Mentors...please!

[LineageRazor]

I'm not one to abandon duty when I find myself in an Extreme Primal for Mentor Roulette. I'll give it the ol' college try, and most of the time we'll pull off a win... eventually.

However, win or lose, I'll usually recommend to the players involved that they use Party Finder instead. There are generally two kinds of folks who queue up for an Extreme Primal using Duty Finder:
- Newbies who are unaware that you can run the content unsynced (and probably just want to complete the thing to finish a quest, or whatever)
- Players who do know you can unsync the content, but want to run it synced for the challenge

BOTH groups benefit more from using Party Finder. The former get their quick win, and the latter get like-minded individuals who are also in it for the challenge of it (and who may run other content with them in the future).

Duty Finder queues for Extreme Primals are OPPRESSIVELY bad, as well, even with Mentor Roulette to help out. If you're satisfied with unsynced, you can fill a party AND get the win in about ten minutes, using Party Finder. Challenge-seekers... well, they're in for a long wait either way, but at least in the end they'll get folks who actually want to be there, if they use Party Finder.

I don't endorse Mentors who abandon duty, no matter what duty they wind up in. However, I do not think that newbies should be using Duty Finder to complete Extreme Primals, and I tell them so. Most are actually grateful, as they were unaware of the unsync option and just want the clear.

[Derio]

The sad thing about mentor roulette is you have to be prepared to set aside 60-90 minutes of your time to 1 roulette due to extreme trials being in there. It only gets worse because extreme trials like Shinryu is in there now which pretty much makes it a 60 minute learning party with a very small chance to clear and worse part no rewards at the end for even trying as a mentor.

The best thing you can get in mentor roulette is a guildheist.

[Reinha]

The sad thing about mentor roulette is you have to be prepared to set aside 60-90 minutes of your time to 1 roulette due to extreme trials being in there. It only gets worse because extreme trials like Shinryu is in there now which pretty much makes it a 60 minute learning party with a very small chance to clear and worse part no rewards at the end for even trying as a mentor.

It's not that extremes are super hard content, they just require the level of preparation and coordination which a random Duty Finder group can't be expected to have. I did Shinryu extreme when it was released and I don't think I could complete it in one lockout with players who go in blind. Has anyone?

If players who get to Shinryu ex need a mentor to explain mechanics because they didn't look anything up in advance, they have underestimated what the content requires of them. People used to watch guides and do this in learning parties phase by phase or with a group who knows how to play together.

I can put aside an hour for something that will result in a clear, like a main scenario dungeon, but I won't do it for people who after one pull appear to be out of their depth with no chance of success. Telling them about the PF, unsync and player-made guides is helpful advice and that's where the responsibility of a mentor ends.

[Barraind]

there should also be a warning when entering your first extreme trial

Before you can queue for.


I came to the conclusion a while ago that Astrope wasnt worth several hundred synced EX trials with people who dont care to learn mechanics, cant speak english, or just want a carry. I'd rather slam my head into a brick wall, same headache, fewer problems.

Theres 0 reason to do that stuff synced through dungeon finder. Synced EX's ends up being an unintentional trap party most of the time, because you cant yoloswag through them like you can with most everything else thats synced (well, you can with the 50's now that they lock at "dont push me here yet" %), and people have no idea theyre going to need to pay attention until they're several pulls in.

[NessaWyvern]

Sorry about that. And you are right you are not entitled to their time. And they are not entitled to get a mentor who would abuse them either. Which is the whole point of this post.

If a mentor abuses you, just report them.
That being said, while annoying, someone leaving early isn't abuse.

[Bongaboi]

I am a licensed Trade Mentor (though I elect to not make my icon visible) so I specialize in helping sprouts with crafting and gathering, so I don't have this problem but I do sympathize with PvE mentors who unsurprisingly have this ongoing dilemma of handling incorrigible sprouts.

[Priya]

Access to a world chat has always been the only reason most people bother obtaining mentor status. SE should create a global chat or even just a regional chat to weed those people out of the NN.

[RokkuEkkusu]

Since we're on the topic of EX trials, might as well add more input.

If the EX Primal in Mentor Roulette is Bismarck, Ravana, Lakshmi, or Susano EX, then I'll stay and give some advice to clear it because their mechanics are more doable with pugs than most other EX trials. In addition, the outgearing of most players should help skip the more problematic mechanics with more damage done (e.g., not seeing Final Liberation from Ravana was the norm while it was synced since patch 3.3 of Heavensward.)

If the EX Primal is Garuda, Ifrit, or Leviathan EX, I might give a benefit of a doubt with their mechanics being reasonable as well, albeit slightly more difficult to the average player than the previous 4 I mentioned earlier.

As far as the other EX Primals goes, forget it. Especially if the trial in questions is Ramuh, Thordan, Sephirot, Nidhogg, Shinryu, or Tsukuyomi EX. 60 minutes might not even be enough to cover all the mechanics and actually get to them.

[Rocond]

A lot of people seem to have an inflated view of what the mentor system is. It's existence is to fill spots in rare duties that aren't popular anymore and to keep the duty finder moving, period. SE understands this and that's why they put a long mount grind to go with it. That's how it fulfills it's purpose. People leave various duties for a variety of reasons all the time regardless of being a mentor or not. I would imagine everyone here has been in a duty that someone left at some point. The only reason you're feeling like it's only mentors leaving these ex trials is because without the mentor system these duties probably wouldn't even pop in the first place most of the time.

[Crescence]

I'm in Elemental (Japanese DC) and it's pure despair when you get thrown into Ifrit or Ramuh or Moogle EX and you get like 5J speakers and 3E speakers and 6 sprouts or so. First you need to face the language barrier, even if you can speak both you'll need to explain in both languages which means double time (and pray that these people actually try to read chats). Then you need to explain the mechs for every job. What tanks need to do. What healers need to do. What not to do. And in worse case, you need to explain the basics. What provoke is. What enmity is. How to heal (idk why but new ppl don't seem to understand the difference between cure and regen idk why). And worst case, equipment problem. low IL. Why it is important to update your equipment before going into contents.

And then of course, you get ppl saying "oh please don't ruin our first time experience. no we don't need spoilers" "forcing your play-style to others is against ToS." "can you just shut up it's my game I decide what to do."

I'm not saying that quitting before even starting is good, but the game really needs to give better education to novices. Mentors can and will teach basics to ppl who want to learn, but it's not something done INSIDE any EX content. So far the Hall of Novice is too useless to even exist.