Suggestion: Change the Mentor Icons

[LokiAlpha]

So, there was a recent thread on Reddit discussing what makes a mentor a mentor, and people discussed different ways to try and fix people abusing the mentor system.

So, I was reading through the threads and someone mentioned that they think an easy fix would be to, instead of giving the player a "crown" as their icon they get a watering can. Not only would it match the aesthetics of "nurturing a sprout", it also would get rid of people getting the mentor crown just to have a crown in their name.

Am I the only one that thinks this is a brilliant idea? (Obviously other than the first person who suggested the idea in the first place)

[Karthunk]

Yeap and remove the mount.

[LianaThorne]

A vast amount would rather just see mentorship & the NN removed completely I think.

[Rae88]

A vast amount would rather just see mentorship & the NN removed completely I think.

Pretty much this. Mentors have a really, REALLY bad name in much of the FFXIV twitch community now

[Skivvy]

I think the icon should be even more basic than a little watering can. I'm sure plenty of people would still equip that just because they think it's cute. Also attaching rewards of any kind to being a mentor was a mistake.

[Lexis]

I think they should keep the crown along with the other rewards, but change it to a simple 'Veteran' reward. Once the Veteran status has been unlocked, people could chose to opt in and become actual Mentors (perhaps make the icon a stylized M, much like the RP icon, something simple and easily recognizable).

That way, people flying the Mentor colors would truly be looking to help out new players while those who worked hard towards unlocking their Veteran rewards (and those who seek to unlock them in the future) can keep their goodies and continue to display their crowns.

[SturmChurro]

A vast amount would rather just see mentorship & the NN removed completely I think.

Exactly. I don't think the system can be salvaged.

[Packetdancer]

I think there’s a lot of benefit to the Novice Network concept, especially for folks on the free trial who can’t join an FC (and thus lack that potential avenue to seek help). But I think the mentor system as it is may be unfixable without making massive enough changes you might as well just remove it and start from scratch.

The worst part is that no one—including possibly the devs—seems certain what mentors are supposed to be. Are they just folks who have been around long enough to know the answers to basic game questions? Are they just experienced enough players that they can be trusted to be warm bodies to backfill every bit of content in the game? Are they meant to be expert players who can tell you how to play a job correctly? All of the above?

I feel like they need to really define what a mentor is, and then make the criteria to become one match what they need from the role. Because just earning 1500 commendations is hardly a good basis for some of those things.

[TaleraRistain]

Not really. People would still compete for that. So probably both get rid of any special icon and get rid of the mount. Putting the mount into the system was one of the stupidest things they did with it.

[Jin-]

A vast amount would rather just see mentorship & the NN removed completely I think.

Result of an echo chamber like ARR being shit and PvP being worst thing ever. All are false btw, just enough dummies repeat them it spreads to the minds of ignorant people who then spread it more.

There's far more good in NN than there's bad. I really would love to see any kind of proof that it's a "Barrens chat" 24/7 like many of the haters say so (Reddit). Again sounds like they never really used it to be honest.

Zepla's crappy hate nurturing video is just proof of this mindset. And source, surprise surprise is Twitter.