When comparing Heroes of the Storm vs SMITE, the Slant community recommends Heroes of the Storm for most people. In the question“What are the best MOBA games for PC? ” Heroes of the Storm is ranked 1st while SMITE is ranked 5th. The most important reason people chose Heroes of the Storm is:
More teamfighting, less laning. Games are largely decided by how well each team can work as a unit instead of one player carrying.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Teamwork is encouraged
More teamfighting, less laning. Games are largely decided by how well each team can work as a unit instead of one player carrying.
Pro No last hitting, no gold, no items
The game does away with the shop mechanic entirely. No last hitting means players don't have to focus on a minigame for the first 20 minutes so they can jump into the action much faster. No shop means that supports aren't starved for cash and can remain strong and relevant throughout the game. No items allow for the hero-specific talent system to shine, which provides a much more unique and easily balanced way to enhance your character.
Pro Can get skins for free
And many more cosmetics with the 2.0 version.
Pro It's always possible to make a comeback
Even if you are in trouble because you lost almost all the game, you can still win by killing the enemy team on a stupid move they made at the end of the game. And it's never unfair: it's always because the losing team was overconfident and the winning one was the focus.
Pro Shorter game times
Games on average last approximately 20 minutes. Much more manageable for people who don't have as much time to commit to one match. AI games are even shorter.
Pro Deep but not complex
The game removes a lot of pointless features of other games like last hitting and out-of-game rune/card buffs. It's also much clearer, with natural percentage based increases for characters rather than "armor/intelligence" stat increases. It also has a large map pool with greatly differing objectives in each one forcing you to consider how your playstyle will adapt to the opponent and the map itself. It may appear to be simple, but there is a lot of hidden depth.
Pro Easy to learn
Heroes of the Storm was created to be a streamlined, modern take on a MOBA, something that many others have aimed for but HotS succeeds in. Shared XP keeps teams leveling together; No Last Hits means that everyone gets XP from minions and puts less importance on who gets the kill since there is no Carry-player. Choosing talents instead of having to buy items give the game complexity without forcing players to wade through menus and travel back to base. The game still offers a challenge to master at higher levels but is more accessible to new players.
Pro Hero and playstyle diversity
Blizzard has gone above and beyond to introduce Heroes that break the standard molds for Tanks/Support/Damage characters. The talent system allows for diversity in how a character plays. Some heroes can even talent into multiple roles, like Varian, who can become either an assassin or a tank. Each Hero has 2 Heroic Abilities (Ultimates) to choose between, providing even more diversity in how each character can be played. Also, Blizzard has introduced several highly unconventional heroes, from The Lost Vikings, who are three separate characters controlled by one player, to Cho'Gall, who is two different players controlling one character, to Abathur, who doesn't venture out into the battlefield himself but manipulates the map and assists teammates from afar.
Pro Characters from all Blizzard games
Heroes of the Storm features characters from other Blizzard games. Play as Jim Raynor from Starcraft, Arthas from Warcraft, or even Diablo himself from the Diablo series - and many more.
Pro RNG is almost non existent
Except for some objectives in specific maps, RNG doesn't exist in this game. No luck, pure skills.
Pro Pioneers the MOBA genre
The talent system, innovative mechanics, creative new maps and extremely unique Hero design make this game a real stand out.
Pro In-game quests mean you can still dictate how the game goes
The fact an entire team shares a level had players worried, but with personal Hero Quests, you can now take greater gameplay risks that yield immense power and reward skilled players for good plays sooner rather than later.
Pro You can carry if you are smart
Hots maps are designed so you have a lot to do all game. Doing the right thing at the right time can win a lot of games. If you are a good shot caller, you will carry your team.
Pro You don't have to learn what items do
In other MOBAs you have to learn which items are good for which situations as well as learn the actual classes themselves. Since HOTS does not have items, you don't have to learn what they do.
Pro Fun emotes from heroes upon team work and team kills and more
If you play Nova and Kill Vala, Nova will say "HUNTER!?!? more like Hunted!!"
Or if you play support and heal Raynor he will say "This medic is my new best friend".
These emotes make it very clear what happened, and add a dimension of fun that you don't see in other MOBAs.
Also, you can hear some emotes after other events, like your own hero death/respawn or during starting second of the match.
Pro Community
Has a relatively smaller playerbase than other MOBAs and Blizzard games, but one that comes from fans of every franchise represented in HotS, whether it be WC3 or Starcraft, leading to a wide range of players of all ages familiar with raiding in WoW, or the micromanagement in Starcraft. Regardless, many HotS players will share a common love for at some Blizzard franchises. All chat is disabled outside of Custom games, which arguably leads to less toxicity, as well as the fast paced nature and shorter match time which means less time for trivial flame wars as well as no surrender option and many comeback mechanics, as well as very little last hitting or kill stealing to be had leads to a far more relaxed environment.
Pro Moba with the most polish
The graphics and sound design are amazing and the voice acting is top-notch!
Pro It's just overall a great game
HotS got a great mix: fun heroes, versatile character builds, different meta on different maps, intense teamfights, different map objectives and so on.
Pro Great developer support
Blizzard has a great track record of supporting their game. Starcraft 1 latest patch 1.21.1 is released on December 2017, a game released 20 years ago.
Pro Every hero is playable
The game balance in HoTS is amazing. Even heroes that are ranked by pros as the worst heroes in the game can win MVP. Even the supposedly "broken" heroes are not far above average.
Pro Free to test any characters
You can test and play any characters for free in an in-game test environment with customizable values (levels, enemies, towers, skills).
Pro Easy to get chests
You can get a chest by doing missions or leveling up.
Pro A new hero every few months
The game had only 12 heroes when the beta opened, now there are 88. Blizzard have hundreds and hundreds characters across all their other games, so Blizzard adds one hero per month, so even if you learn every hero, there will be just another one in weeks.
Pro Deep character design
Pro 1st Esport broadcast on live network television
While other esports have aired on ESPN 3, Heroes of the Storm was the first video game broadcast live on Network TV on ESPN 2. Blizzard hosted the Heroes of the Dorm tournament, also one of the first college esports events, in which college teams played for the prize of full college tuition.
Pro Marked difficulty ratings for heroes
Each hero has a marked difficulty rating to make it easier for users to pick the player that best suits them.
Pro Intelligent AI
The AI is responsive, challenging and fun.
Pro Now there are 15 available maps
Different maps with different mechanics and appearance. And they keep adding more.
Pro Making huge progress
The patches come with great effort and positive effects in game.
Pro Characters are derived from mythological gods
Instead of imaginary champions and heroes, Smite derives its characters from ancient mythological gods from around the world. The roster currently consists of 92 gods from the Norse, Hindu, Greek, Roman, Mayan, Egyptian, Chinese, Celtic, and Japanese mythologies.
Pro 6 great game modes and a rotating match of the day
Smite has 6 game modes and all of them are extremely popular:
- Arena. A 5v5 death match, no lanes or objectives. Arena is best for people who prefer intense combat over strategy. Good for impatient but independent players.
- Joust. A 3v3 mode, with a single lane and monsters camps on one side, and an objective lair on the other side. Surprisingly focused on teamwork, despite small teams. Everyone has a role to fill, and learning how to adjust your play for your two teammates is half the battle.
- Conquest. The typical 5v5 mode, three lanes, jungle, towers, objectives. Conquest is the standard MOBA game mode, requiring lots of communication.
- Siege. A 4v4 objective push map slightly similar to Joust, but instead of small skirmishes it has massive battles. Two lanes definitely add chaos to the mix.
- Assault. A 5v5 ARAM (All Random All Mid) mode where everyone gets a random hero and has to fight on a single lane. You'll often get unevenly balanced teams but nobody ever gets upset because of the sheer fun of the game mode.
- Clash. A 5v5 mix between Conquest and Arena modes.
Additionally, there's the Match of the Day (MOTD) feature. It takes a random game mode each day and gives it a twist. This includes having no ability cooldowns, not being allowed to use basic attacks, being able to character swap and more, which can sometimes be a lot more fun than the regular game modes.
Pro Account progression doesn't affect in game power
Pro Fun and fast-paced, third-person MOBA action
Pro 3rd person view is a unique twist on the genre
The 3rd person view used in SMITE is a big change from the top down views normally used in a MOBA. The game also utilizes analog controls, unlike the traditional point-to-move system of traditional top down MOBAs. This creates a large blind spot behind the users character and also makes sneaking behind someone for stealth attacks a viable option.
Pro Hi-Rez approaches the SMITE community for feedbacks, brilliant ideas and mechanics they could use in the game
The company behind SMITE, Hi-Rez studios, actually listens to community feedback and looks for potential ideas and mechanics provided by the community. For example, the Odyssey ultimate reward in 2014, was nominated by players. The SPL Ticket Announcer Packs rewards were also picked by the community. And some in-game skins are actually created by players. The Harajuku Neith skin, The Ba5s Drop Janus skin, the Opera Bacchus skin, were all conceptualized by Smite players. And the most recent one, the Demon Bull King mechanic, which disables the towers and phoenixes in Joust to prevent camping, and the addition of the Japanese Pantheon to the game, were taken from community feedback as well.
Pro Titans bring a twist to the standard MOBA formula
Unlike the immobile and passive bases of other MOBAs such as DOTA 2 and League of Legends, SMITE features mobile structures called Titans, which defend themselves and their teammates.
Pro Features three ranked modes
Smite features 3 ranked modes, mainly the 1v1, the newly added 3v3, both of which utilizes the new Joust map. And the 5v5, on the Conquest map. All of which features experienced players and intense matches to satiate your search for glory and honor in the league of Smite.
Pro Updates often
Smite receives new characters, maps, and balance patches quite often. So you can expect a steady stream of content to keep the gameplay fresh.
Pro Great community events in the form of Odyssey event and Smite World Championship
Every year, SMITE releases an Odyssey event months before the Smite World Championship. Over the course of several weeks, cosmetic items are released every week until the start of the SWC. These cosmetic items will be available for purchase some time after the SWC and will be branded as "Exclusive Skins" after the event. Every purchase in the Odyssey contributes to the SWC Prize Pool. Players can obtain limited edition items when they purchase a certain amount of items. For example, the Archon Thanatos, and Ragnarok Force X Thor can be obtained by the player when they have purchased all the Odyssey Items. Additionally, every item purchase will grant an Odyssey Chest roll that can be claimed in the rewards center. This chest can contain god skins, ward skins, and voice packs . There is also a slim chance that the chest will grant exclusive in-game items.
Pro You can use the VGS for efficient communication
SMITE uses the Voice Guide System (VGS), which is the most efficient way to communicate in a competitive game to date, providing keyboard shortcuts for preset voice commands.
For example, pressing the keys V>F>1 would send out a message saying "Enemy missing left", which means an enemy has disappeared from the left lane. While pressing V>B>F would send "Enemies at the Fire Giant'" or in simpler terms, the enemies are trying to take the objective. These simple shortcuts are very convenient, allowing you to quickly exchange information with your teammates without losing focus on the game.
Pro Beginner friendly
You get five free gods of every role at the start to help you learn the role you want. You can learn the game basics and mechanics in the Practice mode and the Jungle Practice map where all gods are available for you to try and experiment with. The community is also friendly to new players. You won't have a hard time adjusting to SMITE's mechanics and gameplay.
Pro Provides a lot of incentives to play the game often
You have the daily quests which rewards you favor and gems (in-game currency). So you don't have to worry logging in daily, like its previous predecessor, the daily log-in reward.
There are gem events, which is a limited period of time in which players can get gems (valued in game currency). There's a First Win of the Day reward (FWOTD). Rewards every time you win a match, insane sale discounts. Also, Hi-Rez employees sometimes give away in-game freebies in their Twitter account.
Pro The least toxic community for a MOBA
The community of Smite is the nicest in the MOBA genre and has many members who are ready to provide help and coaching to new and less experienced players.
Cons
Con Reconnect system
It's extraordinarily difficult and frustrating to reconnect to a game in Heroes if you disconnect for any reason. Reconnecting players can't simply "pick up where they left off", they have to simulate everything that has happened in the game between the moment they disconnected and the present time, which causes the reconnecting process to be extra slow and occasionally impossible.
Con Contains loot boxes
Loot boxes are often considered a version of a "Skinner Box" which uses psychological tricks in order to encourage purchases. Loot boxes contain random items such as skins or emotes and can be considered a form of gambling.
Con No surrender option
No surrender option means that you have to waste 30 minutes playing a match you know you're going to lose, if the enemy team has 20 kills more than you and they're 4 levels ahead the game is basically over, if two players disconnect the game is basically over, if someone is deliberately feeding the game is basically over, you cannot win these games but if you leave you get leaver status and then you have to win 4 matches in order to play normal rounds again.
Con Lower playerbase game knowledge
The average Heroes of the Storm player is less informed about the mechanics and basic strategies of the game compared to the average player of other MOBA games. This is due to a variety of reasons, like the popularity of Quick Match and the relative lack of learning resources both in-game and out because the game isn't like other MOBAs so people bring the wrong knowledge and expectations to this game.
Con Dead game
Dying since Blizzard closed Esports.
Con Easy to abuse player report system
Con Can feel difficult to make an impact as a solo player
Since Heroes was designed to be more team-centric rather than individual players carrying games, games can often feel beyond your control. For example, ranked games can often feel like a coin flip of which side gets lucky and avoids players prone to tilting or toxicity.
Con Expensive
Getting new heroes for free takes too long. Buying new heroes can be expensive.
Con Terrible matchmaking
In any of the matchmaking queues, the chance of being put against someone with much higher skill than yourself is very high. The ranking system goes in this order: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Diamond, Master, Grandmaster. On multiple occasions, silver players have been placed against an entire team of Grandmasters with bronze allies, leading to very poor experience.
Con Badly designed and unbalanced game mechanics
The whole game mechanics are terrible: the fact there's no in-game currency ironically make the game heavily focused on farming (due to levels being an extremely important factor to win battles), there are no strategies you can use since objectives have a big impact on the game, so basically you end up just repeating cycles of farming/objective. Last but not least, the game balance is horrible, since skills were directly based on Blizzard's universe and without any adjustments to make characters unique or to create synergies with other characters or specific strategies. It's basically an oversimplified version of every MOBA out there.
Con Slow development
Blizzard is taking years to implement obvious features or fixing bugs (Ready-button regularly breaks since 2015).
Con Lack of good talent diversity
Compared to the flexibility of an item system, the talent system limits the number of ways you can build a hero. The talent system is often structured so that there are 1-2 primary builds which usually focus on empowering one of the heroes basic abilities, and then a handful of niche talents. This causes a hero to feel very much the same every time you play it.
Con Designed around team play (per the MOBA genre)
Heroes of the Storm has been designed around team play, as the company calls it a Hero Brawler, that focuses more on team fights and working toward objectives as a team. As with most team-based games, this means that if a player chooses to solo queue, that it may be difficult to play and coordinate with the rest of your team. The game does provide chat and a ping system similar to other MOBAs.
Con Reconnect issues, UI issues
You cannot turn off camera lock on a hero if you accidentally press L to the game restart (on blizzard forums users reported also not being able to turn off this option until the restart of the pc)
Not being able to enable music and sounds if you disabled them with (alt+s for sounds and alt+m for music) till the game restart.
Listed bugs are from the game launch…
Broken matchmaking system, AI fills teams unbalanced.
Overall heroes are not feeling balanced, you most likely will lose against heroes like Gazlowe, Abatur etc
They also deleted interesting map (the name of the map was copi i suppose) with undergrounds with no obvious reason.
No updates at this point or hero/maps adds.
You can’t win solo due to shared exp, you always tied to your team performance no matter what.
Good ideas mixed with bad ideas and poor implementations.
5.3/10
Con Constant hero additions slowly ruins the game
Blizzard keeps adding new heroes that get more and more mobility and defense by default. These new heroes are not fun to play against and the trend only seems to get worse.
Con Not always possible to buy skins with real money
Con Individual skin quality has dipped in exchange for numerous mediocre skins
Gone are the days of high-quality skins with cool spell effects and amazing visuals. What was once a dime-a-dozen, skins of actual "worth buying" quality now come once every 6 months or so, as the game's conversion to "2.0" switched their skin philosophy from QUALITY to QUANTITY.
Con Clunky camera movement
The way the camera moves makes it difficult to follow your hero. Update: there is an option to switch Camera off.
Con The XP sharing system has some flaws
You can get a bad player to your team, and he or she is able to ruin your match with some bad decisions, intentionally or not because XP sharing hurts the whole team in that way.
Con Ranked mismatchmaking
Con Boring and monotonous
Many matches are very similar one to another in the competitive game mode where the meta game has a higher influence.
Con Incoherent setting
Sci-fi characters (Starcraft) and fantasy characters (Warcraft, Diablo, etc) exist in the same time and place for no real reason other than to fight each other.
Con Slow fights
Heroes inflict little damage to each other, which has the potential to make fights seem long. On top of this when one falls behind many of their skills will become useless making for a fight that one is delegated to a support role, which will also add to the slow feeling of a fight.
Con Third person camera limits your view of the battlefield
Your camera is locked behind your character, so you won't have an overhead view or be able to view the entire battlefield like in most MOBAs. This makes communication much more important since you can only react to what happens in your line of sight. Without proper communication you won't be able to set up regular plays you could do in most MOBAs.
Con Excessive snowballing on certain characters
If not countered or shut down early, some characters can become extremely strong, making a comeback for the other team virtually impossible. This is especially annoying for new players since they'll have to learn it the hard way.
Con Community is toxic
Try playing ranked and at least 1 person will throw the game on purpose, sit in base, or feed on purpose. The games community is honestly horrible. I have played more games where a person purposely throws lately than games that don't.