity with its active users being close to 1 million, and over 1.3 million in 2016. However, there is a slight but steady decrease over time, which indicates that the game has reached a plateau, and it can go only downwards from there. If you’re wondering why, then you should consider that MOBAs have been around for about 20 years, and their popularity is decreasing as new platforms become more trending, such as Battle Royale games (‘Fortnite’, ‘PUBG’, etc.). It’s the same as wondering why old movies are no longer popular.

However, the point of this article is to take a look at what ‘Dota2’ is all about in the present day, and if it still manages to retain its core value.

Quick navigation:

Game Engine
Art Style
Animations and sounds
Community
Ranked Matchmaking
Gameplay
Micro-transactions
Fun Factor
Conclusion

Game Engine

‘Dota2’ is powered by the latest ‘Source 2’ engine, developed by Valve itself. The engine is designed in such ways as to provide high performance, a plethora of optimizations, high-quality audio, reduced input lag, and other improvements that help the gamers have the best user experience. The game also provides plenty of tools for developing custom models, video streaming, video creating and editing, and other useful features. On top of that, the developers have made sure to completely eliminate the problem of hackers. Just a couple of hours playing ‘Dota2’ and you’ll realize that it works flawlessly, and is continually improving.

Art style

The art style, I believe, is the one that has captivated most of the audience. The graphics are smooth and soft to the eye, but they never lack the necessary details and a rich color palette. The heroes are improved multiple times compared to how they looked in the WC3 version, and you have the opportunity to purchase or earn custom skins, which add even more variety. Some skins might be pricey, but given the sheer amount of them, you probably won’t have to spend anything to make your hero look cool. A 2nd camera viewing angle is available to check out your hero in-game, but I wouldn’t advise it as a tactical choice.

Animations and sounds

All the base hero models have been inspired by their predecessors. Of course, Valve took it up a notch or two, and gave all heroes a modern and detailed look, instead. I’m not necessarily saying that all of them look better, but most of them are an improvement.

Animation, particle effects, shadows, water reflection, tree movements, and many other ambient elements exhibit a noticeable smoothness and realism with this game engine. The sounds are of the highest details, and the heroes’ sound sets are very rich and entertaining. Most of their voice tracks are linked to various actions, which results in better impressiveness in the game, and more fun. Of course, if you’re an old graphics card owner, or you have an inadequate CPU, you can disable all these for increased performance.

Community

Here things are starting to get a bit shaky, as there are polarizing opinions on ‘Dota2’ community. The claims are not baseless, though. There is indeed a significant number of players that ruin the overall experience, with their in-game toxicity. New players get bullied most of the time, or they simply get trash talked. That can’t possibly be a constructive way of doing things. Keep in mind that if you decide to check this game out, your teammates expect you to be a pro from day 1. The profound elitism can be observed in old players too, and it looks like it’s part of this game’s identity.

Another downside of the ‘Dota2’ community, includes (but not limited to): false reporting of players out of spite, purposely going AFK, intentional “feeding” of enemy heroes, being offensive, wasting items, ignoring the team’s strategy, and many others.

The last straw, however, is the refusal from Valve to implement region lock. Matching up against gamers from all over the world might be a rewarding experience in many ways, however, the sheer amount of complaints against players that don’t even speak your team’s language is simply unbearable. Usually, those players decide to isolate themselves from the team and type only in languages nobody understands, or even shout in foreign languages on the microphone. Most of the time they are bad at the game too, but they don’t care. Valve’s refusal to take action against those practices might have turned away many good players that won’t bother carrying their underwhelming team.

Ranked Matchmaking

The argument in the above section is further reinforced when joining ranked games. In ranked matchmaking, everybody is focused on their match-making rank (MMR) points, while ignoring the overall purpose.

Severe elitism, criticism of newbies, and an inconsistent matchmaking system, can leave many players frustrated. It’s not always that bad, though, as most of the time you have the opportunity to play with the most skilled players, and even form a party with them for more competitive gaming. In some cases, you can even develop meaningful friendships, just like I did.

Gameplay

This is where everything boils down to in every game ever made. ‘Dota2′ supposedly takes things seriously regarding the balancing of all heroes and items, and provides an equal opportunity, should the player decide to take the game seriously and competitively. The game almost explicitly states that in order to win, the 5-player team must flawlessly cooperate in order to beat the other team. Every item and ability has to take into consideration its synergistic effects with other heroes’ abilities and items.

With the introduction of the ‘tree of talents’, heroes receive bonus effects over their abilities, making them even more versatile. On top of that, the ‘Aghanim’s Shard’ added even more variety to what heroes can do with their abilities. The addition of new items and skills, can fundamentally change the way certain heroes are played because the combinations can be practically countless, and no game can be the same as the previous one. This is the beauty of the MOBA games, but also their disadvantages.

All those innovations carry huge disadvantages too. First, it’s implied that the 5 players in a team will cooperate. However, that might not happen, as explained earlier, and then you end up watching for about an hour your team getting decimated in an already lost game. Perhaps a ‘forfeit’ button could fix that, but maybe that would be abused too, and strip the team from any motivation from the start.

Another thing that’s not taken into account is the number of abilities and items that can stack with each other. This has a tremendous impact on the game. For example, many overpowered items can be equipped at the same time, and in combination with the perks from other abilities it can quickly throw the game off-balance. This can make newbies dominate the game or pros making it almost impossible to turn it around. In other words, the game is less punishing for unskilled players, compared to its WC3 version with its steep learning curve, where you had to be patient, careful, and very strategic on what to equip. Now it’s mostly about getting all the meta items for an auto-win. The lack of restrictions might make the game easier, however, it takes away the competitiveness, and dilutes the individual’s skills. My guess is that Valve wants to streamline the game, and make it more attractive to the general population, but that hurts the strategic plays the old players enjoyed so much.

Micro-transactions

Micro-transactions and DLCs are well-established in modern gaming, and they will remain for a long time. The same is true for ‘Dota2’. The game is free to play, but it’s flooded with countless ways of convincing you to spend real money. Multiple overpriced skin sets of heroes, Battle Pass, tournaments, and ‘Dota2 Plus’ (subscription service), are some ways to make you reach way down into your wallet. Some hero skins can cost as much as $2,000. I would think twice before making a purchase that brings no advantages, and is barely noticeable in-game. I don’t really see how a gamer can justify such a purchase.

Fun factor

The fun factor is still there. It’s not what it used to be, but I’d say ‘Dota2’ is still capable of providing hours of fun and, sometimes, toxicity. If you play along in a fixed team with your friends, you’re going to have a blast. Going solo might not always be the best for you, as you would be matched with and against random players that most of the time feel like bots.

Regardless, ‘Dota2’ shall be played more on the casual side in my opinion, as it’s not worth the hassle. Also try to not overdo it, because having 8,000+ hours of gameplay translates to the negligence of real-life aspects.

Conclusion

‘Dota2’ is a decent MOBA game that promises to bring you hours of fun. However, Valve’s decisions regarding the gameplay, matchmaking, and the overall direction of the game, have not brought the best results. I believe that if you try the game in a more casual setting, you won’t be disappointed.

What has been your experience with ‘Dota2’ so far?

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