League of Legends has been soaring to great height since its initial release in 2009. The game has evolved so much since then and it’s considered as one of the biggest games in esports and casual gaming. With this, came a lot of merits and controversies. Some praised the game’s innovation, bringing a new kind of fast-paced MOBA while keeping the same sweaty 5v5 team fights and tower sieging. Others, however, pointed to its “similarities” with another MOBA (cough Dota 2 cough). The discussion on whether or not League of Legends copied another game has been floating around for quite some time now, and it seems like it won’t go away any time soon. So if you’re wondering about it as well, this may give you an idea.

What is League of Legends

League of Legends is a MOBA launched in 2009. Players with their personal computers could download the game and play it for free. At the time of the release, it was only available for Windows users with the OS X users having their own client released in 2013. League of Legends offered fast-paced gameplay, and a unique take on MOBAs. It featured the classic 5v5 teamfights and tower sieging and added a whole array of unique skills and summoner spells. The game also took pride in its champions’ flashy combos and plays that challenged even the most mechanically gifted players. However, even with these, people can’t help but compare the game to its rival Dota 2 and its predecessor Dota.

Did it copy any game?

Even with a lot of comparisons, League of Legends undeniably stands out as an iconic game that could last quite a long time. Its basic principle of a 3-lane, 5v5 battle is identical to almost every MOBA game released on PC and mobile devices. However, there are a lot of noticeable traits that are unique to the game.

First are the champions. Compared to other prior MOBAs, League of Legends feature champions with abilities that are new and unique from other MOBAs, and every champion the game also has. The majority of the abilities are non-targeted spells, and dashes, which encourages the players to anticipate enemy movement and predict any other quirks before casting the skills. Cooldowns and average mana costs are also lower than almost all commonly played MOBAs. This makes it a bit more spammable in teamfights and encourages players to have sharp reflexes to dodge or anticipate enemy ability casts.

Another difference is the terrain. League of Legends is played on a flat map with added terrain here and there that serves as walls and gives shape to jungle routes. Unlike Dota, League of Legends didn’t use terrain with different levels of elevations. This could be a good thing or bad depending on who you ask, but it is certainly something different.

Lastly is the addition of features such as runes, summoner spells, and recall. The runes give additional stats and perks depending on which playstyle you’re going for. Summoner spells give the player 2 spells that act like skills. These spells could heal for an amount of HP, reduce the target enemy’s damage and movement speed, blink the user to a short distance, and a couple more.

And lastly, it comes with a recall button that teleports the player back to the base after channeling for an amount of time. And the best part is, it’s free.

Conclusion

If you really want to know how League of Legends compares and holds up to the MOBA games that you know, there’s no better way to find out than to play it for yourself. The game is free, so you can download the client and make an account for yourself. Or, if you want to see in-depth comparisons in champions, and you don’t feel like grinding for hours to be able to purchase them, you can get your account over at the Accounts of Legends page to get your preferred account specifications. Or, if you want to see in-depth comparisons of your account details, you can get your account over at the Accounts of Legends page to check your League of Legends MMR rankings.