Novice Network or Private Chat Room for mentors?

[StonedUnc]

Hey everyone,

I’ve been playing FFXIV for about a month now, and while I’ve honestly fallen in love with the game, there’s something that’s been bothering me—and I wanted to speak up about it.

One of the big reasons I joined FFXIV was because of its reputation for having a really kind, helpful community. And for the most part, that reputation holds up. But my experience in the Novice Network has been… pretty disappointing.

Almost every time I’ve asked a question, I either get ignored completely, or someone gives a short, rude reply when I try to ask again or mention that I’m not getting help. What makes it more frustrating is that there are mentors actively chatting the whole time—just not about anything helpful. It honestly feels like they’re using the novice chat as their personal group chat, while people like me are just left hanging.

I get that mentors are volunteers and they don’t have to jump on every question instantly—but when there’s constant off-topic talk and actual help requests being overlooked, it kind of defeats the purpose of the chat. It makes new players feel like we’re intruding or not welcome, and that really sucks when you’re just trying to learn and enjoy the game.

I’m not trying to call anyone out or stir up drama. I just think the Novice Network should be more focused on what it was made for—helping new players. FFXIV has an amazing community, and it’d be great if the Novice Chat could reflect that more consistently. A few bad apples shouldn’t be what new players remember about their first month in the game.

[Ath192]

Hey there,
I totally get where you're coming from, and it’s super valid to feel frustrated when the Novice Network doesn’t live up to its purpose. FFXIV’s community is often amazing, but it sounds like your experience in the NN has been a letdown, which sucks when you’re new and just trying to find your footing.
You’re right that mentors are volunteers, but the NN is meant to be a resource for new players, not a social lounge. It’s disheartening when questions get ignored or met with rudeness—especially when you see mentors chatting away about unrelated stuff. That can definitely make it feel like you’re being sidelined, which is the last thing a new player should feel.
Maybe try bringing this up politely in the NN itself when it’s active, like, “Hey, could we focus a bit more on helping with newbie questions?” Sometimes mentors might not realize they’re dominating the chat. You could also seek out specific mentors who seem more engaged or try other channels like Free Company chats, Discord communities, or even the FFXIV subreddit, where plenty of players are eager to help.
It’s awesome that you love the game, and I’m sorry the NN hasn’t matched the community’s usual vibe. Don’t let it discourage you—there are tons of players out there who’d be happy to guide you. Keep enjoying Eorzea, and I hope your next interactions are way more welcoming!

[Jeeqbit]

The Novice Network is pretty good on many worlds, but sometimes it's not. It varies a lot. Common scenarios that negatively impact it:

• A troll resides in there bringing up topics that shouldn't be discussed in the game, or that are way off topic.
• Mentors don't invite enough sprouts to it. They are meant to open Player Search and invite as many sprouts as they can, which dilutes the chat with new player questions to keep mentors focused on them.
• This is compounded by if the server has "Congested" status, where new players cannot make characters there.

Often, Novice Networks are pretty social regardless. This is fine because it shows that it's active and friendly. However, they usually answer questions when a new player interrupts with one, there are just occasionally worlds where this doesn't happen or where someone brings up inappropriate subjects constantly.

As for Sargatanas, I spent some time there several years ago. At first, it got really bad, because a new raid patch released and lots of twitch stream viewer types were in there who didn't know anything about the game, but had got crafter/gatherer mentor status (which is easy to get even as a new player).

A month or so later, it was actually pretty good on Sargatanas. Which is another thing about the Novice Network. Problems in it are usually temporary or seasonal - for example, when a new raid patch comes out there may be a lot of rowdy types in there for the first month on certain worlds, or when a popular twitch streamer plays on a certain world for a few days (they usually don't play the game for very long so it's temporary).

One thing you can actually do is to use the World Visit System to switch worlds (click the aetheryte at Gridania) or log out to the character screen and travel to another Data Center. You may find the Novice Networks on other worlds more pleasant; plus, it's fun to hop around and meet different people in different networks.

[BunnyBrat]

It's hit or miss. The reputation that ffxiv's community has gotten is an exaggeration. I've had mentors lie to me and sabotage me in game. My crime was asking too many questions, even though they kept inviting me to ask them for help and kept inviting me to play with them. There are all types in the game. Best to treat it like real life. Also, I want to add that there's a high chance that the questions you have were answered on forums or on reddit or youtube. It's your best bet if you can't find help in game.

[PercibelTheren]

Yeah, my experience with the NN on Zodiark is basically what you describe as well. I stayed there for a few days and then just left, never accepting the invites to rejoin. It was 70% mentors arguing about endgame/PvP job balance, 30% treated as German general chat. When asked to maybe use a language everyone can understand, they got really rude and angry.

[RavenRaijin]

I'm sorry that's been your experience. As a mentor, I try to respond when I know the subject; however, sometimes I might have to do a bit of research to find the best answer, and that might take me some time. For example, yesterday it took me a while to confirm ways for a player to confirm if DT was installed. I don't like guessing and giving a sprout bad info.
I can not nor will I pretend to speak for every mentor; many mentors on Kraken will happily join a request as long as they don't have something else going on. Kraken is still so new, waiting in queue is a time sync and many find far quicker results via PF, but that's just how Kraken's community has grown at the moment. As friendly as the mentors on Kraken have been; it is saddening to hear that's not always the case. I guess we've been lucky so far. This makes me want to try harder to keep Kraken NN as helpful as possible.

[Valence]

The thing I've learned since I've been on different NNs (since it inception in HW), the biggest enemy of any NN is staleness. Constantly inviting new players to keep it active and focused, and letting new people socialize in it as a safe place for sprouts, are two things that go hand in hand. People that try to stiffen social talk in order to only keep sprout questions, generally ends up in a totally dead silent NN where everybody leaves, as new players are also human beings and as beginners, are looking for friends.

But once those prerequisites are done and your NN has been purged of all trolls, you'll still need to foster a culture of help and encourage your sprouts to carry the flame after having helped them. They come back as mentors because they like the place and want to continue being part of it, and they'll be your most eager mentors when they do.

[Arohk]

The lack of a general chat in this game is very weird for an MMO, where ellse would people talk if not for the novice network which is global.

[Jeeqbit]

The lack of a general chat in this game is very weird for an MMO, where ellse would people talk if not for the novice network which is global.

/shout in populated areas, /fc, /ls1-8, /cwl1-8, /party, /alliance. I talk in all of these, personally, on a regular basis.

[Arohk]

/shout in populated areas, /fc, /ls1-8, /cwl1-8, /party, /alliance. I talk in all of these, personally, on a regular basis.

you clearly dont know what a general chat means.