Make 'Mentor' status reportable

[Laerune]

Its SE's fault, they need to be open about what a mentor must do during a mentor roulette and what the consequences if said mentor does not follow this rule and they need to enforce it. I have met alot of mentors who were very rude, did not want to teach anything to a newcomer, rushed those newcomers and bullied some of them to quit the dungeon, so his friends can join it for a speed run. Those type of players have been reported many times, but still retain their mentor status, which means that either SE:

1. SE thinks what they did, does not justify removing their mentor status.
2. They do not care and lets this be a situtation that should be resolved between the players themselves.

I think the crown symbol and a flyiing 2-seater mount was a big mistake aswell. The crown will attract players that want to use the symbol as a status that they are more elite then those without a symbol and the mount will only encourage players to finish a mentor roulette as fast possible, this means that:

- They will push the newcomers to finish a dungeon as fast possible, so they can queue for the next one.
- Since the newcomers will go on a speed run, they will most likely not learn anything and be kicked if they are too slow.
- Players will insta-leave when they get non-guildhest, especially when they get put into a Extreme-trial or a dungeon that takes longer then 20 minutes to be cleared.

SE's developers are not idiots, they probably knew that this would happen, which gives me the idea that they do not care about the mentors who are not mentors in a mentor roulette.

[Seig345]

I'm disappointed to see this is such an issue. I recently came back to the game and learned about the mentor system by spotting that crown, and then finding the mentor npc and learning about the requirements.

I typically find myself too nervous to tank higher level content, and would intentionally queue for early content in order to help new players and potentially replace a missing tank, and seeing that there was a system with a roulette specifically to help sprouts appealed to me.

Then I see on the forums that there is a mount reward and that people are flouting the spirit behind the mentor system just to get it. I may not be surprised, but I'm still disappointed, and perhaps a little concerned that the abuse will lead to the system's abolishment.

[cammi]

Meanwhile in Japan players are using it as it was attended. Why are we as a player base so greedy and selfish?

[Laerune]

Meanwhile in Japan players are using it as it was attended. Why are we as a player base so greedy and selfish?

Japan is a collectivist culture, whereas the Western is more individualistic. The NA/EU/AUS communites are made of players of different cultures, religions, values etc, but the Japanese community is mostly only made out of Japanese players who have the same culture, religion, values.

This makes it alot easier to agree on the way the community should play toghter.

EDIT: here is a little example from a article.

Japanese culture is focused on groups and communities. Satisfaction and pride is meant to be found within the group you belong to. In the United States, people tend to find satisfaction in their own accomplishments, and focus on their own aspirations. An example of this is that in Japanese business culture, employees tend to work for one company for their entire lives. Company loyalty is valued, and promotions are often given on a seniority basis. In America, people focus on their careers independent from the companies they work for, and will often change companies a number of times throughout their professional lives. Promotions are supposed to be given on a basis of merit. In Japan, this can also influence a mindset of how people live in society. People tend to follow rules more seriously, from something as simple as trying not to litter - which makes big cities like Tokyo surprisingly clean.

[Zojha]

Why are we as a player base so greedy and selfish?

Because Adam Smith said that's precisely what we should be in order to create the maximum amount of welfare possible - maximize your own utility and the invisible hand will do the rest.

And then things got more complicated with all the ifs and buts and people phased out.

[Serilda]

Um, I'm a mentor who didn't get the status through running dungeons. I love hanging out in the mentor channel and giving advice, and helping strangers whenever I'm in the cities and they see me standing around with a crown. I've met lots of cool newbies that way and my server is pretty dead so it helps me reach out and talk to new players. I would be sort of concerned if my status was stripped because I didn't offer deep insight into tank mechanics in a hard fight one day just because someone assumed I had got there via mentor roulette and wasn't doing 'my job' properly. Furthermore, many players don't speak the language everyone presumes is the dominant one (here, English). What if they're say, a Spanish player who can communicate fine to do their job but not to explain how to tank Shiva when they don't main tank in the first place? It's unfair and presumptuous to assume everyone else speaks your language fluently.

I agree that encouraging speedruns of mentor roulette for a reward was silly. There should be a popup warning screen saying 'you're joining this roulette as a mentor, so you should focus on helping with the clear' or something rather than tempting people to charge through the content for a mount reward they can show off. But I don't even join mentor roulettes because I'm not confident in knowing every combat job well enough to give advanced strategy pointers in a language which isn't my first, and I'd be upset if people thought that meant I couldn't mentor people ever. Maybe only show the crown in a duty if you specifically join via the roulette?

[LadyVal]

-snip-

Honestly I don't think your mentor title would be at risk. There's a large difference between a mentor that says "Sorry, I actually don't know the answer to your question" (if it's super specific) or "Sorry, I actually don't know this particular mechanic that in-depth as a healer/tank/DPS," or even a tank that says "No habla espanol" and a tank that just says "Idk just hurry up" when asked by someone "Anything I should know for this boss?"

I think OP meant more along the lines of people who blatantly refuse help (which I've seen before) or information, not so much the mentors who don't know everything about everything. Even if you don't know how to tank Shiva, you still know some mechanics to look out for and you can say "Most tanks I've run with tank her on the north edge, facing the edge of the arena." If you have good intention and you make a genuine effort, even if the effort isn't perfect, people notice that and probably won't want to put your head on the chopping block. Plus, you can always tell people too, "Hey my mentor icon actually is a crafter/PvP icon so I don't have a ton of experience with this mechanic, but here's what I do know about it..."

[Kietsu]

Meanwhile in Japan players are using it as it was attended. Why are we as a player base so greedy and selfish?

First player to get the mount by grinding (and abusing) the roulette was Japanese.

[Canadane]

Are you asking for tips in your dungeons? Or are you expecting unsolicited advice?
Even new players sometimes like to learn as they go.

Kylki, you make it sound like you expect mentors to know everything and that they must supply this information to you in advance. Nothing regarding the mentor system makes one am expert. They're just going to be somewhat more familiar with the subject. Almost every dungeon cam be summed up as "kill the things, don't stand in colours.". If there's a specific mechanic you encounter and we're unsure of, all you gotta do is ask! Even if the mentor is unsure of an answer, that isn't a crime.

Please stop holding mentors on this lifted pedestal. I mean I'm one myself and while I love to give answers where I can, it's strange to see how dependant others can get on this.

[Letbluevannback]

Reporting mentors is harsh and unnecessary.

The quickest solution is to make the Mentor system the way it was in XI: without rewards and without requirements. That way you can be sure that only those who want to be mentors will be mentors.

Put the reward and roulette into something else, easy fix.