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<blockquote data-quote="EzekielRaiden" data-source="post: 8524775" data-attributes="member: 6790260"><p>Building off the previous answer:</p><p></p><p>Because MOBAs grew out of the Warcraft 3 modding community, they have inherited a set of common characteristics to one degree or another. These are:</p><p></p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Players choose a "hero"/"champion" to play, as the original DotA map re-purposed the WC3 "hero" mechanic; these heroes defend one base on the map against enemy assault, while trying to assault the enemy base.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Each hero has a small, fixed set of abilities. Typically there are three "regular" abilities, which can improve in power once per hero level, and one "ultimate" ability, which can only improve at slower intervals. Some games (like LoL) also give some unique, innate passive ability (that does not rank up, but may improve with use) to each hero, though this is not a universal feature.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Heroes primarily gain power from being the person to successfully strike the killing blow against an enemy (NPC mooks or opponent heroes), gaining XP and money. XP works as you'd expect. Money buys magic equipment. And on that note...</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Magic equipment is vital to becoming strong. Without it, most heroes are not able to hold their own. Correct selection of your item build, in terms of both which items and which order you acquire them, is essential in most MOBAs, though not all (Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard's only official entry into the field, did not depend as much on item builds and was more concerned with branching ability options.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Every hero is designed with a spectrum of roles in mind. It may be possible to play outside those roles, but usually this is not intended and may result in gameplay changes (the video game equivalent of errata). These include "tanky bruiser" (someone who hits hard but can also take hits), "CC" (crowd control, those who can prevent enemy escape), "carry" (heroes who can do great damage but, usually, cannot take damage well, so they need more survivable allies between them and the front line), "jungle" (characters that are relatively independently survivable, and who can thus wander outside the usual fighting lanes, killing monsters and securing early kills on enemy heroes), "support" (offering buffs, cleansing, healing, etc. to allies), etc. Most heroes will have at least 3-4 intended roles, some more, but it's rare to see less than that. As noted, item build heavily affects performance so items often determine what a hero is focused on doing in a given game.</li> </ul><p>That probably covers enough of the mechanical angle to give you more context about what is being described. I imagine the emphasis on items would be reduced but not eliminated, but how one would translate the more underlying mechanical structure effectively is less clear.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EzekielRaiden, post: 8524775, member: 6790260"] Building off the previous answer: Because MOBAs grew out of the Warcraft 3 modding community, they have inherited a set of common characteristics to one degree or another. These are: [LIST] [*]Players choose a "hero"/"champion" to play, as the original DotA map re-purposed the WC3 "hero" mechanic; these heroes defend one base on the map against enemy assault, while trying to assault the enemy base. [*]Each hero has a small, fixed set of abilities. Typically there are three "regular" abilities, which can improve in power once per hero level, and one "ultimate" ability, which can only improve at slower intervals. Some games (like LoL) also give some unique, innate passive ability (that does not rank up, but may improve with use) to each hero, though this is not a universal feature. [*]Heroes primarily gain power from being the person to successfully strike the killing blow against an enemy (NPC mooks or opponent heroes), gaining XP and money. XP works as you'd expect. Money buys magic equipment. And on that note... [*]Magic equipment is vital to becoming strong. Without it, most heroes are not able to hold their own. Correct selection of your item build, in terms of both which items and which order you acquire them, is essential in most MOBAs, though not all (Heroes of the Storm, Blizzard's only official entry into the field, did not depend as much on item builds and was more concerned with branching ability options.) [*]Every hero is designed with a spectrum of roles in mind. It may be possible to play outside those roles, but usually this is not intended and may result in gameplay changes (the video game equivalent of errata). These include "tanky bruiser" (someone who hits hard but can also take hits), "CC" (crowd control, those who can prevent enemy escape), "carry" (heroes who can do great damage but, usually, cannot take damage well, so they need more survivable allies between them and the front line), "jungle" (characters that are relatively independently survivable, and who can thus wander outside the usual fighting lanes, killing monsters and securing early kills on enemy heroes), "support" (offering buffs, cleansing, healing, etc. to allies), etc. Most heroes will have at least 3-4 intended roles, some more, but it's rare to see less than that. As noted, item build heavily affects performance so items often determine what a hero is focused on doing in a given game. [/LIST] That probably covers enough of the mechanical angle to give you more context about what is being described. I imagine the emphasis on items would be reduced but not eliminated, but how one would translate the more underlying mechanical structure effectively is less clear. [/QUOTE]
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