Multiplayer online battle arena

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Typical map of a MOBA genre game. Yellow lines are the "lanes" where action is
focused; blue and red dots are the defensive "towers/turrets" that defend them;
light-colored quarter circles are the teams' bases; and blue and red corners are
the structures whose destruction claims victory.

Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA), also known as action real-time strategy
(ARTS), is a subgenre of strategy video games that originated as a subgenre of
real-time strategy, in which a player controls a single character in a team who
compete versus another team of players. The objective is to destroy the opposing
team's main structure with the assistance of periodically-spawned computer-
controlled units that march forward along set paths. Player characters typically
have various abilities and advantages that improve over the course of a game and
that contribute to a team's overall strategy. MOBA games are a fusion of action
games, role-playing games and real-time strategy games, in which players usually do
not construct either buildings or units.

The genre largely began with Aeon of Strife (AoS), a custom map for StarCraft[1][2]
where four players each controlling a single powerful unit and aided by weak
computer-controlled units were put against a stronger computer.[3] Defense of the
Ancients (DotA), a map based on Aeon of Strife for Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos and
The Frozen Throne, was one of the first major titles of its genre and the first
MOBA for which sponsored tournaments have been held.[3] It was followed by the two
spiritual successors, League of Legends and Heroes of Newerth, and eventually a
sequel, Dota 2, as well as numerous other games in the genre such as Heroes of the
Storm and Smite. By the early 2010s, the genre had become a staple of the emerging
eSports scene.
Contents

1 History
2 Gameplay
3 Roles
3.1 Data analytics and match prediction
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

History

The roots of the genre can be traced back decades to one of the earliest real-time
strategy titles, the 1989 Sega Mega Drive/Genesis game Herzog Zwei.[4][5] It has
been cited as a precursor to,[6] or an early example of,[7] the MOBA genre. It used
a similar formula, where each player controls a single command unit in one of two
opposing sides on a battlefield.[4][5][6] In 1998, Future Cop: LAPD featured a
strategic Precinct Assault mode similar to Herzog Zwei, in which the players could
actively fight alongside generated non-player units.[8][9] Herzog Zwei's influence
is also apparent in several later MOBA games such as Guilty Gear 2: Overture (2007)
[10][11] and AirMech (2012).[7]

In 1998, computer game company Blizzard Entertainment released its best-selling

real-time strategy game (RTS) StarCraft with a suite of game editing tools called
StarEdit. The tools allowed members of the public to design and create custom maps
that allowed play that was different from the normal maps. A modder known as Aeon64
made a custom map named Aeon of Strife (AoS) that became popular.[3][12] Aeon64
stated that he was attempting to create gameplay similar to that of Future Cop:
LAPD's Precinct Assault mode[citation needed]. In the Aeon of Strife map, players
controlled a single powerful hero unit fighting amidst three lanes, though terrain
outside these lanes was nearly vacant.[13]

In 2002, Blizzard released Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos (WC3), with the
accompanying Warcraft III World Editor. Both the MOBA and tower defense subgenres
took substantive shape within the WC3 modding community. A modder named Eul began
converting Aeon of Strife into 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, a map creator named Meian[1] 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 the impending release of an update that significantly
changed the map layout, Guinsoo left the development to his adjutant Neichus in the
year 2005.[1] 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 the number of
users on the Dota: Allstars forum is thought to have peaked at over one million.
[13]

By 2008, the popularity of DotA had attracted commercial attention.[14] That year,
The Casual Collective released Minions, a Flash web game.[15] Gas Powered Games
also released the first stand-alone commercial title in the genre, Demigod.[16][17]
In late 2009, Riot Games' debut title, League of Legends initially designed by
Feak, was released.[18][19] Riot began to refer to the game's genre as a
multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA).[20] Also in 2009, IceFrog, who had
continued to develop DotA: Allstars, was hired by Valve Corporation, in order to
design a sequel to the original map.[13]

In 2010, S2 Games released Heroes of Newerth, with a large portion of its gameplay
and aesthetics based on DotA: Allstars.[21][22] The same year, Valve announced Dota
2 and subsequently secured the franchise's intellectual property rights,[23][24]
after being contested by Riot Games for the DotA trademark.[25] In 2012, Activision
Blizzard settled a trademark dispute with Valve over the usage of the DOTA
trademark and announced their own standalone game, which was eventually named
Heroes of the Storm.[26][27][28][29][30] Dota 2 was released in 2013, and was
referred to by Valve as an "action real-time strategy" game.[20] In 2014, Hi-Rez
Studios released Smite,[31] a MOBA with a third-person perspective. Heroes of the
Storm was released in 2015.[32] Blizzard adopted their own personal dictation for
their game's genre with "hero brawler", citing its focus on action.[33]
Gameplay
The Halcyon Fold map from the mobile MOBA Vainglory features a single lane
connecting the two team bases, and the "jungle" underbrush beneath the lane

There are two opposing teams whose goal collectively as a team is generally to
destroy their enemy's base to win,[34] though some games have the option of
different victory conditions.[35] Each team most typically consists of five
players. Typically, there is one main structure which must be destroyed to win;
destroying other structures within the opposing team's base may confer other
benefits. Defensive structures, which are usually automatic "sentry guns", are in
place to prevent this, as well as relatively weak computer-controlled units which
periodically spawn at each base and travel down predefined paths toward the
opposing team's base.[36] There are typically 3 "lanes" that are the main ways of
getting from one base to another; in between the lanes is an uncharted area called
the "jungle."

A player controls a single powerful in-game unit generally called a 'hero'. When a
hero stands near a killed enemy unit or kills an enemy unit, it gains experience
points which allow the hero to level up. When a hero levels up, it has the ability
to strengthen its abilities, of which it typically has four. When a hero dies, it
has to wait a designated time, which generally increases as it levels up, until it
revives at the team's base.[37]

Heroes typically fall into one of several roles, such as tanking, damage-dealing,
or healing & support. Each individual hero is unique, with its own abilities that
it does not share with any other character, even those which share its role(s).
Also typically, there is a large starting pool of heroes; League of Legends, for
instance, began with 40, and has added at least one new one every month for its
entire lifespan, reaching 100 in 2012.[38] This adds to the learning curve of the
game, as players must not only learn the game's goals and strategies but also find
at least one hero they excel at playing, not to mention familiarize themselves with
the remaining roster. Additionally, each hero is deliberately limited in the roles
they can fulfill. No one hero is ever (supposed to be) powerful enough to win the
game without support from their team. This creates a strong emphasis on teamwork
and cooperation.

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 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.[39]

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 farming gold by killing A.I. units. The stronger a team gets, the more
capable they are at destroying the enemy team and their base.

Members of the genre do not generally feature several other elements traditionally
found in real-time strategy games, notably base management, and army building. Some
video games have certain heroes which control a few specialized units. The MOBA
genre has more resemblance with role-playing games (RPG) in gameplay, though the
MOBA genre focuses on multiplayer battle in an arena while RPG typically revolve
around a single player story.
Roles
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In most MOBAs, players assume specific roles such as carry, support and ganker; the
number and type can differ depending on the game.[40][41] 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.[40] Supports are characters who support the entire team, they
have abilities that are meant to aid allies and disable or slightly harm enemies.
Some supports have healing abilities which can be very useful in fights, giving
health to an ally while the enemy is losing more and more of theirs.[40] 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.[40] According to Nuangjumnong Gavrilova, gankers can "act as a
strategist, decision-maker or supporter depending on the team's needs."[40] Player
roles can also be classified by the particular lane they are focusing on, such as
"top laner", "mid laner", and "bottom laner".[42]
Data analytics and match prediction

Due to the large volume of MOBA matches played on a daily basis globally, (League
of Legends alone had a reported 100 million active monthly players worldwide in
2016[43] and an average of 27 million League of Legends games played per day
reported in 2014 [44]), MOBA has become a platform to apply 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 parameters. [45] [46] The prospects of using Artificial Intelligence to
play in matches and predict match outcome represents the future of having robots
interacting with humans in competitive gaming environments. [47]
See also