[jafaku]

Actually the difference between DotA and LoL is precisely that (or so I've been told by a friend who plays LoL; I play DotA): LoL creators realized the problem with DotA was that it was terribly newbie-unfriendly. So they created LoL trying to do the opposite.

Dota2 seems to be a lot more newbie-friendly than the original DotA. Eg: you get hints on which items to buy and how to combine them to create better items. But I would still put it in the newbie-unfriendly category. Nothing, nothing can generate so much hate and rage as a DotA match. I have lost IRL friends to it.

Just to be clear, I love the game and I still play it when I want some adrenaline.