Problem: The Mentor requirements cater to players who have no business being Mentors.

[alimdia]

There is far more to "mentor" knowledge than simply "How do I play x job?". There are are a huge amount of side quests and dungeons and random items that aren\\'t always obvious. Doesn\\'t take someone with level 60 jobs to be able to figure those items out.

Regarding job knowledge, I personally would rather take advice from a person who really only plays one or two jobs, and plays them well vs. someone who has a plethora of jobs leveled. "Jack of all trades, master of none" comes to mind.

You didn\\'t answer my question. Read it again.

Put it this way
U have 2 applicants for a job. The only info u have is one of them has 3 relevant qualifications while the other has 2. Who do u hire?

[alimdia]

As mentioned before, having a WHM, WAR and MNK (or whatever combo) leveled does not mean that you will have any idea how to actually play any of the other jobs. Sure, you'll have a general idea how how things work, but that's pretty basic and even those without the holy trinity leveled can pick up on these things.
.

You didn't answer my question. Read it again.

Put it this way
U have 2 applicants for a job. The only info u have is one of them has 3 relevant qualifications while the other has 2. Who do u hire?

[Whiteroom]

You didn't answer my question. Read it again.

Put it this way
U have 2 applicants for a job. The only info u have is one of them has 3 relevant qualifications while the other has 2. Who do u hire?

Well, him obviously.

[Skivvy]

You didn\\'t answer my question. Read it again.

Put it this way
U have 2 applicants for a job. The only info u have is one of them has 3 relevant qualifications while the other has 2. Who do u hire?

Well, this is just a silly game and not a job interview. Point is, people can be incredibly lazy and horrible and still become a mentor, and that's not really helping anyone.

Well, him obviously.

And I have no desire to be a mentor. I like helping people, but I can do that without a crown by my name.

[Defias]

I've said it a few times.
They need to look at The Everquest & Everquest 2 Guide program.

The players who become Guides, have to submit an application, a GM reviews it & checks on the Player's behavior (Reports, Violations, etc) content completed, and knowledge on the game.
Then they approve or disapprove the applicant.

This would dramatically ween out the bad Mentors from the good Mentors & ensure a positive experience for newbies.

[Mykll]

Yeah it is amazing what I used to be able to do in a 15 year old game. See the last time someone was on in the guild (LS / FC <cough>), put private comments, public comments, bring up the guild list inside a dungeon, etc. It's weird 15+ years later, we've become more restrictive in our "management and house cleaning" duties for our LS / FCs despite all these advantages in server hardware and software.

I like the EQ Guide program suggestion. Yeah, if Mentor was tied to ANYTHING (even if it ONLY tied to a simple crown next to your name, and no other bonus whatsoever, so special roulette, etc.) then SE would be flooded with applications and it would take a while to get through them. But, perhaps they could have started taking apps months before the released the mentor system to get ready? I dunno.

[Defias]

Yeah it is amazing what I used to be able to do in a 15 year old game. See the last time someone was on in the guild (LS / FC <cough>), put private comments, public comments, bring up the guild list inside a dungeon, etc. It's weird 15+ years later, we've become more restrictive in our "management and house cleaning" duties for our LS / FCs despite all these advantages in server hardware and software.

I like the EQ Guide program suggestion. Yeah, if Mentor was tied to ANYTHING (even if it ONLY tied to a simple crown next to your name, and no other bonus whatsoever, so special roulette, etc.) then SE would be flooded with applications and it would take a while to get through them. But, perhaps they could have started taking apps months before the released the mentor system to get ready? I dunno.

Nuff said. SE can still remedy the situation.

[Takfloyd]

SE now needs to look into how to filter this pool further.. probably add some sort of way for the newbies to thank the mentors (something like a commendation).. and mentors that do not get any of these after a set time will not be able to don that crown. Just throwing random idea out :P in case SE sees this

This is a solid idea. Have a pop-up appear on the newbie's screen at the end of the dungeon where they can choose to say whether the mentor was helpful or not helpful. Mentors who keep getting "not helpful" votes automatically lose mentor status.

I'm sure S-E will make adjustments to the system before long. Other things also need to get fixed, like the fact that new players can't freely leave the Novice Chat. Many new players don't want to be forced into a busy chatroom by strangers.

[Whiteroom]

This is a solid idea. Have a pop-up appear on the newbie's screen at the end of the dungeon where they can choose to say whether the mentor was helpful or not helpful. Mentors who keep getting "not helpful" votes automatically lose mentor status.

I'm sure S-E will make adjustments to the system before long. Other things also need to get fixed, like the fact that new players can't freely leave the Novice Chat. Many new players don't want to be forced into a busy chatroom by strangers.

"Pass on the gear or get a negative mentor report."

When putting forth an idea, thinking of the ways it can be abused is a good idea.

Also selling positive and padding via alts.

[Takfloyd]

"Pass on the gear or get a negative mentor report."

When putting forth an idea, thinking of the ways it can be abused is a good idea.

Also selling positive and padding via alts.

How many new players does this apply to? It's not in any way even remotely comparable to the number of mentors currently abusing the system. 99.99% of new players would never think to do something like that, and those few who do can be easily reported.

As for buying mentor commendations or using alts, no one would go to such lengths when they can just be a good mentor and not have to worry about it. You may as well say that regular commendations shouldn't exist because they can also be sold.

In short, I think you're the one who didn't think it through enough.