Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas (MOBA) is an excellent video game genre because they provide something that no other video game genre can. It combines real-time strategy with the action of a MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game) to form something that grabs any avid video gamer’s attention.

If you’re looking for a good MOBA to get started on, look no further because we have the perfect list of MOBAs here just for you! They all incorporate the same theme but have aspects to them that separate them from each other, making each MOBA as unique as possible from the others around them.

How do MOBAs Work?

MOBAs work in the fact that there are usually two large structures on the opposite sides of the map. These structures are the goal of the game. You’re trying to destroy the structure before the other team does.

However, they all have their differences. They’re played on a map which has paths that each have their own advantage if used correctly. For instance, in League of Legends, using the “jungle” in between the “lanes” can lead to some easy kills.

MOBAs also features a set of different characters that you can use throughout the game. They all are part of different classes, and each one has their own niche as well as strengths and weaknesses that you need to be able to incorporate.

Two significant parts of MOBAs are the team fights and objectives. In MOBAs, you’re trying to get to their structure first, but before you can do this, you need to take down structures that guard it. If you’re trying to take a structure, the other team is usually trying to defend it and vice versa.

To take down these structures, one can usually get different objectives that give them buffs to help take down towers or keep them on the map longer without having to go back to their base to heal up and fight again.

Another way that you can take down these structures is through team fights. Killing the other team members helps give you a window of opportunity where you can destroy structures, thus opening the map more towards the heart of their base.

These are the core pieces behind every single MOBA out there. Though each one has its own unique and different playstyle, MOBAs all incorporate this as their major theme, and it’s what makes Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas what they are today.

I’ll be going over four of the best MOBAs out there currently and why you should get into them. Each of them is unique in their own way and provide a type of gameplay that makes you want more and more every time you play. What are we waiting for? Let’s get started!

Heroes of the Storm

If you’re a big fan of Blizzard games like Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and Starcraft, you’ll love Heroes of the Storm. It incorporates everything that Blizzard has made. One major thing that sets it apart from other Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas is that it takes characters from other Blizzard games and puts them into Heroes of the Storm.

For instance, Raynor from Starcraft and Tracer from Overwatch are players that you can expect to find in other Blizzard games, giving it a sense of connection with the previous games made by Blizzard. Not only are you finding yourself on a platform that offers a sense of nostalgia, but you also don’t have to be an expert at MOBAs to play.

All the characters come from different video games made from Blizzard as I’ve said before, so that means that they want to make sure you’re still familiar with how to play the champions they’ve added. Tracer isn’t completely different in Heroes of the Storm as she is in Overwatch.

She still has abilities that make her who she is in both Overwatch and HOTS (Heroes of the Storm abbreviation), so playing will be a breeze, especially since it doesn’t take as much time to learn all the champions as it does in other games like League of Legends and Defense of the Ancients 2.

There’s also one more side to Heroes of the Storm that makes it a simple and ready-to-go game to pick up. It doesn’t have items, but rather just simple ability builds. That way, you don’t have to go for different items and build complex builds that are meant for specific stages of the game.

No, instead, you level up your abilities and play how your team wants you to play. It’s simple and as easy as that. There’s no need to make the game as complicated as possible, and Blizzard does a perfect job making the game simple which is why it’s an ideal MOBA to pick up and start playing right now.

Smite

Most Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas are played from a bird’s eye view, meaning that you can see everything that is happening around you and mostly, it’s tough for someone to sneak up behind you since you can see everything that’s going on.

However, in Smite, that’s completely different. You’re playing Smite from a third-person point of view, and that’s how it stays the entire game. The game is much more explosive and almost like an actual battle.

Games like League of Legends and DOTA 2 (Defense of the Ancients 2) both incorporate birds-eye views, so that makes it more like a game of chess rather than the outright battle that it advertises. However, in Smite, that’s precisely what it is.

Whenever a team fight occurs, and you’re in the front-line fighting, it isn’t a game of chess. It’s a game of survival and Smite resembles that perfectly. They take the chaos but make something exciting and explosive of it so that you feel like you’re in the real battle itself.

Of course, you’re still playing the game how a MOBA should be performed. There are three lanes with two towers guarding each lane till you can reach their base. There is also a jungle in between the lanes, meaning that being a jungler is an option.

It has several of the elements that make up a MOBA but from a third-person perspective. It also has some of its disadvantages. MOBAs are usually meant to be played like an explosive real-time strategy chess game where every move needs to be planned out.

However, when you’re playing from a third-person point of view, it’s kind of hard to do that. You need to focus on what’s in front of you, and because of this, it’s harder to look at the entire battlefield.

If that’s a little confusing, let me clarify. As I’ve said before, League of Legends, Heroes of the Storm, and DOTA 2 are all played from a bird’s eye view. That means they can see everything around them, so no one can sneak up behind them or flank them from the side without them knowing.

This isn’t the case for Smite though. Since it’s played in the third person, you need to be always looking around and to do that sacrifices the central strategic themes behind most MOBAs out there in the field right now.

Smite is a new and entertaining Multiplayer Online Battle Arena that combines the action of a game like Call of Duty with the themes of traditional MOBAs like League of Legends, forming a whole new aspect of the genre. It’s a revolutionary game that doesn’t hold onto old traditions, making it a game for people wanting a twist on things.

Dota 2

Defense of the Ancients 2 (Dota 2) is what made MOBAs into what they are today. They wouldn’t be here without this game because it revolutionized not only the video game industry but also the esports scene itself.

Dota 2 works in the way that it is a five versus five where each team is on the opposite side of the map and, like Heroes of the Storm and Smite, you’re trying to destroy their main structure before they destroy yours.

It also has the classic jungle and lanes that most MOBAs have as well as a wide range of champions that you can choose from to make the game entertaining in every single way possible. With different items builds, strategies and playstyles, Defense of the Ancients 2 emphasizes on the importance of playing the game right.

There are so many things to learn inside the game that Defense of the Ancients 2 makes you want to keep playing till you master the game. With different abilities, skill sets, champions, and items that you can pick, there’s no reason as to why the game isn’t going to suck you in.

In fact, at one point, DOTA 2 was so popular that it became the top video game in its industry as well as the esports scene. It was giving out millions of dollars in prize money and was the leading frontier into what made esports popular.

Furthermore, the complexity behind the game is so immense that you can play for years and still not master the game. First, there are the different playstyles built by the developers—like champions and items—and then there are the different playstyles built by the community.

Two examples of these are denying and zoning. Denying is the act of killing off your own minion wave to keep your opponent from “farming” up so that they can gain gold and experience while zoning is forcing them off the wave so that they get as little experience and gold as possible.

Sure, they sound the same, but there are little things in between that separate them. The important part behind this, though, is that the community created this and DOTA 2 is continually coming out with new strategies and playstyles for the player base to use.

It’s always evolving and doesn’t stop growing. Even if you master what the developers have offered, the community still has tons of opportunities for you to embrace and learn. That’s what separates and makes DOTA 2 unique. It doesn’t just stop. It keeps going.

League of Legends

League of Legends is by far the icon of Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas right now. It has everything that Defense of the Ancients 2 has to offer and more than that as well. Each champion inside their pool is meticulously created, and they have different events that shake things up every week.

Adding onto that, League of Legends’ graphics and animations are unrivaled in the MOBA industry. Everything is so smooth that each champion you play can bring a surge of dopamine whenever you pull off the right combination.

They have the same community-built playstyle that DOTA 2 has. Zoning and denying are big parts of League of Legends as well as different phases of the game called early, mid, and late game. Each of these is important in their own way.

What DOTA 2 does, League of Legends does better and currently, it is the top game in the MOBA industry. However, it does need to have things that separate it from the rest of the game otherwise it would just be a mediocre game that people play for fun occasionally.

Luckily for you, League of Legends does exactly that. As I’ve said before, each champion inside League of Legends is crafted so meticulously that they have their own specific purpose and niche that they can fulfill.

With over one hundred champions in the current pool, League of Legends has a diversity that outmatches even that of League of Legends. Combined with the fact that they’re constantly coming out with new events and changes, you’re sure to never get bored of the game.

They also do reworks which means that they re-create old champions into new ones so that they have stronger playstyles that can be used in the game. Every few months, they refresh everything so that nothing gets old.

Furthermore, their competitive system is of the highest tier, so you’re guaranteed to get a very entertaining and action-packed match nine out of ten times. The only downside to this is that people can sometimes be too competitive, and it can lead to verbal arguments.

Luckily, there’s a solution since you’re allowed to mute other players, and you can focus on what you need to do rather than focusing on them. Unlike the other Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas out there, League of Legends is constantly revamping and rebuilding.

They’ve recreated their map several times, making it look cleaner and smoother every single time while also rebuilding old champions and items to add new perspectives of play into them so that it’s much more enjoyable to play.

Overall, League of Legends is at the top tier of the Multiplayer Online Battle Arena scene. You can play competitively at the highest level and play for years without mastering the game due to its sheer amount of gameplay it has to offer.

Also, if you’re feeling like playing recreationally, there are different game styles that they offer throughout the year. Two of the most popular are currently URF (Ultra Rapid Fire) and One-For-All so that players can wind down and enjoy a game-mode that lets them relax and play the game for fun instead of competitively.

League of Legends has the perfect balance between competitive, and fun and that’s what makes it the perfect game. Most MOBAs are competitive, and nothing else but League of Legends also strives to make the game recreational, giving it the perfect incentive to any new players who want to try out the game.

Conclusion

MOBAs will always be a popular video game genre out there. It’s built with loads of action and a requirement of a mind sharp enough to apply strategy under pressure, all while using the action of an RPG or FPS to balance it out.

There are currently hundreds of MOBAs out there that can be played across all platforms—whether it’s console, PC, mobile, or any other device out there. However, there are only a few that can meet the standards of a new gamer looking for a new Multiplayer Online Battle Arena to play.

I’ve listed the top four in the industry, and all four of them have something that separates them from the rest. Heroes of the Storm gives a nostalgia to any of its returning users who have played video games from the same parent company, Blizzard.

Smite has everything that a MOBA has to offer but just in a third-person perspective with more explosive action and gameplay than it has strategy to offer. Defense of the Ancients 2 was what made MOBAs such a hot video game and finally, League of Legends is the icon of Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas to this date.

They’re all great options to choose from and picks that you should go for. In the end it’s up to you but if I have one thing to say on it, they’re all great options to choose from and whenever you make your choice, I can guarantee that you’ll be buckled in for the ride of your life.