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135-525: Dota is a series of strategy video games . The series began in 2003 with the release of Defense of the Ancients ( DotA ), a fan-developed multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) custom map for the video game Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion, The Frozen Throne . The original map features gameplay centered around two teams of up to five players who assume control of individual characters called " heroes ", which must coordinate to destroy

270-404: A campaign mode , which involves a series of matches against several artificial intelligence opponents. Finishing each match or mission will advance the game's plot, often with cut scenes , and some games will reward a completed mission with new abilities or upgrades. Hardcore strategy gamers tend to prefer multiplayer competition, where human opponents provide more challenging competition than

405-413: A mobile strategy video game. The origin of strategy video games is rooted in traditional tabletop strategy games like Chess , Checkers and Go , as well as board and miniature wargaming . The Sumerian Game , an early mainframe game written by Mabel Addis , based on the ancient Sumerian city-state of Lagash , was an economic simulation strategy game. The first console strategy game

540-493: A teaser trailer played at The International 2017 , a large Dota 2 -specific esports tournament organized by Valve . Artifact was released for Windows , macOS , and Linux in November 2018, with versions planned for Android and iOS . While its gameplay and drafting mechanics received praise, it was criticized for its high learning curve and monetization model , which some likened to being pay-to-win . The game saw

675-456: A 95% decline in players within two months of its release, and had fewer than 100 concurrent players by mid-2019. Dota Underlords is a free-to-play auto battler , a type of chess -like competitive multiplayer strategy video game , developed and published by Valve. The game is based on a Dota 2 community-created game mode called Dota Auto Chess , with journalists noting the parallel modding origins that DotA had from Warcraft III . It

810-696: A MOBA with a third-person perspective. Heroes of the Storm was released in 2015, featuring hero characters from Warcraft III and other Blizzard's franchises. Blizzard adopted their own personal dictation for their game's genre with "hero brawler", citing its focus on action. With the expansion of the smartphone market, numerous MOBA titles have been released for portable devices , such as Vainglory (2014), and Honor of Kings (2015). An international adaptation of Honor of Kings developed by TiMi Studios and published by Tencent Games for markets outside mainland China, rebranded as Arena of Valor (2016),

945-423: A board game or paper map. Many later games adopted an isometric perspective. Even with the rise of 3D graphics and the potential to manipulate the camera, games usually feature some kind of aerial view. Very rarely do strategy games show the world from the perspective from an avatar on the ground. This is to provide the player with a big-picture view of the game world, and form more effective strategies. Exploration

1080-580: A bonus to other units. Units may also have the ability to sail or fly over otherwise impassable terrain, or provide transport for other units. Non-combat abilities often include the ability to repair or construct other units or buildings. Even in imaginary or fantastic conflicts, strategy games try to reproduce important tactical situations throughout history. Techniques such as flanking, making diversions, or cutting supply lines may become integral parts of managing combat. Terrain becomes an important part of strategy, since units may gain or lose advantages based on

1215-485: A fixed set of units, and downplay other strategic considerations such as manufacturing, and resource management. Tactical games are strictly about combat, and typically focus on individual battles, or other small sections in a larger conflict. Strategy games can take place in a number of settings. Depending on the theatre of warfare , releases may be noted as naval strategy games, or space strategy games. A title may be noted for its grand strategic scale, whether

1350-476: A hero runs out of health points and consequently dies, they are removed from active play until a respawn timer counts down to zero, at which point the hero respawns in their base. The amount of time required to respawn generally increases as the game progresses and/or the players level up. Heroes typically fall into one of several roles, such as tank, damage dealer, and support, each of which having unique designs, strengths, and weaknesses. MOBAs typically offer

1485-401: A large number of viable playable heroes for the player to choose from – League of Legends , for instance, began with 40, and has continued to add characters over the game's lifespan, reaching 100 in 2012 and 150 in 2020. This adds to the overall complexity of the game as players must be aware of an ever-increasing list of available characters. Choosing the correct character to play is itself

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1620-656: A larger volume of online data. By 2006, reviewers expressed disappointment with the titles produced thus far. Critics argued that strategy games are not conducive to massively multiplayer gameplay. A single victory cannot have much impact in a large persistent world, and this makes it hard for a player to care about a small victory, especially if they are fighting for a faction that is losing an overall war. However, more recent developers have tried to learn from past mistakes, resulting in Dreamlords from 2007, and Saga from 2008. In 2012, Supercell released Clash of Clans ,

1755-465: A map creator named Meian created a DotA variant closely modeled on Eul's map, but combining heroes from the many other versions of DotA that existed at the time. Called DotA: Allstars , it was inherited after a few months by a modder called Steve "Guinsoo" Feak, and under his guidance it became the dominant map of the genre. After more than a year of maintaining the DotA: Allstars map, with

1890-480: A nation and the coordination of its resources. Diplomacy and war interact with each other and become the primary means of reshaping the world map consisting of various states. Players use their nation's resources to achieve national goals such as world domination, whether through military might, diplomacy, or economics. Unlike 4X games, Grand Strategy games might not include such elements as exploration, but it still can be there. Great examples of Grand Strategy games are

2025-419: A notable example. The latter games fall into the player-alternated TBS games category, and are subsequently subdivided into (a) ranked, (b) round-robin start, and (c) random, the difference being the order under which players take their turns. With (a), ranked, the players take their turns in the same order every time. With (b), the first player is selected according to a round-robin policy. With (c), random ,

2160-552: A part of wider subgenre of strategy games, while others consider them as a separate video game genre. Some games of this subgenre, like The Settlers, can include warfare, but this is not an essential element in them. Other strategy video games sometimes incorporate CMS aspects into their game economy, as players must manage resources while expanding their project. For example, base building and resource management in XCOM series. Usually applied only to certain computer strategy games,

2295-513: A precursor to, or an early example of, the MOBA genre. It uses a similar formula, where each player controls a single command unit in one of two opposing sides on a battlefield. Herzog Zwei ' s influence is apparent in several later MOBA games such as Guilty Gear 2: Overture (2007) and AirMech (2012). Herzog Zwei was also cited as an inspiration to the developers of Warcraft and Starcraft . 1998's Future Cop: LAPD has

2430-508: A preparation phase, a team's heroes then automatically fight the opposing team without any further direct input from the player. A match features up to eight players online who take turns playing against each other in a one-on-one format, with the winner being the final player standing after eliminating all of the opposing players. An anime television series based on the franchise, Dota: Dragon's Blood , premiered on Netflix in March 2021. It

2565-405: A resounding manner, with the first victory occurring before the five-minute mark and Dendi conceding before ninety seconds had passed in the second match. Open AI returned to The International 2018 , this time fielding an entire team of five AI players in two games against professional players, but ultimately losing both games. Despite this loss, OpenAI continued to work to improve OpenAI Five, and

2700-434: A skill in the MOBA genre, as players must weigh the available options to decide which character best suits their skill set, teammates, and opponents. Players usually find at least one hero they excel at playing, often referred to as a "main", and familiarize themselves with the remaining roster. Additionally, each hero is deliberately limited in the roles they can fulfill. No single hero is supposed to be powerful enough to win

2835-547: A smaller role. In most strategy video games, the player is given a godlike view of the game world, and indirectly controls game units under their command. Thus, most strategy games involve elements of warfare to varying degrees, and feature a combination of tactical and strategic considerations. In addition to combat, these games often challenge the player's ability to explore or manage an economy. Even though there are many action games that involve strategic thinking, they are seldom classified as strategy games. A strategy game

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2970-439: A specific and specialized goal. They are analogous to chess openings , in that a player will have a specific order of play in mind, however, the amount of the build order, the strategy around which the build order is built or even which build order is then used varies on the skill, ability and other factors such as how aggressive or defensive each player is. Early strategy games featured a top-down perspective, similar in nature to

3105-436: A strategic "Precinct Assault" mode similar to Herzog Zwei in which players can actively fight alongside generated non-player units. This could be regarded as the first example of MOBA gameplay, depending on the definition of the genre. The Windows version of Future Cop: LAPD allows online competitive play. In the same year, Blizzard Entertainment released its best-selling real-time strategy game StarCraft (1998) with

3240-429: A strategic mode where players may plan their battle or choose an area to conquer, but players typically spend much less time in this mode and more time actually fighting. Because it is difficult to provide an intelligent way to delegate tasks to a subordinate, war games typically keep the number of units down to hundreds rather than hundreds of thousands. Aeon of Strife Multiplayer online battle arena ( MOBA )

3375-455: A structure that enables more advanced structures. Games with a large number of upgrades often feature a technology tree , which is a series of advancements that players can research to unlock new units, buildings, and other capabilities. Technology trees are quite large in some games, and 4X strategy games are known for having the largest. A build order is a linear pattern of production, research, and resource management aimed at achieving

3510-610: A suite of game editing tools called StarEdit . These tools allowed players to design and create custom maps with non-standard rules and gameplay. A modder known as Aeon64 made a custom map named Aeon of Strife ( AoS ) that became popular. Some of the key features introduced in AoS became the foundation of the newborn genre. In the Aeon of Strife map, players controlled a single powerful hero unit fighting along three lanes which were protected by defensive towers. The terrain outside these lanes

3645-464: A team gets, the more capable they are at destroying the enemy team and their base, as well as protecting their own. In most MOBAs, playable characters have assigned classes such as "tank" , "bruiser", "marksman", "mage", "fighter", "assassin", "support" and "healer" , with each classification denoting various different skill sets and proficiencies. During the match, characters can be played in roles such as "carry", "support" and "ganker" ; however,

3780-458: A team to achieve a victory condition which is to destroy the opposing team's main structure whilst protecting their own. Player characters , typically called "heroes" or "champions", are assisted by computer-controlled units that periodically spawn in groups and march forward along set paths (called "lanes") toward their enemy's base. Defensive structures, which are usually automatic "towers", are in place to prevent this. The first team to destroy

3915-432: A time. Expert players can quickly flip between many different tasks, while casual gamers have more problems with this." Ernest Adams goes so far as to suggest that real-time gameplay interferes with strategy. "Strategic thinking, at least in the arena of gameplay, does not lend itself well to real-time action". Many strategy players claim that many RTS games really should be labeled as "real-time tactical" (RTT) games since

4050-487: A turn-based game is allowed a period of analysis before committing to a game action. Examples of this genre are the Civilization , Heroes of Might and Magic , Making History , Advance Wars and Master of Orion . TBS games come in two flavors, differentiated by whether players make their plays simultaneously or take turns. The former types of games are called simultaneously executed TBS games, with Diplomacy

4185-527: A unit, usually by clicking it with the mouse, and issuing an order from a menu. Keyboard shortcuts become important for advanced players, as speed is often an important factor. Units can typically move, attack, stop, hold a position, although other strategy games offer more complex orders. Units may even have specialized abilities, such as the ability to become invisible to other units, usually balanced with abilities that detect otherwise invisible things. Some strategy games even offer special leader units that provide

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4320-473: A windowed interface to manage these complex challenges. Most strategy games allow players to accumulate resources which can be converted to units, or converted to buildings such as factories that produce more units. The quantity and types of resources vary from game to game. Some games will emphasize resource acquisition by scattering large quantities throughout the map, while other games will put more emphasis on how resources are managed and applied by balancing

4455-473: A world with high fidelity. Although many of these may still involve combat in the sense that units can capture or destroy each other, these games sometimes offer non-combat challenges such as arranging units in specific patterns. However, the vast majority of computerized strategy games are representational, with more complex game mechanics. Strategy games include single-player gameplay, multiplayer gameplay, or both. Single player games will sometimes feature

4590-534: A year later. Shortly after, Valve filed a trademark claim for the Dota name. At Gamescom 2011, company president Gabe Newell explained that the trademark was needed to develop a sequel with the already-identifiable brand. Holding the Dota name to be a community asset, Feak and Mescon filed an opposing trademark for Dota on behalf of DotA-Allstars, LLC (then a subsidiary of Riot Games ) in August 2010. Rob Pardo ,

4725-407: Is Icehouse . Some players dispute the importance of strategy in real-time strategy games, as skill and manual dexterity are often seen as the deciding factor in this genre of game. According to Troy Dunniway, "A player controls hundreds of units, dozens of buildings and many different events that are all happening simultaneously. There is only one player, and he can only pay attention to one thing at

4860-481: Is a digital collectible card game based on Dota 2 , developed and published by Valve. The game focuses on online player versus player battles across three boards called lanes. Development began in late 2014, with lead designer Richard Garfield being brought in to help make a digital card game due to his experience with creating the Magic: The Gathering franchise. The game was then announced via

4995-417: Is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete against each other on a predefined battlefield. Each player controls a single character with a set of distinctive abilities that improve over the course of a game and which contribute to the team's overall strategy. The typical objective is for each team to destroy their opponents' main structure, located at the opposite corner of

5130-413: Is a key element in most strategy games. The landscape is often shrouded in darkness, and this darkness is lifted as a player's units enters the area. The ability to explore may be inhibited by different kinds of terrain, such as hills, water, or other obstructions. Even after an area is explored, that area may become dim if the player does not patrol it. This design technique is called the fog of war , where

5265-588: Is also a growing subgenre of purely tactical games, which are referred to as real-time tactics , and turn-based tactics . These types of games are sometimes categorized as "strategy" games. Game reviewers and scholars sometimes debate whether they are using terminology such as "tactics" or "strategy" appropriately. Chris Taylor , the designer of Total Annihilation and Supreme Commander , has gone so far as to suggest that real-time strategy titles are more about tactics than strategy. But releases that are considered pure tactical games usually provide players with

5400-456: Is also sometimes considered a subgenre of real-time strategy , and thus may in this context exist as an element of gameplay or as a basis for the whole game. It is differentiated from real-time strategy gameplay by the lack of resource micromanagement and base or unit building, as well as the greater importance of individual units and a focus on complex battlefield tactics. Example titles include Warhammer: Dark Omen , World In Conflict ,

5535-413: Is an ongoing topic of research. Similar to real-time strategy games, MOBAs provide a highly complex environment for AI because of their large amount of possible variables, states, and decisions. One of the first known research-based MOBA AI agents was published around 2015 for League of Legends. The agent used influence maps to navigate the map and compute positioning risk. A similar agent to assist players

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5670-414: Is awarded money for killing creeps, and this money can be used to buy more towers, or buy upgrades for a tower such as increased power or range. A good example of a game of this genre is Clash Royale made by Finnish developers Supercell . The term turn-based strategy ( TBS ) is usually reserved for certain computer strategy games, to distinguish them from real-time computer strategy games. A player of

5805-505: Is home to neutral monsters that are hostile to both teams and appear in marked locations on the map known as "camps". Defeating neutral monsters brings various benefits to the players and their team, such as growth in power, buffs, or assistance in pushing the lane. The games are usually played on a battlefield shown from an isometric perspective , but certain MOBAs are played from a third-person or side-view perspective. The battlefield

5940-682: Is placed upon economic and technological development, as well as a range of non-military routes to supremacy. Many 4X games also fit into the category of grand strategy . Games can take a long time to complete since the amount of micromanagement needed to sustain an empire scales as the empire grows. 4X games are sometimes criticized for becoming tedious for these reasons, and several games have attempted to address these concerns by limiting micromanagement. The earliest 4X games borrowed ideas from board games and 1970s text-based computer games. The first 4X games were turn-based , but real-time 4X games are also not uncommon. Many 4X games were published in

6075-465: Is produced by Studio Mir and Kaiju Boulevard . Swedish electronic music artist Basshunter released " Vi sitter i Ventrilo och spelar DotA " in 2006. The lyrics, in Swedish , are about using the voice chat program Ventrilo while playing Defense of the Ancients . IceFrog (born 1983 or 1984) is the pseudonymous lead designer of Defense of the Ancients and Dota 2 . His involvement with

6210-488: Is represented in the interface by the mini-map . A player controls a single powerful in-game unit, called a "hero" or "champion", with each utilizing a unique set of abilities and style of play. When a hero stands near a killed enemy unit or kills an enemy unit, they gain experience points and gold which allow the hero to level up and buy items at a store. When a hero levels up, they grow in power and may strengthen one of their abilities which they typically have four of. If

6345-502: Is seeking to present new candidates worthy of being known for "thought strategy" rather than "dexterity strategy". While Herzog Zwei is regarded as the first true RTS game, the defining title for the genre was Westwood Studios 's Dune II , which was followed by their seminal Command & Conquer games. Cavedog's Total Annihilation (1997), Blizzard 's Warcraft (1994) series, StarCraft (1998) series, and Ensemble Studios ' Age of Empires (1997) series are some of

6480-416: Is seen as a fusion of real-time strategy , role-playing and action games . The first widely accepted game in the genre was Aeon of Strife ( AoS ), a fan-made custom map released in 2002 for StarCraft , in which four players each control a single powerful unit and, aided by weak computer-controlled units, compete against a stronger computer. Defense of the Ancients ( DotA ) was created in 2003 by

6615-459: Is typically larger in scope, and its main emphasis is on the player's ability to outthink their opponent. Strategy games rarely involve a physical challenge, and tend to annoy strategically minded players when they do. Compared to other genres such as action or adventure games where one player takes on many enemies, strategy games usually involve some level of symmetry between sides. Each side generally has access to similar resources and actions, with

6750-494: Is used by heroes to buy a variety of different items that range in price and impact. For the most part, this involves improving the combat viability of the hero, although there may be other items that support the hero or team as a whole in different ways. As the heroes of each team get stronger, they can use multiple strategies to gain an advantage. These strategies can include securing objectives, killing enemy heroes and gaining levels by killing computer-controlled units. The stronger

6885-651: The Close Combat series, and early tactical role-playing games such as Bokosuka Wars , and Silver Ghost . Tower defense games have a very simple layout. Usually, computer-controlled monsters called creeps move along a set path, and the player must place, or "build" towers along this path to kill the creeps. In some games, towers are placed along a set path for creeps, while in others towers can interrupt creep movement and change their path. In most tower defense games different towers have different abilities such as poisoning enemies or slowing them down. The player

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7020-548: The Wars and X-COM series, as well as tactical role-playing games such as the Jagged Alliance series , Fire Emblem series and Final Fantasy Tactics . Wargames are a subgenre of strategy video games that emphasize strategic or tactical warfare on a map, as well as historical (or near-historical) accuracy. The primary gameplay mode in a wargame is usually tactical: fighting battles. Wargames sometimes have

7155-576: The Dota intellectual property began when several veteran employees, including Team Fortress 2 designer Robin Walker and executive Erik Johnson, became fans of the map and wanted to build a modern sequel. The company corresponded with IceFrog by email about his long-term plans for the project, and he was subsequently hired to direct a sequel. IceFrog first announced his new position through his blog in October 2009, with Dota 2 being officially announced

7290-566: The Dota trademark, while allowing non-commercial use of the name by third-parties. An early goal of the Dota 2 team was the adaptation of Defense of the Ancients 's aesthetic style for the Source engine . The Radiant and Dire factions replaced the Sentinel and Scourge from the map, respectively. Character names, abilities, items, and map design from the map were largely retained, with some changes due to trademarks owned by Blizzard. In

7425-535: The Golden Joystick Awards 1989's Herzog Zwei is often considered the first real-time strategy game, although real-time strategy elements can be found in several earlier games, such as Dan Bunten 's Cytron Masters and Don Daglow 's Utopia in 1982; Kōji Sumii's Bokosuka Wars in 1983; D. H. Lawson and John Gibson's Stonkers and Steven Faber's Epidemic! in 1983; and Evryware's The Ancient Art of War in 1984. The genre

7560-508: The Warcraft III modding community for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and its expansion, The Frozen Throne , with a map based on AoS. DotA was one of the first major titles of its genre and the first MOBA for which sponsored tournaments were held. It was followed by two spiritual successors , League of Legends (2009) and Heroes of Newerth (2010), as well by a standalone sequel, Dota 2 (2013), and numerous other games in

7695-433: The Warcraft III engine, calling the map Defense of the Ancients ( DotA ). Eul substantially improved the complexity of play from the original Aeon of Strife mod. Shortly after creating the custom DotA map, Eul left the modding scene. With no clear successor, Warcraft III modders created a variety of maps based on DotA and featuring different heroes. In 2003, after the release of WarCraft III: The Frozen Throne ,

7830-586: The executive vice president of Blizzard Entertainment at the time, similarly stated that the Dota name belonged to the mod's community. Blizzard acquired DotA-Allstars, LLC from Riot Games and filed an opposition against Valve in November 2011, citing Blizzard's ownership of both the Warcraft III World Editor and DotA-Allstars, LLC as proper claims to the franchise name. The dispute was settled in May 2012, with Valve retaining commercial rights to

7965-559: The greatest video games of all time , with an esports presence hallmarked by record-breaking prize pools that culminate in the annual championship known as The International . The spinoff games by Valve have been positively received, although Artifact was considered a failure as a large majority of its initial player base was lost within weeks with Valve stopping development on it shortly after its release. The Dota series includes four games that are centered around competitive, online multiplayer gameplay. The original version, Defense of

8100-402: The mod highly popular, as its dynamic and unpredictable fights, complex map, and hero-centric gameplay create a more competitive environment and opportunities for outplaying the enemy team. By the early 2010s, multiplayer online battle arena has become a prominent genre in esports tournaments. The genre has seen further growth in popularity since the year 2015 – among the top five esports with

8235-513: The Ancients (DotA), a community-created mod based on Warcraft III, is largely attributed as being the most significant inspiration for the multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) format. Since the format was tied to the Warcraft property, developers began to work on their own " DOTA -style" games, including Heroes of Newerth (2009), League of Legends (2010), and the mod's standalone sequel, Dota 2 (2013). Blizzard Entertainment ,

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8370-621: The Ancients , is a community-created Warcraft III custom map developed with the Warcraft III World Editor that was first released in 2003. The franchise name, "Dota" , is derived from the original map's acronym, DotA . Dota 2 , its standalone installment, was released as a free-to-play sequel in July 2013. The first spin-off, a digital collectible card game called Artifact , was released in November 2018. The second spin-off, an auto battler called Dota Underlords ,

8505-404: The Ancients . Instead, the missing ones were added in various post-release updates, with the final one, as well as the first Dota 2 original hero, being added in 2016. Since its release, Dota 2 has been cited as one of the greatest video games of all time . It is also the most lucrative esports game of all time, earning teams and players a total of over US$ 100 million by June 2017. Artifact

8640-636: The MOBA genre focuses on the multiplayer battle in the arena-like environment, whereas RPGs typically revolve around a single-player story and exploration of different locations. Some key features of MOBAs, such as control over one specific character in a party, growth in power over time, learning new thematic abilities, leveling and accumulation of experience points, usage of the mana resource, equipment and inventory management, completing quests, and fighting with powerful boss monsters, are also typical of role-playing games. The 1989 Mega Drive/Genesis game Herzog Zwei has variously been cited either as

8775-458: The MOBA genre has moved away from constructing structures, army building, and controlling additional units in favor of hero-centric gameplay. However, some MOBA games have certain heroes which control a few specialized units, but not on a massive scale commonly found in RTS games. As is the case in real-time strategy games, structures and base defense are important, and destroying the main structure at

8910-677: The Scourge and Sentinel bases. Each lane is lined with defensive towers, which are not only more powerful the closer they are to their respective bases, but invulnerable until their predecessors are destroyed. At the center of each base is a central structure called an "Ancient", which is either the World Tree for the Sentinel or the Frozen Throne for the Scourge. To win a match, the enemy's Ancient must be destroyed. Valve's interest in

9045-427: The Storm , and Smite being popular. MOBA games are well-represented in esports as well. In 2018, prize pools reached over US$ 60 million, 40% of the year's total esports prize pools. In management simulation games, players build, expand or manage fictional communities or projects with limited resources. Tycoons, city-building, business simulation and transport management games are considered by some authors as

9180-552: The Storm , and "Monkey King" in DotA 2. Due to the large volume of matches played on a daily basis around the world and the relatively complicated nature of the genre, MOBAs have become a popular target for the application of big data tools to predict match outcomes based on in-game factors such as hero kill/death/assist ratios, gold earned, time of a match, synergy with other players, team composition, and other, more advanced parameters. The use of artificial intelligence in MOBAs

9315-519: The action genre are represented in MOBA games. Players with better mechanical skills and quick reaction times typically excel relative to their peers. MOBAs often have a strong focus on micromanagement , involving mechanical abilities such as positioning, dodging, use of combo attacks, kiting , prediction and target selection. Direction-targeted abilities, or "skillshots", require precise aim and good timing in order to hit an enemy. The MOBA genre resembles role-playing games (RPGs) in gameplay, though

9450-434: The advantages associated with both of the main types of strategy games. Most strategy video games involve a mix of both strategy and tactics . "Tactics" usually refer to how troops are utilized in a given battle, whereas "strategy" describes the mix of troops, the location of the battle, the commander's larger goals or military doctrine , as well as the act of building up something (a base, economy, etc.). However, there

9585-429: The artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence opponents often need hidden information or bonuses to provide a challenge to players. More recently, massively multiplayer online strategy games have appeared such as Shattered Galaxy from 2001. However, these games are relatively difficult to design and implement compared to other massively multiplayer online games , as the numerous player-controlled units create

9720-442: The availability of resources between players. To a lesser extent, some strategy games give players a fixed quantity of units at the start of the game. Strategy games often allow the player to spend resources on upgrades or research. Some of these upgrades enhance the player's entire economy. Other upgrades apply to a unit or class of units, and unlock or enhance certain combat abilities. Sometimes enhancements are enabled by building

9855-471: The battlefield. In some MOBA games, the objective can be defeating every player on the enemy team. Players are assisted by computer-controlled units that periodically spawn in groups and march forward along set paths toward their enemy's base, which is heavily guarded by defensive structures. This type of multiplayer online video games originated as a subgenre of real-time strategy , though MOBA players usually do not construct buildings or units. The genre

9990-540: The best-selling games for the personal computer. It has been praised for pioneering the use of unique "factions" in RTS gameplay, and for having a compelling story. 2002's Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos has been an influence on real-time strategy games, especially the addition of role-playing elements and heroes as units. More than the game itself, mods created with the World Editor led to lasting changes and inspired many future strategy games. Defense of

10125-609: The character most aligned with their skills and preferences. Playable characters blend a variety of fantasy tropes and often feature numerous references to popular culture and mythology . One such figure commonly represented in MOBAs is Sun Wukong , a legendary mythical figure from 16th-century China. Examples of representation of Sun Wukong in MOBAs in the form of playable characters include "Wukong" in League of Legends , Samuro's "Monkey King" skin (custom outfit/costume) in Heroes of

10260-408: The community-created Dota 2 mod Dota Auto Chess , was released in 2020. The original DotA map is considered one of the most popular of all time, with tens of millions of players and a consistent presence at esports tournaments throughout the 2000s. DotA is considered a catalyst for the MOBA genre, inspiring developers to create other games similar to it. Likewise, Dota 2 is cited as one of

10395-506: The considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics in generally small-scale confrontations as opposed to more strategic considerations of turn-based strategy (TBS) games. Turn-based tactical gameplay is characterized by the expectation of players to complete their tasks using only the combat forces provided to them, and usually by the provision of a realistic (or at least believable) representation of military tactics and operations. Examples of this genre include

10530-426: The enemy's central base structure called an "Ancient", to win the game. Ownership and development of DotA were passed on multiple times since its initial release until Valve hired the map's lead designer IceFrog and after a legal dispute with Blizzard Entertainment , the developer of Warcraft III , brokered a deal that allowed Valve to inherit the trademark to the Dota name. The first standalone installment in

10665-571: The first Q&A session regarding Dota 2 , IceFrog explained that the game would build upon the map without making significant changes to its core. Valve contracted major contributors from the Defense of the Ancients community, including Eul and artist Kendrick Lim, to assist with the sequel. Following nearly two years of beta testing, Dota 2 was officially released on Steam for Windows on July 9, 2013, and for OS X and Linux on July 18, 2013. The game did not launch with every hero from Defense of

10800-440: The first player is, of course, randomly selected. Almost all non-computer strategy games are turn-based; however, the personal computer game market trend has lately inclined more towards real-time games. Some recent games feature a mix of both real-time and turn-based elements thrown together. Turn-based tactics ( TBT ), or tactical turn-based ( TTB ), is a genre of strategy video games that through stop-action simulates

10935-455: The following series of games: Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, Crusader Kings. Artillery is the generic name for either early two- or three-player (usually turn-based ) computer games involving tanks fighting each other in combat or similar derivative games. Artillery games are among the earliest computer games developed; the theme of such games is an extension of the original uses of computer themselves, which were once used to calculate

11070-507: The franchise's intellectual property rights after being contested by Riot Games for the DotA trademark. In 2012, Activision Blizzard settled a trademark dispute with Valve over the usage of the DOTA name and announced their own standalone game which was eventually named Heroes of the Storm . Dota 2 was released in 2013, and was referred to by Valve as an "action real-time strategy" game. In 2014, Hi-Rez Studios released Smite ,

11205-422: The game is gold, which may be used for purchasing items that may enhance a hero's statistics and provide special abilities. Gold is awarded to players for destroying enemies and in increments on a rolling basis, while also being deducted for the death of one's hero. Heroes battle alongside weaker computer-controlled infantry units periodically dispatched in waves, who traverse three paths called "lanes", which connect

11340-621: The game is real-time, or turn-based. Strategy games also draw on a number of historical periods , including World War II , the medieval era, or the Napoleonic era . Some examples of these are: Hearts of Iron IV , Europa Universalis IV , and Victoria II . Some strategy games are even based in an alternate history , by manipulating and rewriting certain historical facts. It is also common to see games based in science fiction or futuristic settings, as well as fantasy settings. Some strategy games are abstract, and do not try to represent

11475-408: The game play revolves entirely around tactics, with little or even no strategy involved. Massively Multiplayer Online Games (MMOG or MMO) in particular have had a difficult time implementing strategy since having strategy implies some mechanism for "winning". MMO games, by their nature, are typically designed to be never-ending. Nevertheless, some games are attempting to "crack the code," so-to-speak, of

11610-538: The game without support from their team. This creates a strong emphasis on teamwork and cooperation. The genre rewards players that are capable of cooperating with their teammates to execute an effective strategy, enabling full potential of their individual abilities and mechanical skills. Each player typically receives a small amount of gold per second during the course of the game. Moderate amounts of gold are rewarded for killing hostile computer-controlled units and larger amounts are rewarded for killing enemy heroes. Gold

11745-406: The game's genre as a multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA). Also in 2009, IceFrog, who had continued to develop DotA: Allstars , was hired by Valve , in order to design a sequel to the original map. In 2010, S2 Games released Heroes of Newerth , with a large portion of its gameplay and aesthetics based on DotA: Allstars . The same year, Valve announced Dota 2 and subsequently secured

11880-414: The genre by other studios, such as Teamfight Tactics , Dota Underlords , and Hearthstone Battlegrounds releasing soon after. Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a genre of strategy video games in which each player controls a single character with a set of unique abilities that improve over the course of a game and which contribute to the team's overall strategy. Players work together as

12015-429: The genre to become a global cultural phenomenon. Each match starts with two opposing teams typically composed of five players. Players work together as a team to achieve the ultimate victory condition, which is to destroy their enemy's base whilst protecting their own. Usually, both teams have main structures, located at the opposite corners of the battlefield. The first team to destroy the opponents' main structure wins

12150-419: The genre's overall popularity. Players are able to download and play AAA -quality games at no cost. These games are generating revenue by selling cosmetic elements, including skins, voice lines, customized mounts and announcers, but none of these give the functional gameplay advantages to the buyer. As of 2012, free-to-play MOBAs, such as League of Legends , Dota 2 , Heroes of the Storm , and Smite were among

12285-457: The genre, such as Heroes of the Storm (2015). By the early 2010s, the genre had become a big part of the esports category. In 2018, prize pools reached over US$ 60 million, 40% of the year's total esports prize pools. Major esports professional tournaments are held in venues that can hold tens of thousands of spectators and are streamed online. A strong fanbase has opened up the opportunity for sponsorship and advertising, eventually leading

12420-402: The heart of the enemy base typically serves as the ultimate victory condition of a given match. Players can find various friendly and enemy units on the map at any given time assisting each team, however, these units are computer-controlled and players usually do not have direct control over their movement and creation ; instead, they move forward along the map's lanes. Many defining elements of

12555-444: The impending release of an update that significantly changed the map layout, Guinsoo left the development to his adjutant Neichus in the year 2005. After some weeks of development and some versions released, the latter turned over responsibility to a modder named IceFrog , who initiated large changes to the mechanics that deepened its complexity and capacity for innovative gameplay. The changes conducted by IceFrog were well-received and

12690-498: The landscape. Some strategy games such as Civilization III and Medieval 2: Total War involve other forms of conflict such as diplomacy and espionage. However, warfare is the most common form of conflict, as game designers have found it difficult to make non-violent forms of conflict as appealing. Strategy games often involve other economic challenges. These can include building construction, population maintenance, and resource management . Strategy games frequently make use of

12825-463: The largest prize pools, three have been MOBA titles for three years in row. Distributed prize money in MOBA tournaments reached over US$ 54 million in 2017. A year later, prize pools continued to grow reaching over US$ 60 million, 40% of the year's total esports prize pools. 2018 League of Legends World Championship had the biggest prize pool out of all League of Legends esports championship finals, awarding almost $ 6.5 million. MOBAs are some of

12960-507: The match, though some games have the option of different victory conditions. Destroying other structures within the opposing team's base may confer other benefits. Defensive structures, which are usually automatic "towers", are in place to prevent this. Each team is assisted by relatively weak computer-controlled units, called "minions", that periodically spawn in groups at both bases, marching down predefined paths (called "lanes") toward their enemy base. While their charges are counterbalanced by

13095-467: The mid-1990s, but were later outsold by other types of strategy games. Sid Meier 's Civilization and the Total War series are important examples from this formative era, and popularized the level of detail that would later become a staple of the genre. In the new 2000 millennium, several 4X releases have become critically and commercially successful. Grand Strategy games emphasize the management of

13230-416: The moniker real-time strategy ( RTS ) indicates that the action in the game is continuous, and players will have to make their decisions and actions within the backdrop of a constantly changing game state, and computer real-time strategy gameplay is characterised by obtaining resources, building bases, researching technologies and producing units. Very few non-computer strategy games are real-time; one example

13365-511: The most popular PC games. The success in the genre has helped convince many video game publishers to copy the free-to-play MOBA model. SuperData Research reported that the genre generated over $ 2.5 billion of revenue in 2017. Similar to fighting games , MOBAs offer a large number of viable player characters for the player to choose from, each of which having distinctive abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. With such wide varieties available, players have numerous choices from which to find

13500-473: The most popular RTS games. Massively multiplayer online real-time strategy games , also known as MMORTS , combine real-time strategy (RTS) with a persistent world . Players often assume the role of a general, king, or other type of figurehead leading an army into battle while maintaining the resources needed for such warfare. The titles are often based in a sci-fi or fantasy universe and are distinguished from single or small-scale multiplayer RTS games by

13635-484: The most successful series of strategy games of all time. 4X games are a genre of strategy video game in which players control an empire and " e x plore, e x pand, e x ploit, and e x terminate ". The term was first coined by Alan Emrich in his September 1993 preview of Master of Orion for Computer Gaming World . Since then, others have adopted the term to describe games of similar scope and design . 4X games are noted for their deep, complex gameplay . Emphasis

13770-436: The most watched games in the world. Major esports professional tournaments are held in venues that can hold tens of thousands of spectators and are streamed online to millions more. A strong fanbase has opened up the opportunity for sponsorship and advertising, eventually leading the genre to become a global cultural phenomenon . A free-to-play business model, which is used by the largest MOBA titles, have contributed to

13905-532: The need for direct action upon an opponent. Nevertheless, some authors consider construction and management simulation games, in particular city-building games, as a part of the wider strategy game genre. Although strategy games are similar to role-playing video games in that the player must manage units with a variety of numeric attributes, RPGs tend to be about a smaller number of unique characters, while strategy games focus on larger numbers of fairly similar units. The player commands their forces by selecting

14040-441: The number and type of roles can differ depending on the game. The carry role is expected to scale and itemize themselves to do the most damage against enemy characters and objectives, but may also require protection and assistance from their team members. Supports assist their team with abilities that aid allies and disable enemies, rather than dealing damage directly. Some supports have healing abilities which can be vital factor in

14175-432: The number of players and common use of a persistent world , generally hosted by the game's publisher, which continues to evolve even when the player is offline. Real-time tactics (abbreviated RTT and less commonly referred to as fixed-unit real-time strategy ) is a subgenre of tactical wargames played in real-time simulating the considerations and circumstances of operational warfare and military tactics . It

14310-500: The number of users on the Dota: Allstars forum is thought to have peaked at over one million. DotA is widely attributed as the most significant inspiration for the MOBA genre in the years to come. By 2008, the popularity of DotA had attracted commercial attention. Since the format was tied to the Warcraft property, developers began to work on their own " DOTA -style" video games. A Flash web game, named Minions ,

14445-405: The opponents' main structure wins the match. The genre is seen as a fusion of real-time strategy games , role-playing games , and action games , however, players usually do not construct either buildings or units. This type of multiplayer online video games gained popularity in early 2010s, with Defense of the Ancients mod for Warcraft III , League of Legends , Dota 2 , Heroes of

14580-416: The opposite team's minions, players can aid them which turns the minions into a useful army for striking the opponents' defenses. There are typically three "lanes" on the battlefield that are the main ways of getting from one base to another. The lanes are known as top, middle and bottom lane, or, in gamer shorthand – "top", "mid" and "bot". Between the lanes is an uncharted area called "jungle". The "jungle"

14715-415: The original Defense of the Ancients ( DotA ), each player controls one powerful unit rather than a large army. While it still kept the large scale, core mechanics, and goals of the real-time strategy games, DotA attempted to avoid "clickfest" gameplay in which high actions per minute scores are mandatory for efficient playing, changing focus to the actual teamwork, coordination, and tactics. This made

14850-563: The owner of Warcraft property, developed a game inspired by DotA titled Heroes of the Storm (2015), which features an array of heroes from Blizzard's franchises, including numerous heroes from Warcraft III. Former game journalist Luke Smith called DotA "the ultimate RTS". Since its first title was released in 2000, the Total War series by the Creative Assembly has sold over 20 million copies, becoming one of

14985-408: The ownership of the Dota intellectual property from April 2017 confirmed Ismail as the identity of IceFrog, as well as his pre-Valve contributions in Heroes of Newerth . Strategy video games A player must plan a series of actions against one or more opponents, and the reduction of enemy forces is usually a goal. Victory is achieved through superior planning, and the element of chance takes

15120-410: The particular lane they are focusing on, such as "top laner", "mid laner", and "bottom laner", or by their role in a teamfight, such as "frontliner", "damage dealer", "healer", "flex", and the "offlaner". As a fusion of real-time strategy (RTS), role-playing , and action games , MOBAs have many elements of preexisting genres while still offering unique gameplay. In general, the design philosophy of

15255-512: The player can see the terrain but not the units within the explored area. This makes it possible for enemies to attack unexpectedly from otherwise explored areas. Strategy video games are categorized based on whether they offer the continuous gameplay of real-time strategy , or the discrete phases of turn-based strategy . These differences in time-keeping lead to several other differences. Typically, turn-based strategy games have stronger artificial intelligence than real-time strategy games, since

15390-411: The players each choose a single powerful unit called a "hero", who they are granted control of throughout the match. Heroes maintain special tactical advantages, in the way of their statistics, attack, and damage types, as well as abilities that can be learned and enhanced through leveling up from combat. Team coordination and roster composition are considered crucial for a successful match. The currency of

15525-467: The pseudonymous designer Eul in 2003, it was inspired by Aeon of Strife , a multiplayer StarCraft map. Before every DotA match, up to ten players are organized into two teams called the Scourge and the Sentinel—inspired by the factions from Warcraft lore—with the former in the northeast corner and the latter in the southwest corner of a nearly-symmetrical map. Using one of several game modes,

15660-508: The relationship between economic growth, technological progress, and conquest. That same year, Nobunaga's Ambition was a conquest-oriented grand strategy wargame with historical simulation elements. The Lords of Midnight combined elements of adventure, strategy and wargames, and won the Crash magazine award for Best Adventure game of 1984, as well as Best Strategy Game of the Year at

15795-640: The series began in 2005, when he inherited the reins of DotA Allstars from "Neichus", who himself inherited it from Steve "Guinsoo" Feak. IceFrog is also noted for his anonymity, having never publicly disclosed his identity. In February 2009, IceFrog revealed on his blog that he was 25 years old at the time. In 2010, an anonymous person who claimed to be a Valve employee wrote a blog post titled "The Truth About IceFrog", in which he claims that IceFrog had previously worked secretly on Heroes of Newerth for S2 Games before joining Valve in 2009, as well as stating his identity as Abdul Ismail. A court document regarding

15930-403: The series, Dota 2 , was released by Valve in July 2013. A sequel to DotA , the game retains the same gameplay elements as its predecessor, while introducing new support and mechanics, as well as a setting separate from the Warcraft universe. Artifact , a digital collectible card game with mechanics inspired by Dota 2 , was released in 2018. Dota Underlords , an auto battler based on

16065-535: The setting of the Warcraft series, the standalone games share their own continuity. Likewise, the standalone games utilize the Source game engine and Steam distribution platform - both developed by Valve. The installment which established the Dota intellectual property was the Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos custom map Defense of the Ancients ( DotA ). Independently developed and released by

16200-580: The strengths and weaknesses of each side being generally balanced. Although strategy games involve strategic, tactical, and sometimes logistical challenges, they are distinct from puzzle games . A strategy game calls for planning around a conflict between players, whereas puzzle games call for planning in isolation. Strategy games are also distinct from construction and management simulations , which include economic challenges without any fighting. These games may incorporate some amount of conflict, but are different from strategy games because they do not emphasize

16335-474: The tanks, the velocity or "power" of the shot fired and the angle of the tanks' turrets. Auto battler , also known as auto chess , is a type of strategy game that features chess -like elements where players place characters on a grid-shaped battlefield during a preparation phase, who then fight the opposing team's characters without any further direct input from the player. It was created and popularized by Dota Auto Chess in early 2019, and saw more games in

16470-450: The team composition's success, giving health and sustenance to their allies while limiting the enemy's options in terms of play patterns. Ganker roles are flexible, as they have both carry and support skills that are used to disrupt and eliminate enemies, thus giving their teammates an advantage over their opponents. Gankers can "act as a strategist, decision-maker or supporter depending on the team's needs." Player roles can be classified by

16605-550: The trajectories of rockets and other related military-based calculations. Artillery games have been typically described as a type of turn-based tactics game, though they have also been described as a type of "shooting game." Examples of this genre are Pocket Tanks , Hogs of War , Scorched 3D and the Worms series. Early precursors to the modern artillery-type games were text-only games that simulated artillery entirely with input data values. A BASIC game known simply as Artillery

16740-420: The true real-time strategy MMOG. One method by which they are doing so is by making defenses stronger than the weapons, thereby slowing down combat considerably and making it possible for players to more carefully consider their actions during a confrontation. Customizable units are another way of adding strategic elements, as long as players are truly able to influence the capabilities of their units. The industry

16875-507: The turn-based pace allows more time for complex calculations. But a real-time artificial intelligence makes up for this disadvantage with its ability to manage multiple units more quickly than a human. Overall, real-time strategy games are more action-oriented, as opposed to the abstract planning emphasized in turn-based strategy. The relative popularity of real-time strategy has led some critics to conclude that more gamers prefer action-oriented games. Fans of real-time strategy have criticized

17010-671: The wait times associated with turn-based games, and praised the challenge and realism associated with making quick decisions in real-time. In contrast, turn-based strategy fans have criticized real-time strategy games because most units do not behave appropriately without orders, and thus a turn-based pace allows players to input more realistic and detailed plans. Game theorists have noted that strategic thinking does not lend itself well to real-time action, and turn-based strategy purists have criticized real-time strategy games for replacing "true strategy" with gameplay that rewards "rapid mouse-clicking". Overall, reviewers have been able to recognize

17145-553: Was a Risk -like game called Invasion, released in 1972 for the Magnavox Odyssey . Strategic Simulations (SSI)'s Computer Bismarck , released in 1980, was the first historical computer wargame. Companies such as SSI, Avalon Hill , MicroProse , and Strategic Studies Group released many strategy titles throughout the 1980s. Reach for the Stars from 1983 was one of the first 4X strategy games, which expanded upon

17280-423: Was created by The Casual Collective in 2008. Gas Powered Games released the first stand-alone commercial title in the genre, Demigod (2009). In late 2009, Riot Games ' debut title League of Legends was released. It was initially designed by Steve Feak, one of the original creators of DotA: Allstars, who went on to apply many of the mechanics and lessons he learned from the mod. Riot began to refer to

17415-527: Was nearly vacant. In early versions of the game, hero units did not have any particular special abilities. Instead, players spent gold on weapon and armor upgrades. In 2002, Blizzard released Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (WC3), with the accompanying Warcraft III World Editor . Both the multiplayer online battle arena and tower defense subgenres took substantive shape within the WC3 modding community. A modder named Eul began converting Aeon of Strife into

17550-501: Was popularized by Dune II three years later in 1992. Brett Sperry, the creator of Dune II , coined the name "real-time strategy" to help market the new game genre he helped popularize. Real-time strategy games changed the strategy genre by emphasizing the importance of time management, with less time to plan. Real-time strategy games eventually began to outsell turn-based strategy games. With more than 11 million copies sold worldwide by February 2009, StarCraft (1998) became one of

17685-485: Was published in the same year. Two years later, artificial intelligence research laboratory OpenAI developed the AI project OpenAI Five , which was first showcased at the Dota 2 World Championship, The International 2017 , during a 1v1 demonstration. In this demonstration, OpenAI Five faced off against Dendi , one of the most prolific and popular DotA players of all time. In this 1v1, OpenAI Five defeated Dendi twice in

17820-558: Was released in early access in June 2019 for Android , iOS , macOS , Windows , and Linux , with it planned to be officially released in February 2020. One of the many auto battler games that released following the popularity of Dota Auto Chess , critics considered it one of the easiest to get into for newer players of the genre. In Dota Underlords , where players place characters, known as heroes, on an 8x8 grid-shaped battlefield. After

17955-403: Was released in February 2020. The main installments in the series are multiplayer online battle arena games, where the player assumes control over a single character - a "hero" - from a large roster of characters and coordinates with their teammates to destroy their opponents' large structure called an Ancient, while defending their own. Unlike the original version, which is largely derived from

18090-1028: Was released in the western market in 2017. In 2021, the Pokémon series released its first MOBA game in Pokémon Unite . During the last half of the 2010s, video game developers and publishers , following the success of League of Legends and Dota 2 , tried to be part of the next-generation MOBA wave by putting their own twist in the genre, releasing games such as Battlerite (2017), and AirMech (2018). After years of development, many games which were supported by large publishers have not been fully released or their servers were shut down shortly after release. The most notable examples are Dawngate (2015) by Electronic Arts , DC Comics-based Infinite Crisis (2015) by Warner Bros. , Arena of Fate (2016) by Crytek , Gigantic (2017) by Perfect World Entertainment , Master X Master (2018) by NCSoft , and Paragon (2018) by Epic Games . In

18225-466: Was written by Mike Forman and was published in Creative Computing magazine in 1976 . This seminal home computer version of the game was revised in 1977 by M. E. Lyon and Brian West and was known as War 3 ; War 3 was revised further in 1979 and published as Artillery-3 . These early versions of turn-based tank combat games interpreted human-entered data such as the distance between

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