Dominion: Future of the League?

So, it’s been a little bit of time since Dominion has been released and everyone is feverishly making their own opinions on everything regarding to it. As if right now, I’ve played about 20+ Games of Dominion with 4 or so champions, so I feel like I’ve gotten a pretty good gist of the game. I can say with the utmost confidence, that Dominion will NOT be replacing the traditional 5v5 anytime soon. Dominion is, in all honesty, not very DOTA-esque. Which is actually a good thing, lol. The gameplay is made to be enjoyed by people who like the aspects of the DOTA Genre, but not all the drama and pacing (and in some ways, skill) that comes in to it’s 45+ min games.

I think that Dominion is just a fun, new way to enjoy your old LoL. I will say that I LOVE the new items and wish they would bring some over to the 5v5 side, because they are so cool. (HEXTECH SWEEPER, HEXTECH SWEEPER!!!!!!) Later, I’ll post an entry on the special new items and what I feel their usefulness is, but know that they are all really cool. (ESPECIALLY THE HEXTECH SWEEPER) I do think that stealthies, who have been nerfed and poked and prodded on since the advent of season one, finally have a home they can excel in. And the ranged DPS DOES have a stronger role in this fast paced game. Also, as odd as it may be, Global Ultis are NOT the biggest problem, lol. I mean, Karth or GP killing you with their Ultis or stopping you from capturing a point if just the same as in a traditional 5v5, so it’s not that big of a deal really. I find that the overall experience is very well balanced and very satisfying. I can’t wait to see my fellow Summoner’s Dominating the Crystal Scar with me!

Dominion is Temporarily Available!

It was announced this morning that League of Legends brand new mode will OFFICIALLY enter Temporary Open Beta! This means that they will allow regular players to play Dominion during what they consider “Off-Peak” Hours. So, hurry up and take a day off or something and get into the groove! I’ll have a full detailed report up on it after I play a few more games myself. Enjoy!

Trying out something new here

So, I’m starting to see if MOBAHub works better with different blogging tools, so you may see some changes to the site over the next few days. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience!

Realm of the Titans coming back sooner then expected?

It appears that Realm of the Titans may be playable BEFORE it's officially released...again, lol. GM Pariah, one of the staff members for RoT said this"

"As for the question that a lot have been asking: Why not just keep the servers up and patch as we go? This is a legitimate question and right now I can say that this is possible, but I cannot say yes or no either to doing it. I see the benefits of having a community as we update the client. However, there are a lot of factors that do determine whether this is an efficient process or not and we will need to weight them. Short answer:Let me discuss this idea with my team. "

So it looks like we may get to play one of the hottest new MOBA's sooner then expected! Fingers Crossed!

Here's the link: Pariah Speaks

Munch's First Impresion on - Riven The Exile

So, I finally got a chance to play League of Legend's New Champion, Riven The Exile. Riven is a Melee Fighter who is designed to be a mobile combo machine. I didn't do very good with her, going 3/11/11 in one game even, but I feel that she has a LOT of serious potential. I tend to judge champions by 3 things

1. What role is this champions purpose? Are they a Mid-Laner? A Jungler? An Instigator/Initiator? Etc.
2. How much potential is there for this champion to kill/secure a kill or survive being killed?
3. How does this champion match up against other champions similar to it?

Riven is designed to play a lot like Rumble, one of my favorite champions. Riven is able to harass, but unless she is truly overwhelming her opponent, she can't secure a kill on her own. I can't see her Jungling OR Solo-Laning well, even though she has no mana and only relies on cooldowns. She is too squishy and can't finish the job without dying as well when she goes in for the kill alone. If Riven IS overwhelming her opponent, she, much like Rumble, will quite quickly overwhelm her opponent and score kills quickly and effectively.

Riven is very mobile, however, after playing her, I do see why they plan on buffing her mobility with her Q ability. It SHOULD be able to help you run, but it's really only good for chasing after people have bought boots. Her AoE Stun is balanced, oddly enough. Normally, AoE ANYTHING needs a nerf, but Riven's is balanced. Her dash could be a little nicer as well, but I won't complain about that, as too much more might make her broken. Her Ulti is generic feeling, but it's actually not half bad. I would say that it needs a buff to it's secondary ability, but not in damage. See, when you proc her Ulti, she then has to wait a second to use the ability. THEN, you have to channel it for another second. I feel that there shouldn't be a wait for the ability, it should be a quick R, R. Keep the channeling, but speed it up. Her passive is nice, nothing too great or too weak, but just right.

So far, I've seen three Rivens. A jungle Riven, which was, frankly, lame. There are FAR better choices for jungling and I can't think of a good reason to jungle as her. I've also seen (and played) an Attack Damage/Crit/Cooldown Riven, which worked WONDERS. It could use a little bit more tank to it, but it's VERY good once it gets going. The one I tend to lean towards is Attack Speed/Attack Damage/Cooldown Riven, which, I feel, gives her more balance. A Frost Mallet almost always guarantees a kill for someone on your team. I also feel that Boots of Lucidity are a must, having even just that gives you amazing cooldown and let's you spam out your abilities.

Overall Riven get's a 8.5/10 from me. Her design is very cool and her story is interesting. She makes for a great bully and is great once you get the hang of her many combos. She's not going to be the #1 in "In-Lane Fighters," but she's definitively in the upper echelon of them. If you have any comments, feel free to add below!

Rise of The Immortals - First Impressions

First and foremost, let me be 100% Honest: I love League of Legends. I've played Heroes of Newarth and I was in both the Alpha and the first round of Beta in Realm of the Titans. But deep down, I like LoL the best. I still play HoN and RoT, but I'm a LoL guy. That being said, I remember the old DoTA days and so I don't rage at always having to find a lobby and things like that. I'm relatively lenient on how I compare similar games. I don't complain about two characters being similar and stupid stuff like that. I love ALL MOBA's for what they bring to the table.

So, it came to my attention that there is a new MOBA that just came into it's first official release. Rise of the Immortals (RoI) is a MOBA that is designed in the same vein as LoL. The characters look similar to HoN's, but it has a graphic flair all to it's own. There are only 15 Immortals available right now, but Petroglyph already has announced another new Immortal and have many more on the way. The biggest difference, and, for lack of a better word, gimmick to the game, is it's Social Hub. This allows you to pick your immortal and go to a hub where you can talk to other players, sort of like a starting city in an MMO. It's not very big and it's basically everyone dancing in front of the tree, waiting to get into a game, but it's a nifty, albeit novelty, feature.

So, the positives first:

• The graphics are FANTASTIC for this game. I'm not a fan of the particular art style, but I have to admit, it's a bright, vivid game with no two Immortals even remotely alike. That's partially because of a lack of them, but it's brand new and should be forgiven.
  
• The game has a great tutorial, on par with LoL's Tutorial, which is the best. Say what you don't like about the game, it's got a damn good tutorial.
  
• The voices aren't half bad. I REALLY like a lot of them.
  
• And the champions are well balanced and have fun abilities.

Now, the bad. And I hate to say it, there's a lot.

• First and foremost: 20 minute wait for a game. I waited 20 minutes to get into a game. I've never had THAT kind of trouble getting into any other MOBA's Lobbies! Even DoTA was easier to do AND faster.
  
• The game is definitely in need of some star power. There's no...well, drive to play any of the characters. They all look generic and are kind of boring. I love their playstyle, but the models are kind of boring.
  
• Apparently, anything can be bought with money in this game. And I do mean ANYTHING.
  
• There's a 5th Ability for every Immortal, they're "signature move." Think like a 2nd Ultimate and you get the jist. However, only once you've reached level 21 with that character and leveled up their branch do you gain access to it. This is very frustrating, since matchmaking isn't exactly friendly, since 90% of the people that new people play against are a good 5 to 20 levels above you.
  
• Honestly, the "Social Hub" is just kind of dumb. This is my personal opinion, and I know there are some that will love this feature, but I personally hate it. I come from Old-School DoTA players and the old-age of LoL players. We don't WANT to see everyone on the server, we just want to play. Give me a big ass "Play" or "Join" button and I'm happy.
  
• Now, I know I said earlier that 15 champs is forgivable. It WOULD be MORE forgivable, if DoTA 2 didn't already have 30 Champions planned for it's first public release. And while it has a better original source to draw from, we all know that we want LOTS of Characters, lol.

All in all, Rise of the Immortals falls short of other MOBAs. It's very similar to the others, most notably, LoL, but it's just not as GOOD as any of them. Give RotI some time to develop before giving a serious thought...and pray you got into the beta of DoTA 2, lol.

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