Hey Dota2Portal!
Ive been playing HoN since beta and i recently got a hold of a dota 2 beta key and im thinking about starting out.
What im wondering is: What is the differances between hon and dota 2?
In the UI, Gameplay, Heroes, pace of the game etc.

Played Dota 2 but not HoN, only seen people playing it.

What I can tell about it without playing the game:
1) HoN is faster, teamfights happen in less than 5 seconds (lol)
2) Items are not too different from Dota
3) HoN has some ridiculous heroes (Devourer, Voodoo, Swiftblade, the list goes on) which make the game unbalanced
4) Graphics are overdone, there too much detail, colors and explosions and other flying crap which does not make the screen cleaner
5) Community is not too friendly (know that from ggnet)

So I think Dota 2 is better, the game is just much more balanced and has better graphics. The fact that it is developed by Valve already means that once Dota 2 hits the shelved people will buy it, and HoN is just slowly dying atm.

Anyway, it's a matter of taste, but I still think that more people would chose Dota 2 over HoN.

i also wonder if it takes a long time for HoN users to get used to Dota 2. Anyone with experiance?

^ Don't know but I can say one thing, the earlier you start the better!

Since i played DotA first and after turned to HoN.I have a little experience.So i can say that is not that hard to get used to it.I took me around a week to understand the drill of HoN i think that it will take you 1-2 weeks aswell to get used to DotA 2.

Bazinga wrote:

Played Dota 2 but not HoN, only seen people playing it.

What I can tell about it without playing the game:
1) HoN is faster, teamfights happen in less than 5 seconds (lol)
2) Items are not too different from Dota
3) HoN has some ridiculous heroes (Devourer, Voodoo, Swiftblade, the list goes on) which make the game unbalanced
4) Graphics are overdone, there too much detail, colors and explosions and other flying crap which does not make the screen cleaner
5) Community is not too friendly (know that from ggnet)

So I think Dota 2 is better, the game is just much more balanced and has better graphics. The fact that it is developed by Valve already means that once Dota 2 hits the shelved people will buy it, and HoN is just slowly dying atm.

Anyway, it's a matter of taste, but I still think that more people would chose Dota 2 over HoN.

Well said..
Actually those heroes that doen't have a counterpart in DotA are those who are overpowered.
Graphics is good, but worse than a family computer if you talk about gameplay.

^ yeah even almost dota hero in hon need improvement to survive hon gameplay (fast and more dmg)
OP hero on hon example : deadwood,predator,scout,nomad,etc

Quote :

Ive been playing HoN since beta

i remember the earlier version of HoN gameplay not too different as dota gameplay
but then on next until now HoN try to make the gameplay faster than dota (more dmg , combo based heroes ,etc )

so, dota gameplay is same as earlier HoN when most of the heroes in HoN are Dota heroes

Wushen wrote:

i also wonder if it takes a long time for HoN users to get used to Dota 2. Anyone with experiance?

Roughly a week or two for me from a DoTA to HoN for a year and back to DoTA. HoN creeps are harder to kill than DoTA creeps if I remember right... the armor and attack type system in DoTA doesn't apply to HoN which is probably the reason why so. From DoTA to DoTA 2 you can say 2-3 games and you are used to it... with the speed I mean because more detail means more actions means slightly slower than DoTA. HoN kill offs are faster than DoTA because of the OP heroes in HoN. I can assure you though, DoTA2 and DoTA is much better than HoN

I wish I could help but I never played HoN

i think HON have more unbalanced hero skill , like scout pupet master and other original HON hero , so i prefer dota than HON , although i played both of them

Ok from personal experince:
-hon is faster phased game ,meaning : the first hero who nukes win .
It isnt like in Dota simple example : Gauntlet : 1 spell 320 aoe dmg,second spoell 240 dmg,ultimate 450 spell dmg ,this only at level 7!!! takingn in account a normal level 7 has from 600-800 hp.

They have items that buff magical dmg so int can nuke in late aswell.

-second they don't have an : Sword/axe/Spear Sytesm :
Meaning : in Dota usualy (not in all cases) INT are the one's who take the agi with theyre high nukes,Agi have massive armor and atack speed to outsand Str,and the Str have big hp pool to resist the nukes of an int.

In Hon the heroes have no rules : Ex : Str hero : Deadwood : Lina's ultimate 1250 dmg + normal spell dmg wich exceeds 600 dmg.
Or : SCout: 40% curent hp dmg ultimate, + invisbility with big critical/maim and max atack speed to destroy ints

This is the biggest things that Makes Hon IMBA.

enough said,i don't want to go even more in details,if you want more just pm

But for your first question.How much will you have to spend to accomadate with dota 2?
Not much 1-2 months until you realise every hero you pick in Dota has it's counters.
And that Suport hero exists in Dota

HoN started well if we can say that....but they implemented the coins in game and a way to pay to use some heroes yet not released to other players....that made some matches real unbalanced...

As for heroes, there are some that exist in DOTA that don't exit in HoN and the opposite is true too....Huskar and Morphling for example....can't think of similars in HoN....but lots of heroes are the same....Glacius = Crystal Maiden.....Pyromancer = Lina.....

As for DOTA 2, someone in this thread mentioned that the screen is cleaner......so true...and the interface is better too...

HoN implemented the mentoring stuff....but lots of people don't use it....and most who use, already have a friend that plays...hope in DOTA 2 the tutorials and other things offer more ways to learn....

Personal opinion: DOTA 2 is way better...and is still on BETA....so we can expect improvements....

I suggest the OP to ignore the previous posters as not a single valid point was made. The first reply even called HoN being imba due to it's heroes and backed it up by naming three direct dota ports (in order; Pudge, Witch Doctor and Jugger). In opposite of what many people have written most Dota ported heroes have been nerfed and are weaker than their Dota counterpart (See Magmus/Crixalis, Soulstealer/ShadowFiend, PlagueRider/Lich, Jeraziah/Omniknight.) and Dota ports more or less always make up for about 50% of the top tier picks.

HoN has however walked a path which many disagree with. The assist gold given in HoN is greater than in Dota which gives the already winning team a greater advantage aimed towards allowing them to finish earlier and shorten the game. The Sol's Bulwark which only exists in HoN also added to the early pushing and ending potential as well as adding other early accessible items such as grave locket and the new ring of sorcery and shieldbreaker. Herowise the great number of tanky heroes with aoe damage potential in HoN are probably those who sets HoN and Dota apart. Heroes like Zephyr, Kraken, Ctulhuphant, Amun Ra and Electrician have far superior early and mid game compared to classic carry heroes while posessing decent late game potential. These are by many considered no brainer picks and I personally find them boring as they can outlane early focused opponents as well as stand up against late game focused opponents. However you can argue that a lot of these differences does come down to preference and meta-game, you do, for an instance, see Armadon/Bristleback as well as the occasional SoulReaper/Necrolyte in the same role and I could see a hero such as Alchemist being used in the same way would he be ported to HoN.

Out of competitive play you will quickly learn the differences and in my experience these are the most prominent ones:
1. No concede button; When playing Dota you simply have to get in the mindset of never giving up. Be prepared to turtle.
2. Earlier activity; In Dota 2 people will expect you to move more actively around the map at the early stages. The 00:00 rune opens up possibilities and heroes such as Prophet and Night Stalker promote great activity as well as
3. Smoke of Deceit; Huge item that will let you sneak by to other lanes without being spotted by wards or other vision.
4. No buyback limit; Promotes early buybacks and makes buybacks a huge factor in teamfights and something that you in greater extent have to keep in mind when considering to fight.
5. Neutral creeps' leash time; Opens up greater possibilities when it comes to multi stacking different spawns as well as allowing you to pull a couple of more spawns to lane.