You are given a better sense of community and become able to find more friends more easily. If you go to a new lobby, you will find it hard to get to know people until you start to play against them. But after a while of being in the lobby, you start to feel a little more comfortable. If you are new to the game in the lobby, hopefully you can find someone to show you what to do, but you have to ask. HEAT isn't your average online gaming site.
HEAT does just that, paying for playing.
While at HEAT, you earn degrees for playing the games. Go to my Newbie Help to understand more about being paid to play. If you need to know how to earn those degrees , take a look at the degrees page. HEAT.net and sign yourself up. There is no cost to sign in or play unless you want to become a premium member, which is optional if you want to use your degrees.