Hey guys. So I've always been a very light gamer but recently got a lot more into due to a good friend introducing me to Steam and various games it possesses. I've already played quite a bit of dota 2, though of course due to the unpleasant atmosphere made by more experienced players, it has been harder to actually enjoy any of the games I've participated in publicly. So I thought I might just ask around here and see if any of you would be up for playing a relaxed game sometime, or just if you generally want more friends on Steam or whatever? :P Or maybe just have a chat on here with people who are sort of finding themselves in the same position.

I'm understandably not yet that great at dota 2, and have honestly resorted to playing JUST against bots lately to avoid any insults or confrontations that come my way because it's getting pretty tiring (which is what I used to do, but would join a few pub games once in a blue moon).

Hop in the Giantbomb channel and you'll meet a lot of good people. You still get some dicks, but I always start off the conversation with "I am literally the worst DOTA player ever" so they know up front I'm not going to be good. You get a lot of 1000+ win players just wanting to play with other duders and not caring about your skill.

Ahkay, sounds good :D Thanks!

@dars: Join the Giant Bomb Steam group - there are always people on, all of the staff members, moderators, and pretty much everyone in the community who is on Steam is also part of the group!

http://steamcommunity.com/groups/giantbomb

Thanks, will do :D

@dars: There is just something about MOBAs that turns some people into lunatics. League of Legends is even worse than DOTA in that respect.

@mrfalcon Really? I've seen people play LoL and from what I see, it's just a less complex brighter DOTA. and I've heard the community is a lot more timid, though not played myself.

@dars: I admit I haven't been keeping up with LOL. I guess I'm just going by its old reputation:

http://www.cad-comic.com/cad/20110520

@mrfalcon Holy crap. That literally sounds like what DOTA is now. :P I'm thinking maybe LoL players have shifted to DOTA instead? I don't know if you play at all, but people there are absolutely insane.

@dars: I can confirm that League players are not timid. I've recently engaged with some wildly vocal assholes in the game.

When playing an online game., expect the scum of the earth to appear.

@tobbrobb: I guess that means any online game will be this crap always. Much disappoint ;......;

I play lots of Dota too and feel (and act) exactly the same way as you do. If you want to add me and play some vs bots or friendly pubs then please feel free. My Steam name dizGB

I've found the more you play DOTA 2 the better the online gets, everyone has a decent idea of what they're doing, you get less one sided matches, everyone has played it enough that they're use to winning & losing. Honestly there's nothing more frustrating in the game than knowing you've lost at 10 minutes because of the actions of one or two people on your own team & having to play for a further 20 minutes.

@diz: I will very gladly add you :P I'm DarkPlague btw.

@dudeglove: I'm sure it gets better, but it definitely puts off other people from actually getting to that stage, you know? I've had one game where we were literally ALL new at DOTA but everyone picked on this one guy because he bought the wrong item at the start of the game. Insults followed throughout the entire game. And even when we won, they were pretty damn nasty about it. I, for one, know that I wouldn't be happy to try again after that if it was me. Because I've been in that position many times and even still am. People can be unnecessarily cruel.

@hone_mcbone: I fully understand that it can be frustrating, but I think people should simply be a little bit more patient with new-comers. Because everyone at one point was a new-comer. You do not simply begin a game and become an expert in the first few minutes. At least be helpful or something to the person, not insult them and make them basically quit the whole idea of coming back. I know if I was at an experienced enough level, I would be civil to newbies, because it's the civilized way to go about things.

I haven't played DOTA but my LoL experience was far from "timid." I was verbally abused, given horrible ratings, and even followed onto Steam (because my username was the same) and harassed as well. I did not have a good experience with that game's community, and that actually made me not want to try Dota 2.

@lunnington: Man that doesn't sound good at all. I'm sorry it was that way for you. I would really recommend giving Dota 2 a go though. I know how put off you must be, but I think it's very enjoyable once you get past all the nastiness. Even playing with bots is quite fun. I mean, it's what I've been doing a lot. You could also always add me and I would be happy to play matches with you whenever. I'm as friendly as they get really :P

Free competitive games always bring out the worst people on the internet. I'd be much more likely to play dota if it was $60.