Already Hate Novice Network

Finally hit trade mentor.

Already hate NN.

I don't know if it's like this on all servers. But it already is total off-topic chatter other than FFXIV and helping others. Which I guess is fine you can't have FFXIV all the time. But then they started going into fetish stuff and it's like 'can you not'?

Then there's the issue of it seems like a clique. Mentors know mentors, people are regulars so some are 'higher' than others, and it's easy to feel alienated even as a mentor much less a newbie.

... I guess I expected more of a chat where people ask questions, others see and answer when they can. They talk about the game. Everyone's equal and just in it to help each other grow.

... What I got was highschool 2.0.

It varies by server, but that's not an uncommon experience from what I've seen on multiple servers.

It's commonly used as a global chat, yes. If anyone is acting as the owner of the place and make someone else uncomfortable (happens from time to time), reporting will be the best. I personally think it can get very spammy and the only way to fix it is to add an opt-in general channel to EU/NA client.

People are better off joining a free company or a linkshell that is welcoming to new players, or even post questions in the New Player Help section of the forums.

A lot of mentors are very good and helpful, but enough of them are the opposite that the experience with the Novice Network is often negative. Fortunately the Novice Network is a lone beast. The rest of the public chat channels are far better.

It really depends on the server.

I find most of people in there on Cactuar are genuinely interested in being helpful so if questions are asked, they'll be answered in little time.

It would be barren if people only talked when others wanted help, though, and the random gameplay discussion often raises more questions about things newer players aren't initially aware of.

Nah OP you're not lying, got back into the game a couple weeks ago(also on Zalera), and it was bad. I eventually just idled in town afk instead of logging off so the returning veteran status wore off,

It really does depend on which world you are on. I'm sorry you've had a bad experience OP, but you have to realise that the Novice Network is only ever going to be as good as the people in it and that is going to vary a lot. I do hope hearing about these bad experiences doesn't put new players off trying the Novice Network for themselves, because when it's working well it can be very useful to them and it's a great place to make friends as well.

I only have experience of the Novice Network on Zodiark and Cerebus, but both seem to be functioning as intended. New players get help in the form of advice or people joining their party if they get stuck in a long queue. There's a bit of general chat as well, but as long as new players don't get ignored the general consensus seems to be that it's better than silence.

I would urge people to try the Novice Network out and give it a chance. You don't have to stay if you don't want to, mentors, new players and returners can all leave the channel at any time (though new players will need to get another invite if they change their mind and want to join again).

It varies in the servers. Sometimes the chatter is good and sometimes it takes a turn for the worse where people just start kicking each other off the network. I was Mentor in H/W when it was first released and it was really bad back then.

In many ways, the Novice Network operates like a sort of "starter free company". The chatter that occurs in NN is in many ways much like the chatter you'd see in a free company. (To the point, in fact, where some forego joing FCs at all, and just become NN regulars.) Personally, I think this is fine, as long as the Network ALSO serves its other purpose, as a forum where new players can ask questions and get answers.

If novice questions are habitually ignored (not just a question here or there - sometimes, mentors just don't have the answers - but most or all of the time), then there's a problem - but, unfortunately, it's not an easily solved problem. You can't FORCE mentors to be helpful, and there's no way Squeenix is going to spend the money to hire people to serve as forum police.

If the content of the forum chatter makes you uncomforable, there's no harm in saying so. If you're met with defensiveness or hostility, you can always walk away. Sometimes, though, folks will recognize that they've crossed a line, and might show a little more restraint in the future. If the content doesn't make you uncomfortable, though, I recommend just rolling with it, even if it's stuff not related to the game.

As for cliques... I haven't noticed a lot of that on my Novice Network (Gilgamesh). Sure, there are regulars everyone knows, but it doesn't generally get in the way of assisting newbies. Are these cliques ganging up on and harrassing other players? If so, they can be reported, just as you would report harrassment of any kind.

I will gladly be a mentor but I stay far away from the NN as possible. On my end when I was in it for a little bit, it was nothing but politics and some harassment.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ADVSS

Nah OP you're not lying, got back into the game a couple weeks ago(also on Zalera), and it was bad. I eventually just idled in town afk instead of logging off so the returning veteran status wore off,

---

No offense but you wasted the status. You can leave NN at anytime.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Infindox

No offense but you wasted the status.

---

Returner status doesn't do anything important anyway. NN access is the primary perk.

NN really proves that this game needs a global chat channel. Like others have said, make it opt in so not everyone is beaten over the head with it when they log in and the NN can go back to what it was intended to be: a place to help newbies and returners that need to be caught back up to speed.

It is opt-in already. Sprouts have to accept and invitation from a mentor to gain access. Mentors gain access by choosing to become a mentor in the first place (i.e. that's the opt-in) and manually leaving it will prevent continued automatic access on login. I don't have personal experience with it, but I think returners have to accept the returner's bounty buff to access it.

Let's see the NN. Its an interesting place I have to say that. I have a decent experience on Faerie. But its going to boil down on the server and the time of day.

Keep in mind the NN isn't just about helping strictly in FFXIV though A Lot of people will use it as a global chat though which is fine nor should there be an expectation that its going to be strictly about FFXIV help. Also I personally haven't seen anything where a sprout or returner asks a question and gotten completely ignored since being back on Faerie and I came back last year from being on Gilgamesh for several years which way back then the NN network was pretty bad.

If you are wanting to be a mentor, nothing is stopping you from helping sprouts/returners though.

But if you want to leave and you are sprout or returner you can leave the NN network anytime. Click on the sprout Icon at bottom of the chat window or type in the macro /novicenetworkleave

Of course if you are a Mentor, just leave the mentor program.

I've qualified as a mentor to be in the NN since the first day it existed.
I haven't.
No regrets.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nekaru_Infitima

Finally hit trade mentor.

Already hate NN.

I don't know if it's like this on all servers. But it already is total off-topic chatter other than FFXIV and helping others. Which I guess is fine you can't have FFXIV all the time. But then they started going into fetish stuff and it's like 'can you not'?

Then there's the issue of it seems like a clique. Mentors know mentors, people are regulars so some are 'higher' than others, and it's easy to feel alienated even as a mentor much less a newbie.

... I guess I expected more of a chat where people ask questions, others see and answer when they can. They talk about the game. Everyone's equal and just in it to help each other grow.

... What I got was highschool 2.0.

---

That's because NN is high school all over again and the people that got bullied and/or shunned are now "mentors" who have just a wee bit of power and go nuts with it. Do yourself a favor and just leave NN. Unless you're in the "popular" group, you will be ignored and the chat will mysteriously go silent if you don't go with the flow of conversation and want to *gasp* use it as it's supposed to be used.

I do believe the NN needs a rework and bad experiences happen from time to time, that's just the downside of having something ran by people, so you rely on them in order to get whatever you need from them, but that's just a small part of the Mentor system that needs changes in order to try and remove the stigma from it alongside trying to keep bad apples down to the minimum.

It has been stated way back when NN was first launched that GMs said that the NN is free to have any discussion they want while obeying the ToS of the channel and the game.

Of course regulars will know each other, it's only natural, but the only advice I can say is to be a regular yourself, engage and put yourself out there. People won't come to you in NN, if you're silent then of course you'll be ignored. You don't have to be a Mentor to give help or a sprout to receive help, there's plenty of ways in game to do so, just NN is the more broad and all-encompassing way.

It varies by server. Novice Network on Cerberus, for example, is pretty relaxed. If someone asks a question, it receives an answer. There's some friendly chatter here and there, too, but I've not seen anybody ignored if help is requested.

I also think a lot of people expect too much from a system based around voluntary engagement. Mentors are not obligated to be perfect or available 24/7.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Nixxe

Returner status doesn't do anything important anyway. NN access is the primary perk.

---

Thought Returner gave you a exp bonus or something, that's why I said they "wasted" it. But if it's just NN access then yeah, you are right.

yea I was on NN for awhile, would try and steer it back on topic of asking questions sometimes but yea people just use it as a social linkshell, its a problem. How to fix it? idk I have it perpetually off my chat. Maybe all it should be is you have a system where you can que up a question, and mentors can only reply in response to that question. And yea honestly high-school 2.0 is not a bad way to describe it lol, its not that things don't get done, its just really messy and weird while you're at it lol

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Infindox

Thought Returner gave you a exp bonus or something, that's why I said they "wasted" it. But if it's just NN access then yeah, you are right.

---

Returner's Bounty buff gives an exp bonus up to level 20 if you are partied with a mentor. Since you need at least one job at level 50 to get returner status and thus access to the bonus it's effectively just a way to slightly more quickly level up an alt in the first few dungeons.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Infindox

Thought Returner gave you a exp bonus or something, that's why I said they "wasted" it. But if it's just NN access then yeah, you are right.

---

The XP bonus is only while you're grouped with a mentor and you have to be a very low level if I remember correctly. Even then, I think it's only like 10% or something. Basically it's rather inconsequential and inconvenient to use.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Driavna

It's commonly used as a global chat, yes. If anyone is acting as the owner of the place and make someone else uncomfortable (happens from time to time), reporting will be the best. I personally think it can get very spammy and the only way to fix it is to add an opt-in general channel to EU/NA client.

---

Honestly it only used as a global chat, BECAUSE WE HAVE NO GLOBAL CHAT. Its so stupid we still, after approaching almost a decade now, we dont have a global chat.

It's like trade chat in wow

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Mhaeric

Returner's Bounty buff gives an exp bonus up to level 20 if you are partied with a mentor. Since you need at least one job at level 50 to get returner status and thus access to the bonus it's effectively just a way to slightly more quickly level up an alt in the first few dungeons.

---

That never would have benefitted me at all, then. Game sorta just welcome backed me, with a bunch of stuff on the ui i closed out, and placed me in the NN. Not a big deal, I used to be hype for mentor when the system was new, but in the NN then, people sort of kept the topic more about the game, then...whatever that was. Asked a question about Fellowships, either no one knows what it was, or they deliberately ignored the question completely. Not very helpful, as some new players asked stuff and would get ignored. Was a meh experience. I already had a couple 80's before i took hiatus, nothing gained nothing lost

Some mentors like me dont even wear a crown, we help others in disguise ^_^
But yes the novice network has a very bad reputation I have to agree with that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Luna-M

It's like trade chat in wow

---

No. It isn't.

Thank you to everyone, never got Returner because I dont take brakes that long lol.

I know people want Global Chat but I feel like that would be a nightmare for them to moderate and, if the botting response is anything to go by, they definitely don't have enough people for it.

NN seems fine on my world. It's used as a Global chat a lot of the time of course and has the occasional drama (which is unavoidable with large groups of people), but I see sprouts being helped all the time and most questions are answered. It serves its purpose.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by VenKitsune

Honestly it only used as a global chat, BECAUSE WE HAVE NO GLOBAL CHAT. Its so stupid we still, after approaching almost a decade now, we dont have a global chat.

---

Agreed, especially when Novice Network is also proof that many players actually enjoy Global chat. Assuming it was optional and RMT could be reported/moderated, it would be a welcome addition.