I’ve only posted about it a couple times around here on T&T, but I’m an avid Vainglory player. I play the game nearly every day, and over time I’ve probably dropped the cost of a new console title into it, if not more. I only preface with that information to show that as far as MOBA games go on iOS, I’m firmly in the VG camp.

Still, I’ve been loosely keeping up with news about a competitor called Arena of Valor, which became so extremely popular in China (under the name Honor of Kings) that the Chinese government called it a “poison” and a “drug”. I’ve been waiting for the game to make its way here to the States, and yesterday Tencent Games finally flipped the switch to make it go live on the US App Store. (It’s also now available in South America.)

After giving it a few hours of play, I can see why AoV was so popular overseas. It’s basically a mobile repackaging of League of Legends — which makes sense, since Tencent owns the company behind that game — meaning that online players select from an almost absurd number of heroes and then face off in a 5v5 format on a three-“lane” battlefield, each team attempting to destroy the other’s turrets and base.

Along the way, each player can choose to spend their time taking out NPC minions, attacking or defending objectives, upgrading their gear and abilities, or duking it out with enemy players. It’s got all the strategy of its desktop MOBA counterparts, but like Vainglory, it’s made from the ground up for mobile gameplay. I’ve been having a lot of fun with it, and to be honest it’s gotten me even more excited for the upcoming release of VG’s 5v5 mode.

Arena of Valor is free to download and play from the iOS App Store. (There are, of course, plenty of ways to spend real money in the game, but you do get quite a bit of content for free just by playing and winning matches.)