Should SE include a PVP mentor?

[Zzxy]

We have battle mentors, crafting mentors and gathering mentors. For all the hype they're putting behind the Feast, the omission of a PVP mentor surprised me.

Mentors can teach: class viability, rotation, strategy, assistance with decision making, when to be aggressive, when to be defensive and so forth. As we know, what applies in pve doesn't necessarily apply in pvp.

Plus, with the introduction of the Feast, I'm sure there are quite a few people who've never pvp'd before who're curious in trying it out.

Then again, the mentor system would probably be only good for the first 1-3 months or so before pvp dies down

[Serilda]

I think the way they lock chat when actually in PVP might hamper most of the teaching that can take place.

So, controversial topic time. What would be a fair minimum requirement to qualify as a PVP mentor?

[AnduinLynn]

I think so, any incentive for more PvP would be very welcome, especially with the upcoming feast I feel like the learning curve for new people wishing to break into the PvP scene will be large.

[Zzxy]

I think the way they lock chat when actually in PVP might hamper most of the teaching that can take place.

So, controversial topic time. What would be a fair minimum requirement to qualify as a PVP mentor?

Rank 50 WITH 200 FL Wins AND 200 Den victories ofc!

Also, I was thinking just get the mentor to spectate in that spectator mode that they are planning on implementing for the feast. That way you can critique whatever is happening in that person's match

[Nalien]

Open world duels are all we really need. We can 1v1 seriously, "casuals" can do it just for fun, it puts PvP directly in the public eye if we're fighting outside sanctuaries, and it has far better utility for testing things than those worthless dummies in Wolves' Den Pier, since an actual player will run/stun/etc., plus you can watch others duel and learn something that way.

It would be quite nice to have PvP "Mentors" in the form of duels. It's not really the same thing as the Mentor system, but we could have a similar icon next to our names that says "This person PvPs and are willing to duel". It makes PvPers instantly recognizable and easy to find, and it would prevent PvE people being harassed for duels, since they'd need the "Mentor" thing to even be an option (similar to how you cannot challenge someone to a Triple Triad Tournament duel if they've not entered the Tournament).

[Februs]

It would be quite nice to have PvP "Mentors" in the form of duels.

This is an interesting idea.I think there would be a slight issue with balancing, though. Ranged versus any job that has no gap closer (ie: Pld, or War) would be unfair. So, SE would have to add sufficient dueling options. For example, I think there would have to be a casual duel option in which the win/defeat is not counted. That way, anyone using duels to teach or to test out specific moves, combos, tactics, etc. would not have to worry about having it count against their record. Official duels (ranked, essentially) could probably only be done if they were job locked. For example, a Tank can only officially duel another Tank, etc. There would also have to be a way of closing the duel off from outside influence, such as a bystander casting cures on one of the contestants.

At the very least, though, there should be a training / dueling pit in which all of the 8 party spots are locked for a pre-made (similar to forming a PF party, only 2 parties of 4 instead of 1 party of 8). That way, a full 2 parties can queue up to hold an official duel or train against one another without having to work around the duty finder. If SE manages to implement the cross server PF they have been working on, it would be a fantastic way to organize matches between the top ranked teams in a Data Centre. It would also be a good way for lower ranked teams to get some practice in by organizing training matches ... of course, all of these things would require quite a bit of due diligence on the part of both the players and the Dev team. So, I don't think any of it is feasible unless Feast and seasonal rankings turn out to be a big hit.

[Nalien]

I think there would be a slight issue with balancing, though.

That's the thing, duels don't need balancing.

If a Warrior stomps up to me while I'm on Bard and wants to duel, I'm not going to accept that request. If he starts harassing me, I'll either just out right black list the scrub, or switch to a Job I know I can overpower him on.

As far as serious duels go, that is what should happen. Whenever I bring up duels I always see people shoot it down because healer v healer will never end (because apparently individual skill counts for nothing in PvP), but... If that's the case, you just don't do healer v healer. That's why duels have to be open world based, similar to Triple Triad duels (though outside sanctuaries, rather than in them, I'd imagine). If someone wants to play Triple Triad against me, and they have an obvious deck advantage, I'm not going to duel them again, it's as simple as that. Unlike Triple Triad though, I know someones Job/gear advantage before the fight starts. Slap them in an instance and you have to balance them, because the player has no control over the matchings, we'd basically have to have same v same for balance purposes and I don't see that being particularly fun or informative.

Open world duels, however, allow us to pick what and where we play. They allow us to practice fairly easily to learn new things. They allow others to watch and learn that way. It shoves PvP right in the public eye and potentially gives PvP gear a solid purpose (I'd want two duel options personally, a i150 sync to test bursts on actual people for Seize/Feast, and uncapped for all the funs).

At the very least, I'd like the option to put my Grand Company flag up next to my name, also showing PvP Rank, as a sort of "I'm a PvPer" flag. The gear and mounts are nice, but they're no indication of someone who PvPs regularly, they're an indication that someone can farm. Duels would be the cherry on top, since then I imagine we'd see at least a few people with such a tag messing around with it fairly regularly. It would be a good way to just instantly identify people who are interested in PvP.

[Zhexos]

Greetings,

We definitely understand the desire to have an avenue for hardcore PvPers to teach new players about PVP and as such we'll look into making a separate PvP-related option (similar to how DoH/DoL is different) to qualify as a mentor. Thanks for the suggestion!

[Februs]

Snip

You might be happy to hear that SE is, in fact, considering implementing duels (even in the open world). I read about it in an interview with Yoshi-P following the Wolves Den tournament. I don't have the link at the moment (I'll see if I can dig it up), but in it they mentioned that open world dueling is one of their perspective plans for keeping the playerbase interested in the game, and that they want to do a server test for it to see how it will go. Unfortunately, they also said that this is something that is unlikely to happen in the near future. They want to focus on Feast first (understandably). Once Feast rolls out, depending on its success, the next step will (most likely) be official tournaments.

From what I've been gathering on SE's current PvP outlook, it would seem that a lot is hinging on the success or failure of Feast as a viable format for E-sports. If it's successful, then we can expect more PvP developments in the future.

[Februs]

Greetings,

We definitely understand the desire to have an avenue for hardcore PvPers to teach new players about PVP and as such we'll look into making a separate PvP-related option (similar to how DoH/DoL is different) to qualify as a mentor. Thanks for the suggestion!

Definitely happy to hear this. Having a PvP mentor system of some form would go a long way for getting people into the game mode and actually teaching them how to play instead of just serving them up on a silver platter for the seasoned players. It could also go a long way in getting people into the ranked matches, as mentor supported players might be more encouraged to actually put their skills to the test, rather than go casually ever time.