Mentor role in instances

[TomTom1968]

I like what SE did when they introduced the daily roulette. The one who helps has an incentive to do so (GIL, EXP and tomes) and people who actually need to enter an instance for character progression need to wait less and have a better chance to beat it.

But I also know that some don’t do it to help but to get their tomes quicker and sometimes these people rush groups and act aggressive if the run is not quickly and smooth.

I also heard from people I met in dungeons via DF that they are afraid to enter certain dungeons because of their experiences with toxic people.

So how about introducing a Mentor role?

When you enter DF (normal instances and Duty roulette), you check a checkbox and apply for a Mentor role. People who need help with new dungeons could search for instances where a Mentor is available. The search might take longer but they can be sure there is somebody there to help if they have questions. The checkbox could be placed under the already existing one where you include ongoing instances in your search.

Shy and inexperienced people would have the Safety that there actually is somebody who will help them explaining at least the Strategy and additionally maybe even providing useful hints about skills and how to play a class better.

The Mentor would, in opposite to Duty Roulette, not only go there to get his Myth tomes quickly but to actually really help people. I know the helpful guys are out there, seen them, been one of them.

As an incentive for the Mentor I suggest that he gets, independent from the actual votes in the dungeons, an extra commendation for being helpful. Maybe double the votes he gets from the rest of the party as a bonus. I leave it up for discussion whether there should be even more incentives like more GIL or EXP on runs below Level 50 and a few tomes for Level 50 runs.

My stand is that if you want to help others, you do not need extra incentive because the good feeling that you have when you know others had a good time thanks to your help should be enough.

[Sammich]

I'd love to see this implemented I feel terrible for people who are just learning their classes and feel like they can't ask questions or admit that they're new because the party might react badly. I guess it's what the duty roulette was supposed to do, but as you said it's frequently just used to get seals and tomes.

[Pence]

Most of the time I run with new people they fail to say they don't know the battles, or what to do. Their own lack of communication makes for a bad experience for everyone. There are already options outside of DR/DF available, which they should look into using.

Your 'mentor' system sounds like a lot of hand holding and sheltering them from the actual population. Also; wouldn't you think giving extra items for running 'mentor' would make everyone run as it? Regardless of their intention to help or not.

[TomTom1968]

[...]Most of the time I run with new people they fail to say they don't know the battles, or what to do.[...]

I have seen it on my own and heard from players from my FC as well that when new players say they are new, others are leaving the dungeon because they don't want the run to be longer than usual.

[...]Your 'mentor' system sounds like a lot of hand holding and sheltering them from the actual population. Also; wouldn't you think giving extra items for running 'mentor' would make everyone run as it? Regardless of their intention to help or not.[...]

That's why my approach would be to keep the incentives on a low and very basic level to weed out those who want to do it only for their own benefit. Commendations only boost the time you need to get your golden Magitek. I doubt that is as much an incentive as the giveway of extra tomes.

[Radxen]

I'd do it for sure, I've entered instances where players don't know what they're supposed to do and I can tell they've had bad experiences since they keep apologizing for everything even if it's not really their fault.
I tend to enjoy those runs and just relax a bit and just go slowly, helping out new players can be a fun part of the game too, if you let it, and you can make some great friends who will get better over time and run instances with you.

[NovaUltimatum]

Rewarding a mentor with in-game items would lead to a nasty effect where players who don't care for the newbies start taking the role just for the benefits.

One potential issue if you implemented it via just the duty finder would be players who had a good experience with a mentor in a dungeon who want to continue communication but are then separated due to being on different servers. It might just be better to include a mentor programme the way FFXI did it (keep them just for meeting outside of instances):

What is a Mentor?

Mentors are experienced adventurers who have registered with the Adventurers' Mutual Aid Network (A.M.A.N.), a non-governmental organization founded by adventurers and merchants. These mentors help and advise new adventurers as well as any others in need of assistance throughout Vana'diel.
The Mentor Program was created as a means for players to help one another. Mentors are regular players who offer answers and advice on gameplay to other players. They are neither representatives nor employees of Square Enix, and Square Enix holds no authority or governance over the words or actions of players designated as mentors. As such, we ask that players who seek assistance from mentors interact with them at their own discretion and risk.
It is your responsibility to decide whether to become a mentor or use the Mentor Program. You are advised that Square Enix provides mentors with no advantages or compensation of any kind. By serving as a mentor or using the Mentor Program, you are deemed to have understood and accepted these conditions.

[Once You've Found a Mentor]
Players with mentor icons beside their names are active mentors who are ready to answer questions at any time. Feel free to approach them whenever you have a problem.

[Notes on Consulting Mentors]
Mentors are experienced players who have volunteered to share their knowledge with others. When consulting them, please remember that they are regular adventurers just like everybody else. If one does not have the answer to your question, you can ask him or her to help you find the answer, or simply look for another mentor.

[ http://www.playonline.com/comnewsus/200404228190.html ]

[Zfz]

I fire up the Party Finder and look for those listing that says newcomer welcome, practice run, etc and join those instead. IMO the platform is there, it just takes a little bit of courage to make that step and put up a listing and noting that it's for learning the ropes.

I was surprised how many times I join those type of dungeons and that 3/4 of us were there just to help and give advice. Although mostly those parties already have a friend tagging alone, and most times it's the friend as the mentor, they just need 1 or 2 more others to fill in. So helping out these runs usually isn't what some people might think. It'd be fine even if you don't talk much, but just provide your services and go along with the mentor's explanations and demonstrations etc.

In my opinion I'm already doing this mentoring on currently available platforms. I don't get commendations out of it nor tomestones, but I wasn't in it for those things anyway.

[TomTom1968]

^^ agreed. I see it the same way as you but not everybody is like that so a little incentive like extra commendation can't hurt to get more people into it. But I have to say again, the real incentive should be the help and that is the difference between Roulette and Mentor bonus. Roulette is mainly chosen because of the tomes, GIL and EXP bonus. A Mentor system would be more in the direction of really trying to help others. Party finder is indeed a good tool for unexperienced players but I am sure the vast majority uses DF because it is quicker to register and more common.

[Razzle]

Thing is that the tome rushers will just tick the 'Mentor Role' checkbox to get faster que... Hence their nickname tome rushers lol

It's kind of sad how this game bends (commendation system comes to mind) for people to not treat each other badly. It's sad that people need those systems in place to not behave like total <insert bad thing here>.

If people are not nice, they are just not nice, no matter what SE add won't change that sadly.