Novice Network Feedback for SE

[CelestePinke]

Well not every console player has a laptop or iPad or phone easily accessible for those chats. PS3 players can't use voice chat with PS4, so whether the new person is having anxiety talking to players doesn't mean they have to talk they can still listen and type responses.

[FinolaWren]

The most common questions I've seen in NN, many times a day- what level do I get chocobo. I'm on story mission X and can't find the next one, what do I do. Should I level crafts now or wait to 50. Things like that. I have the time in the game, I have the patience to answer over and over. I run low level dungeons in any role to help, I can tell you where the Hall of Novices is, where the weaver guild is. This is what the novices want to know. If there is end-game discussion I just don't join in, as I can't offer advice, in the same way someone with every fight class to 60 but no gathers won't reply to a question asking what a gather rotation is. We all have our strengths and weaknesses.

Of two level 60 Bards, one may have leveled using basic dungeons and fate grinding, hit 60 and never touched the class again. The other may have leveled and use the job consistently in the highest level of endgame activities, know every aspect of the job and gear inside and out. Yet both are 60- who is the best to advise on being a bard if a novice asks? The basic requirements ensure time in game, not quality of mentor. I could put more time in and get every class in the game to 60 but I'd still now my WHM better as that's my main. And still it means bugger all- cos 99% of the time they want to know what a guildhest is, how to unlock a retainer, can someone join party to heal through a difficult sidequest.

I'm mentor not because I want to go into long discussion of endgame, but to aid those who are new with the basics and a good overview. Pretty sure any mentor in the game can give details on what a raid is, not every one of them can go in depth into every single stage of it but that's not what is needed. It's for novices.

[Umo]

■Adjustments to the requirements to be considered a “New Adventurer”■

We’ve received feedback mentioning that the requirement of having 40 hours of play time or less to be considered a “New Adventurer” is not long enough to have a chance to thoroughly experience the wide breadth of content available in FFXIV. Considering that the first expansion pack is available and that the level cap has been raised to 60, we will be adjusting it so the “New Beginner” status will remain until players complete the main scenario quest “Before the Dawn” and when their play time exceeds 168 hours.

With this change, mentors will be able to support beginners not only up until they reach level 50 and complete the 2.0 main scenario, “The Ultimate Weapon,” but they can continue to offer support on the raising of item levels through the gathering of tomestones and such. This adjustment will be made as soon as possible, without waiting for Patch 3.3.

This is my main issue. I mean, from my point of view, a player with that many hours of gameplay shouldn't be considered a "New Adventurer" anymore; s/he should have already learned the game's core systems and features, even though s/he doesn't know anything about Heavensward. You know, FFXIV is not a completely different game once you reach Ishgard, and there's some social features s/he could use in order to get support at that moment (before, even), such as Free Companies and Linkshells.
I know Duty Roulette: Mentor is in place to help parties struggling to get filled for content somehow obsolete, but there's a (big) difference between offering tips and support for a Black Mage on his/her first steps on party play and telling someone how to manage The Howling Eye (Extreme) (i.e.), even though s/he's playing that content for the first time.

[MihaelB]

Some idiot on my server keeps adding bots to our novice network and they keep getting re-invited despite us kicking them.

Think you need a log of (Mentor name) invited (Novice name) into the Novice Network.

[Teykos]

Some idiot on my server keeps adding bots to our novice network and they keep getting re-invited despite us kicking them.

Think you need a log of (Mentor name) invited (Novice name) into the Novice Network.

This, so much. It's a lot easier to keep the roster cleaned up if the people inviting bots can get kicked for being either sloppy or collaborators.

[Niwashi]

■ Adjustments to the requirements to be considered a “New Adventurer”

We’ve received feedback mentioning that the requirement of having 40 hours of play time or less to be considered a “New Adventurer” is not long enough to have a chance to thoroughly experience the wide breadth of content available in FFXIV. Considering that the first expansion pack is available and that the level cap has been raised to 60, we will be adjusting it so the “New Beginner” status will remain until players complete the main scenario quest “Before the Dawn” and when their play time exceeds 168 hours.

This seems to be completely destroying the entire concept of being about helping newcomers, which was the whole point of the feature. If you're going to have it be a Novice Network, then keep it focused on those just starting out in the game, like it is now. (It needs a lot of other fixes, but that's not one of them.)

If instead, you simply want a generalized help for whoever needs it, then get rid of all the rule overhead and simply make a general /Advice channel that's open to everyone to both give and ask for help, with nobody specifically designated as mentors or novices.

Conflating these two goals just turns it into a chaotic mess, with rules that have no pertinence to the content involved.

[Piamette_Buttlass]

Sorry for the necro, but I did a google search and this came up first. I have been a mentor for over a week on Behemoth, and have not once gotten into the NN. I don't even get error messages. And yes, those chat features are enabled. I wonder if it's because I can't do mentor roulette yet? (I haven't finished most of the hildebrand questline - which I honestly don't think should be required but oh well).

Did they change it so there isn't a notification when you change zones? Or is there a new way to opt in already that I'm uinaware of? I'm really confused about this.

Also I do think the number of dungeons/commendations required to be a mentor should be increased.

[zeopower6]

It was changed so that when you become a mentor, you have to switch on the channel to join (and autojoin from then on until you type it again) the channel.

You type /nnetwork or /nnetwork on and you will enter the network. To toggle off, type it again or /nnetwork off.

[LineageRazor]

It was changed so that when you become a mentor, you have to switch on the channel to join (and autojoin from then on until you type it again) the channel.

You type /nnetwork or /nnetwork on and you will enter the network. To toggle off, type it again or /nnetwork off.

This struck me as a bit odd... If you go through the trouble of becoming a mentor, that implies that you want to... well... mentor people. I'd think that the default would be for novice network to be on, rather than off.

I hope that when you become a mentor now, it at least instructs you how to turn the network on and off. I became a mentor before /nnetwork was added, and it took me a while to figure out why I wasn't receiving "cannot join the channel" messages anymore...

Better to start with it on, and if a mentor doesn't know how to leave - well, they're in the perfect channel to ask how! If they're not in, it's a lot more difficult to find someone to ask how to join.

[zeopower6]

It was mostly done to avoid a 100 mentor NN which it has worked for IMO.