Mentors...please!

[Rairai]

You missed the whole point in, that's what I am pushing for in this. Regardless of how it is implemented.

[ReiMakoto]

You missed the whole point in, that's what I am pushing for in this. Regardless of how it is implemented.

There's a reply function on the forum, use it or it will be hard to track who you are responding to. Regardless while the system is how it is, there is a penalty for leaving content without an abandon, and if people opt to take that penalty and leave, you are not entitled to that persons time, you can certainly argue that you should be and people should get their mentor status revoked for doing it, but that leaves the system open to abuse from the other end.

[NanaWiloh]

Then don't ready up for the mentor roulette. If you are so worried about getting things like that just don't do it. That's the whole point, you shouldn't be doing it if you are so frightened to get extremes. There are those who want to learn and I see it very often, more often than not.

Not everyone in Europe speaks dutch or French. The British speak English and British players do play on European servers cause after all they are basically apart of Europe.

[Rairai]

Not everyone in Europe speaks dutch or French. The British speak English and British players do play on European servers cause after all they are basically apart of Europe.

I never said anything about this or the different languages and that isn't the issue that is being brought up. I do appreciate your input tho.

[DRKoftheAzure]

Whilst I certainly understand that the mentor system needs rework, mentors atm are thrown into a situation when they get extremes where:

A) People don't listen
B) People don't understand extreme content requires certain knowledge that is not communicated
C) People rejecting advice

With my experience through Party Finder when trying to even clear something, it's generally a combination of those 3. And this is coming from an American.

[DarkMasamune]

Whilst I certainly understand that the mentor system needs rework, mentors atm are thrown into a situation when they get extremes where:

A) People don't listen
B) People don't understand extreme content requires certain knowledge that is not communicated
C) People rejecting advice
and Most importantly D) Being put into a group full of people who do not speak the same language as you. Being on a european data center, if I go into a mentor roullete and am met with a bunch of F and D players who clearly cannot understand english despite having it ticked, I'm gonna eat the penalty at that point if there's new people in the party, no one can reasonably be expected to mentor in that scenario, and honestly, its the most common situation myself and other people on EU I speak to seem to find themself in.

All the above leaves a sour taste in anyones mouth, and despite people saying "well its your job to mentor them", you cannot reasonably expect people to want to stay in those conditions. In the ideal world you would get parties full of sprouts eager to learn, in reality you get a confused mess.

Basically, yep.

I remember once ended up on Thordan EX. Got blamed for being a shitty mentor because even thought I did try to explain the mechanics times and times again, we kept wiping and of course, since I was the mentor in the room, I was blamed for 'not explaining properly'.

Don't get me wrong, they are plenty of dumb and useless mentors out there getting the title just for the heck of it or as a trophy or something, but some of us do try to help out sprouts and newcomers in dungeons, and it dosen't always turn right.

I can't count the numbers of times I ended up with "Don't spoil the mechanics, I want to see for myself", "It's my sub, I can play however I want", "You don't need good gears for a MSQ dungeon/trial, it's unfair" (Yes I got that one a few times, especially on Shinryu), "I know how to play my job" (When playing a BLM casting only Ice on a pseudo-fire based monster, sure buddy) and etc.
Sometimes it's just tiring and I just let it go because hey, if you don't want to listen to someone who's more used to the game than you and truly wants to help, then what's the point.

[Sheli54]

B) People don't understand extreme content requires certain knowledge that is not communicated.

To be honest, I don't even know why they put EX contents in the mentor roulettes. Like you said, it requires knowledge and novices don't understand it (or should I say, don't WANT to understand it).

I often got ARR EX in mentor roulettes, nowaday, it's easy to clear them even with sync lvl. But lvl 60 EX and more ... Ugh. Just once. Only once I got Thordan EX and people in the party were patient and careful with mechanics. I explained after each wipe, and we finally cleared it.

Otherwise, and most of the time, there are only issues, and these are the ones you mentioned.

[Lammas]

To be honest, I don't even know why they put EX contents in the mentor roulettes. Like you said, it requires knowledge and novices don't understand it (or should I say, don't WANT to understand it).

This right here. It's insane that the mentor roulette can spit you into Extremes. When you end up into an EX through duty finder you already know there's going to be trouble and probably more of it than it's worth. Being synced down is definitely an advantage but we are still talking about content that can take people more than a lock-out to properly learn. And now you are here with a bunch of dudes who probably don't know what they are getting into because if they did they'd be using PF to begin with, synced or not.

I should probably mention that I don't run mentor roulette before anyone starts judging me but if I did I'd be leaving extremes too. I guess they are the entryway into harder fights so in a way they do count as teaching sprouts but it's also the entryway to "gloves off" content where you really should get into the habit of doing your own research and pulling your own weight. It is endgame content, not exactly babys first steps. If you are looking for the easy clear then hey, do it unsync.

[Theodric]

It's often a rather thankless task to play the role of a mentor. The system itself is flawed though the game also has some very conflicting rule sets that risk punishing players for offering advice even if it's worded politely if it isn't wanted. Which is quite the predicament, really - people are signing up to engage in group content with complicated mechanics. The sort that can often require an explanation. So if people aren't willing to play ball and listen then it risks being a waste of time for everybody.

I've successfully led some groups through tougher content. In every case, people were willing to listen and learn. Yet that isn't a guarantee and sometimes it's obvious whether a group will succeed or not right from the very beginning.

[Risvertasashi]

So I want to put this out there and it has been mentioned before, but mentors need another re-work. Just because a person gets commendations does not mean you are suitable to be a mentor. I cannot tell you how many countless times I have joined a roulette or party and I see the mentors go. "You should just go in unsynched." or they just leave. There should be a counter for how many times they just up and abandon a duty that way if they do it many times their mentor roulette becomes suspended. There should also be a report mentor function that needs to be reviewed so that if someone is abusive to other players as a mentor it should be taken away.

As someone who enjoys teaching people how to do a fight and learning as we go, it is horrible to see someone join in and say "Just do it unsynched." What great mentor advice! This is a major issue for a healthy community and the future growth of this game. Mentor status should be an honor and a chance to show your skills to help others achieve a great goal! So please FFXIV reword the mentor status again and make it to where being a mentor isn't just something to get a roulette and EXP. Make it for people who want to help.

Playing content unsynced is a style/preference. One that a great many people have. Just because someone does, or doesn't, have mentor status does not change this.