Mentor Requirements

[Jeeqbit]

Countless sprouts and returners get their questions answered on a daily basis in the novice network. Mentors frequently offer them assistance with queue times for their first time. It's so easy to see how many people are helped by the mentor system if you spend some time in the novice network. The system is working. It's not perfect but I'm sure it was never expected to be perfect.

A common complaint is the attitude of mentors, but this isn't really a problem with mentors but with experienced players generally, who sometimes like to force their playstyle onto others.

The Novice Network being filled with conversation is fine because it shows that it's active, but some discussions go to places they shouldn't. A minority of trade mentors are genuinely experienced with crafting and gathering and very good at answering questions related to it, but I do find trade mentors most frequently bring discussions to the Novice Network that shouldn't happen.

I've also seen a lot of trade mentors that just came from other MMOs and are echoing information they have read online word-for-word. Their knowledge doesn't come from actual experience of playing the game like it should.

If there is going to be a next step to improving the mentor system it really does need to address trade mentor requirements before anything else.

[LaughingBanana]

Im actually surprised about all this novice network being filled with toxic people and such, because in my experience it is really benign and folks in it are generally helpful and nice, and when people ask questions or for help there are always people that answer them and provide help and such.

Maybe it's because I'm in Tonberry and things are different in other worlds?

Countless sprouts and returners get their questions answered on a daily basis in the novice network. Mentors frequently offer them assistance with queue times for their first time. It's so easy to see how many people are helped by the mentor system if you spend some time in the novice network. The system is working. It's not perfect but I'm sure it was never expected to be perfect.

Yes, this is generally my experience too for the novice network.

[VelKallor]

he increase of toxicity from new mentors arriving due to the Crafting Mentor Requirements has been a thing the last month.

I have met a lot of trade mentors who would make you look very silly. They have been, and are, by far more helpful and generous.

Second option, SE needs to decide to finally put a separate Terms of Service and attach it to the Mentor System. You want to be a mentor? Awesome, this is your TOS. Have it outline things like, how you should act towards your fellow players within the Novice Network, how NN isn't a global chat, what is appropriate and isn't appropriate to be discussing in the NN. Things like how you should act towards others while in dungeons if you have a sprout with you. Things that YES I know are already in the original TOS, but things that should be defined a little more to hold Mentors accountable to their actions so that if a sprout wants to report them, awesome they have a WHOLE separate TOS they are being held to because this is a mentor interacting with a sprout. Can it be abused? Yes. Do I feel like mentors should be held to a higher standard than other players? YES. Mentors signed up to BE MENTORS. We didn't just earn the crown, it wasn't just randomly given to us, we actually had to walk our characters over to the smith, click on them, and DECIDE to BECOME a mentor. That was OUR choice, not SE, not another player, it wasn't forced on us, WE decided this. So we should be held accountable to our decision and how we act as such.

Mentors are volunteers, not employees. If I saw this id never touch mentor again.

[MsQi]

How about requirements that are actually relevant to mentoring?

[SturmChurro]

"Increased toxicity"? It's always been that way.

[Alaray]

It won't really change anything, the mentor system itself is primarily just meant to point new players in the right direction (and by that, I mean, if they ask "where do I get __ quest" like a living FAQ and explain like, fight basics or the basics to crafting or whatever task -- ie: explaining what a boss does when asked while in the relevant duty). But it's been a weird mishmash of people who use it as a status symbol to feel important, intermixed with people who think they know their stuff without ever doing the research beforehand just because they qualified for the status.

Even if it required 100,000 commendations with 200 a week, it's still pretty much going to end up the same (except a lot more people will beg for comms) since comms =/= ability. I'll usually comm someone if I just found them funny, or if they had a silly screw up, or if they're new since why not. I'll also comm for gameplay but unless it's a DPS really stepping up their game, a healer doing completely fine balancing healing with damage output, or a tank pulling quickly and managing their CD's while doing high damage... I usually just defer to "that guy has a funny name".

But so long as people see it as a "status" of some kind with no real vetting process, it'll just be the same regardless of the requirements. Even if it was just "Must have cleared an Ultimate" there's plenty of people who have cleared them who struggle understanding the game, and plenty who don't really care to take on a role of teacher/tutor/FAQ specialist.

Even more vetted mentors will have their struggles with it getting to people's heads, people going into it for the wrong reasons, using it as a point of debate as if it makes them immune from being wrong etc... (like, there's a lot of stories related to Balance Mentors who fall into those).

There isn't really a solution to the issue, IMO, since it's 100% community driven at its foundation. And any community with a position of perceived status/authority will usually still attract the people who want it for that reason alone (along with people who genuinely want to be helpful).

edit: Closest thing to a solution I could think of is a way for the community to vet the mentors, ie: a negative commendation option. But people would still use it just to be petty/troll so it's... eh, also not without its own glaring issues.

[Krotoan]

Mentors are volunteers, not employees. If I saw this id never touch mentor again.

That would be entirely the point I believe.

Anyone who didn't agree to hold themselves to a higher standard would not be a mentor.

[Seraphor]

You say that as if it is a bad thing. :P

Well there wont be anyone left to do Mentor roulette for one.

[Seraphor]

That would be entirely the point I believe.

Anyone who didn't agree to hold themselves to a higher standard would not be a mentor.

No. You'd just get more self-righteous narcissists who think even more highly of themselves for wearing a Mentor crown.
You can not break the rules, and superficially appear to be helping, while still being a total asshat.

People who genuinely want to help other people will not want to run the risk of being targeted for higher levels of judgement via some Mentor policing system, or leave themselves open for harassment and abuse by people who know they can just 'report' you for a nebulous claim like 'not being helpful' and get your Mentor status removed.

[xxmiamorecadenza]

The only way I'd personally make requirements of mentor roulette is to make it required to clear the current expansion's Extreme content.

So when Emerald, for example, dropped - you'd be locked out of the roulette 'till you clear it.