Originally Posted by BunniFace

"At first glance, Sunny Day on Drought Ninetales seems completely redundant. Why would you use Sunny Day on a Pokemon that can already summon permanent sunlight just by switching in? What appears to be a useless gimmick on the surface actually conceals an innovation that shook up the metagame, for this simple, yet deceptive move, can turn the tides of a weather war. While Ninetales normally has no business staying in on either Tyranitar or Politoed, a well-timed Sunny Day can actually force them out! Not only is the opponent's attempt to change the weather negated, but SolarBeam no longer has a charge-up period."

Originally Posted by Panzerfaust

I find that LoL has a shallower learning curve, partially because it doesn't have as many mundane mechanical 'skills' to master before you can even be considered a weak player.

That doesn't make it an 'easier' game though, merely that it's easier to get into. The free rotation also helps, because it means you don't need to worry about 50-100 champions/heroes at once, you only need to poke around at up 10 new champions each week (less as you play more), with the occasional random champ someone bought (again, it happens less to start off when people have less IP).

Rather than DotA/HoN being a 'hotter fire' and thus forging stronger players, I see it as LoL being more beginner friendly, and thus having a larger pool of 'weaker' players that feel comfortable playing the game.

The ruthlessness of the DotA environment... isn't one that makes players stronger, merely kicks out those who can't pick it up quickly enough. When you're kicking the new kids in the shin to make them go home, of course only the old kids will be left.

(My quick thoughts, let me know what you think.)