It's time to talk about the mentor tag...

[Urud.4925]

I've always seen the apple tag like a "call for help", although you're right, being a Mentor Tag it should be popped-out by a mentor. But we already have a tab Mentor in LFG, for more "professional mentors". I've seen very rarely mentor tags used unnecessarily. They are helpful to call for more people for small events, and since they are free, they are not used to show off.On the contrary I often see (most of the times on the starting maps indeed) comm tags up and no one around. I cross the map, just to find a single player wandering with his tag. That's bothering. So I like your tag down request.

Real mentors do a great and important job for the game. But I wouldn't like a "social war" with feedback, likes, thumbs up, even in-game.

[Lanhelin.3480]

I use the Mentor badge quite frequently to indicate where something is going on (guild bounty npcs, events for dailies, aso) or to gather a few people before something starts or before starting something, like e.g. legendary bounties. It also is a lot easier to locate a Mentor because Commanders aren't visible in map-chat automatically, they always have to add that their tag is active and what color it has (if there are more than 1 cdrs on the same map).

I could think of different Mentor badge colors for people who want to do specific mentoring tasks but along with a badge-legend visible to all players, e.g.default: nothing specificgreen: ask me something (f2p players can whisper to a player with this badge too)blue: indicates an event

or something like that.

[artemis.6781]

Indeed, I never understood why in map chat it doesn't specify "commander" but it does "mentor".

[Urud.4925]

@Lanhelin.3480 said:I could think of different Mentor badge colors for people who want to do specific mentoring tasks but along with a badge-legend visible to all players, e.g.default: nothing specificgreen: ask me something (f2p players can whisper to a player with this badge too)blue: indicates an event

or something like that.This could be a good idea. But... blue apples? Let's make it yellow. Or brown, the rotten apple.

[Menadena.7482]

Or do colours with commander tags ....

[Lexi.1398]

Mentor tag serves a purpose, it's the second most powerful tool you have to form group events (first most = commander tag). Important for many things, including daily event completer, HoT metas (vb daytime, ab pylons, td outposts, the big bosses get done by squads - and even then, mentor tag at night time vb), world bosses, treasure mushroom, PoF metas, champ bandits, orr temples, tequatl turret defense, the list goes on, its a whole BUNCH of things its useful for.

I don't see any reason why the only mentors should be "true" mentors other than to give people who are genuinely willing to help the community something to feed their egos. Now, do i think we need a genuine mentor system? Sure, but i don't think it should come at the cost of currnet mentor tag - why not both as opposed to one or the other?

Idk how to form a genuine mentor system, but i think it shouldn't need to be mastery locked. An alternative system alltogether wouldn't effect peoeples desire for commander tags either.

Also im not in favour of a favour system with rewards - too abusable.Theres no such thing as overcrowding starter maps, but there is such a thing as starter maps having too few players. Most people are delighted to see a lot of players working together to do events - its part of what made me stay in the game, the lack of it is why i see my friends leave other games, and the extra chatter often fills otherwise barren starter map chats (only occupied by guild ads and newbs with questions).

[Voltekka.2375]

I honestly do not think people should be rewarded for helping others. Do you want to help? Do it. GW2 has always been a rather helpful community, at least as far as I can remember. The favor system would be greatly abused.

[Turkeyspit.3965]

@"Menadena.7482" said:I wish they would just put a dot on the map for everyone, which I have seen done elsewhere. This would accomplish two things.

Tags would be less a status symbol since everyone would have a marker.

Trying to find an event? Just look at the map for where you see a bunch of dots in the same place that is not a town or such.

Not sure if this is what you meant, but I think the solution is to allow people who click on your name in chat to see your location on the map. That would make it very easy for anyone asking for help about anything. I don't know if it's technologically possible, but it would sure be nice.

I've only been playing for a few months, but I'm still 90% unsure about any location someone mentions in chat that doesn't include a waypoint link.

Chat: " [insert name] Champ is up if anyone wants to help!"Me: "I'll help but where?"

[Menadena.7482]

@Turkeyspit.3965 said:

@"Menadena.7482" said:I wish they would just put a dot on the map for everyone, which I have seen done elsewhere. This would accomplish two things.

Tags would be less a status symbol since everyone would have a marker.

Trying to find an event? Just look at the map for where you see a bunch of dots in the same place that is not a town or such.

Not sure if this is what you meant, but I think the solution is to allow people who click on your name in chat to see your location on the map. That would make it very easy for anyone asking for help about anything. I don't know if it's technologically possible, but it would sure be nice.

I've only been playing for a few months, but I'm still 90% unsure about any location someone mentions in chat that doesn't include a waypoint link.

Chat: " [insert name] Champ is up if anyone wants to help!"Me: "I'll help but where?"

Maybe combine the ideas? I still love having a dot for everyone .... you can tell at a glance on a map (especially if you are used to it) what events are up because if you see a lot of dots at one location (especially if someone popped a tag) there is probably something going on there.

[Turkeyspit.3965]

@Menadena.7482 said:

@Turkeyspit.3965 said:

@Menadena.7482 said:I wish they would just put a dot on the map for everyone, which I have seen done elsewhere. This would accomplish two things.

Tags would be less a status symbol since everyone would have a marker.

Trying to find an event? Just look at the map for where you see a bunch of dots in the same place that is not a town or such.

Not sure if this is what you meant, but I think the solution is to allow people who click on your name in chat to see your location on the map. That would make it very easy for anyone asking for help about anything. I don't know if it's technologically possible, but it would sure be nice.

I've only been playing for a few months, but I'm still 90% unsure about any location someone mentions in chat that doesn't include a waypoint link.

Chat: " [insert name] Champ is up if anyone wants to help!"Me: "I'll help but where?"

Maybe combine the ideas? I still love having a dot for everyone .... you can tell at a glance on a map (especially if you are used to it) what events are up because if you see a lot of dots at one location (especially if someone popped a tag) there is probably something going on there.

That's a good point, especially in zones like HoT and PoF..but more HoT - where you need help for just about everything, from hero point nodes to events.

[kurumufan.2389]

@"Lexi.1398" said:Mentor tag serves a purpose, it's the second most powerful tool you have to form group events (first most = commander tag). Important for many things, including daily event completer, HoT metas (vb daytime, ab pylons, td outposts, the big bosses get done by squads - and even then, mentor tag at night time vb), world bosses, treasure mushroom, PoF metas, champ bandits, orr temples, tequatl turret defense, the list goes on, its a whole BUNCH of things its useful for.

I do not suggest that we remove a free tag. My suggestion is that we separate the "mentoring" from the free to obtain tag and give mentors a more defined role in this game. It's been done in many games before so I don't see why it wouldn't work in GW2. We already have an incredibly helpful and friendly community :)

[MattDu.7123]

post removed

[Biff.5312]

The only issue I've ever run into is that occasionally I see 'mentors' call people to an event and then they just afk and watch everyone else complete the event for them. Frankly it's uncommon enough and trivial enough that I don't care. For the most part, the tags are a nice way to see 'where the action is', for those who care. I usually ignore them personally. Oh - one complaint though - when you say "ON MY TAG" you require players to look all over the map trying to spot you. Link the WP. Don't be so lazy.

[Menadena.7482]

Yeah, 'on my tag' has to be the most useless /map chat I have ever seen .... and I am counting spam chats in that. Sometime I should reply with 'which one' or something. I know they think it helps but it does not: link a nearby WP.

[Kylden Ar.3724]

@"kurumufan.2389" said:

• You can not 'tag down' as a commander meaning that you will have to leave that squad to get rid of your tag. Please add a "Tag Down" option in the squad UI.

I like and agree with this idea, providing that it is only functional/enabled as long as you have no more than 5 total in the squad to revert back to a party.

[Menadena.7482]

@Kylden Ar.3724 said:

@"kurumufan.2389" said:

• You can not 'tag down' as a commander meaning that you will have to leave that squad to get rid of your tag. Please add a "Tag Down" option in the squad UI.

I like and agree with this idea, providing that it is only functional/enabled as long as you have no more than 5 total in the squad to revert back to a party.

It used to be that you could be tagged up and in a party at the same time. I loved this for some situations (paging teq) where you want no more than 5 people in each squad but you also want to avoid people deadheading it. It also let the commander join whatever squad needed the most help.

[Urud.4925]

@"kurumufan.2389" said:I do not suggest that we remove a free tag. My suggestion is that we separate the "mentoring" from the free to obtain tag and give mentors a more defined role in this game. It's been done in many games before so I don't see why it wouldn't work in GW2. We already have an incredibly helpful and friendly community :)I can't talk about all the MMOs, but in some of them this mentor system has been abused by players. For example in Aion it was common to play with 2 accounts (it's still allowed) and mentor yourself (well another character in your second account) to gain the rewards for mentoring (some coins that you could use to buy wings, skins, etc.). Here we could ask a friend, instead of using 2 accounts. That mentoring has been removed a couple of years ago, when the publisher realized it.

Maybe in some other MMO it worked, but if you put some reward (even 1 AP, or a simple title "The Mentor") I'm pretty sure that someone would find a way to cheat to get it. Even if she/he has absolutely no interest in helping other real players (so the reward would be pointless for the real mentors anyway).The idea to reward mentors is fine, but we live in the real world... it cannot work. Just do it for yourself, if you like to help other people.

However, adding a new icon ONLY for real mentors, that you can eventually buy (just to distinguish it from the current apple tag), but without introducing rewards/ranks/titles for using it, it might work.