I suggest a tutor/mentor program

[Bengosha]

I've browsed the forums, I have searched high and low and found only mention of a system that is made to help new players. I wish to remedy that but I will need support.

A little about myself and why I would like to start this. When I started playing here, my friend that recruited me had abandoned me to learnt he game on my own. I spent months trying to farm mods and rank up gear in the mess that was updates 6, 7 and 8. Soon after I jumped clan to clan looking for helpful people to show me what I was doing wrong and point me in the right direction. Having failed, I learned the hard way and started taking in people on similar searches. I show them around, teach them the mechanics of the game and help them become someone that can do for others what I've done for them. All without letting them get lazy or holding their hand through missions. 

I want more people that do such kindness for others to be noticed, and while a reward isn't needed my idea does come with perks.

To start, an application process. Those wanting to be mentors need to prove they know what they are talking about. Where to locate information both in game and outside. This will weed out those wanting to be in the program for the perks (discussed later). Each month, much like the design council, new members can be selected. For this I feel previous mentors should be able to review applications and vote.

Those that make it through the culling, and go on to become mentors, get an emblem to be worn on the shoulder, a badge in the profile and/or a small detail added to their name in the chat listing. Any of the three, I feel, would suffice. This unique mark tells people at a glance who is a mentor, no matter where they go looking.

Proposed perks of a mentor, any number of them could apply even if none at all.

• Small exp boost for a select player being mentored, restricted to lower than mastery 5.
• 1 time overshield at the start of the mission for all team mates

(Design council input is greatly appreciated for the perks)

While the selection process can be long and detailed, a removal of mentor option needs to exist. So ground for dismissal from the program are as follows;

• Abuse of the program for selfish means including but not limited to refusal to help others
• Being banned or having any infractions against them
• Lack of activity (removal after a set number of day of absence from the game)

The key to this is finding people that genuinely enjoy helping others and showing them that these actions do not go unnoticed. In a game that acknowledges the lack of beginner assistance, the veterans are the beginner assistance. Allow us to prove it.

Edit - Removed the perk of a monthly platinum reward suggestion

Edited October 7, 2016 by Bengosha

[Varacal]

2 minutes ago, Bengosha said:

Small monthly platinum reward as a sort of thanks

no, this would only be abused by people using alts, if people say they can make the plat untradable, they could still gift people with it

 

and we already have that kind of program, its called Guides of the Lotus

[Bengosha]

That was a friends input as I wrote this. I knew it was a fail as soon as he told me but I wanted to prove that point.

Edited October 7, 2016 by Bengosha

[NativeKiller]

I saw this kind of system in a Korean MMORPG, "helping out newcomers for profit"

 

It soon spiraled into something like a pyramid scheme.

 

That being said, I saw some people on the forum starting a campaign to help out newcomers.

 

I think that would be the better direction to take. :)

Edited October 7, 2016 by NativeKiller

[Bengosha]

Edited to remove the platinum bit. It isn't the focus here. 

[Extroah]

This system was used in a Game i used to play waay back (Flyff) where you could become a Mentor for a chosen Person after finishing a required Quest. Both Persons would get small rewards, as soon as the new/learning Person reaches certain Levels, that only said People can get. I don't think that this could be abused in Warframe as you could just make it that you can't have a Mentor that is using the same IP(range)/Mac as you, eliminating alts.

I'd be up for it, would probably be quite fun.

Edited October 7, 2016 by Extroah

[Bengosha]

I like that concept, and I agree it would be a much cleaner rewards system.

[Madame_Werewolf]

Uuuh... there are clans for this...

[Bengosha]

I am well aware, but this doesn't tie someone down to a clan to get that kind of help. This is short term help, even if its just to answer a few questions without run around or "google it". While the clans that help people are great and I like that they are out there, there are still people looking for answers out there and in need of assistance. This allows those people to quickly get what they need in that regard and move on.

[Orbixal]

22 minutes ago, Varacal said:

no, this would only be abused by people using alts, if people say they can make the plat untradable, they could still gift people with it

 

and we already have that kind of program, its called Guides of the Lotus

You cannot gift items with starter plat.

[Bengosha]

25 minutes ago, Varacal said:

and we already have that kind of program, its called Guides of the Lotus

The guides, I've noticed, tend to only moderate chat and answer the heavily repeated questions and even then it's mostly copy and paste replies. Mentors are the more personal one on one help.

[Extroah]

The way i would like to see it, and i think OP meant it that way too, as i somehow touched above and just to clarify some confusion as it seems :

Player A (MR22 for example) requests to be Player B's (MR0-5) Mentor, Player B accepts the request.

Player B reaches MR5 with Player A's help. Player A gets a reward per Mail System for his help, Player B gets 1-day Affinity Boosters for reaching a 'Milestone'.

Player B gets the "Sword Mastery 1" Achievement. Player A and Player B get 1-day Resource-Drop Boosters.

If Player B reaches MR20 he can then himself beecome a Mentor, cycle repeats itself.

 

[Bengosha]

1 minute ago, Extroah said:

The way i would like to see it, and i think OP meant it that way too, as i somehow touched above and just to clarify some confusion as it seems :

Player A (MR22 for example) requests to be Player B's (MR0-5) Mentor, Player B accepts the request.

Player B reaches MR5 with Player A's help. Player A gets a reward per Mail System for his help, Player B gets 1-day Affinity Boosters for reaching a 'Milestone'.

Player B gets the "Sword Mastery 1" Achievement. Player A and Player B get 1-day Resource-Drop Boosters.

If Player B reaches MR20 he can then himself beecome a Mentor, cycle repeats itself.

 

Thank you for putting it another way, even with the additions. I hope others can understand as well.

[(PSN)IMainTheMains]

The guides of the lotus program is largely similar to the original post-  Also while I appreciate the idea, I feel the need to point out that guiding should always come before moderating for the senior guides. (juniors can't moderate) Guides shouldn't have a problem helping people, whether in mission or not, 1 on 1 or as a group etc. 

There was an unofficial Mentor thread at one point, though. Think it kinda got forgotten about due to the threads inactivity.

[TwinkleDaydreamer]

I like the idea, I really do. But there would be problem with players charging platinum for mentoring. 

There's a game called Dragon Nest that has already utilized this and it caused many problems. Players charging 50k gold(in game currency) for 1 day of mentoring. 

If DE finds a way to prevent this then I'm all for it. 

[Xsoskeleton]

What i kinda thought is not making another program but rather, for the guides to do something like host a guiding squad, like he can guide 1-3 other newbs in game mission, giving tips on the run, not being the one who has to finish the mission, but backing them up with infos and things about the mission objective, and providing some support in mission, giving tips to  maximizing frame skill usage at the best situation, basically guiding the newbs.

As you can see also on some region, the low level missions is quite empty (like in asia region for example), making the newer player strive hard to do missions especially the one with multiple objective to hold together such as interception (also interception in earth is wide), making the newb thinks it's impossible to do stuff.

And then in the recruiting channel, not much ppl hosting things except grinding, farming, or raids, there's only a little few ppl who recruits for other stuff, probably junction tasks, or fragment hunt (which part of it also junction task). There only a few ppl promotes their clan and in splitseconds their clan promotion chat is gone topped over. There almost no newbs recruiting there, even if there's some they won't get respond, their chat got drowned in sea of texts. Making them resort to ask for help in region chat, but ppl in region tends to tell them not to recruit in region (except another newbie who also have similar task to do), even the guides of the lotus told them with that too (not that a bad thing, it's the rule, but, it kinda feels like they dont have place where they belong). Even i tried once to offer help for beating Jordas Golem (quest end / atlas farm) when i find a quicker way to do that run and i spend my whole day repeating that cuz a lot of ppl (not totally newb cuz it's in eris but still, a lot of newer player needs help and guidance) asked for help to beat jordas golem in recruiting but they barely gets respond and their message already stamped over by other ppl recruiting for usual things.

As for clans, i want clans can have additional role like guide / helper, but for just the clan itself, especially for the 2 biggest clan size/member capacity. Make them have distinguished color in clan chat (as opposed to the current clan/alliance chat which is all green) like for example guide/helper with blue color, and someone with ruler privilege in the clan have another different color. So clan members can distinguish which one capable of helping/guiding, even if in the chat they kinda ignored, people who have that guide/helper role can be asked directly (so it's like being Guides of The Lotus, but in smaller scale (clan)).

Well it's not that i oppose the idea of new guide/mentor program but that idea is what basically the idea behind Guides of the Lotus. So rather than actually making new stuff, it's better to put more effort to what already exists. Like maybe have the guides host a guidance squad for an hour or two, guiding newbs to basic stuff, also helping them at some point, backing them up in mission.