I agree, with Zaphid. I think the big thing that stuck with me and maybe I just have never really witnessed it in League and it could be more prevalent in Dota/HoN but was the shared gold via last hitting. They are calling that a fix to toxic behavior when it has been very rare that I have run in to someone that has done this. If people are trying to be malicious they usually just AFK or go feed , not steal creeps.
In LoL before the addition of gold/5. And re-balacing of gold/exp on kills, there was an amount of bitching on KS and supports killing minions.
LoL solved this in a few ways. First, already mentioned. Assists yield so much more for the team, that crying about not getting the kill is kindof stupid. Is it "better" for the AD carry to get the kill? yes. But its SO much better for you AND the support to get the kill+assist, that taking the chance of the support getting the kill is totally worth it at all times. Masteries and gold/5 items were added which allowed supports to focus entirely on zoning and supporting, and not have to worry about gold accrual. there was also the public awareness campaign largely from the playerbase itself for "kill secure" of course as well. And that really only worked because securing the kill, and getting kill+assist was so clearly mathematically superior. Dota and HoN however really really favor the carry getting ALL of the gold.
I find it really hard to even imagine someone topping LoL.
What they did goes well beyond just the game itself. And even the game, is largely an improvement over other Moba's. Particularly now, when we have ARAM, dominion, etc. 2 years ago, when it was just summoners rift over and over... ok. yeah. Room for improvement.
The only real flaws I see left, are champs are not radically creative. I'm not really sure what masteries add to the game. And, not a fan of crit and rng in esports.
But that said, "next-gen moba"
yeah. Lols business model changed the entire industry.
LoL esport promotion changed the entire industry again.
LoL's constant tweaking of champs to create soft balancing, matched with massive selection and ability to "ban" the broken ones, creates a CONSTANTLY changing game environment, which entices replay, and viewing. Brilliant.
LoL is already Next gen. no one can re-invent those things that made LoL so successful. it already did.
You could in theory make a game that is better then LoL's actual gameplay. but it will not ever be as successful, as LoL created its own perfect storm of success with its business model, and aggressive esport campaign.