MOBAs have a very niche audience. Gaming can be some of your day’s most fun, relaxing times. In many cases, it can also be educational. There are countless titles that have given us many memories with friends and family: Super Mario Kart, Call of Duty, Super Smash Brothers, and many others. Though these games require some sort of skill, they are largely player-friendly. Anyone can pick them up and play. This is not the case for MOBAs, gaming’s most unforgiving genre.
What Is A MOBA?
This is a standard map of a MOBAMOBA stands for Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. The format is normally two teams competing, with each player controlling a single hero. As the match progresses, the heroes get stronger by collecting in-battle currency to buy items. The objective of the two respective teams is to destroy the enemy base while protecting their own.
There are five roles in a MOBA, typically: Marksman (bottom lane, can be top lane), Tank(Roamer), Mage(Mid-lane), Jungler, and Fighter(solo lane). There are turrets in each lane. You push the opponent’s turrets all the way until you get to the base of the enemy to destroy it. Sounds simple enough, but that could not be the furthest thing from reality.
What Makes MOBAs So Difficult?
It takes experience above all else to be good in MOBAs. Games like Marvel Rivals and Overwatch may come with a learning curve, but they are much more newbie-friendly. Famous MOBAs such as League of Legends, Mobile Legends, and DOTA are not. I pinpoint this as being the veteran players’ fault. The competitive nature of MOBAs gets downright toxic, and if you do anything less than what your teammates expect, then your soul will be cursed to hell.
The other issue is the severe unbalanced nature in MOBAs. No matter what is done, developers cannot seem to grasp how to not make a few heroes overpowered and the others underwhelming. This creates a perpetual cycle of metas that all players feel they must adhere to in order to win. This brings me to the matchmaking problem. Some days, you can get into games and feel like an unstoppable pro, and other days, you are pulling your hair out, wondering where you went wrong, calling for your mother in a fetal position.
Now, if vets are going through such a tough time, then the new players are sure to be scared off. One has to learn the heroes, the lanes and roles, the items, what heroes counter other heroes, what items counter heroes, when to rotate, what objectives to go for, and when. It is not an easy concept to pick up and be immediately good at. It takes patience, dedication, and very tough skin to make it to a level where you are competitive.
The Best And Worst Of Times
When it’s great, it’s wonderful. When it’s bad, it’s terrible. As someone who has been ranked in the top 10 in the United States in Mobile Legends, it’s a very addicting experience. My theory is that the matchmaking is set up in such a way to give you the highest highs and the lowest lows to keep wanting to play. If you’re on a losing streak, you play to beat it. If you’re winning, you love the feeling because it can possibly be an elusive one. Either way, it is quite an experience, unlike any other. MOBAs are some of the most unforgiving games ever created, but they also give you a rewarding feeling like no other.
Below are some of the most popular if you want to step into the lion’s den:
League of Legends(PC)- https://www.leagueoflegends.com/en-us/download/
League of Legends: Wild Rift(Mobile)- Android and iOS
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang(Mobile)- Android and iOS
Honor of Kings(Mobile)- Android and iOS
DOTA 2(PC)- https://www.dota2.com/home
