Love the game, the community is harsh. Great graphics, great f2p game, i've logged over 1400 matches and still come back and back and back to play with friends or solo play

This is an updated review after I had originally written some scathing criticisms about Heroes of Newerth.

Since writing my original review, I discovered that the game was updated a few months ago with bots and other improvements. The addition of bots piqued my interest and I downloaded Heroes of Newerth again. I was actually quite impressed with the changes that adding bots did to the game. Although there were still a lot of rude people (mostly from Europe, therefore I permanently avoided using those servers after games with guys who cussed repeatedly over the voice chat at mistakes teammates made), I enjoyed the updated tutorial (thank goodness!) which better introduced me to the game than the original did last summer. I also liked the AI of the bots to a certain extent. The number of bots are very limited. Developer S2 only made a handful of bots internally, leaving the rest of the bots for the community to create. Other than that, predicting the bots' behavior after a few rounds helped me settle into the steep learning curve a lot easier than the first time I played. Since Co-op vs. AI was added, the player community overall improved a lot, especially after I learned that vote-kicking outright was replaced with vote-kicking AFK players only.

However, I still have some issues with the game. I've been playing off and on for a few weeks now and I noticed something that the game lacks, and that is balancing. Every single update that comes out, there is only the cosmetic bug fixes to some heroes so their abilities respond better, but overall, I've seen absolutely no hero balancing whatsoever. Therefore, a hero that's fed early can snowball out of control very easily and single-handedly fend off the entire enemy team (or kill them within a second as soon as they spawn at the fountain). Not even the champions of League of Legends can do this sort of slaughter! It's ridiculous.

Overall, the bots (and a friendly player) brought me back into the game. While it's still not a cakewalk for new players to pick up the game, the overhauled tutorial and new bots will still help rookies get familiar with the game. I'd still recommend League of Legends over Heroes of Newerth due partially to the lack of hero balancing but if you can grasp the mechanics quickly, the game is a fun, fast-paced alternative MOBA to play if you're looking for something new.… Expand

wat a nonsense game :(( and also it is a copycat of dota boo !!!! and one of the important thing that i do not like in this game is that they are copying the heroes of dota and also tbere abilities. So i dont like of wat they are doing and i dont know why other people really like this game because the content itself is reallh awful none like the lol it is great but you hon get lost!!!!!!

From all mobas I got to say this game is the hardest not only in skill and learning but in fitting the community... This game have the worst community of all, your only chance of success in this game is to ignore all the critics from your teamates, above this, this game have great graphics and a high skill cap. I give this game a 6.

This is a bitter sweet review on my part. HoN is a game that has all the core features to be great. In fact, much of the game play is brilliant. The graphics are a bit dark and gory but if you are into that type of thing, it isn't an issue at all. The controls are responsive; more so than DotA 2 but less than LoL. Unfortunately, what could be an exceptional gaming experience is ruined by arguably the most rude bunch of gamers in the MOBA world. It was shocking to see how visceral the players were. I would note that their rudeness is only comparable to their utter contempt for anyone beginning the game. If you like MOBA type games, you will be better off sticking to DotA 2 or LoL. Unless you are also an ass, then you will fit right in. It is a shame really that a great game platform is really ruined by the community.… Expand

Sports the worst community of any game bar none. This coming from a player that has played on and off for 2 years and stabilized around 1750 MMR post-normalization. The game has glaring design-flaws that contributes to the indescribably awful community, which serves to alienate rather than invite new players. Don't even bother to play HoN if you're out of puberty; the community is a disgrace.

for me i rate this game a 10 because i have been playing it for a year and i am so incredibly addicted to it. However, it is not for everyone. It is a game that has a simple concept, however, learning all the items and all the characters requires a lot of patience...that is just the tip of the iceburg! There are many things to learn and that comes with practice and hour and hours of time playing and watching replays and asking questions. The community however will not be welcoming you as a new players in general (this includes myself). you can be kicked for poor play, you will be verbally aggressed for simply not being good! That said, the game has recently become free to play, so what do you have to lose other than hours of valuable time and possibly your soul! Give it a try and make your own opinion!… Expand

A valid DotA-clone, with new interesting features and content. However, S2 Games is not keen on what makes or breaks a game, prioritizing on releasing new content (which helps a lot on their income, considering their new, and criticized, business model) than fixing the current problems. While you may find HoN very attractive for a experience while Dota2 is in beta phase, you'll find yourself at odds with the community it attracts. Lots of obnoxious players and no way to curb them may make your experience on a multiplayer team-focused game very unpleasant.… Expand

Even though this game has the same high learning curve than the Warcraft3 Mod(DotA) it still has a lot of improvements which make this game the perfect DotA clone. The leaver protection, the skill based matchmaking and a decent mix of own heroes and DotA heroes creates thousands of hours of gameplay with a friends and clans. The competitive scene and their players are constantly changing and is not dominated by the same team.… Expand

I really love this game. It's so addictive and a lot of fun, with loads of replayability, new heroes and loads of tactics. I love how strategic the game can get but I hate it when you just get in a game full of idiots or feeders or leavers, it ruins the game, also ragers piss me off. So all in all it's brilliant and a lot of fun but it is way too time consuming and there are just some players I wish would die.… Expand

A great step up from DOTA! Nice graphics, great game play. Lag is very rare. My only issue is the balancing. Some heroes are very clearly overpowered, while others have been nerfed into the ground.

Heroes of Newerth is a bad copy of dota. Graphics is old. Sound is terrible. I think LoL is better, fast and fun.

When I tried this game 3 months ago I was extremely unfamiliar with this genre, I just couldn't find myself to like it, it was unforgiving and all the games lasted a very long time. It took me a lot of time to adapt, after I did it became a little bit better but not much. It is good S2Games took the world of Savage 1 and 2 and expanded it much more than before but this is not a game for everyone and it wasn't for me, I'd rather be playing Savage 2 that apparently has way more people than this. Graphics are good, sound is decent, story doesn't exist, and the gameplay is tedious. It may get repetitive in a short time the only thing that varies is the heroes, once you figure out the different types it becomes the same thing over and over. I didn't enjoy this, the best part of this game though it that its free, so try it and take the verdict yourself.… Expand

The most underrated game in the genre, fast paced, smooth, okay graphics and so on. The reason why the game was dominated by LoL, was because of S2 marketing early on, S2 has been really bad at supporting their own game.

Heroes of newerth Is a Dota style game which requires action,and strategy style game any dota style game player should be familiar with. Given time, one should become familiar with the Game play with the characters. The things one shouldn't become familiar with is the constant errors in script and game crashes that occur during game play.... If you wish to have issues in one of every 10 games please do play, and expect issues. It is fun, but is far too buggy. I myself "pt213" who has encountered far too many bugs since beta will not longer continue playing the game, but still wish characters to play the game since it is now free to play. Just do now spend any money, since the developers wish only to add content to the the game and not wish to improve on the game mechanics..… Expand

To summarize how I feel about this game I'll simply say I like it but the community sucks. It's not very user friendly to new players and the community is horrible to everyone (or just about anyone and everyone who has a bad game). I only play this game with friends because its the only time I enjoy it and will never play it again with randoms. some of the biggest cons which rank below how bad the community is is that the matchmaking is pretty poorly done and you can wait up to 10 minutes to get into some games. This game can be enjoyable and well-balanced however I highly recommend that you play it with people you know so you get the most enjoyment out of it. I am not overreacting to how bad the community is (90% of games I've played have contained flaming and abuse), If the community was better I'd give this game a 9/10.… Expand

I'm giving this score as of when it came out in 2010.

Essentially a dota port, but does a lot of things differently and questionably so. I started playing it in beta back in '09 and have now migrated to Dota 2 after dropping this game in 2010. At the time it came out, it was the best MOBA game out there; it had fixes for everything that made dota clunky and miserable, and some cool new graphics/art. Things like reconnecting to games if your computer crashed, online matchmaking, parties, etc. which dota sorely lacked and still has issues with. One new introduction, that I would argue is incredibly detrimental, is player stats. That is: gold/min, kdr, etc. This REALLY encourages individualistic play over team play in what is clearly a team game. Another downside is that HoN has an incredibly unforgiving and downright mean user base, and hardly anyone is ever banned for abusive language or behavior.

It began to diverge from dota and try to claim a new identity of its own when the devs caught wind of dota 2. Now, the game is in a weird place where League of Legends has a far larger user base, and is making more money off of them, and Dota 2 is coming in with Valve's full force behind it. HoN is trying to play both sides by adding unique heroes and go free-to-play.

To be honest, if I had to rate this game today, it would get a 5; Dota 2 just blows it out of the water and there's no reason to stick with this game.… Expand

In this particular genre of games (MOBA) there are three main competitors: Heroes of Newerth (HoN); League of Legends (LoL); and the original, Defense of the Ancients (Dota). All three games have insanely TERRIFYING and rewarding learning curves and on top of that the community of players is nightmarish. Players in this game are ruthless, mean, spiteful, and better than you. These games will absolutely wreck you for the first month of play until you learn every hero, their skills, the map, the items, and the mechanics. When you overcome all of this and get decent with a few heroes so much so that you can actually change the outcome of a game then THIS BECOMES THE ONLY GAME YOU EVER WANT TO PLAY. This whole experience is infinitely easier and more fun if you have a few friends to accompany you throughout. Your friends will help you learn everything quicker, you will be able to be more strategic and communicate with your teammates better, and most importantly your friends will help you keep your chin up and stay positive and take the high road when people with huge e-peens and superiority complexes try to get in your face about the game. I can go on for another 4000 characters about this game but I already think that people won't read this haha. PHENOMENAL GAME, UNBELIEVABLY REWARDING, BETTER THAN THE COMPETITION, AND BUILDS CHARACTER!!!… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. HoN is a great game. The graphics help to bring the players into the right mood for a battle between the avatars. The community isn't the best but when you reach a higher mmr/psr the community improves slightly. Everyone who tries the game for the first time usually ends up with noobs as both teammates and opponents. Personal experience tells me that the reason newcomers complain about the community is that they, the newcomers, just ignore the more experienced players when they try to give them an advice in the hero picking phase or so. If you are patient and willing to play for the team rather than for yourself only, the mood for that game will nearly all ways be nice and calm.… Expand

Been playing this since I quit LoL . It's faster, more gritty, and more satisfying overall. I find the community to be pretty bad however, once you hit 1700 MMR, you'll get **** on for playing ****ty. Nice game till DOTA 2 comes out! (I heard DOTA 2 is slower D: )

A enjoyable, but extremely difficult game. For someone without prior experience in this genre (never once played DotA), the only reason I kept playing was because my friends were there to introduce all the game concepts to me. Like similar games, the skill ceiling is high. The matchmaking system ensures you won't be matched up against player who are a lot better than you.
Graphics are simple, but it looks clean. The game feels responsive, which is of massive importance in this genre. It has a large selection of heroes, with new heroes added every few weeks.
With the exception of a few heroes and lane combination (although not playing All Pick prevents the last), gameplay is generally balanced and often the only one causing your death will be you.

As mentioned before, though, the community is amongst the worst in the world, so I recommend playing this with as many friends as possible. It's a lot more fun co-operating with friends in general.… Expand

Ok,so first review of 2012 for this game:HoN is a great game,and way better than dota 2. Dota 2 is a thumbed down version of the original dota,and much less action based+fun than hon. League of legends has always been a terrible game,and I highly recommend HoN over any other moba game if you're tired to dota.

A very solid MOBA game, though difficult to get into (and difficult to return to) due to its high learning curve and unfriendly player base. This game has a stylish feel to it and each of the heroes have a very unique personality. Definitely worth trying out now that it is free too play.

Heroes of Newerth is a seriously solid transition from DotA for people that feel it is too old and/or don't like the engine limitations (of hero design, leavers, lag interruptions, lack of features). It adds new heroes as well as total copies from DotA. Originally Heroes of Newerth seemed to be made to be a total clone of DotA to give Dota players the ability to try out a "Dota 2.0" as such. At first it was a very promising game to totally wipe out DotA with new important features and engine and graphical enhancements. The gameplay itself is extremely solid and stays true to Dota, but now the gameplay is the only thing it has going for it. Heroes of Newerth is a terribly coded game, graphical issues, crashes, connection problems, servers dropping out, annoying bugs and much more stuff added to just be a pain in the backside. To make things worse, the community sucks, but it isn't the games fault for that, it's more the genre... S2 as a company also is pretty damn ordinary and I get the sense that they always take the factor of adding new stuff to the game, rather than fixing the current stuff that doesn't work (most patches will always have a bug that will not be fixed for a long time, for example, simple things like Herodex sorting and the time until you can unpause is still not fixed). Another thing is, if you compare Icefrog's balance change schedule of Dota, to S2's, it is generally pretty disgusting. A GAME LIKE THIS NEEDS TO BE BALANCED REGULARLY, NOT ONCE EVERY TWO MONTHS! When they do finally decide to balance the game it's usually too few and too minor changes to affect anything (did anyone see how Icefrog balanced the game, he was a freaking beast). To size it up, HoN has good points and many bad points, the gameplay is excellent, everything else is pretty damn ordinary. Still a better game than LoL though.… Expand

-Worst graphics I have ever seen in a game, bad textures,bad art ingame(looks like made of a 5 years kid).
-Worst company S2, lure their players just to squishy so much money they can.
-The balance of the game looks like made of a ape, and its getting worse.
- Terrible Matchmaking.

Seriously, what is this PIECE OF GARBAGE RIPOFF, it's made to earn money, and fame from that famous Dota map. S2 must be the most stupid game company ever made. The graphics are so blurry too, and the textures are HORRIBLE. No thanks, this is worst then a bunch of cow ****

A very decent DOTA clone, miles ahead of LoL and should probably the market leader in the MOBA genre. Not going F2P from day 1 hurt them. Needs some better support for guild. Has in-game VOIP, great spectator system and a lot of re-playability. Definitely worth checking out if your waiting for DOTA 2.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is incredibly difficult to get a hold of. I had played DotA and LoL, but neither of them had prepared me for this game. The learning curve is insane, and the system is not friendly to new players. There are hardly any kind of information outside of the website itself, including new player guides. Even being experienced with gameplay and strategy, I could not understand the game itself. The spells have no given range indicator, the tutorial has no true learning in it (just completely destroying bots with a 24 level advantage if i remember correctly) The system does not even at least match new players with other new players, instead you could be playing with someone who has actively played since the release (unlikely but possible). Spending money on this game also provides such advantages that cannot be overcome through earning in games. It is also difficult to join a game, for all the players are usually on European or South American servers. Without going into the real gameplay at all, HoN is much worse than other games of its kind.… Expand

HoN is the best MOBA (Multiplayer Online Batte Arena) title on the markets right now. It stays very close to the original game DotA, with slight gameplay and major interface enhancements. E.g. matchmaking gives you a easy way to enter a game with people who are about the same level as you... no more server browsing, no more host leaving the game, ect. The only critique I have with this game is it's incredible steep learning curve. To actually be a valuable asset to your team you have to play numerous hours (20+), and in the beginning you're going to feed very very much. Anyhow, I'm hooked since the first minute. TLDR: The best MOBA on the market with a extremly high skill ceiling.… Expand

Put simply, HoN is the only decent option (until Dota 2) for hardcore DotA players. S2 supports the competitive communities, they make efforts to keep the game balanced and most importantly it plays just like DotA. I have no major complaints whatsoever, I've logged hundreds of hours into this game and ever since matchmaking (finally) came out, that number went up. Certainly the only worthy title to belong in the 'DotA genre' besides DotA.… Expand

http://heroesofnewerth.com/ref.php?r=992J7K3T
Heroes of Newerth is a game that has spread DotA's acclaim to a whole other level by elevating their weaknesses, and improving upon community wants and needs by implementing a reconnecting system and stats system that keeps everything organized and civil. HON is regularly 30$, but with a special promotion of 10$ at the moment, it is a must have if you have DotA's withdrawals. Don't miss out on this chance!
http://heroesofnewerth.com/ref.php?r=992J7K3T… Expand

Heroes of Newerth wasn't a completely terrible game, but it tried way too hard to be DotA. It's steep learning curve and is in no way friendly to newer users. One of the more annoying quirks about the game was that it offered no range indicators for spells other than AoEs. It also has one of the worst communities I have ever seen and is totally unforgiving. Members of S2 Games' staff have also blatantly insulted users for berating the game, without any repercussions. I can say that it's graphics are well done. At it's price, this game isn't worth it. I'd recommend sticking to DotA, looking into League of Legends, and/or saving your money for Dota 2.… Expand

Compared to its competition, it revives DotA better than the rest. But for 30 bucks, I could have spent it on (a) better game(s). And regardless of its revival, you might want to stick with the original DotA, as you might spent endless hours grinding for the "extra" stuff in this "full version" game.

Heroes of Newerth is almost the exact product as DoTa but with updated graphics.
This remains highly controversial as many former-Dota players can pick up HoN fairly easily whilst other players refuse to make the transfer as it offers little to no new ideas. Other then the graphics there is no reason to make the transfer from DotA. Overall, Heroes of Newerth offers nothing new and League of Legend is obviously the dominate contender of the two's rivalry.… Expand

Great game with a lot of updates. For 30$, this game is a steal. Their is a lot of customization within the game if yuo are willing to pay, but nothing that will change your skill, only how you look. The company is really active and for +2 years that I played, their is always something new and fresh added. The multiplayer just works. The graphic are perfect, nothing super fancy, but you will be able to play this game on any computer and you really understand what happens on the screen, which is very important.… Expand

HoN is the exact same as DotA, with a few key differences:

1. HoN is missing about 20? heroes.
2. HoN doesn't have anything comparable to DotA's "LoD" mode.
3. HoN is full of 16 year old "pros" that had never even heard of DotA until this one came out.
4. HoN costs $20.
5. HoN is going to be dead in a year anyway, DotA players still play DotA, and most new players chose LoL.

Unlimited gameplay, steep learning curve, obnoxious community

Still my fav game, but its basically dota revamped

Heart pounding action every game though, so I cant complain too much

-1 only because of the obnoxious community

This game is fantastic, well worth the $30 it costs. With a large pool of playable heroes, and a wide variety of items, the combinations are almost unlimited. The game is immensely addictive and fun to play. Though it takes lots of practice and hours spent before you can start to grasp the real value of this game. Which might turn some new players off. The game requires a lot of time being spent on it, it requires your full attention for the full duration of the match. Tabbing out for a couple of minutes, answering a SMS or getting something to eat is not an option, you must be there all the time. So be well prepared.

Another thing which is in much of my delight, is the amount of thinking you have to do in order to strategically outsmart your opponent. This game is indeed a strategy game at its best.

The downside to this game, isn't really the game itself but the players. There are, to my great dismay, a large amount of players that are very unreasonable persons, that haven't yet understood that the game has to be played together with other people. This can potentially ruin a great game.

I am inclined to give Heroes of Newerth a straight 10, but the player base is much responsible for my disability in doing so. Were it not for the blatantly lousy lower tier player base it'd be a 10.

In conclusion.
If you love strategy and a lot of thinking, this is a must have.… Expand

Based on the popular Warcraft 3 custom map, Defense of the Ancients, Heroes of Newerth (HoN) is an incredibly addictive and polished game from indie developer S2Games. Featuring stunning graphics, fast, smooth gameplay, and whole range of useful features (stat tracking, replays, reconnection, matchmaking, etc.), it is an absolute bargain at just $30. I highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys RPG and RTS style games, as well as anyone who enjoys a bit of PvP gaming.… Expand

This game will destroy you. There is no easy way to put it, but you will want to yell at your team mates and they will want to yell at you. With a game so focused on working as a team where it is all about setting up combinations that are effective in team battles you can not avoid emotions. Really need to stress to not take this game too seriously as it is just a game and having fun is the goal, but be prepared to be just torn apart if you do anything that someone else feels isn't up to snuff. The good thing is that when you are playing well as a team nothing is quite as awesome as turning a game where you were losing into a game where you are destroying. That is why I keep coming back.… Expand

Heroes of Newerth, while i have no idea what newerth is, I do love the heroes. Essentially this is a game that has improved graphics and easier controls then ice frogs old DOTA series. I've played DOTA for years upon years and i played the open beta for HON as it's called, and found the transfer to be fairly easy. Overall the community is fairly similar to DOTA, however due to the statistics, if you have a low K/D Ratio or Kills to Deaths ratio, odds are you won't be allowed in numerous games, and thats a problem for some new players and a solution for more of the veteran players who hate playing with newbies. I believe this game was built well, with great intentions, but seems to be missing the option of hiding statistics to make life easier on newbies.… Expand

"Heroes of Newerth" or "HoN" is a great game to play. It is essentially a copy from the Warcraft 3 custom map "Defense of the Ancients" or "DotA".

In HoN (and DotA) you choose from a vast variety of Heroes, each with different roles and abilities. Your team of five players versus another five players with the aim of "pushing" lanes, and eventually destroying the opponent's main structure. AI units ("creeps") spawn every 30 seconds from either side of the three lanes, which automatically attempt the push the lane. If your Hero is nearby when an enemy creep or enemy Hero dies, you gain experience. By gaining experience, your Hero eventually levels up, allowing you to learn/improve your different abilities. By killing creeps and Heroes, you gain gold (as well as gaining gold periodically) which allows you to purchase items to make your Hero stronger.

The graphics in HoN is a huge improvement over the Warcraft 3 graphics DotA was utilising and being able to reconnect to a game is a great if you have an unexpected connection issue.

Many of the Heroes in HoN are clones from the DotA Heroes, which for someone like myself is good - having played DotA for a while, I am able to play HoN with all my old favourites. Although, not all the Heroes from DotA have been ported over. And there are even some non-DotA Heroes in HoN which are really good.

For someone new to this type of game, HoN can be quite difficult to grasp. The majority of the HoN community can be quite mean to new players. However, an easy way to overcome this is to play no-stat games. In HoN, different statistics are tracked as you play, such as Kill:Death Ratio, win %, and Public Skill Rating (PSR). When you win/lose your PSR will go up/down depending on the PSR of all the other people playing. Since most people would like to have a high PSR, they critizise new players who cause them to lose the game, and thus cause their PSR to go down. When playing a no-stat game, none of the stats a tracked, so people aren't aggressive.

However, the game costs 30USD. Which, for a game, 30USD isn't really that much.
Every now and again, Heroes of Newerth has a free-to-play-weekend or even a free-to-play-week where you can play as much as you like for the period. If you want to try -before-you-buy, keep an eye out for these free-to-play periods.… Expand