Please make a MENU option specifically listed "Novice Network" under Social or System. I think having a designated menu window for a key aspect of this game is a no-brainer that should be discoverable, not just on a tiny chatbox button.
Having a clear menu window with options like:
+Show icon by my nametag yes / no
+Opt in / out of network
+Opt into mentorship / sprout / returner
+Customize which parts you opt in/out of pings/invites/chatbox separately
+Being able to tick a box that says “im not a new player” to avoid sprout status on character creation.
+Have the Novice Network descriptor in this window not just a 1 second popup at character creation.
I would think that with a new/returning person they get a popup on login/startup that says "Hey you are part of the NN! To hide this popup permanently click this box. To adjust your settings in the future please go to the Novice Network tab in the Menu settings.”
If you are a vet of the game on a new character or you never forgot stuff you can opt out immediately of popups and know where to go, and still have access to turn Novice Network on/off.
If you disable the novice network and disable its ability to function on your character, you don't have to wait the 300+ hours of INGAME playtime!!! for those things to go away, you can just do your own thing. We can beat the first expansion in under 72 hours and SHOULD comprehend most of the game by then, WHY are we still stuck as Sprout?
Another reason I'd like it to be a menu option is that a lot of achievements are tied into being a MENTOR. Without an intense hunt or keyboard command ingame to reveal something you hid prior.
Being unable to opt-out of the Novice Network, its tags, and pings was so frustrating for me I was considering just giving up on the game for how overwhelmed it was that I was stuck with it and unable to escape it after a year hiatus.
I know not everyone has little ticks of something sticking on their screen, or a notification flashing. But for me it's very very frustrating and the ability to have people ping or invite me whom I don't know felt so extra invasive.If I had opted into it willingly I wouldn't have had an issue.
The biggest frustration was the lack of ability to find the Novice Network commands, menu, options, anything without asking ingame players. I checked every menu, button, and every online / command I could only find a semi-removal. I legit spent over 5 hours trying to search in forums, ingame, and online help searches.
That's not normal difficulty for this game's systems and when I had to ask ingame, other players admit it's hard to find. Apparently it's a really bad open-ended joke that to get out of the Novice Network you have to use the Novice Network! Which is even worse because you need help from the Novice Network to figure out how to use the Novice Network even if you don't want to disable it!
Novice Network Needs A Menu Slot/Window
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02-24-2026, 08:09 AMNurinaeNovice Network Needs A Menu Slot/Window
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02-24-2026, 08:40 AMJeeqbitThe issue, to me, is that the menus are bloated and could be massively condensed. As it stands, the menus have so many things that they are bound to confuse new players. This would only make it worse.Quote:
Originally Posted by Nurinae
There isn't really a downside to it displaying. It's useful. It makes complete sense for us to know they are new, and if someone truly is a veteran player, they will probably have figured out the command to remove it.Quote:
Show icon by my nametag yes / no
The sprout menu pretty effectively let's you enter/exit it. If in doubt, the person can ask the Novice Network how to leave, which is exactly what they do and someone explains how.Quote:
Opt in / out of network
To be honest, if someone doesn't go out of their way to click the mentor qualification NPC then maybe they shouldn't be one. Surely this is something a person can do if they have the level of knowledge it is asking for.Quote:
Opt into mentorship / sprout / returner
I don't think that sprout should be opt-in; it is a very good system for it to be the default for new players. It used to automatically make new players join the novice network, but this caused bots to join, so it was changed for mentors to invite them. Opting into returner wouldn't make sense, because it is for returning players, and returning players are given an opt-in when they login.
I do think that there might need to be better awareness made for the opt-out command for invites to the novice network, because there is a command for it and I fear when I invite sprouts that other mentors may have also tried to invite them, and they may feel it gets annoying.
Anyway, just to make sure, these are the commands:- /nastatus (toggles sprout status on/off)
- /returnerstatusoff (removes returner status)
- /novicenetworkleave (leaves NN)
- /novicenetworkinvitation off (prevents people inviting you to NN)
- /novice (sends a message to novice network or switches to NN)
- /friendlist > Party Members > Right-click Name > Edit Search Info > Set Busy/Looking to Meld/Role-playing (replaces Sprout icon)
- /characterconfig > Log Window Settings > General > General > Chat > uncheck Novice Network (hides the display of Novice chat in the General tab, but you're still technically in the NN)