Good character for a total newb

[Threash]

I'm going to start playing this after years of hearing about it from nearly everyone, what's a noob friendly character to play with? any starting tips? never played dota or any other game of this type.

[Mosesandstick]

5 heroes you should learn to play (might be a bit confusing)

The only thing I feel like suggesting is have fun and relax. MOBA games can be rage inducing.

[Rokal]

The free champions available to everybody change every week. This week's free champions can be found here.

Out of those, Miss Fortune and Sivir would be good champions to learn the game with. Once you have some IP from playing games, you can take a look at the list Moses provided and try one of those champions. Ashe and Annie are both really solid, straight-forward picks, and they both cost a small amount of IP so it wouldn't take you long to earn.

I'd recommend doing the tutorial which even has some nice option bits that teach you about neutral buffs etc., and then doing a few co-op vs. Ai games until you have a hang of things.

[Ashamanchill]

Vlad is a good start pick, but hes very expensive.

[Thrawn]

Vlad is a good start pick, but hes very expensive.

I'd disagree with this, Vlad seems terrible for a first time player.  You need to really know what your lane oppenent can do, when you can dive, when the best time to pool would be etc...

[Typhon]

Custom games will teach you how to play custom games.  Try not to get in the habit of playing custom games to learn the game.  Try to play a champ from every role archtype (glance over the link mosesandstick linked).  Play the coop versus AI if you want to practice.  Ignore obnoxious teammates.  Do not learn from teammates who do not help you out and seem to only try to swoop in at the last minute to get the kill - this is douche-baggery.

Ok, now that I said not to play custom games, play 4 games in custom to try to get an idea of what type of char you like (all of the below have lower difficult/skill requirements):

Miss Fortune - AS/AD Carry - learn the joy of blistering auto-attack damage and AE spell damage
Note: if you play Sivir in a custom game it will give you the idea that you can auto-attack your way to victory - this is bullshit, good sivir players are good because they know exactly when to use their abilities.  I suck with Sivir.  Sivir pretty much blows if you don't play her well.
Brand - AP Carry  - learn to set champs on fire, then Q to stun, then blow shit up
Maokai - Tanky AP + CC - learn the effective use of cc, learn the joy of the molotav sapling
Irelia - Tanky AD - learn the the joy of being a high-mobility badass.  You will be fragile early on.  Rush the Triforce.

One of these playstyles one or two will probably appeal to you more than another.  Play champs that can fill that role to figure out if you like the game.

If you like the game, play many games trying out different builds.  The recommended items are generally not terrible, but mostly you'll want to get familiar with the items and the champs abilities (and how you like to play that champ) and adjust the build.

Save your IP till lvl 20 to buy runes.  They make a big difference.

[Mosesandstick]

One other thing, play with more experienced and listen to their advice. Probably the easiest way to get better. I don't really play enough to suggest learning with me, but some of the other f13 guys might be willing to help you with the basics.

[Strazos]

Rule #1 - Don't Die
Rule #2 - If you're going to die, make it count.

[Xuri]

Always towerdive. ALWAYS. Also, 20 failed chases that end with you dying from being ganged up by the other team are totally worth it for that one time where you chase champion X across the entire map and kill him just before he reaches safety. 

[Thrawn]

Always towerdive. ALWAYS. Also, 20 failed chases that end with you dying from being ganged up by the other team are totally worth it for that one time where you chase champion X across the entire map and kill him just before he reaches safety. 

Just because it might not be obvious to a new player....that is a sarcastic post and terrible advice.    

[Megrim]

Always towerdive. ALWAYS. Also, 20 failed chases that end with you dying from being ganged up by the other team are totally worth it for that one time where you chase champion X across the entire map and kill him just before he reaches safety. 

Just because it might not be obvious to a new player....that is a sarcastic post and terrible advice.    

Unless you're Poppy.

[Der Helm]

I'd say, always towerdive if you can survive.  

[Hoax]

Recommendations:
Ashe
Annie
Ryze

At least do yourself the favor and pick up Ashe plus either Annie or Ryze. Once you have two of those champs down pat you can expand out in whatever way you please, the intermediate list is just to give you somewhere to start if your having trouble and frankly that is so many champs that you have to believe that is all guesswork. I also haven't played in a long time so no idea about the last four champs to be released.

Intermediate:
Alistar
Brand
Cho'Gath
Gangplank
Irelia
Jarvan
Jax
Kennen
Morgana
Pantheon
Renekton
Singed
Sion
Swain
Taric
Tristana
Trundle
Udyr
Xin Zhao

Start there and from there branch out into roles you want to pick up, playstyles you like, champs you think look cool, champs that owned your face off, whatever is free etc. For most people during the early stages a particular champ will just click for whatever magic reason and it will just feel good to play a champ that feels good to play. Go with that and once you find one it is easier to find similar champs to try.

[Megrim]

I think I would disagree with some of those, especially from the point of view that some are simple enough to play - but hard to contribute anything useful to the team with.

Udyr for one, should definitely not be on that list. You need to know how to start at neutral creep (or play with a premade that won't yell at you for laning), have a decent set of runes and masteries, as well as be aware of how to build him and for what purpose.

I think also, GP, Jax, Renekton, Swain and Trundle are all a bit higher up on the learning curve, especially in regard to the aforementioned reason.

Apart form that Xin, Morgana, Brand, Jarvan should all be easymode for competent players.

[Hoax]

Disagree. You forget just how bad the game is at newb levels. He doesn't need to jungle optimally he just needs to not fall behind or die to golem and nobody will notice. Map awareness barely exists at that level. Also how hard is it for a new player to watch one 5min youtube tutorial on jungle order? There is no counter jungle or level one five man fights in the bottom elo.

The intermediate list is quite simple, anything with a hard cc is pretty much intermediate. It lets you do something useful without too much work.

re: Renekton & Swain, they have hard cc, Swain is more advanced but less so than Mordkaiser, Malz or Garen who require extremely specialized knowledge of that specific champ which you shouldn't bother getting when you aren't even playing the game for real yet because everyone is such a fucking noob that you play with and against.

GP is an odd beast but when I was a noob he was a popular choice and he served noobs well. I've also seen several people I introduced to the game gravitate to him so I listed him. I think personally its having a global ult + being unable to not farm that makes him a good choice for new players.

Jax you could argue is garbage without dodge runes, I'd listen to that, maybe he shouldn't be listed since I didn't put Trynd on the list because he needs runes.

Trundle is not complicated. He's certainly less complicated than WW or Olaf who require lots of matchup knowledge to not get gib'd.

Again though that is a list of twenty champs that tries to offer almost every playstyle and role possible, its pure opinion at that point.

You could take the junglers off there and take Jax off (wait for dodge runes which are loads of ip) and I think that would be legit. You could take Swain off but I rate him as more simple than other push champs (Malz, Garen, Mord, Sivir etc). You can argue that noobs shouldn't play push champs and shouldn't play junglers but why not? Someone should jungle even in noob games.

[Rokal]

It's pretty easy to jungle poorly when you're just starting out. You don't have runes or masteries, which can have a pretty huge impact on your character at level one for something like jungling. Trundle for example would probably be unable to kill golem at level 1 without any runes or masteries, unless you have someone leash (which again shouldn't be expected from new players). You could start on wolves etc., but you'd probably fall behind.

You also place one of your team-mates in a 2v1 situation, which probably sucks for new players as well.

Don't play junglers until you're more familiar with the game, basically.

Toy around with Annie/Ashe and whatever champions are free that week, and that'll take you pretty far.

[Prospero]

Trundle can easily jungle starting at wolves sans runes; stonewall has a nice video of it. I frequently go with the scrub route in pubs where I don't trust my team to protect me from a gank or we're seriously out matched for level one fights.

[ezrast]

I decided I would give this game another shot. Accepted some friends requests from 2009. Only made it one day back then before I remembered why I hated DotA so much. The reason I hated it is because I am absolutely, astoundingly, bafflingly terrible. But matchmaking and compstomps mean that doesn't stop me from having fun any more.

I have a free Rammus for some reason (for being in closed beta I think?) and nobody plays tanks at low levels so I've been learning him but I also kind of want to get decent at a support character. In DotA the only character I could use and be mediocre with (as opposed to flat-out terrible) was enchantress. Any suggestions?

[Hoax]

You could try Nidalee or Karma though neither is really the same idea as Enchantress but I really don't feel good about recommending either of those  champs, Nid is one of if not the most micro intensive champ in LoL and being good with Nida doesn't translate much into other champs since she is so unique and Karma was just bad and pure support in noob games is usually a waste.

The other option would be Janna who may be the most similar in terms of being able to control the fights pacing but does not have a castable heal. However she is a support that will serve you very well if you get good with that champ when/if you make it to non feedfest games at higher ratings.

[Rokal]

Sona, Tarric, or Janna would be good support picks for a new player. Soraka is pretty easy to grasp as well, but her gameplay is pretty boring (straight healer). You'll find that the other 3 have heals, but they mostly support their teams in other ways.

Keep in mind that there is a co-op vs AI mode now, so you have as much time as you want to practice without having to worry about pvp.

[Furiously]

Shen.

[Prospero]

Shen is good for practicing map awareness, but he's a pretty hard tank to start with I think. He doesn't have a strong initiation skill like Amummu or Malphite and carelessly spamming his abilities leaves you without the energy you need to protect your carries.

[Rokal]

That said, energy champions are a bit more forgiving than mana champions. Both Amumu and Malphite risk running out of mana very quickly early game until they pick up some items (or golem buff). Out of the tanks, Shen is probably one of more forgiving ones to start with.

I'd certainly think a new player would have an easier time with Renekton than Sion or Jax, for example. No mana is one less thing to worry about. Garen is probably the most new-player friendly tank you can start with.

[ezrast]

I'm actually really enjoying tanking with Rammus. I tried Shen once and he didn't seem to compare at all; his W didn't keep me alive nearly as well as Rammus', his taunt doesn't last as long and is harder to drag people back with, his escape mechanism just isn't as good, and he has no AoE. I don't really see what he has going for him aside from his ult, but Rammus' ult is plenty awesome anyway. What am I missing?

[Thrawn]

Shen is very strong in lane, his taunt can hit multiple people and his taunt is also a very good escape.  But largely, it's how good his ult is.  You can push a completely different lane the entire game but still be "in" every team fight if it starts.

[Muffled]

Plus he's a flippin' ninja.

Really though, as someone who went through the newbie phase of this game fairly recently I feel that not having to manage a mana bar is an advantage that cannot be overstated, particularly for someone who will be playing random pickup games rather than with a pre-made group.

[Rokal]

You can also use your dash to move through small walls (iirc), and it's got a shorter CD than rammus's ball. It makes his gameplay a bit more mobile, where as rammus ball is a better chase/escape move, but can be disrupted pretty easily. Mostly though, yeah, his ult is just that good.

[Hoax]

Sona, Tarric, or Janna would be good support picks for a new player. Soraka is pretty easy to grasp as well, but her gameplay is pretty boring (straight healer). You'll find that the other 3 have heals, but they mostly support their teams in other ways.

Keep in mind that there is a co-op vs AI mode now, so you have as much time as you want to practice without having to worry about pvp.

I would recommend extremely heavily against playing as Soraka, Sona or Taric as a rule for anyone playing solo at any level but especially for newbies. You literally cannot win a game with those champs for your team. Janna can and will win games despite your idiot teammates. Her ult is a fight reset and her skillset is basically the best for helping a teammate or three get away.

[Rokal]

Tarric, Sona, and Soraka are all pretty newbie-friendly. Tarric can set up lots of easy kills for your team, since the other players are unlikely to be paying enough attention and will open themselves up for your stun followed by some hurt. Sona is just a really good mix of offense/defense, and it's pretty hard to play her poorly. Soraka can make up for a ton of mistakes that your team-mates will make, especially early game. Unlike Karma, these are the support champions that will play pretty well for new players even if their team-mates are also very new.

[Mosesandstick]

I think Sona is a good choice as well. She does a lot of damage early on and doesn't require any targetting. I think she's a good way to get used to supports.

[Thrawn]

Tarric, Sona, and Soraka are all pretty newbie-friendly. Tarric can set up lots of easy kills for your team,

Thats the problem often though, at a low ELO with new/bad players you are setting up a kill for someone that likely won't even take advantage of it.  Play a carry and just get the kill instead of setting it up for someone who may or may not even notice what you are doing. 

[kaid]

ashe is a good starter champ super cheap and good at all levels of play. Heck she was I think the most picked AD carry in the dreamhack tourney which shows how well balanced she really is. And for 450 IP you buy here fast even at very low levels. Annie is another strong pick if you like spell casters more.

[ffc]

Here's a champion quiz I found to help me pick a character.  And here's a helpful post putting champions in various categories.

[Hoax]

That second link is good shit. I'd read all that make some choices and then post your thoughts here to verify its still true and good.

[Lakov_Sanite]

I started playing league on Monday and I have to say I'm getting fairly hooked. I have sort of settled on Morgana as my best character and she's a ton of fun, mostly because I always feel pretty invulnerable with her(unless I do something stupid)

I'm not entirely sure how the random matchmaking systems work, am I up against other beginners? Thus far my best game was 8 kills/0 deaths/10assist I know that's probably not good at all but dammit I felt like a god.