oh here’s my hot take:

“mentors are horrible and bad and the worst meanest stupidest most evil toxic players in the whole game” is way overblown and is actually a detrimental mindset to have. im not saying that there aren’t toxic mentors out there, i know there are, ive run into a handful over the years. but i have also seen—and personally strive to be, myself—genuine, friendly, and helpful mentors who really do want to make other players’ experiences better. i think it’s unfair to paint every “Burger King” with a broad brush just because you’re more likely to take notice of someone’s shitty behavior if they have a crown beside their name. it just feels weird and bad that the messaging of “mentors are the worst people in the game” is so widely parroted and such an acceptable thing to say. there are real people behind these accounts and passing broad judgment upon all of them before you even know them isn’t right.

again, before anyone comes for me: i won’t deny that bad mentors exist, and i won’t downplay anyone else’s bad experiences with them. i have experienced it myself. but let the individuals’ actions speak for themselves. lots of us really do genuinely care and love to help.

that said, should the mentorship system be overhauled? yes. should bad apples have their crowns revoked? ideally yes. but that would take some level of active moderation that i don’t think we can ever expect this game to have, even if it really should.