Stricter requirements for Mentors.

[VerdeLuck]

Most of the terrible mentors are just in it for the mount, titles, and the crown next to their name. They see it as another grind for glam like doing relics, when it's not the point.
That, and to have the Newbie Network as a free global chat to talk about whatever while avoiding questions. I swear, a lot of servers need their NN cleaned up. Park a GM in there for a few hours to just casually read the chat when they're not doing anything else and you'll find plenty of people giving out of date information, factually wrong information, and telling sprouts to shut up when they ask questions because the mentors want to talk about an episode of an anime they saw last night.

The no warnings is a good suggestion. There's probably no way to have it right now but there should be a system where being warned or having action taken by a GM on you means you lose the crown and mentor privileges for a certain amount of time and have to:
1 - wait a period of time
2 - after that period of time, get a certain number of commends from random dungeons (250-500 probably)
and then the numbers of both increase based on what action was taken by GMs and how many offenses you have on record.

[Reinha]

My argument is that somebody who does not participate in Endgame Activities is arguably, not suitable to be 'Mentoring' new players, and is most likely going to give out false information.

And my argument is that someone who is completing a full raid tier typically doesn't have sufficient time or interest to mentor newbies. How many hours per day do you mentor when you are progging? "Raid logging" is a thing. When the tier is over, raiders don't flock to the Novice Network to share what they know, instead they go to the forums to complain that they want to raid more so they can get more alt gear so they can raid more on their alts so they can get BiS for their alts to play Ultimate.

The vast majority of good, active mentors are casuals.

[Ranaku]

My argument is that somebody who does not participate in Endgame Activities is arguably, not suitable to be 'Mentoring' new players, and is most likely going to give out false information.

I strongly disagree, Mentors are not just there to drag every newbie at mach 7 into the latest raid tier. Mentors also can help with where to find or unlock certain things, help with content or overall just be nice and welcoming to newbies. Every playstyle is valid not just what you yourself seem to enjoy the most. Ofc a mentor should have overall basic knowledge of the game but you don't need to participate in endgame content to be a mentor.

The mentor system is indeed flawed though, i would say remove the mount from it that would probably already scare away all the people who are in it just for that.

[SweetestLily]

My argument is that somebody who does not participate in Endgame Activities is arguably, not suitable to be 'Mentoring' new players, and is most likely going to give out false information.

To become a mentor, and to help newer players grow into better players overall, you should at least have a clear understanding of the combat or crafting side of the game.

Some basic ideas below, to make becoming and keeping a mentor status more strict.

Trade Mentor:
1. Completion of all current Gathering Nodes and Crafting Recipes per patch release (Yes, that means Expert crafting and Timed nodes too!)


Battle Mentor:
1. Completion of all current Extreme Trials per patch basis. (Yes, you lose your crown until you complete the latest trial on extreme)

2. Completion of at least ONE current Raid Tier on Savage as of the X.1 Patch of an expansion. (Your previous crown will last until the release of the first raid in the expansion).

3. 100 PvP Victories in Crystaline Conflict

Full Mentor:
1. All of the Above.

2. No prior warnings/actions taken against their square enix account by support.

Having much stricter requirements will easily weed out the Mentors that only have the crown as a collectable item, and clean up things like Expert Roulette for newer players, having only mentors that actually know what they are doing, playing in those activities.

No, they want people to help/give tips to new players, not to be a perfectionist.Don't be ridiculous

[VerdeLuck]

No, they want people to help/give tips to new players, not to be a perfectionist.Don't be ridiculous

When they're giving bad and wrong tips and using the mentor chat as a private chatroom then the requirements are too loose.

[Azuri]

Eh, I think mentor system organically evolved to reach the best place it can be at. The crown is widely derided and no one with a modicum of self respect will use one. On the other hand, all the bad players self-differentiate and even consider it a point of prestige. It's really an ingenious system that highlights people who should be simply ignored.

[Bobby66]

Let us be real, when in NN trade mentors are seen as a meme, and is often just tossed around as a means to gain quick access into NN again after they meet the requirements to no longer be a sprout. Let us get rid of Trade mentors, google does a better job at explaining crafting anyways, and pretty much everything in crafting can be broken down to a macro, and they have a macro for many different stat breakpoints. If you axe trade mentors that would clean up NN a lot.

[SweetestLily]

When they're giving bad and wrong tips and using the mentor chat as a private chatroom then the requirements are too loose.

Novice network has been like that since the beginning of its existence and the sprouts partake in making it a chatroom equally as much as the mentors do. Sounds like that chat needs to be moderated more, and they just never cared to do it as complaints about the novice network has littered this chat for years. But upping the requirement isn't going to be solution to that problem that you think it is. As far as giving out bad advice, thats unfortunate that happens and being a mentor doesnt magically make someone an expert in every aspect of the game, but they can still be qualified to help.

[SweetestLily]

Eh, I think mentor system organically evolved to reach the best place it can be at. The crown is widely derided and no one with a modicum of self respect will use one. On the other hand, all the bad players self-differentiate and even consider it a point of prestige. It's really an ingenious system that highlights people who should be simply ignored.

I dont think you should use the crown as a way to prejudge someone, there are still those good ones out there believe it or not, theyre just the ones NOT in the novice network.

[VerdeLuck]

I dont think you should use the crown as a way to prejudge someone, there are still those good ones out there believe it or not, theyre just the ones NOT in the novice network.

Still waiting on these fabled "good mentors" that get brought up whenever the topic of fixing the mentor system or holding mentors to even a tiny amount of accountability for their actions and the actions of the people wearing the crown all the time.
"There's plenty of good mentors, they just don't wear the crown or speak up, or go into NN" is such a cop out. Those are the places people interact with mentors. If they're not there, then they're not doing the job of a mentor.