Do Mentors still have a negative stigma?

[OliverQ]

I read a thread here from a couple years ago that people kind of hate mentors and if they have the mentor crown, it's an automatic bad sign to most people.

Does that stigma still exist? Do most mentors hide their mentor status most of time? Would be nice to be able to help new players, but not sure the mentor system really makes that possible.

[Kaurhz]

There is still a stigma, yes, at least from my experience having seen interactions between some players, but not nearly as aggressive as it used to be. - But that is as much to do with the players' perception and expectation of what a mentor should be doing, as much as it is the mentors themselves. Even with that stigma you will honestly find that more often than not it's OK.

You can help players regardless, but I would just say don't really let it dissuade you -- Ultimately you're acting within the confines of the system, and provided you generally have some awareness of your own performance, and respect encounters and other players' time, alongside keeping an open mind then I think you'll be OK. -- By this, I mean don't go off on sprouts publicly if they have queued for something and you have gotten it as a result, nor assuming that just because you have a crown, therefore, can do no wrong.

[Gokki]

Not really. From my experience is that, if you're a mentor certain Karens will expect absolute perfect play with infinite patience and be immunte to insults and bad play.

So i just remove the crown and mentor them - this way they don't get distracted by the crown like some sort of i-can-be-an-asshole pass.

99% nobody cares and everything is fine, sometimes one karen gets pissy.

[Gember]

It still does, but it depends.

Some Novice Networks out there have some mentors that are over the top and egotistical.

Then you have the Mentor Roulette system to where a lot of mentors just purely spam to get the 2,000 mark mount, and sometimes that does not bring the best out a mentor. Instead of being patient for new players; they would rush through it, not say a word, or leave depending on what instance they were queued into. (Extremes, and MSQ are the big examples here.)

I haven't seen anyone wearing the crown acting like a know-it-all in towns or daily roulettes in a extremely long time.

There are a lot of nice people who do have mentor status, so it really depends on the people you meet. I wouldn't listen to the players who use blanket statements on the players who have mentor status. Everyone has a bad experiences here and there, and it just gets exaggerated on the online forums.

[Jeeqbit]

Does that stigma still exist?

Yes. It always has and always will. But it depends who you ask - it's not a stigma shared by everyone.

Many people are unaware of it, especially:

• newer players who will just interpret the crown as a veteran player
• sprouts/returners who got invited to the Novice Network and were helped by the mentors there and don't want to leave it
• mentors themselves who choose the wear the crown in spite of this so that they can answer questions in the Novice Network and help sprouts in mentor roulettes.

The reality is that it is just veteran players that are usually rude in an MMORPG. They know the most efficient ways to get things done and get impatient when someone is slow. The only difference in this game is those players have a symbol next to their name to identify them, so that symbol gets a bad reputation.

Unfortunately, it only takes a minority of mentors to give a bad reputation to the majority of them.

I've also heard stories where the mentors were actually trying to help, but they just had poor social skills or ways of conveying it and the other person interpreted their help as being toxic.

Do most mentors hide their mentor status most of time?

Some do. I see a fair amount of the ones in the Novice Network don't wear it when I see them in person.

Would be nice to be able to help new players, but not sure the mentor system really makes that possible.

Sure it does! Join the novice network, and answer the questions of sprouts and returners. It's that simple! I've done it for years and helped more people than I can count.

The mentors in there not only answer questions regularly, they also help them clear duties for the MSQ or queue with them if they have anxiety.

[ZiraZ]

Just make sure you actually know all the fights needed to unlock it and you didn't shortcut unsync them or else you will get mentorlol'd, saw it happen all the time when I was farming the mentor mount in duties like Striking Tree Extreme, clueless mentors running around like headless chickens getting laughed at.
But if you know what you're doing and help people, they will see you as an asset and will like you being there.

[Equitable_Remedy]

I read a thread here from a couple years ago that people kind of hate mentors and if they have the mentor crown, it's an automatic bad sign to most people.

Does that stigma still exist? Do most mentors hide their mentor status most of time? Would be nice to be able to help new players, but not sure the mentor system really makes that possible.

It's 99% a meme - don't take it too seriously.

[PyurBlue]

I wear the crown for its intended purpose and have never received negative comments. Most new players either don't know what it means or see it as a sign that the wearer is willing to help once they've been introduced to NN. From my experience the mentor system works as it is supposed to, many newer players are sad to leave. While being a mentor isn't necessary if you want to help others, having access to NN makes it much easier to help more people and to help them over the course of their journey rather than once or twice during a chance meeting.

There are some people that look down on the mentor system, and the occasional bad mentor. I don't pay any mind to the former and the latter is handled by other mentors.

[Gokki]

I wear the crown for its intended purpose and have never received negative comments. Most new players either don't know what it means or see it as a sign that the wearer is willing to help once they've been introduced to NN. From my experience the mentor system works as it is supposed to, many newer players are sad to leave. While being a mentor isn't necessary if you want to help others, having access to NN makes it much easier to help more people and to help them over the course of their journey rather than once or twice during a chance meeting.

There are some people that look down on the mentor system, and the occasional bad mentor. I don't pay any mind to the former and the latter is handled by other mentors.

100% agree.

[Zeastria]

Yes it has bad reputations, and will always have.
This is because bad experiences are always remembered, the good ones are forgotten.
You can hide the crown and have access to NN chat, hiding it does not prevent you from helping new players at all.
Or you can just wear it and ignore the bad reputation it has