Are you friendly and nice? Do you like helping newcomers in WoW? Then you could soon become a mentor and be easily recognized.
For newcomers, World of Warcraft can be quite difficult and simply confusing. The tutorials are rather sparse, and fresh players are quickly overwhelmed by the variety and possibilities while at the same time lacking a clear direction. How good would it be if one could simply turn to experienced players who can help in case of doubt. This will be possible in Shadowlands, as experienced players can take on the role of mentors there.
What kind of system is this? With Shadowlands, there will be a mentor program. Players who become a mentor (“Guide”) will be marked with a special symbol in the open world and thus be visible to newcomers at first glance. However, the main task of a mentor is to answer questions from new players in the newbie channel and offer advice and assistance when needed.
Found this “Guide Recruiter” NPC in the Shadowlands Beta from r/wow
How to become a mentor? To become a mentor yourself, you need to visit an appropriate NPC in the major cities. One can be found in Orgrimmar, for example. The Tauren lady Eyla Pathleader was discovered by Reddit user Monrar and can appoint players as mentors if they meet the necessary requirements.
What are the requirements? In order to become a mentor, you and your account must meet certain requirements. Currently, these are:
- The Pathfinder achievement from Battle for Azeroth (probably a placeholder)
- Reached Level 60
- Account must have “good standing”
The Pathfinder achievement is likely a placeholder for a later achievement, as many are still not available in the Shadowlands Beta. The “good standing”, on the other hand, refers to sanctions on your account. Those who have received penalties in the past for things like being reported for insults or temporarily banned for using bots are not allowed to participate in the mentor program. It is still unclear whether “good standing” will be restored after a certain time or whether a one-time damage is permanent.
By the way, registration is not permanent. Anyone who no longer wants to be a mentor can stop at any time.
Are there rewards? So far, there are no rewards for the mentor program in the game files. It is likely that none will come either. Otherwise, many players would feel compelled to participate, and then the aspect of selfless helping would quickly disappear.
The community is already discussing the topic animatedly: This feature is already being discussed animatedly in the community. Some players think it’s great that Blizzard is creating opportunities for newcomers to quickly get in touch with more experienced players who are also helpful. Others criticize that Blizzard is simply passing their own work over to the players instead of working on proper tutorials and explanations in the game.
What do you think of this mentor program? A good idea to connect newcomers with friendly, helpful players? Or is WoW just shifting its problem-solving onto the players?
