Multiplayer online battle arena

A team-based video game genre in which players control individual characters, develop them during a match, and compete to destroy the opposing team’s base.

Lane (video games): A path across a multiplayer battle map connecting teams’ bases and channeling minions and players toward objectives. Lanes structure movement, resource collection, and pressure on the route to an enemy base.
Defense of the Ancients: A Warcraft III custom map in which two teams control heroes and try to destroy the opposing base. This influential custom map supplied the genre’s name and much of its early design vocabulary.
Aeon of Strife: A StarCraft custom map that divided players into teams controlling heroes along lanes toward opposing bases. It introduced a lane-based team format that influenced later Warcraft III custom maps.
Hero shooter: A team-based shooter in which players choose characters with distinct weapons and abilities. Hero shooters emphasize aiming and firearm combat rather than lane control and base destruction.
Minion (video games): A computer-controlled unit that follows a set route and fights opposing units or structures. Minion waves create lane pressure and help characters attack guarded structures.
League of Legends: A multiplayer online battle arena game developed and published by Riot Games. Its success made the genre a global competitive game and popularized a distinct champion roster.
Warcraft III: A real-time strategy game by Blizzard Entertainment, released in 2002, with a powerful map editor. Its editor and hero mechanics made the custom-map experiments that shaped the genre possible.
Multiplayer online battle arena map: A competitive game map built around team bases, routes between them, and shared objectives. Map design is central to the genre, but this page covers the reusable arena layout itself.
Experience point: A unit of progress awarded in games for completing actions such as defeating enemies or objectives. Experience earned during a match unlocks character levels and stronger abilities.
Dota 2: A multiplayer online battle arena game developed and published by Valve. It carries forward Defense of the Ancients’ design lineage and supports a major esports scene.

Linked from 6 pages