Top 3 Most Popular Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) Games of 2015

For the past few years, the online gaming scene has been dominated by Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games or MOBA.  The objective of these games is to dominate the other team by destroying a heavily guarded base using player-controlled units chosen from a pool of several heroes or champions, each having unique abilities and roles. These games require strategic team play, which is part of the reason MOBA’s rose to popularity. Not only that, they require intermediate hardware requirements and would run smoothly on cheap gaming laptops such as those here. We list now the top three MOBA games of 2015.

League of Legends

League of Legends or more popularly known as LOL, an MOBA created by Riot Games, became the world’s most played online game in terms of hours played. A player is commonly referred to as a “summoner” that controls a “champion” against other players or computer-controlled AI’s. The main attraction LOL offers is its simple game mechanics and that it is very easy to learn. The developers are constantly adding new champions to the pool which currently has 129 unique champions.

DOTA 2

DOTA 2 is the much-awaited sequel to the original DoTA custom map of Warcraft 3 that greatly popularized the MOBA genre as we know it today. DOTA 2 retains much of the original DoTA’s mechanics as well as the heroes and their abilities. Although originally, the game revolved around the traditional three-lane map, the game has recently introduced map customization to players. Unlike LOL, DOTA 2 is free-to-play and employs a pay-to-look-good system that doesn’t affect gameplay making it popular with players that are not willing to spend money. It also offers a complex gameplay and a steep learning curve which may be challenging for beginners.

Heroes of the Storm

Heroes of the Storm is relatively new in the MOBA scene but it offers a different gaming experience from other MOBAs. What’s unique in this newbie MOBA is its levelling system, wherein the players level up as a team rather than the usual individual levelling system. There are no in-game shops available but what’s special in HotS is the addition of other in-game objectives to gain advantages against the enemy team. Players take part in numerous team-fights in order to gain these advantages making the game a fun, team play-oriented MOBA.

Fast reflexes, strategic planning, and exciting team fights, MOBAs continue to rise in popularity among gamers and hopefully will continue to evolve as more innovations are introduced to the genre. Happy gaming!