The recently recognized gaming genre – MOBA, Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, is gaining popularity with games like Valorant and League of Legends: Wild Rift available on high-end devices. Riot Games, a prominent game development company, developed the two MOBAs and has created a name for itself. However, the games do not support cross-platform functionality and are limited to players having PCs with good graphics cards.
Therefore, we will list down two of the MOBAs you can play on your mobile phone and compare different aspects of them to choose what is better for you. Mobile Legends and Arena of Valor are two of the games that have piqued the interest of mobile gamers in recent times.
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Being a MOBA, the game shares similarities such as both being 5v5 where players can control heroes and have the basic objective of destroying the other team’s base. Both the games provide quintessential MOBA experience with their addition of Jungle Monsters, lanes and team fights.
Mobile Legends have a slightly faster matching rate and match durations are not lengthy, ranging from 10 to 15 minutes. Therefore, if you are searching for a quick gameplay experience, Mobile Legends is better than Arena of Valor. The game also has a simple map design that helps in achieving faster-paced action gameplay.
Conversely, Arena of Valor has strategic elements that elongate the gameplay duration. Hence, if you are into longer game durations with strategic elements, Arena of Valor should be on your preferred list. The game has a larger map compared to Mobile Legends, providing more room for strategic planning.
When we talk about visual appeal and themes, Mobile Legends resembles a cartoonish and vibrant art style, which appeals to a broad audience. On the other hand, Arena of Valor leans towards a more realistic approach with polished characters, especially when it comes to heroes and animations.
Mobile Legends is optimized for lower-end devices keeping in mind a broader audience. While Arena of Valor runs on almost all the devices, it requires slightly better hardware for seamless gameplay.
Talking about characters and skins, both games have tons of immersive characters and visually appealing skins. However, Arena of Valor characters stand out when it comes to the animation of these elements. The characters in the game resemble with League of Legends game characters.
Both the games work on touch controls. Arena of Valor provides a more complex control system compared to Mobile Legends. The latter is more targeted towards newcomers, who have been new to MOBAs. Arena of Valor requires a bit more skills compared to Mobile Legends.
Arena of Valor displays more realistic and pleasing-to-the-eye graphics, giving an immersive experience to the players. On the other hand, Mobile Legends is more driven towards simplicity and accessibility.
Talking about monetization strategies, both games rely on in-game purchases. Mobile Legends heavily relies on skin purchases and gacha events. Arena of Valor has more monetization options including character unlocks, numerous skin purchases along with seasonal passes.
Although both games apply the freemium model, users can start playing the game without spending any bucks, both games are usually criticized for giving an edge to premium users who buy in-game assets.
Talking about regional dominance, the Mobile Legends community is prevalent in South-Asian countries. Arena of Valor holds more dominance in China and other Western countries. Both the games enjoy a rich and varied audience.
The Esports scene of both the games has a humongous viewership. Mobile Legends’ M-Series and Arena of Valor’s AoV World Cup (AWC) bring in millions of viewers.
Being two of the best MOBAs, both Mobile Legends and Arena of Valor support cross-platform compatibility. Both the games can be played by an Android user or an iOS user. However, Arena of Valor holds an edge over Mobile Legends as the game’s version is also available on the Nintendo Switch.
Considering the dominance of the game region-wise, the demographics of the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia highly consume Mobile Legends, and China and Europe are more inclined towards Arena of Valor.
In terms of frequency, both games roll out frequent updates and keep their user base engrossed. However, both games differ in terms of rolling out updates. Arena of Valor’s updates revolve around balance and competitive integrity, and Mobile Legends’s updates bring in new heroes and skins.
Also, Mobile Legends’ updates are mostly based on the suggestions of the players as the developers are connected with the audience on social media. On the other hand, Arena of Valor works with a structured approach.
The game’s strengths are its faster-paced matches that allow users to play multiple rounds during short durations. Another strength it boasts is that it is accessible to beginners. The game has one weakness, it has simple graphics and mechanics, but it is also a double-edged sword, as it attracts newcomers.
The game provides mind-stimulating gameplay as it contains strategic gameplay. Another big point of emphasis is the graphics of the game, the game has superior graphics that gives it an edge over its counterpart. The only weakness of the game is that it requires a higher hardware, limiting its access to a certain audience.
A game development company has a big role in keeping the game relevant by providing regular updates. The same technique is applied by the developers of both games to keep the game relevant for the audience.
Arena of Valor was developed by the developers of PUBG, Tencent, a renowned game development company. The game enjoyed huge success in the Chinese market, however, it failed to capture the Western market. Mobile Legends was curated by a video game development company called Moonton based out of Shanghai. The company releases frequent updates rolling out new heroes which makes the game relevant in the South-Asian market.
Now let’s face the real question, which is better Mobile Legends or Arena of Valor? Both games are wonderful yet different. If you are more into action and want to invest less time in MOBAs, Mobile Legends can be your first choice. If you are more into strategic play, Arena of Valor surpasses Mobile Legends and you should go for the title with your eyes closed.
Both Mobile Legends and Arena of Valor hold prominence and are loved by the audience. Both games cater to different audiences based on the region, hardware availability, and gameplay. For fast and more accessible gameplay, Mobile Legends can be your go-to option. For strategic depth and more realistic graphics, Arena of Valor is a better fit.
Ans. Arena of Valor has significantly more realistic graphics aimed at seasoned players, while Mobile Legends offers vibrant and cartoony visuals that attract newbies to MOBAs.
Ans. Yes, both Mobile Legends and Arena of Valor follow freemium models, meaning they are free-to-play. However, their monetization strategies include purchasing in-game assets like heroes and skins.
Ans. Due to being more accessible in nature, Mobile Legends has a larger player base. The region of Southeast Asia is dominated by the game, while Arena of Valor is more popular in China and Europe.
Ans. Arena of Valor is more similar to League of Legends mobile game in terms of graphics and gameplay.
