Suggestion: Change the Mentor Icons

[SturmChurro]

Result of an echo chamber like ARR being shit and PvP being worst thing ever. All are false btw, just enough dummies repeat them it spreads to the minds of ignorant people who then spread it more.

There's far more good in NN than there's bad. I really would love to see any kind of proof that it's a "Barrens chat" 24/7 like many of the haters say so (Reddit). Again sounds like they never really used it to be honest.

Zepla's crappy hate nurturing video is just proof of this mindset. And source, surprise surprise is Twitter.

No, I've experienced just how toxic and/or unhelpful the NN and mentors in general can be personally. I have also played PvP in this game - including Feast - and I also think PvP is terrible. My opinion is via experience, NOT ignorance. For that matter, I can count on one hand the amount of FFXIV YouTube videos or YouTubers I have watched (I don't even watch guides). I think it's fair to say that it's not all a result of an echo chamber, or spread from ignorance. There's a basis here.

[van_arn]

Novice network is far more valuable than many give it credit for, even if it’s just a trash social vanity channel.

If anything needs to be done with the mentor icons, it needs to be a matter of making the icons invisible to anyone other than mentors. I’m seeing more harassment as time goes on with players trying to dictate how mentors mentor, and that really shouldn’t be a thing.

[KageTokage]

I've similarly not had any noticeably terrible experience with mentors and mostly find myself getting annoyed by the fact that only about 10-20% of the mentors taking up the limited space in NN ever actually offer advice/help.

Not saying you need to be offering input on every single question that's posed in there or anything, but I'm familiar enough with the people in my local NN to know who is/isn't deadweight and the latter are the vast majority; just being individuals who got mentor status for the roulette and/or "prestige" and nothing else.

Ironically, I've actually seen more sprouts being toxic towards mentors by getting mad at them because they did not get a response to a question that was incomprehensibly worded and/or too specific for the average mentor to know the answer off the top of their head.

[Kolsykol]

If they actually made you have to pay or give something up to be a mentor the quality would probably go up significantly.
People just do it for the '' status '' and rewards.
They either should remove that or make it so you have to pay gil or whatever to sign up.

Watch it improve over night.

[van_arn]

I've similarly not had any noticeably terrible experience with NN or mentors and mostly find myself getting annoyed by the fact that only about 10-20% of the mentors taking up the limited space in there ever actually offer advice/help.

Not saying you need to be offering input on every single question that's posed in there or anything, but I'm familiar enough with the people in my local NN to know who is/isn't deadweight and the latter are the vast majority; just being individuals who got mentor status for the roulette and/or "prestige" and nothing else.

Ironically, I've actually seen more sprouts being toxic towards mentors by getting mad at them because they did not get a response to a question that was incomprehensibly worded and/or too specific for the average mentor to know the answer off the top of their head.

Yeah, I’m seeing way more sprouts unwilling to catch a fish than I have historically seen.

I don’t know if the solution is for mentors to start reporting more harassing sprouts (though this should never be under question if the harassment is bad enough) or to simply make any sign of being a mentor invisible to anyone but other mentors.

Do make sure to boot anyone hateful from nn, though.

[LisSquid]

NN and Mentors sound good when you're talking about a gaming experience pre-2010. Now, you can google anything for the game, and players who have put in the work to catalogue items and put together guides. Mentors are really unnecessary and I've never seen a need for them. Remove the program from the game, and life would go on as normal.

[Juun]

Result of an echo chamber like ARR being shit and PvP being worst thing ever. All are false btw, just enough dummies repeat them it spreads to the minds of ignorant people who then spread it more.

There's far more good in NN than there's bad. I really would love to see any kind of proof that it's a "Barrens chat" 24/7 like many of the haters say so (Reddit). Again sounds like they never really used it to be honest.

Zepla's crappy hate nurturing video is just proof of this mindset. And source, surprise surprise is Twitter.

I didnt need to watch Youtube channels to conclude ARR is a massive slog that made me quit three times during it over the past 2 years.

Also idk who Barren is but my experience with NN is that its a terrible place that doesnt help any sprouts you get pointed to git gut or go figure it out yourself. And no actual people wanting to help you with simple game related questions. These mentors were more busy feeding their own ego then being helpful.

[Krotoan]

The watering can idea is pretty old (not to say it isn't good) and has been suggested since shortly after the mentor program started.

The main problem with the mentor program is it just doesn't jive with the culture of the NA/EU populations. It quickly becomes a status thing that people focus on the rewards and not the spirit and you get "mentors" who are only interested in achieving those rewards as fast as possible and parading them around.

Mentoring needs to be Opt in with NO rewards. Just a non-exceptional mark that says "I'm available to help if you need it".

[Jeeqbit]

The crown icon doesn't make a lot of sense, but the sword, hammer or pvp part of it is alright.

I don't think a watering can is good enough because the icon needs to communicate to a sprout that "this is an experienced player" and the crown icon does do that, but another icon could do it as well without suggesting this person is a king or queen.

[Kes13a]

make the icon only visible in a dungeon and remove all rewards.

imagine things will clear up quickly once the people only in it for the "stuff" get out of it