Does the MOBA community really support new players these days? I got cussed out every match when I started.
In game you can still get cussed out a lot but there are still enough checks and balances in the system where A) you will get matched up more appropriately to your skill level and B) there are report/mute functionality for abuse. It's not like it was in the DOTA 1 days.
The main difference though is that there are WWWWAAAYYYY more resources to learn the game than any fighter.
I want to learn how to play Razor. I start up my game and I have IN GAME guides that are rated by other users that I can over lay on to my game so I can access it while I play. The guide over lays highlights which skills you should be maxing at which level and which item you should be purchasing. There's also written text in the guide telling you how to lane, playstyle of the hero etc.
Also in the game I can go look at replays of Very Skill level games that have Razor in them. I can fast forward replay, look from perspective of the Razor player or the enemy's perspective along with like a hundred other variables you can tinker with to analyze a single game.
There are video guides linked to the character in the game's character Library as well although they are brief.
And that' just some of the stuff in-game... on the internet there's way more stuff. Far more in depth stat break down of individual character match ups, win rate %, usage %, their changes in meta popularity, their changelist for the entirety of their existence in chronological order, various stats info about the character (basic attack time, attack range, AOE markers). The character has numerous guides online both in text format and in video format.
Within the game I can also search for Coaches to help me learn the game. They can spectate me while I play and point out plays. I haven't done this myself but it is functional from what I am told. This is best done with someone on your friend's list though.
But even with all this stuff... the game has main character experience bar and randomized item drops that make you keep playing the game beyond just getting better. You can work towards acquiring rare in game cosmetics to sell to others on the Steam market. I myself have made like $80 playing the game, selling my cosmetics items that I get from playing the game.
This is why this particular game keeps growing in numbers whereas every fighting game not named Smash Melee keeps dwindling in numbers. There is a world of a difference in terms of in game infrastructure.
