When it comes to mobile game genres, there's no doubt that one of the more popular ones has to be MOBAs. The idea of playing something akin to Dota 2 or League of Legends on your phone was impossible in the past, but now that everyone can, you can believe many quickly jumped at the opportunity to do so.
It truly is incredible that anyone can play such a fast-paced and complex genre wherever and whenever they please. And since people can play it on their phones, it helped the genre retain relevance and even allowed it to gain a surge of new fans, increasing its popularity. So, you can say that MOBAs found a nice home in the mobile world, and that it's good that it migrated to the platform.
However, as someone who enjoys playing such games, I'd have to disagree. I would go so far as to say that MOBAs should never have entered the mobile realm. You may ask why, and one very good reason is that it removes a lot of the complexity that gives the genre its charm.
One of the best, but also the worst, things when it comes to MOBAs is the level of engagement that's involved when playing them. Let's take a look at League of Legends as an example. In that game, if you want to win, you must be committed to doing everything you can to help your allies while taking down your enemies. Doing so involves using numerous spells and items, as well as decision-making that can only be done with the mechanical intensity of a mouse and keyboard.
Yes, it requires a high degree of skill to master, but even if you're not very good, the complexity adds to the fun. Because there are so many things that need to be considered, it often leads to many situations that can be rewarding or devastating for either side, making for enjoyable moments regardless of the outcome.
When you compare that to the mobile version, League of Legends: Wild Rift, it feels like night and day. The phone game simplifies many things, like making certain spells have auto-aim or quick targeting to make up for the lack of precision that using a mouse would have provided. Damage is also excessive, making players rely on faster screen tapping rather than deep strategy to achieve victory.
Then there are other things like a scaled-down map, faster gold acquisition, and a smaller champion roster that take away some of the important things you're supposed to think about when playing a MOBA. I will admit that despite the oversimplification, it can still result in short bursts of fun, but it cannot compare to the amount you could have had if it were played on the PC.
Another reason I believe MOBAs should never have entered the world of mobile games is that since everything needs to be condensed, there's too much clutter. When playing one on a PC, you can tell that the developers really thought about how to provide you with all the information you need on screen and spread it out so it doesn't take away from what you should be prioritizing your focus on: your character.
Everything from the spells to the scoreboard is positioned far enough that they won't jumble together, while still maintaining the right distance so you can look up the helpful information they provide in a moment's notice. Essentially, the UI is perfectly balanced, letting you see what you need whenever in a way that's easy on the eyes.
But what happens when you have to put everything from the PC version of a MOBA on a phone? Well, since it's a much smaller screen, everything has to be crammed in. I understand that the mobile versions try to make icons the right size to ensure they're still clickable without taking too much space, but that doesn't change the fact that there are way too many things on screen.
It can get overwhelming really fast, especially for first-timers in the genre. Since everything is crammed into a small screen, it also leads to another problem: pressing something you don't want to. There's a good chance you'll accidentally use an item or a spell, just because your finger slid across an icon and triggered it.
This can lead to losing scenarios for you and your team when it happens during important fights, which isn't good because MOBAs are supposed to give you control of everything. If you lose, it should be because you and your team didn't do certain things right, not because someone simply hovered on their fingers and did something stupid unintentionally.
If you play mobile MOBAs but have not tried them on PC, I urge you to give them a shot. Despite how much more difficult it can get, I bet you'll still find that it's more fun, and maybe even come to agree that the genre doesn't belong on phones.