Blender is exceptional for the price. That's always been the way its been. You aren't buying into just the software, you're buying into a community, and develop

Blender is exceptional for the price. That's always been the way its been. You aren't buying into just the software, you're buying into a community, and development that strives towards innovation and creating new tools for its customers. You can find excellent free resources to get started, and people to work with. I've been working with blender on a hobby level since 2004, I learned 3d modelling, animation, texturing, rigging, video editing, nodes, uv editing; all through free online resources. I participated in community forums, community modelling competitions, irc discussions. If a 12 year old in 2004 learned it, I think the problem doesn't quite lie in the software UX. If it has to excel in one thing, it's its community.