Tell me stories when a mentor hurt you.

[tsuchii]

I'm just curious why some players hate us so much for no reason. Is it some sort of generalization?

Today, I had an emergency IRL so I couldnt return to my game. Upon returning, the chat was filled like "smh it's a mentor", "mentor btw". I didn't say a word the entire pull. I wouldve just appreciated a kick tbh.

The other day, I was progging P12s, fresh btw, first time pull. This random WAR that my friend brought was like "wow burger king but trash", expecting me to understand Caloric 1 in 2 pulls and watching the guide once. I mean it really isn't that complicated but an average player needs more than 2 wipes to perfect a puzzle.

I am genuinely curious cuz in those 2 examples, idk those 2 people nor have spoken a single word. I barely speak in duties, I completed the 2k mentor roulettes barely speaking anything. My only crime was wearing the crown and possibly rocking a really cute glam.

PSA. We are all different. We are NOT the same mentor. Some of us just have that crown cuz it's cute. Some of us just wants the horse. Some of us just really wanted to have the signal that you can message them and ask for help. Some of us are just casual players who don't do endgame content.

Being an arse to mentors makes you a TOXIC ARSE esp if that specific mentor is not doing anything to you.

[Jeeqbit]

Alright, so before the mentor system was around, people were toxic towards me in level 50 and 60 dungeons. Based on what they said, they were clearly veteran players and would have been mentors had the system existed at the time. My point with this is that it's "veteran players" that are more likely to be impatient and want you to do optimal things (like speedruns) in any MMORPG. That was my experience playing other MMORPGs too.

So all the mentor system does is give a lot of veteran players a "symbol" to associate with them being a veteran and thereafter, any negative experience people have, they associate with that symbol, since new players are too clueless to be toxic yet.

I will be honest. After the mentor system released, I did notice that the rude people seemed to be mentors and I thought it was ironic that they were the ones to avoid.

After I qualified as a mentor I noticed the ones with sword icons seemed nicer, so I started wearing that one.

I avoided the Novice Network for years due to its reputation, but when I joined it, I just saw people answering new/returning player questions a lot, and them loving their relationship with mentors in there. Some worlds had inappropriate conversations occasionally or problematic networks, but a lot of the time it was a good place and it was just one or two people ever ruining it (so, a minority).

The novice network honestly transformed my perception of mentors entirely as they are nothing but kind in there and wanting to answer questions and join duties to help people clear.

The only time anyone ever said anything about my mentor status was 2 people around the time that anti-mentor video went viral on YouTube. There was a third person, who could handle healing a big pull, complaining about the fact I was pulling big without asking permission and implying it was because I was a mentor. From my perspective though, new healers have always handled my pulls and I survive long enough for them to heal me. By pulling big I'm teaching them how to heal big pulls and surviving long enough for them to figure out their heal buttons. Plus Duty Support existed then if they were shy of player speedruns.

It is true that in a dungeon, with the mentor icon, you're risking your reputation in there if you fail a simple mechanic. To me, that's fun! If it happens, it happens though and nobody is perfect. Although you could report them for being rude, you could also just accept "yes, I'm a mentor and that looked bad I guess". They didn't have the context that you were AFK but you're probably not going to match with them again anyway so they are yesterday's news.

As for P12S, it's pretty common for raids to be full of mentors since, well, you're more likely to find mentors in endgame content than sprouts. As such, many of the people in prog parties are mentors and of course they wipe to stuff. I do occasionally think to myself "but they're a mentor!" momentarily but then I just accept wiping is part of raiding. It's one thing for them to leave or kick but it's another to actually say something rude, because... you could actually report that. Don't get me wrong, raids are the deep end and being able to take some critcism and feedback at that point is good but what they said wasn't even constructive to be fair.

[Valence]

There is a world of difference between a NN mentor and a crown wearing mentor roulette farmer that a lot of the playerbase doesn't seem to get out of ignorance. Both types don't interact much at all either, but unfortunately the symbol is shared, and one group makes the whole look bad.

[Picothea]

I don't blame the entirety of mentors for the bad ones among them. I've just had some grating experiences with leech-like airplane-mode mentors who put in no effort when a sprout actually needs help.
Recently I had a bad DPS mentor who didn't speak a word during Dzemael Darkhold. He watched the sprout healer die to the All-Seeing Eye's boss mechanics. Then, he began pulling the next mobs (as a DPS) before the healer had even come back to us. I had to start giving advice in his stead because the mentor never wrote a single message.

[dwodmots]

I think it's just that seeing someone with the "I think I'm good enough to teach sprouts how to play"-icon fuck up makes it a lot more memorable.

[Wolwosh]

Yesterday I had a Ninja mentor in the 99 dungeon. Never aoe'd on big pulls and got out dps'ed by the healer 100% even on bosses.
I've seen those situations happen so many times and its a joke amongst my friends. Today we had a "mentor" tank the boss south and cleave the whole alliance kinda experiences.
I don't hate them, but they became kinda cringe like legends.

[TomsYoungerBro]

It is a generalization, but many NA mentors fit the bill. This is due to how the system is structured sadly.

It entices those that want a crown to flex and/or a somewhat rare mount that requires you to do a ton of mentor roulettes. Add in the fact that the requirements require near zero skill to fulfill. This doesn't breed actual mentors who are good at the game, but instead people with fragile egos and those only in it for the rewards. Sure, not every mentor is like this, but many in NA are lmao.

[Jojoya]

It's easier to remember a crown than the player's name. The crown is supposed to mean the player is there to be helpful by sharing game knowledge.

When the player isn't helpful (or is disruptive), the crown is going to stand out in memory and get associated with those negative experiences. It won't matter that it is now a different player. They're still wearing the crown of negative experiences.

The best thing to do is not wear the crown unless you're able to, and will, help above and beyond what it is normal for the content. I've got my crown turned off. The only place it can be seen is in NN chat. It makes it a lot easier to be just another player and doesn't stop me from helping when I can.

[Khryseis_Astra]

I think it's just that seeing someone with the "I think I'm good enough to teach sprouts how to play"-icon fuck up makes it a lot more memorable.

I don’t see the crown as making anyone an expert on every duty in the game… I’m certainly not! But I worked hard to clear all those duties required for the crown (TT mount was my initial goal, not the crown or the horse, which maybe I’ll get some year…). Though I’ve gotten a lot better over the years, I still take a little longer than the average person to grasp certain mechanics. So I got the crown for two reasons… one, I joined an FC with a few good mentors who always took the time to help people figure things out. And two, to be that kind of mentor to help others like myself. So for me, it’s more about being a helper than some kind of “know-it-all.”

[tsuchii]

It is a generalization, but many NA mentors fit the bill. This is due to how the system is structured sadly.

It entices those that want a crown to flex and/or a somewhat rare mount that requires you to do a ton of mentor roulettes. Add in the fact that the requirements require near zero skill to fulfill. This doesn't breed actual mentors who are good at the game, but instead people with fragile egos and those only in it for the rewards. Sure, not every mentor is like this, but many in NA are lmao.

I'm not sure how people think it's a flex. It just means you got 1500 commendations. I got 4600 in my 3 years of playing. I NEVER give them out but receive them anyway. I am a collector so for sure I will take the collectable horse. What ego? You can't even property show off that mounts because other than personal use, mounts are useless in this game. Using my achievement mount or legend title but not saying a word doesn't mean I'm flexing. I just wanted to use the things I worked for.

Generalizing isn't an excuse to be an asshole to a specific player so who's just trying to play in peace, whether you think they're flexing or not. We are just like any other players.

Maybe I don't know enough mentors in NA. I've left the cesspool that is NN ages ago.