General consensus on mentors

Mentoring will always be what you make of it. At the very least, all it does it tell you who has done the requirements to unlock it.

For me I mostly didn't say much other than when I noticed big mistakes, or if I was asked questions.

For stuff like Ex primals, I refused to explain the entire fight start to finish, instead I encouraged people to research for themselves before trying (as this is what I feel should be normal behavior for going into Ex and higher fights). If people weren't listening or refused to watch a vid, I'd usually stay but vote abandon after a few wipes. Eventually, if it was really hopeless, I'd leave or go offline.

I got my mentor crown, had it on for a day to show my FC mates that I was the first one of us to qualify, and then turned it off permanently because I didn't want to be one of Those People. The vast majority of mentors I've seen have been useless or just plain bad. On several occasions I've had to correct the incorrect information they give. I'm happy to share what I know and give some tips if people ask nicely but most of the time people just ignore the advice because "it doesn't matter".

I think there needs to be more oversight to the system then there has been, but I have no clue how that would best be approached.

The crown doesn't really mean anything at this point imo, it's just a decoration by people's names.

The idea of some kind of grading system for mentors has been suggested several times. I'd really like it if it would be coupled with the possibility of losing the crown and access to all the rewards related to it (=titles, mount, whatever). It's extremely improbable that such a thing would be added to this game though, in this game everyone has to be a winner.

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Originally Posted by Squigley

The idea of some kind of grading system for mentors has been suggested several times. I'd really like it if it would be coupled with the possibility of losing the crown and access to all the rewards related to it (=titles, mount, whatever). It's extremely improbable that such a thing would be added to this game though, in this game everyone has to be a winner.

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Rather than "everyone has to be a winner," I think this is a case of no one would bother if a rating system existed. Who would actually want to be a mentor with a system like this in place? Even the best mentors could end up losing their status over troll ratings from people who get salty about being given good advice. A mentor who stays quiet (to avoid down-votes from people who don't like being given advice) could end up being down-rated for not offering advice!

And honestly, how would a grade from mentees--a group which includes many people who flat out don't know how to play this game--be validated? The people most likely to down-vote a mentor are liable to be the people who have the least clue and need the most help...

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Originally Posted by sarehptar

troll ratings

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That's a very good point, I don't think anyone has been able to think of a good way to handle those.

As for everyone winning, it was a bit badly worded perhaps. It's almost 4am here and I've had a bad day. The point I was trying to make was that has anyone ever lost anything in this game? As in something taken away from them. If GM's would revoke crowns + stuff based on reports, I'd be a happy potato. I haven't seen that happening even though I remember reading about such a possibility.

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Originally Posted by Squigley

That's a very good point, I don't think anyone has been able to think of a good way to handle those.

As for everyone winning, it was a bit badly worded perhaps. It's almost 4am here and I've had a bad day. The point I was trying to make was that has anyone ever lost anything in this game? As in something taken away from them. If GM's would revoke crowns + stuff based on reports, I'd be a happy potato. I haven't seen that happening even though I remember reading about such a possibility.

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Sorry, didn't mean to come across as argumentative. I definitely do think it's fair to have your crown revoked if you do something worth being reported for. If a GM reviews a case and determined someone was harassing or cheating or somehow abusing other players, then sure, I'd also support this. Such a person wouldn't deserve to be labelled a mentor at all.

But having my mentor privileges revoked just because people don't like being told they're wearing inappropriate gear for their job or that they really should level that side class for provoke... Eff that. I absolutely would not want my player status to be tied to a grading system controlled by people who don't even read tooltips... :/

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Originally Posted by DamianFatale

That sounds like they payed to have their character leveled..

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Oh, you would be amazed by the amount of people that are genuinely that bad. I once had a Scholar in Ravana still wearing the Friendship Circuit and Brand New Ring. And I know he wasn't a bot because he had the audacity to whine about the DPS being low. -_-

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Originally Posted by ThirdChild_ZKI

I haven't worn my crown since I got it, mainly because I never needed it to mentor other players and be helpful besides.

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Indeed I think that for many long time players who help others because they enjoy helping and it's the right thing to do, have an attitude towards the mentor title and crown that can be summed up with this line stolen from Blazing Saddles...

Badges? We don't need not stinking badges!

Tbh I was really excited for the mentor program when it first came out. I made a rush to level my warrior and summoner so I could get the status. I never did the mentor roulette, I just liked that people knew I was there to help. What ended up happening was that I was berated for trying to tell people mechanics on primals after wiping multiple times, and there were so many other mentors I felt like I didn't matter anymore. I removed it just a couple of days ago on my own. I got increasingly frustrated having to answer simple questions that can be answered via a quick Google search (i.e. Where does X quest start? Can I get [specific type of gear] from [specific raid]?). It's just my personality type I suppose. Mentors get a bad rep according to forums anyway, because there are many out there who believe mentors are there just for the cool stuff. It's not worth it for me anymore.