I've been playing Dota 2 for this first time and knowing shit nothing about Dota or Moba games, I feel like the Learn To Play would be really helpful. Why is it greyed out?

Also, is Dota 2 still in beta or is it a proper game now?

@Winternet said:

I've been playing Dota 2 for this first time and knowing shit nothing about Dota or Moba games, I feel like the Learn To Play would be really helpful. Why is it greyed out?

Also, is Dota 2 still in beta or is it a proper game now?

It's still in beta and not finished yet. The learn to play section hasn't been completed yet.

The best way to start learning is to either head to youtube and watch some beginner videos there (preferably stick to a single ranged hero for now until you feel comfortable with the basics) or just play co-op games against easy level bots.

@Vitor said:

@Winternet said:

I've been playing Dota 2 for this first time and knowing shit nothing about Dota or Moba games, I feel like the Learn To Play would be really helpful. Why is it greyed out?

Also, is Dota 2 still in beta or is it a proper game now?

It's still in beta and not finished yet. The learn to play section hasn't been completed yet.

The best way to start learning is to either head to youtube and watch some beginner videos there (preferably stick to a single ranged hero for now until you feel comfortable with the basics) or just play co-op games against easy level bots.

I've been playing this Clinkz guy. He's ok. 7 wins and 4 losses with him. I don't even know if that's any good or if that matters, but it feels good. I've not watch any videos (also don't intend to)

@Winternet said:

I've been playing Dota 2 for this first time and knowing shit nothing about Dota or Moba games, I feel like the Learn To Play would be really helpful. Why is it greyed out?

Also, is Dota 2 still in beta or is it a proper game now?

They are still working on the tutorial, should be done soon.

@Mr_Skeleton said:

@Winternet said:

I've been playing Dota 2 for this first time and knowing shit nothing about Dota or Moba games, I feel like the Learn To Play would be really helpful. Why is it greyed out?

Also, is Dota 2 still in beta or is it a proper game now?

They are still working on the tutorial, should be done soon.

It feels like they've been at it for quite some time. Although I've only now started to play it I think I have Dota 2 on my Steam Library for over 6 months.

Drow Ranger is the easiest of the ranged heroes to play, even more so than Clinkz. That frost bolt is a BEAST

@Cheesebob said:

Drow Ranger is the easiest of the ranged heroes to play, even more so than Clinkz. That frost bolt is a BEAST

What? I tried her, she seems worthless.

@Winternet said:

@Cheesebob said:

Drow Ranger is the easiest of the ranged heroes to play, even more so than Clinkz. That frost bolt is a BEAST

What? I tried her, she seems worthless.

She has the potential to do the most dmg the quickest out of any hero in the game.

@Jeffsekai said:

@Winternet said:

@Cheesebob said:

Drow Ranger is the easiest of the ranged heroes to play, even more so than Clinkz. That frost bolt is a BEAST

What? I tried her, she seems worthless.

She has the potential to do the most dmg the quickest out of any hero in the game.

Really? Her spells are "froze dude" "silence dude" "aura stuff" and "marksmanship". How can those turn into most damage?

@Winternet: Basically, if you buy her items that increase her attack speed and then use the frost arrow spell, she can attack fast enough and do enough damage in a short amount of time to kill everyone

@Winternet said:

@Jeffsekai said:

@Winternet said:

@Cheesebob said:

Drow Ranger is the easiest of the ranged heroes to play, even more so than Clinkz. That frost bolt is a BEAST

What? I tried her, she seems worthless.

She has the potential to do the most dmg the quickest out of any hero in the game.

Really? Her spells are "froze dude" "silence dude" "aura stuff" and "marksmanship". How can those turn into most damage?

The slow means can run away from her, so if anyone ever over extends they will die. The marksmanship means you will have the highest agi in the game which then means your right clicks will be crazy good. The Silence is a huge aoe that also has a very long duration. She is very solid when played with a decent support. Drow requires the least amount of farm/kills to start snowballing into somthing really good.

Drow is really strong after 15 to 20 minutes, but before level 6 shes kinda rough. Plus her aura in its current state makes her truly imbalanced, which is fairly rare in Dota. That being said I would suggest playing as many different heroes as you can. Dota isn't a game about 'maining' one hero. Play lots of them and you will find yourself falling into specific roles better than others, then you can play the heroes that fit into the roles you enjoy.

In therms of the tutorial, its pretty close to done. The UI and tutorial map are in the game files, as well as a bunch of objective and quest code for it. The have just been hella busy on some hero release stuff and the winter event.

@Cheesebob: @Jeffsekai: Humm. . she is so fragile in the early/mid game though. What do you mean by right clicks? You mean regular attacks?

Also, I think Clinkz is giving me that dmg output with the right items later in the game, while being more solid in the early/mid game, mainly because of that "invisible and +movement spell".

When I first booted up Dota 2 thirteen months ago this was the thing that stopped me from ever booting it up again.

@Rolyatkcinmai said:

When I first booted up Dota 2 thirteen months ago this was the thing that stopped me from ever booting it up again.

Because googling "Dota 2 for beginners" is hard.

@Rolyatkcinmai: @Winternet: I've linked this a couple of times before, but this can help out just about anyone who feels lost playing the game: Welcome to Dota, You Suck. It's about the most comprehensive guide there is written on the level of new players. It is pretty long, but there is a lot to know about the game, even well past what is shown in the guide.

And yea, right clicks mean attacks Winternet.

@mbr2 said:

@Rolyatkcinmai said:

When I first booted up Dota 2 thirteen months ago this was the thing that stopped me from ever booting it up again.

Because googling "Dota 2 for beginners" is hard.

There was no such thing as "Dota 2 for beginners" 13 months ago. There were only a few thousand people with the game. I had no interest in trying to learn LoL or DotA and transferring that knowledge. Some day (when this feature exists) I will play Dota 2.

@Rolyatkcinmai: As it is all DotA guides apply 100% with zero changes needed apart from some hero and item names. There's no transferring to be done unless you're watching video or looking at pictures where you'll need to know what it looks like in Dota 2.

@Winternet said:

@Vitor said:

@Winternet said:

I've been playing Dota 2 for this first time and knowing shit nothing about Dota or Moba games, I feel like the Learn To Play would be really helpful. Why is it greyed out?

Also, is Dota 2 still in beta or is it a proper game now?

It's still in beta and not finished yet. The learn to play section hasn't been completed yet.

The best way to start learning is to either head to youtube and watch some beginner videos there (preferably stick to a single ranged hero for now until you feel comfortable with the basics) or just play co-op games against easy level bots.

I've been playing this Clinkz guy. He's ok. 7 wins and 4 losses with him. I don't even know if that's any good or if that matters, but it feels good. I've not watch any videos (also don't intend to)

If you don't plan on watching videos, expect dozens, if not hundreds of hours to really learn the game. MOBAs have the steepest learning curve of any gametype, and the community is generally unresponsive to new players.

@twigger89 said:

@Winternet said:

@Vitor said:

@Winternet said:

I've been playing Dota 2 for this first time and knowing shit nothing about Dota or Moba games, I feel like the Learn To Play would be really helpful. Why is it greyed out?

Also, is Dota 2 still in beta or is it a proper game now?

It's still in beta and not finished yet. The learn to play section hasn't been completed yet.

The best way to start learning is to either head to youtube and watch some beginner videos there (preferably stick to a single ranged hero for now until you feel comfortable with the basics) or just play co-op games against easy level bots.

I've been playing this Clinkz guy. He's ok. 7 wins and 4 losses with him. I don't even know if that's any good or if that matters, but it feels good. I've not watch any videos (also don't intend to)

If you don't plan on watching videos, expect dozens, if not hundreds of hours to really learn the game. MOBAs have the steepest learning curve of any gametype, and the community is generally unresponsive to new players.

I don't intend to spend hundreds of hours playing Dota 2 anyway. Just mindless fun, that's my intentions.

@Winternet

Expect to piss off a lot of people. A huge amount. Like, gigantic.

@FirePrince said:

@Winternet

Expect to piss off a lot of people. A huge amount. Like, gigantic.

why is that?

@Rolyatkcinmai said:

@mbr2 said:

@Rolyatkcinmai said:

When I first booted up Dota 2 thirteen months ago this was the thing that stopped me from ever booting it up again.

Because googling "Dota 2 for beginners" is hard.

There was no such thing as "Dota 2 for beginners" 13 months ago. There were only a few thousand people with the game. I had no interest in trying to learn LoL or DotA and transferring that knowledge. Some day (when this feature exists) I will play Dota 2.

You should, because LoL is a better game.

Just sayin

@Winternet said:

@twigger89 said:

@Winternet said:

@Vitor said:

@Winternet said:

I've been playing Dota 2 for this first time and knowing shit nothing about Dota or Moba games, I feel like the Learn To Play would be really helpful. Why is it greyed out?

Also, is Dota 2 still in beta or is it a proper game now?

It's still in beta and not finished yet. The learn to play section hasn't been completed yet.

The best way to start learning is to either head to youtube and watch some beginner videos there (preferably stick to a single ranged hero for now until you feel comfortable with the basics) or just play co-op games against easy level bots.

I've been playing this Clinkz guy. He's ok. 7 wins and 4 losses with him. I don't even know if that's any good or if that matters, but it feels good. I've not watch any videos (also don't intend to)

If you don't plan on watching videos, expect dozens, if not hundreds of hours to really learn the game. MOBAs have the steepest learning curve of any gametype, and the community is generally unresponsive to new players.

I don't intend to spend hundreds of hours playing Dota 2 anyway. Just mindless fun, that's my intentions.

Oh god dammit.

The tutorial proper should be out within a few months, they just started working on it about a month ago. If you want to learn the game, look at some of the previous posts...I feel like I continue to post the same info over and over.

The guide you need to read is - http://www.purgegamers.com/welcome-to-dota-you-suck#.UM4noG9E4ws

After reading that, jump in and play bot games. As some people here suggested playing Drow Ranger...that is the absolute WORST possible suggestion. Drow is a hard carry, in which you need farm in order to be effective. If you are a new player, 99% chance is you can not last hit, you do not have map awareness, or understand item builds to be the carry for you team. The heros you want to start out with are heros who rely on spells to help the team. The best being, Tidehunter, Earthshaker, Sand King, Lich, Windrunner, Witch Dr, Shadow Shaman, Venomancer...to name some. They all have one thing in common, which is they have big abilities that are fantastic tools for your team. It doesnt matter if you get last hits, or if you die, or if your positioning sucks. If you can get into a team fight and hit "R" with Tide, ES, Lich...etc you can have a major impact on the fight for your team.

Start with heros like this until you begin to understand how the game is played, team synergy, and just become a better player. People always tell me, "But I want to kill stuff!!" The best answer I have is go into a game, pick a carry and see what your last hits are. After 20 min into the game you should be at 100 MINIMUM. If you are sub 100 at the 20:00 min mark, then you are not ready and will be a useless to the team!

If you need help, please ask questions / find me in game. I am always teaching new players and want to get people involved in the genre. Find me in the GiantBomb channel or the DotaInsight channel (podcast I do) and I will totally help you out. But suggesting heros like Clinkz, Riki, Drow to a new player is possibly some of the worst advice someone could give you. Its like telling someone to build a Lothars or a Sange & Yasha on every hero....bad idea!!

@Winternet: It's a team game, if you mess up and cause the team to lose you are having a legitimate impact on your team's day as games can last anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour. The dota community is not a particularly welcoming one so chances are you will piss off loads of people with your mindless fun.

It really sucks and I wish they had some more casual game modes for newer players similar to how CS:GO has arms race, but if you want mindless fun this probably isn't the right game.

@Jimi said:

@Winternet: It's a team game, if you mess up and cause the team to lose you are having a legitimate impact on your team's day as games can last anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour. The dota community is not a particularly welcoming one so chances are you will piss off loads of people with your mindless fun.

It really sucks and I wish they had some more casual game modes for newer players similar to how CS:GO has arms race, but if you want mindless fun this probably isn't the right game.

I've played this weekend for 13 hours according to Steam and I had no problems with my mindless fun, nor did the others.

@Winternet said:

@Jimi said:

@Winternet: It's a team game, if you mess up and cause the team to lose you are having a legitimate impact on your team's day as games can last anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour. The dota community is not a particularly welcoming one so chances are you will piss off loads of people with your mindless fun.

It really sucks and I wish they had some more casual game modes for newer players similar to how CS:GO has arms race, but if you want mindless fun this probably isn't the right game.

I've played this weekend for 13 hours according to Steam and I had no problems with my mindless fun, nor did the others.

Your good luck will end soon. You will run into people who will consider your incompetence an affront to their existence and will make sure you know it. It's a fun game, but it's a one that people take very seriously and will blame you for every single fucking thing.

@Winternet: Interesting, maybe the matchmaking system is working out for newer players.

Whenever I queue if somebody messes up/throws the game it turns into a flame war.

@Jimi: Sounds like the low priority queue to me, did you leave games before they ended or get any reports from other players?

@Mr_Skeleton: I've got around 560 games played and as far as I know I haven't been reported, apparently I'm in the very high bracket but idk if that affects low/high priority.

@twigger89 said:

@Winternet said:

@Jimi said:

@Winternet: It's a team game, if you mess up and cause the team to lose you are having a legitimate impact on your team's day as games can last anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour. The dota community is not a particularly welcoming one so chances are you will piss off loads of people with your mindless fun.

It really sucks and I wish they had some more casual game modes for newer players similar to how CS:GO has arms race, but if you want mindless fun this probably isn't the right game.

I've played this weekend for 13 hours according to Steam and I had no problems with my mindless fun, nor did the others.

Your good luck will end soon. You will run into people who will consider your incompetence an affront to their existence and will make sure you know it. It's a fun game, but it's a one that people take very seriously and will blame you for every single fucking thing.

Maybe I am just that good :)

@Winternet said:

@twigger89 said:

@Winternet said:

@Jimi said:

@Winternet: It's a team game, if you mess up and cause the team to lose you are having a legitimate impact on your team's day as games can last anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour. The dota community is not a particularly welcoming one so chances are you will piss off loads of people with your mindless fun.

It really sucks and I wish they had some more casual game modes for newer players similar to how CS:GO has arms race, but if you want mindless fun this probably isn't the right game.

I've played this weekend for 13 hours according to Steam and I had no problems with my mindless fun, nor did the others.

Your good luck will end soon. You will run into people who will consider your incompetence an affront to their existence and will make sure you know it. It's a fun game, but it's a one that people take very seriously and will blame you for every single fucking thing.

Maybe I am just that good :)

I like you dude, you helped get the BF3 community up and running so I will do my best to explain just why your logic is so faulty.

You will have horrible horrible people yell at you in a myriad of languages for not knowing nuances of a game you have just started. It is a really fun game (definitely the game I played the most this year) but it requires real dedication before you can get past that wave of douchiness. Playing casually is the worst way to play this game, as sooner or later someone will ruin your experience.

Clinkz is a good hero to start off with. Hits pretty hard and has a good escape (in beginner games). He's not nearly as good when you go up the ladder though. He's paperthin and invisibility gets easily countered when playing vs better players.

You'll probably hear more flaming as you progress higher. Beginners usually have very little map awareness, with everyone focused on their hero alone. More seasoned players will constantly look around the map to see what's going on, and if they notice you fucking up, get ready to get berated till no end. It doesn't help that in higher level games, one split second mistake could mean the loss of an hour long game.

@Winternet: That's just not how Dota works. What you're doing right now might work just fine, but wait until you start moving into the higher level of the normal bracket: you're going to get people who are dedicating their minds to the game, on both teams. The other team is going to destroy you and your own team is going to rage because you're busy screwing around.

Using your brain doesn't mean that you can't have fun, but if you're not taking the game seriously, then I promise that your "mindless fun" will be interrupted at least briefly until you sink back into a lower bracket.

If you're looking for mindless fun, try Call of Duty, where you're not going to fuck the the experience of 4-9 other people for 20-60 minutes at a time.

@MAGZine said:

@Winternet: That's just not how Dota works. What you're doing right now might work just fine, but wait until you start moving into the higher level of the normal bracket: you're going to get people who are dedicating their minds to the game, on both teams. The other team is going to destroy you and your own team is going to rage because you're busy screwing around.

Using your brain doesn't mean that you can't have fun, but if you're not taking the game seriously, then I promise that your "mindless fun" will be interrupted at least briefly until you sink back into a lower bracket.

If you're looking for mindless fun, try Call of Duty, where you're not going to fuck the the experience of 4-9 other people for 20-60 minutes at a time.

@Winternet: This is a good example of someone who takes the game seriously to a fault. In the end it's a game, if you're having fun and doing alright with it then more power to ya. Eventually you are going to see the nasty side of the community, but that comes with the game. That round will end, you move on and do what you want with it.

Dudes, I just played Sand King fo the first time. Man, that thing is a blast. So many kills. Maybe I'll try it a few more times to see how it goes.

@MAGZine: By the end of the match, I'm usually in the top half of my team in terms of lvl or Kills/Deaths/Assists. I can't see how I am fucking anyone experience. Maybe I'm just playing with beginners like me. Just right now, in the match with Sand King, I was the dude with most kills in my team and 2nd overall.

Note: By "mindless fun" I don't mean I'm going in there like "I'ma hit this key for the rest of the match and see what happens" or "I'm just gonna relax over here by the river". I still go there to win and to do my best. I just don't know immediately how a spell works or what items are combined the best and what items should go with what hero and what counters what and such.

Also @twigger89 I was really enjoying the fact that you liked me, but I'm afraid you're confusing me, probably with @AhmadMetallic :)

I haven't played yet, but you guys make the game sound like it wouldn't be any fun to play it.

Granted, this match was as ridiculous landslide as it can get, but look at that duders. I was dominating out there. I had fun and guess what, I didn't watch youtube videos on how to play it. Zing! :)

Really, it was silly one-sided.

@Cronus42 said:

@MAGZine said:

@Winternet: That's just not how Dota works. What you're doing right now might work just fine, but wait until you start moving into the higher level of the normal bracket: you're going to get people who are dedicating their minds to the game, on both teams. The other team is going to destroy you and your own team is going to rage because you're busy screwing around.

Using your brain doesn't mean that you can't have fun, but if you're not taking the game seriously, then I promise that your "mindless fun" will be interrupted at least briefly until you sink back into a lower bracket.

If you're looking for mindless fun, try Call of Duty, where you're not going to fuck the the experience of 4-9 other people for 20-60 minutes at a time.

@Winternet: This is a good example of someone who takes the game seriously to a fault. In the end it's a game, if you're having fun and doing alright with it then more power to ya. Eventually you are going to see the nasty side of the community, but that comes with the game. That round will end, you move on and do what you want with it.

I like to win. And unless if you're the lowest tier of the game, playing mindlessly will not net you wins. I'm saying that he can go ahead and have fun with how he's playing now, but if he continues to win, he'll reach a level where more devotion is needed, and his teammates won't appreciate his leisurely attitude towards the game. Again, playing a non-mindless game does not mean it's unfun, and in fact, winning DotA matches is incredibly rewarding in some cases. I'm usually pretty calm in game... just letting him know what's up. The people who play "mindlessly" often play with MUSIC, and that's just not acceptable in a team game like DotA. Play a practice match if you want to play with music, not ranked.

@Winternet: Kills and deaths aren't everything, and are not an accurate measure of success on a micro level. You are definitely playing with beginners--you can accelerate to top-pools faster, but you still start at the bottom. A look at the roaster confirms this, as their team's GPM and items are nowhere what they should be otherwise. Even if you just sat there, you'd get more gold. :P

And I wouldn't call that "mindlessly playing"--I call that learning the game!! It takes time to learn how different items and spells synergize, what works and what does, etc. You're doing this at the best time, actually. It's best to figure out as many heroes as you can early on, so you don't have as much trouble with learning a specific role later. As always...ask! If you don't know how something works, there is a chance that someone else might have some suggestions. I play dota because it's fun and challenging, and am glad that you're having fun learning and playing the game. Stick with it... not so many people pick up the game so easily. (Also, do work on your denies, kay? They're important xD)

@MAGZine: Sorry, misunderstood your comment as: be super cereal or don't play at all. You are right to a point that the further you get the more serious people will expect you to be. That being said, if you play with a stack of friends, all random with stupid builds is probably the most loss heavy fun I've had playing the game. There is room for mindless fun, just not really in solo queuing. That music thing is BS though, watch a stream or two, most pros listen to music when they play outside of competition,

@Xeirus said:

@Rolyatkcinmai said:

@mbr2 said:

@Rolyatkcinmai said:

When I first booted up Dota 2 thirteen months ago this was the thing that stopped me from ever booting it up again.

Because googling "Dota 2 for beginners" is hard.

There was no such thing as "Dota 2 for beginners" 13 months ago. There were only a few thousand people with the game. I had no interest in trying to learn LoL or DotA and transferring that knowledge. Some day (when this feature exists) I will play Dota 2.

You should, because LoL is a better game.

Just sayin

Except for the part where LoL is terrible

@Chibithor said:

@Rolyatkcinmai: As it is all DotA guides apply 100% with zero changes needed apart from some hero and item names. There's no transferring to be done unless you're watching video or looking at pictures where you'll need to know what it looks like in Dota 2.

Thank you for the info dude! I never played the first DotA, or any MOBA game actually...I tried to jump in blind to Dota 2 and was completely overwhelmed, I had no idea what I was doing and gave up. It seems like a ton of fun though, maybe I'll watch some tutorial vids or something and give it another shot.

@MAGZine: Now that you're talking yeah, the fuck is denies? I have no idea. Is it preventing towers from going down? I really don't know. Anyway, like I said, that match was no example of any regular matches I play, it was ridiculously one-sided. It was also the first time that as happened. Also I said "mindless fun", which is not the same as "mindless playing" and that was what people were confusing about.

@Winternet said:

@MAGZine: Now that you're talking yeah, the fuck is denies? I have no idea. Is it preventing towers from going down? I really don't know. Anyway, like I said, that match was no example of any regular matches I play, it was ridiculously one-sided. It was also the first time that as happened. Also I said "mindless fun", which is not the same as "mindless playing" and that was what people were confusing about.

When friendly creeps are at under 50%, you can attack and try to kill them yourself. Doing this accomplishes two things. One, it reduces the XP enemy heroes gain. Two, it causes the lane to stay as neutral as possible, which is important in the early game. You don't want the creep wave to push too hard, because you aren't strong enough yet to deal with the tower's attacks, and it makes jumping enemy heroes a REAL pain in the ass.

Also, it makes your hero say dickish things, and the enemy players can hear them, so it's basically thumbing your nose at them going "SUCK IT, BITCHES". Mental warfare.

You can also do this for towers, but I think it's like... 10%. This lowers the gold the enemy team gains, but it's not something you'll do often.

Cringing my way through this thread. Oh well, here it goes:

@Winternet: A deny is getting a last hit on an allied unit to lower the amount of xp + gold your enemies get when it's killed. You can attack an allied creep when it has below 50% health if you do not want to push your lane, and if you score the final hit your opponents will get much less XP, as well as not being able to kill it themselves for gold. To deny a tower it must have below 10% hp and that will reduce the amount of gold the enemy team gets as a result significantly. It's also possible to deny allied hero's if they drop to extremely low health, preventing the enemy team from getting the kill.

The most important thing to remember when playing Dota or any other MOBA is that it is first and foremost a team game.

If you find that you excel at this stage, that's great, but a good Kill to Death ratio does not accurately reflect how well you did. In the end, the only thing that matters is whether or not your radiant is still standing when the game is over. Poor communication and coordination is a recipe for disaster at all levels past the very lowest, as one person who goes off on their own and dies easily (feeds) to the other team will create a huge gap in experience and gold that their team will need to overcome. This is why many players are so hostile to newbies. Proper thought and game sense keeps you alive. Learning each hero's skills and quirks, along with theories of map awareness, warding, jungling, etc are very important.

Long winded post, I know.

To simplify:

The learning curve is steep; Forgiveness is not a trait many players possess in any MOBA.

Taking the time to learn as much as you can about the game will make you a better player and allow you to enjoy playing more.

More so than individual heroes, learn the roles that heroes can fall into (Carry, Support, Ganker, Pusher, Nuker, Disabler, Jungler, etc).

Find friends you can play with. Playing in random public games will make you sick of everything.

Hope you stick with it and learn everything Dota2 has to offer.

@Sweep said:

It's also possible to deny allied hero's if they drop to extremely low health, preventing the enemy team from getting the kill.

It's worth noting that this only applies when certain debuffs are on the ally (Venomous Gale from Venomancer, Shadow Strike from Queen of Pain, Doom from Doom Bringer).

@Cronus42 said:

@MAGZine: Sorry, misunderstood your comment as: be super cereal or don't play at all. You are right to a point that the further you get the more serious people will expect you to be. That being said, if you play with a stack of friends, all random with stupid builds is probably the most loss heavy fun I've had playing the game. There is room for mindless fun, just not really in solo queuing. That music thing is BS though, watch a stream or two, most pros listen to music when they play outside of competition,

Agreed. There is a time and place for being serious. Form a team and queue for captains mode, set up inhouses, or join one of the many invite only top tier leagues. But if you are just queuing for All Pick and messing around, there is no need to get all serious. Some of the most fun I have had is a few weeks back we all bought Necro book and had 5 sets of level 3 Necro units tearing stuff up. I am all for playing serious and playing with a team in tournaments, but solo queuing is not the way to go to be serious.

I'm not sure if anyone has recommended it yet, but watching streams can be extremely advantageous. Now there are people that troll and end up winning matches still (Dendi, Sing, Demon) however there are people like Merlini that do a good job of explaining what they're doing and why.