Alright, that's never really going to happen.
BUT, I had an idea that may help tackle a phenomenon known as THE RIFT OF DOOM!
The RIFT OF DOOM! is just a fancy metaphor for the big divide that exists between casual/less serious/less skilled players and 'hardcore'/more serious/highly-skilled players. Due to the small size of our community, these players usually are grouped up forced to interact with each other...and if you've been playing War Games as much as I have, you'll notice that there can be some...spicy interactions.
So how do we defeat the RIFT OF DOOM!? Or rather, how do we take this split in the twink community and make it more bearable for both sides?
Introducing PROJECT BRIDGE!
Eh...maybe not.
Introducing OPERATION: BUILD A BETTER TWINK!
We'll work on a name later.
Anyways, the idea is pretty simple. A good player picks up a bad (or relatively worse) player and agrees to mentor them for a set amount of time. Three days, a week, a month, whatever. During this time, there will be expectations from both participants:
MENTORS:
As the saying goes, catch a twink a fish and you feed him for a day, teach a twink to fish and he'll get a Lucky Fishing Hat. Or something.
You'll be keeping an eye on your students' performance. This can be in PuGs, War Games, whatever, and it can be during the game or afterwards in a VoD or a recording submitted by the student. Then, you'll give them some constructive criticism, and explain the reasoning behind your thinking; not just "You should have done this."
(If someone knows WHY they should have done something, then they can realize the importance of the action and apply it again without needing any instruction.)
Also, whoever you are, you MUST make it a goal to keep your commentary mature and constructive towards your student. This player is your personal project, a representation of your effort, a sapling that will grow into a beautiful tree, unless you water it with salty piss. If they screw up once, twice, or twelve times making the same mistake (hopefully not twelve) then it'll be a test of your mentor SKILLZ to keep composure.
*** I encourage mentors to choose players who they look down upon, or someone that you generally have a problem with! It may suck at first, but after working together and sticking with the plan, you may even turn an enemy into a friend.
Students do not need to share your class, but they should play the same general position as you (mid or objectives.) This makes the viable combination list a lot bigger.
STUDENTS:
You are exactly what the title says, a student. You've got to be willing to let someone better than you judge your mistakes and then take your mentor's advice accordingly. No getting defensive or salty at any constructive criticism, or your mentor will be allowed to drop you and get someone more deserving of their time and effort. Keep in mind that any opportunity for someone skilled to teach you how to improve is a huge favor, so treat it as a privilege!
*** I also encourage students to seek out a mentor who INTIMIDATES you, or someone that you generally have a problem with! It may suck at first, but after working together and sticking with the plan, you may even turn an enemy into a friend.
Mentors do not need to share your class, but they should play the same general position as you (mid or objectives.) This makes the viable combination list a lot bigger.
"So wtf is the point of going through with this???"
A good question. First and foremost, this system will aim to improve relationships between players on either side of the skill divide, and hopefully it will make War Games go smoother with less temper tantrums - player relationships will hopefully improve, as well as general player competence, and cooperation.
While there currently isn't a tangible reward, I may propose some sort of Mentor Badge on XPOff, maybe a War Game between students with gold betting, or some other fun reward/event. For now, you'll definitely get some more props from the community for your efforts.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST:
I'd like the community to nominate people they'd like to see as mentors. Keep in mind that no one HAS to mentor anyone, but they may be willing if they have the time and interest. Even if one or two players end up mentoring someone, that's an awesome start! And remember, only one person can be mentored at a time, and only by one mentor...no hogging!
So in the comments below, let's see who you guys would like to nominate as mentors. The biggest factors to consider are HOW OFTEN they play, and HOW SKILLED they are. Things like attitude and other criteria are secondary - right now, we just need people with the chops to share some good knowledge.
If we get enough nominations, and if the players nominated ARE WILLING TO DO THIS, then we can see where it goes from here. For now, this is mostly just a rough idea to gauge interest...maybe this idea will go down in flames, or maybe it will do some good.
What do you guys think? Who do would nominate?
I'll even get the ball rolling. A couple good names that come to mind for me are
Flamer for mid, and
Quack for objectives!
(EDIT: The point is not to nominate someone because you believe they are toxic, but because you believe they are skilled and knowledgable players, regardless of their behavior during games. Remember that anyone can be nominated if you believe they should be.)
GO GO!
- Neebs
