DotA biggest flaws:
Last Hitter Gets The Gold -- Yea so you are stuck micro clicking ensuring you get that last hit. Its just not fun and annoying.
you don't like it because you're bad at it. It's a mechanism which allows skilled players to outperform less skilled players.
Best player destroys all oposition -- The best player simply cannot be defeated since he knows when to die, how to get that last hit better, what combination items to make to get the ultimate powerups for his unit.
Yes, I can see how this might be a flaw. The worst player should be the one that destroys all opposition. Or maybe it should simply be random. Who cares if that player spent time and energy to get good at a game. God forbit he actually beat you.
Quitters -- If you quit, noone can take your place. Thats a b.net limitation.
I agree.
Fixed Teams -- if you got good players great, if not well theres no changing it. Thats a b.net limitation.
you can choose your side. Unless you're suggesting that you want to be able to swap teams mid games. In that case, that makes absolutely no sense. DoTA is not a team deathmatch game like team fortress.
Little Help -- There is little in-game help that really tells you what you are doing. You got to know the formula to get the cool items or you are screwed.
I agree, although they're limited to the amount of help they can actually provide. Given the restrictions, I think they did a pretty good job. The rest is up to you to experiment with.
Creeps are just cannon fodder -- Later in the game, creeps (enemy and ally) become just cannon fodder that you would rather not spawn on your team if you are losing since it gives enemies more money.
Completely untrue. This only applies in noob games or possibly on the short mode setting. In competitive matches, creeps and creep awareness is completely vital. Furthermore, once you kill an enemy rax and if you're able to protect yours, you will have a serious lane advantage.
Growth is limited -- Your heroes only get so strong. After that they don't really progress. It does not take too long to make your hero a top level and once you have that and all items, there is just mindless clicking.
There's a lot of growth. After lvl 25, there's items to further boost your power. Most of the time, in good matches, the game ends before everyone is lvl 25. When i used to play, the game would be over in about an hour unless there was deadlock. To get fully pimped out to lvl 25 with rapier and aegis, often takes a while if you're not fed.
Again, noob games differ. In noob games, it's very common to get to 25, but that's because there's not as much denying going on.
Not balanced -- not all heroes are created equal. Some heroes are just too hard to kill, others are just too powerful, and some are just crappy!
The heroes are quite balanced actually. From a beginner's point of view, some heroes seem significantly more powerful than others. In the hands of skilled players, who also understand critical elements like team synergies, heroes thought to be "underpowered" by beginners can be just as effective as others. Of course it's not 100% balanced, but not as imbalanced as you claim.
Where are the visuals? -- nothing "cool" happens in DotA. Its all WC3 crap graphics, which were good 5 years ago, and not meant for the type of game DotA is.
Criticising this is like criticising SC for having shoddy graphics. You need to consider the time it was made. Yes, in this day and age, DoTA's graphics are sub par.
Too long -- The game takes at least an hr, pro or not. Pro means you will probly win, but you got to level up, build your items, slowly push the enemy, etc... What would be good is if you are much stronger than the enemy, you will push through them quickly because they are not using all thier assets correctly. Game ends quickly, teams reshuffle and you get to keep having fun.
Yeah, the game is too long. Would be nicer at 30-45 minutes tops imo. However, if you are waay stronger than the enemy, you should be able to overrun them in 10-15 minutes or so. This isn't always the case I admit. The most annoying thing is when the other team is winning but they don't push and get it over with.
n0 n00b5 a10w3d EXCLAMATION MARK! -- if you are a noob, you cannot play DotA. Period. You mention "im new" you get kicked before game starts, after it starts at least one person will leave because they don't want to bother with a noob on their team giving enemies money and exp. Note that when one person leaves, either one person on other team leaves or game is over. "can you explain something to me?" "WTF? NOOB! <leaves>" (how often did that happen to you when you first started?)
And this is why you actually hate dota. I sense a little bitterness here. Well, 'little' may have been an understatement. Anyways, I agree that it's not noob friendly. This is partly because the game's long and if a guy ruins it, it wastes everyone's time. Still, it's no excuse to be so noob unfriendly.
Also why would anyone re-create something that:
a ) Already exists
and
b ) Is Cheap (WC3 + free map, thats what 20 bucks?)
Well gee, I guess when you put it that way, all those people who are making commercial tower defense games are sure stupid, even though they're making boat loads of cash. They're basing their idea off something that already exists and is cheap!
People want to copy DoTA because it's incredibly popular and they know that if they can tap into the formula and gain the support of that community, they'll have a sure hit.
At first, I think Demigod was trying to do that. However, from more recent interviews and responses from the devs, it seems they're trying to differentiate themselves more and not cater to the DoTA fans as much as gain support of mainstream players (and people who couldn't stomach dota)
One last thing: Everyone's a noob at some point. When I first started playing, people swore at me all the time and that was like 4 or 5 years ago. A lot of people would give up then, but I thought the gameplay of DoTA was fun and I was going to learn it despite the hostility. Months later, you start getting lots of invites into clan wars and in houses. Waiving the "i'm a victim, they called me noob" card is just pussying out. Yeah, sorry that was harsh, but I'm sick of people making excuses. Keep making new accounts to learn and just deal with it. Hostility is just another part of the internet.