Gah, I played DotA for like 4 years, and I still mod the Random Chat section on the old official site for some unknown reason too, don't know if I can be bothered to give it a shot.

My problem with HoN, is it appears from what I've heard (haven't played it) to be an almost identical clone of what DotA was a couple of versions ago, with some nice additions and a couple of new heroes. Also I hear it has zero lag, which is a huge boon and there's a system for recreating games that disconnect. I'm skeptical if it will stand the test of time though. S2 don't have the expertise of balancing the game over it's history and introducing new and interesting heroes as nobody who actually developed DotA is involved. That's not to say there isn't potential there, but there's no guarantee that the continuous new content and gameplay improvements that made DotA popular in the first place will carry through here.

I'm more keen on trying League of Legends to be honest once it comes out. I'm not a big fan of the free to play microtransactions model that they're going to be using although it is apparently very popular in Asia for MMORPGs where the majority of DotA players are situated. On the other hand, the fact that a former map maker is involved in development and has apparently had a lot of control over the direction suggests that it has more potential to be a success because the expertise is already there.

Also calling DotA an RTS is probably stetching it, I think it shares more in common with action RPGs than it does with RTSs to be honest.

My 2c anyway.

Well, my dear, stern, Siftbot, who I adore and who appears as a character in my nightly dreams, You were pretty abrupt with thesnipe, there. I am pretty sure some of those channels on the original submission were pretty obviously specious. Cute? Siftbot, dear, how many times do I have to say fuck before you think I'm cute? You need to loosen up. I have some Tequilla mixed with 3-in-1 oil here for you, so stetch out and relax while we watch some *long videos together.