Does anyone have a spare beta key?

 

I lol'd.

/char

 

Yep, I am (?)
Seriously, anyone got one?

 

-facepalm-

 

They say drinking bleach is good for you, leenK - go do it.

 

No, thanks. The beta key would be better for me

 

You get points for persistence, but lose points for not being able to understand sarcasm or take a hint.

 

Sigh. And here I was expecting another thread where more fortunate members were bragging about getting into the beta.

[Key-whoring thread anyone? I need one... ]

 

This thread amuses me.

But yeah, I would use a beta key instead of giving it out, personally.

 

I got into the beta.
Didn't want to disappoint you.

 

can i have a beta key? i'm definitely the best player in the forums

 

If you get an invite you get three keys, one for you and two for friends. People are just hoping someone here has no friends.

 

You mean that this doesn't count as Warez talk?

 

I got a guest pass I'm willing to share if you're interested Esper.

 

Anyone actually in the beta? How is it compared to LoL?

 

I can really compare it to LoL cause I didn't really play it, but basically the core of DOTA2 is the same as the original with the added bonus of enhanced graphics, sound and Steam community options. Plus a few other bits like the ability to watch others play in real time. We don't have all the old heroes yet but it's getting there.

 

First, a tl;dr: LoL is a casual game for having a good time without stress, DotA is a highly competitive game with significant rewards if you can stick to with through the insane learning curve and depressing community.

I've played DotA for years now, since its release on WC3:RoC, and I've put tens of thousands of hours into it. By comparison I've only put about 100 into LoL, but I'll try to be as unbiased as possible here.

First of all, Guinsoo developed LoL after giving up on DotA and then seeing how popular IceFrog made it. His version of DotA was extremely unbalanced, to the point that picking certain heroes made it literally impossible to lose, even if you just sat at the base and AFK'd until the 70th minute. That being said, he seemed to put more stock in bug fixes and optimizations.

When IceFrog took over he worked on balancing the game towards a much more competitive feel. Over the next ten or so versions he destroyed a handful of characters entirely, recreating some and leaving others in the wayside, so that DotA could be more competitive. This distinction is important because it's a core difference between DotA and LoL - DotA is competitive, LoL is casual by comparison.

In LoL you have Flash to teleport back to base. In DotA you have to buy a single-use Teleport Scroll for 135 gold, it takes up a spot in the inventory, and you can only buy it in range of shops, but it can be used to teleport to any allied structure.

in DotA you don't have any items that affect spells. Spell-heavy heroes like Lina (Annie or Veigar in LoL, I think) have no way of increasing their spell damage or decreasing CD. They're the most dangerous characters on the map for the first 20-25 minutes, and then start to fade out. By late-game their role is to stun and take fire from semi-carries and carries.

There's no grass to hide in. You can run through paths in the forest, uphill, downhill, around trees, you can cut paths in the trees, you can escape with spells or just out run the guy, but you don't have any area on the map that makes you invisible when you run into it. The closest thing to this is the Roshan pit, which is permanently covered by fog of war until you enter it.

You can deny your own creeps when they get below 50% HP. Denying prevents your opponent from getting the gold, and gives melee heroes only half the experience, ranged heroes get a measly 1/4 experience.

When you die in DotA your enemies get gold and experience, and you lose gold corresponding to your level and kill streak.

Runes are static. That is, every two minutes starting at 0:00 a random rune spawns at one of two rune spots in the river. The runes are always either an Illusion, Haste, Double Damage, Regeneration, or Invisibility. There's no way to make these runes stronger or weaker except by giving them to a hero they're useful or bad on.

In that vein, each game is separate. There's no summoners that get stronger, or any exterior way to change the game outside of modes, meta-gaming, and hacks.

Those are the biggest differences. Going from DotA to LoL, I couldn't help but feel I was playing in the kiddy pool after swimming in an ocean. The strategy just isn't there in any sense that begins to rival how deep DotA is. I like this because it means you can have a relaxed game, and the community isn't as harsh, so failing doesn't mean receiving death threats from anxious teenagers. On the other hand, it doesn't satisfy my need for a challenge.

Also, the DotA community is infamously terrible. The learning curve is harsh, with at least fifty games necessary to begin to learn what's going on, and being a huge detriment to the team if you aren't at their level or above it, tensions run high, even when you're stomping. Another problem is that since DotA is so team-oriented, very few people believe they're actually bad, and it's usually only the people that are good enough that they'll be able to carry the game regardless.

Going from LoL to DotA, don't expect to be anything except for terrible. DotA is in a different league. It's like comparing Mario Kart to Gran Turismo.

 

LoL is a very simplified and monetized version of the genre started by DotA. It has very little in common with DotA, except the basic game structure. Most of the details are completely different.

Heroes of Newerth is the game that can be more closely compared to DotA 2. Both were replacements of the ancient WC3 engine, both were developed with the competitive gamestyle first. It was almost a direct port to start.

The best thing about DotA that you don't really see elsewhere, is that if your teamwork is good, you will have the absolute time of your life, even if losing. If your teamwork sucks, you're not going to have much fun unless you actually solo well.

(Also, thanks a lot Nobel!)