League of Legends is a MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena), and there are several other games in the genre worth trying. Each one changes the formula in a different way: camera angle, mechanical complexity, platform, match length, or how you unlock characters. This guide compares the major options from the perspective of someone who already plays LoL.
MOBA Comparison Table
| Game | Platform | Heroes/Gods | Hero Unlock | Avg Match | Complexity vs LoL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League of Legends | PC | 172 | Free rotation + BE grind or RP | 25-40 min | Baseline |
| Dota 2 | PC | 127 | All free | 40-50 min | Higher |
| Smite 2 | PC, PS5, Xbox | 67 | Free rotation + tokens; $30 for all | 25-35 min | Similar |
| Heroes of the Storm | PC | 90 | Free rotation + gold grind | 15-25 min | Lower |
| Wild Rift | iOS, Android | 136 | Free rotation + Blue Motes | 15-20 min | Similar (simplified) |
| Mobile Legends | iOS, Android | 132+ | Free rotation + BP grind | 10-15 min | Lower |
| Pokemon Unite | Switch, iOS, Android | 60+ | Aeos Coins (slow) or Gems (paid) | 10 min (capped) | Much lower |
| Honor of Kings | iOS, Android | 100+ | Free rotation + gold grind | 12-18 min | Similar |
| Deadlock | PC (Early Access) | ~38 | All free | 25-40 min | Different (shooter hybrid) |
Dota 2
Dota 2 is the closest relative to League of Legends. Both descended from the same Warcraft III mod, but Dota 2 kept mechanics that LoL removed to lower the barrier to entry.
What LoL players will notice immediately:
- Denying - you can last-hit your own creeps to deny the enemy gold and XP. There's no equivalent in LoL.
- Turn rates - heroes take time to physically rotate before moving or attacking in a new direction. LoL champions turn instantly. This makes kiting feel different.
- Courier - a dedicated unit delivers items from the shop to your hero in lane, so you don't need to recall to buy.
- Roshan vs Baron - Dota 2's Roshan drops the Aegis of the Immortal, which instantly revives the holder at full HP on the spot. Baron Nashor grants a team-wide buff instead. ("Nashor" is an anagram of "Roshan.")
- Active items - Dota 2 items have more powerful active abilities. Items like Blink Dagger, Black King Bar, and Force Staff are build-defining in a way most LoL items aren't.
Unlock model: Every hero is free from day one. Dota 2 monetizes exclusively through cosmetic skins and the seasonal battle pass. No grinding required to access the full roster.
Playerbase: Dota 2 averages around 450,000-650,000 concurrent players on Steam, with an all-time peak of 1.29 million. It's smaller than LoL but has a loyal, long-term community.
Match length: Typically 40-50 minutes, longer than LoL's 25-40 minutes. Games can run over an hour in late-game scenarios.
Smite 2
Smite 2 entered free-to-play open beta in January 2025 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Its defining feature is the third-person camera: instead of the top-down view in LoL, you're behind your god, and every ability is a skillshot because you can't see behind you.
Characters are gods drawn from real-world mythology: Greek, Norse, Egyptian, Chinese, Hindu, and 10 other pantheons (67 gods available as of 2026, with more added regularly). The game has full crossplay and cross-progression across all platforms.
Unlock model: Free weekly rotation, plus God Tokens earned as you level your account. The Founder's Edition ($29.99) unlocks all current and future gods permanently.
For LoL players: If you want a MOBA that feels meaningfully different from LoL rather than just harder or simpler, Smite 2's camera angle changes everything about positioning, warding, and teamfight awareness. Console support is a bonus if you want to play from the couch.
Heroes of the Storm
Blizzard's MOBA strips away two mechanics LoL players might not realize they dislike until they're gone: last-hitting and the item shop. Experience is shared across your entire team, and individual progression comes from a talent system where you pick from branching upgrades at milestone levels (with major power spikes at Level 10 and Level 20).
The roster of 90 heroes pulls from Warcraft, StarCraft, Diablo, and Overwatch. Each map has unique objectives (collecting tribute, escorting a payload, capturing seeds) that force team fights at specific locations, making macro decisions the primary skill expression.
Current status: Heroes of the Storm entered maintenance mode in July 2022. Blizzard cancelled its esports league in December 2018. The game still receives balance patches and seasonal rotations but no new heroes or major content. It was added to PC Game Pass in March 2025 with a bundle of 30 free heroes.
For LoL players: If you're burned out on the item system complexity or hate last-hitting, HotS is a refreshing change. Games run 15-25 minutes. The reduced population means longer queue times at higher ranks, but casual and mid-rank play is fine.
Wild Rift
Wild Rift is League of Legends rebuilt for mobile. Same champions, same abilities, same universe, but adapted for touchscreens with twin-stick controls and a camera that's always oriented with your base at the bottom-left.
As of early 2026, Wild Rift has 136 champions compared to LoL's 172 on PC. New champion releases lag behind the PC version. Console development was cancelled in 2024, so it's iOS and Android only. Wild Rift has its own exclusive ranked tier, Sovereign, above Challenger.
Match length: 15-20 minutes, achieved through a smaller map, faster gold gain, and shorter respawn timers.
For LoL players: Worth trying if you want League on the go. The core gameplay translates well, but the control scheme takes adjustment. Expect a smaller champion pool and a different meta shaped by mobile-specific balance changes.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Mobile Legends launched in 2016 and is the dominant mobile MOBA in Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia. It's built for short sessions on lower-spec devices, with matches running 10-15 minutes.
The game drew a copyright lawsuit from Riot Games in July 2017 over character and map similarities. The case was dismissed on jurisdictional grounds, not on the merits. Mobile Legends has since developed its own identity with 132+ heroes and a dedicated competitive scene (the M-Series World Championship).
For LoL players: If you want the fastest mobile MOBA experience, this is it. Simpler than Wild Rift with faster matches, but the trade-off is less mechanical depth.
Pokemon Unite
Pokemon Unite is the most casual MOBA on this list. Matches are hard-capped at 10 minutes, and the win condition is scoring points by depositing Aeos energy into enemy goals, not destroying a base.
Available on Nintendo Switch and mobile (iOS/Android) with cross-play. Over 200 million downloads as of mid-2024.
Unlock model: Pokemon are unlocked via Unite Licenses, purchased with in-game currency (Aeos Coins, earned slowly) or premium currency (Aeos Gems, paid). The game has drawn pay-to-win criticism over Held Items, which are upgradeable with real money for stat boosts, though mitigations have reduced the gap since launch.
For LoL players: A low-commitment alternative when you want a MOBA session that's guaranteed to end in 10 minutes. Don't expect strategic depth comparable to LoL.
Honor of Kings
Honor of Kings is the world's most-played mobile game, with a reported 260 million monthly active users and $2.6 billion in revenue in 2024. It's developed by TiMi Studios, a subsidiary of Tencent (which also fully owns Riot Games).
The game launched as a Chinese-market mobile MOBA and drew early criticism from Riot for being heavily inspired by League of Legends. Tencent had originally asked Riot to make a mobile LoL; when Riot declined, TiMi built Honor of Kings instead. It has since developed its own roster and identity, though the mechanical DNA is similar.
International availability was limited for years (the Western version, Arena of Valor, didn't gain traction), but Honor of Kings launched globally in June 2024.
For LoL players: The closest mobile experience to LoL in terms of mechanical feel, with a massive playerbase. If you're in a region where it's popular, the competitive scene is well-developed.
Deadlock
Deadlock is Valve's new MOBA-shooter hybrid, currently in early access on Steam with invite-only access. It's a 6v6, third-person game played on a 3-lane map (changed from 4 lanes in February 2025) where players use both hero abilities and gunplay. The economy uses "Souls" instead of gold.
Despite having no public release and no marketing, Deadlock hit 125,000 concurrent Steam players in February 2026 after its "Old Gods, New Blood" update. The roster is around 38 heroes and growing.
For LoL players: This isn't a direct LoL alternative. It's a fundamentally different game that borrows MOBA structure (lanes, towers, items, hero abilities) but plays like a third-person shooter. Worth watching if you're interested in where the genre is heading. No release date announced.
Which MOBA Should You Play?
- Want more complexity? Dota 2. All heroes free, deeper mechanics, longer matches.
- Want a different perspective? Smite 2. Third-person camera changes everything. Console-friendly.
- Want shorter, simpler matches? Heroes of the Storm (PC) or Pokemon Unite (Switch/mobile).
- Want LoL on mobile? Wild Rift is the official mobile port. Mobile Legends and Honor of Kings are alternatives with larger mobile playerbases in certain regions.
- Want something new? Deadlock is the most ambitious experiment in the genre right now, if you can get access.
If you're sticking with League, LoLTheory gives you real-time item recommendations that update as enemies buy, so you're always building for the game you're actually in.
