Toxic Mentor Problem

[Nariel]

You definitely still get it as a new player - though personally I wouldn't feel comfortable about approaching a random person for help, and you can't actually get into the Novice Network without being directly invited to it.

Thanks for the intel ! Its a bit awkward too to ask for an invitation at start I guess, a novice kinda have to hope a mentor have the habit to do it. Wich is risky too because of the risk of invinting a rmt bot. I can't see another way around that said. You can't give the novice the ability to join because of bots without a AI-proof system...

As a thumb rule I let the fights goes to let people learn by themselves and because its easier to give advice and strat info about something he saw rather than something he'll perceive as abstract and if the novice/first timer get some difficulty I start giving advice here and there depending on the problem.

[Stanelis]

I've never had that many issues with mentors. When you do, it does stand out though. I just think this is survivors bias and people remember the bad encounters more than the normal ones.

The vast majority of mentors I've played with these past 4 years are just silent. That's like 90% of them (and we're talking hundreds if not thousands of encounters). The idea that over half of them are bad is an absolutely ridiculous claim. They're just there and do their thing. If you ask they will give advice, but otherwise nada. Every now and then some idiot is an ass and that's that. Every now and then you get a really good mentor with a welcome message and endless patience, and that's that.
All the others know better than to give unsolicited advice and stay quiet (if you're a mentor that cares to help others you know exactly what I'm talking about).

Your mileage may vary depending on your datacenter and probably personal skill as well. But honestly there's no way the situation is as grim as many make it out to be. It's all survivor bias.

That's generally what I do until I notice someone (not) doing domething he really should(n't) be doing or several wipe for the same reason occurs.

Also on some duties some people may say he is knew but in a lot of cases it is better to simply do a blind pull for the player to see the encounter than trying to explain all the shapes of the AOEs he ll have to dodge.

[kidalutz]

Give mentors a cacutar icon.

[Nariel]

Give mentors a cacutar icon.

Love this idea.

[Colt47]

The issue I see with the mentor program is that there is a lack of proper reward for being a mentor and there is a lack of guidelines to enforce with the generation of mentors. The same kind of issue happened with the Judge program for Magic the Gathering back in the old days. Even after multiple iterations of the system, being an mtg judge is still an unpaid position that mostly gets rewarded in promo cards, which the judge then has to go through the trouble of selling.

For mentors, the problem is compounded by the ease at which someone can become a mentor, the lax enforcement of requirements, and the lack of proper reward for making the sacrifice. When someone becomes a mentor, they must sacrifice precious time dedicated to running organized play events to assist strangers who are new to the game, may not have the same exact advancement goals in mind, and may not even play the game beyond just the trial period.

[Arazehl]

In my old mmo, I was a guide and then a senior guide for a few years. Our reward was we got our sub each month for free "if" we met the requirements of the program. One requirement you had to devote a small amount of your game time each week and do what the program was set up to do. We weren't really mentors, but we did try to help anyone who stopped us to ask a question. We couldn't answer questions that gave away any part of a quest or teach them mechanics of how to defeat mobs or bosses, because it was left for the player to discover the how's, when's and why's of the game themselves.

What we did do is go out and interact with the player base on our assigned servers (usually another server that wasn't our home server). We had quests with small rewards to give out to those who participated. We had the ability to give a server wide shout out that started each quest. Quests that the guide could pick from a list that were pre-programmed into the game. All we had to do was execute the quest once the players had found us and gathered around. We would do a little rp around players and click on them to give them the quest which when completed would automatically give them the reward. Players loved the guide program.
Just to be a guide you had to apply and not just anyone could be a guide either. Like only vet players who's played 2 years or more, things like that. Main thing was you must put in the suggested hours each week to remain a guide and get your sub for free. If the program was full, you sat on a waiting list too.

My point is this program SE created was doomed from the start, because any Joe can wear the crown, the requirements are too easy to get passed. There is no supervision or repercussions for poor performance and yes the reward for your time is not there as incentive. They should scrap this program and start over. Give it a new purpose and make it fun for both sides.

[RyuDragnier]

My point is this program SE created was doomed from the start, because any Joe can wear the crown, the requirements are too easy to get passed. There is no supervision or repercussions for poor performance and yes the reward for your time is not there as incentive. They should scrap this program and start over. Give it a new purpose and make it fun for both sides.

IMO the requirements for Mentor should be having all jobs for your role (Tank/Healer/DPS) at level cap before you can unlock it for that role.

[hasana]

When someone becomes a mentor, they must sacrifice precious time dedicated to running organized play events to assist strangers who are new to the game, may not have the same exact advancement goals in mind, and may not even play the game beyond just the trial period.

Don't become a mentor or don't wear the crown if you don't want.
We need only the mentors willing to help not the ones willing to help until they get their shinies.

[Mingqin]

Just remove the mentor system, I learnt when I was new not to bother with mentors they're unhelpful for the most part.

[Colt47]

Don't become a mentor or don't wear the crown if you don't want.
We need only the mentors willing to help not the ones willing to help until they get their shinies.

Yeah, it basically comes down to the fact a community is as good as you make it.