I have been a MOBA player (AoS anyone?) for 5 years. I started with RoC DotA, moved to TFT DotA, and now I play HoN and LoL. Before you start flaming because I play both, please wait for what I have to say. I still believe HoN is a superior game, though I start to give LoL some credit nowadays. It's not as terrible a game as many make it seem. I really believe that until you reach a high rating in BOTH games, you cannot make a fair judgment. That is one reason why I am playing LoL. I am also playing league to expand my thoughts and knowledge so I can reach out to more people.
Anyway, on to the subject: Why HoN will always have a place in my heart.
1. INNOVATION AND VARIETY
The way DotA has a place in my heart, HoN will have one as well. I have grown an appreciation for innovative lineups, a jungle that actually gives money, innovative strategies, and more. I have reached level 30 in LoL and I have started on my way up the ladder in ranked. I'm glad that I have extensive experience and a modestly high rating in HoN because it continues to help my LoL gameplay. What I find concerning in league is its stale metagame. A solo lane, a mid lane, a duo lane with the AD carry and support, and a jungler. As a HoN player, it concerns me. A LOT. While the top and bottom lane may swap in LoL, mid and jungle usually remain the same. HoN was always the more versatile game. 2-1-2 lane can work. 3-1-1 lane can work. 2-1-1 with a jungler can work. I also recall double jungle working at some point. (Or maybe it was just attempted) Maybe this just applies to THIS league metagame, but people are very strict on it.
2. THE JUNGLE
I am a jungler at heart. I love to play the jungle. I love coming out of the jungle, ganking, and receding back into the shadows to play with creeps and get money. In both games, I enjoy jungling and roaming. League's jungle is very different from HoN and DotA's jungle. HoN jungle creeps give a good amount of money and can be stacked. This means junglers can either 1) jungle, gank, then go back to the jungle or 2) focus on jungling and FARM HARD. In league, the jungler is practically just a glorified roamer. I just like having many options, such as a Legionnaire coming out with a PK early in the game because nobody on the other team bothered to check if he was low HP because he was taking triple stack medium camps. You can do silly things like get to level 6 in 3 minutes, or close to it given the right circumstances
3. THE PLAYERS
Many think HoN's RAP system sucks. Imagine a system you are judged by peers, and not by people who have gained the respect of the HoN community and staff. If I am not mistaken, is that not how it works? I just find it strange.
Time and time again, I have come across people in LoL who complain over and over about lanes, lineups, etc. I know this happens in HoN as well, but not nearly as bad as in LoL. Instantly, comments like "I REPORT U NOOB THROW" come up and make the game ridiculous. Why would someone report another for wanting to try dual lane mid or some other strategy? At one point in time or another, every dominant metagame was a mystery and had to be tested... People threatening to report is all too common and league and is becoming annoying. If a system were implemented in LoL like we have in HoN, a deposit on report, maybe people would think twice. Or maybe if a 5 minute wait time were implemented. Reporting is silly and too easy in LoL, resulting in too many whiners. Maybe I haven't played enough high ranked games to know.
4. THE IMPORTANCE OF LIFE AND DEATH
In HoN, I really feel like life and death play a huge role in the game; a bigger role than it does in LoL. Money lost on death and buy backs create such an interesting dynamic to the game. Mistakes cost a person more. What better way to learn from your mistakes than to have them cost you a lot? Deaths in HoN really make me think twice about my actions. Will I have money for buy back? Will the money I lose matter? Not only do you lose the opportunity to make money, you also lose money itself. And the fact that killing someone also makes them lose money makes kills much more rewarding and worthwhile. I like knowing that I've messed up someone else's game.
5. THE ITEMS
I love my Kelen's Dagger of Escape. I love my PORTAL KEY. I love my HOMECOMING STONE. I LOVE IT! And most importantly: I love my Power Supply. Enough said.
P.S. Two more words. CODEX FIVE.
P.S. Two more words. CODEX FIVE.
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