Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Vanguard Getting Mentoring System
Abalis
Member Posts: 48
All I have to say is: it's about time! *cheers and dances*
Straight from the Dev's mouth:
Ikik wrote (9/1/09):
DISCLAIMER: THIS INFORMATION IS NOT SET IN STONE. IT CAN AND PROBABLY WILL CHANGE BEFORE THIS GOES LIVE.
Ok with that said, here's a little info on the mentoring system so far.
The system should be on test server next week for players to check out. When it's in, you will be able to request another group member become your mentor. Currently there is no restriction and you can ask an entire group to mentor you one by one. When you do the request, they will be presented with a yes/no dialog.
You can not begin mentoring while either player is in combat.
If they decide to mentor you, their level will be reduced to your level for as long as you are grouped with them. If you leave the group, leave the chunk for too long, or log out, their level will be restored and they will stop mentoring. They can not stop mentoring until they are out of combat though, so if you're mid fight, and you disband the group, the mentoring character will not get an immediate bump back up to their real level.
While mentoring the players base attribute points will be reduced to what they would be at the level they're mentoring. Their items will also scale down based on the percentage difference between their real level and their mentoring level. Ex. If you were level 50 and you mentor a level 25 character, your item stats will be reduced by 50%. You will still be able to equip items of your real level though, and will not have to swap out gear to mentor.
Your abilities while mentoring will stay the same. You will still be able to cast spells of your real level, but their effectivness will also be reduced. I'm still working on this reduction, but it will probably be similar to the item reduction.
Experience gained will be the same as if you were really the level you've mentored down to. It will be split normally just like you were 2 players of equal level.
So... If anyone has any questions or cool ideas, just let us know.
Here's the link to the forum thread, if anyone wants to share any feedback/questions with the devs and main community directly.
This is such awesome news, and while it might not draw people in in droves, it should remove a good amount of hesitating from people worried about joining and not being able to find groups...because now everyone will be a potential group member. Time to spread the word that mentoring is on the way, amongst other things. 
Comments
This will be great, and I'm glad they prioritized it over some of the other new stuff. It is especially needed in Vanguard as the game is going to be 3 years old in a few months and the population is heavily skewed towards the higher levels. This will give higher levels the ability to group with newer players at any level and help with whatever they are working on. Furthermore, from a level 55 perspective, there are several dungeons I never completed or even saw as I was leveling up, I'd love to go do those with some new up and coming guildies.
Lets hope they get the balance right. In eq2 mentored down players were extremely overpowered.
Yeah, scaling down gear is going to be interesting. Do they scale down gear modifications? Gear set bonuses? Take away or scale down learned and quested passive abilities? Scale down epics? I'm not sure how that will be done and I was kinda assuming that mentoring players will still be pretty powerful next to the other players at that level.
Looking at EQ2, mentoring players were way way overpowered, as their proc effects and worn effects would not scale. At low-mid levels, its hard to form a standard group in EQ2. Everyone wants a Mythical-equipped max level toon to power their group through everything. EQ2 does have give high level players nice incentive to mentor down and help lower level groups though. Named mobs in EQ2 give AA Exp, and its easy to miss 80% of the content while leveling up. While an incentive system is nice, this compounds the problem of overpowered mentoring players present or at least requested in nearly every group.
I really hope VG doesnt screw this up by taking any remaining challenge out of the lower level group content.
It is kinda inevitable that high lvl players are going to be somewhat high powered when mentored. I mean when you hit max level there is a lot of growth you do based on gear. I mean if you take two max level players one with basic gear and the other with all the best gear in the game the guy with the best gear is gonna be much better then the guy with normal gear. So it is the nature of the situation that if that person is mentoring he is going to be powerful and frankly he should be.
That aside mentoring is a great enhancement!
---
Ethion
I agree entirely with the point you made, as long as the mentoring player isnt TOO overpowered (like they are in EQ2). If adding 1 mentor to a low level group makes the content a literal joke, such as EQ2, then its gone too far. I am hoping they are able to find balance in this, because it really is a good idea. Just one thats hard to get right.
great idea
Vanguard kicks butt
About Freaking Damn time. I was asking for this back in Beta. I asked almost every 3 Months... Might resub now :P
If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude; greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.
Samuel Adams
This will be huge for player enjoyment and community no matter what. Hope they start throwing some advertising behind this soon
I would also like to see the reverse: a lower character gets mentored and he is now the level of the mentoring player. City of Heroes has both, and they both come in handy.
------------
2024: 47 years on the Net.