Dota Underlords and Teamfight Tactics are competing games that basically hit the market together. Both are heavily inspired by Auto Chess and, therefore, are extremely similar games. However, there are some differences that need to be mentioned for players who want to decide which game to focus on. Check out the differences between Dota Underlords and Teamfight Tactics below!
1. Different and familiar universes
This is the most obvious difference between games and that most stakeholders should already be aware of. Dota Underlords, being a Valve game, takes place in the Dota universe while Teamfight Tactics (a Riot game) takes place in the League of Legends universe. This means that in Dota Underlords you will find heroes like Ax, Queen of Pain, Medusa, Sniper, etc., all with their characteristic Dota skills. In addition, the game features iconic items such as Translocation Dagger, Aegis of Immortality, Flush, Divine Rapier etc. Meanwhile, in Teamfight Tactics you can choose heroes like Draven, Pyke, Katarina, Shyvana, etc. Regarding the items you can count on Edge of Infinity, Luden's Echo, Medallion of the Iron Solari, etc. See 8 essential tips to start winning in Dota Underlords!2. How to play Dota Underlords and how to play Teamfight Tactics
To play Dota Underlords, simply download it on Steam as normal. The game is already available independently from Dota, so you don't need to install anything other than the game itself. To download it, click here . To play Teamfight Tactics, you need to log in and download Riot's Public Testing Environment (APT) from this link . After installation, you will have access to the game. However, please be aware that only players with honor level 3 or above have access to Teamfight Tactics. Thus, the game is still only a mode within League of Legends.3. Board size and number of heroes
4. Choice of heroes (draft)
In both Dota Underlords and Teamfight Tactics, players choose heroes from a random group generated each turn. The difference is that in Teamfight Tactics, the first round and some later rounds have a kind of shared draft called Carousel, in which all players are taken to a new screen where they can choose the next character. In the first round, players must race to choose their hero first than the others. In subsequent rounds, players with less HP have priority in choosing, that is, they will have more chances of obtaining the best heroes or even those specific to their strategies. This acts as a mechanism to facilitate game changers and keep players in the battle.5. Item system
The item system is perhaps the main difference between Dota Underlords and Teamfight Tactics. In the first, there is no luck involved since, at the end of every neutral round (rounds against creeps), a list of items will appear for the player to choose one of them. If the player loses to the creeps, the list will be shortened. Furthermore, in Dota Underlords there is no way to craft items. All items, even the strongest, are obtained ready. In Teamfight Tactics, there is RNG ( random number generator ) involved in dropping items. They are still dropped by creeps, but there is a chance that you will win the round and not get any items. Likewise, with luck you can drop multiple items in just one neutral round. Another difference is that in Teamfight Tactics it is possible to craft items. Thus, you can use weaker equipment dropped and combine it with others to obtain stronger items. Discover all Dota Underlords items and also all Teamfight Tactics items!6. Graphics and interface
In terms of graphics, Teamfight Tactics has higher quality than Dota Underlords. It is notable that the game is more polished and the details have been much more worked. However, the Dota Underlords interface is far superior to that of Teamfight Tactics. That's because players always have access to relevant information at all times in the game. Some examples are:- In Dota Underlords, Alliances (including synergies) are shown just below the heroes on the Draft screen, making it much easier for less experienced players to choose.
- In Dota Underlords, the Draft screen shows when you can form a 2 or 3 star unit.
- In Dota Underlords, the 2 or 3 star units on the board are easily identifiable.
- In Dota Underlords, your opponents' Gold and Level is easily shown on the left side of the screen.
- In Dota Underlords you can know the DPS (damage per second) of all units on the board.
7. Forecast for mobile support
Although none of the games have a mobile version at the moment, Valve has already announced that very soon Dota Underlords will be released for mobile phones. In the meantime, perhaps because it is just a game mode within LoL, there is no mention or prediction of the launch of Teamfight Tactics for mobile.