Suggestion: Change the Mentor Icons

[Xirean]

Here's an idea for the Mentor system. Remove the name Mentor and the crown. Change the roulette such that every player can use it and it would update on intervals (the exact line is irrelevant) perhaps as they complete each MSQ chunk: ARR, HW, etc. The roulette would contain everything except Ultimates and each player can select specific things they can exclude for themselves and only themselves.

Attach the mount reward to this new Roulette which is literally just "need any experienced warm body to fill in" with no expectation/burden of carrying or teaching. Just a slot to be filled.

[Packetdancer]

While not what I'd consider bad advice, I'd rather players make that decision on their own. Some people really enjoy the social aspect of NN, and it provides them a home away from home until they find an FC. Not to mention NN can actually help players find a social FC.

Not to mention, folks on the free trial cannot join a Free Company (nor can they make parties or use party finder), but they can be invited to the Novice Network. I know a number of free trial folks who look to the Novice Network as the place they ask questions or ask for groups/parties who can help with running things, because it's literally their only option until/unless they buy the game and go subscription rather than free trial.

Novice Network can have issues at times, but unless they provide some alternative for free trial folks, I'd argue it's better than nothing for those cases.

[Jeeqbit]

Lastly when in a duty via mentor roulette the mentor can not be dismissed or abandon the duty until completion, timed out or they are the last player in the duty.. all other players my leave without penalty if they need.. the mentor can also not call a vote dismiss on other players in that duty too..

What if they unplug their internet? You can't force someone to play but you can punish them with penalties.

(2) Most mentors are not very good at game- based of what I personally seen. The crown then puts further frustration and expectation on mentors, which is like adding fuel to a burning stove, it’s no wonder mentors often yell at sprouts

In dungeons if someone is a mentor I trust that they know everything about the dungeon and playing well and I am not usually disappointed. I watch for little things like positionals, uptime, utility and handling the more challenging pulls comfortably.

(4) Sprout chat is very toxic and inappropriate. I have watched Zepha video about stories of mentors asking / tricking naive people who don’t know technology to give out their credit cards. Even on lighter cases. It is creepy and can prevent people from sticking with game.

One case of that is hardly reflective of the thousands of mentors and sprouts that don't do that.

[ICountFrom0]

Yeah a shame that OP got so highly up-voted. The premise in the title wasn't bad but the context in the post itself was a whine about not getting carried by the mentor in Ramuh EX.

I fully support calls for removing EX from mentor roulette or at least making it optional. Even JP insists that people learn via PF.

With a public blacklist for anybody who dosen't.

The good news is they lost HUNDREDS of karma in the comments, they still probably came out ahead with the 80+% upvotes on over 1k reactions.... and they got SO much gold... like folks didn't even read.

[BigHoffie]

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.

You mention that everyone is capable of googling stuff, yet I would bet a large portion of the "mENTorS bAd" stuff you see is because someone was told to google a question.

[LisSquid]

You mention that everyone is capable of googling stuff, yet I would bet a large portion of the "mENTorS bAd" stuff you see is because someone was told to google a question.

I'm not a "Mentors are Bad!" person, or I would be saying I am bad. My ego will not allow such heresy /s!! I am saying the system is redundant as it is already a facet of normal interaction to ask a question, and get a response. NN is extra steps.

Those people are lazy and bad, and should feel bad :P

[Xirean]

I'm not a "Mentors are Bad!" person, or I would be saying I am bad. My ego will not allow such heresy /s!! I am saying the system is redundant as it is already a facet of normal interaction to ask a question, and get a response. NN is extra steps.

Those people are lazy and bad, and should feel bad :P

Novice Network gives new players an easy to access location to ask questions.

[AnnRam]

I never though that an Icon next to a nickname would trigger so badly an entire community, same for tittles.

[LittleImp]

For all of the virtue signaling people on this game do, I find it genuinely funny that they draw the line at spending 30 minutes teaching some of the easiest EX's in the game in a voluntary roulette. Do ya'll have any idea how disappointed some of those sprouts you bail on are? I sit around and talk to them a lot while we're waiting for fills, and experiences like that are a huge reason that the Mentor system has such a poor reputation. If you can't spend 30 minutes helping to teach a joke EX with 3 mechanics and 20% echo, do everyone a favor and don't queue the roulette.

[Xirean]

For all of the virtue signaling people on this game do, I find it genuinely funny that they draw the line at spending 30 minutes teaching some of the easiest EX's in the game in a voluntary roulette. Do ya'll have any idea how disappointed some of those sprouts you bail on are? I sit around and talk to them a lot while we're waiting for fills, and experiences like that are a huge reason that the Mentor system has such a poor reputation. If you can't spend 30 minutes helping to teach a joke EX with 3 mechanics and 20% echo, do everyone a favor and don't queue the roulette.

Alternatively we could try to fix the existing system such that issues like that either don't occur or occur less often.

The mentor system has a bad reputation because the existing system sucks both in creating mentors and with what it seemingly expects of them.