Mentor Strategy Guide and Advice

@Noobie Maybe my intentions wasn't clear anough, my bad (somehow on this forum you always assume I am Really Bad Guy (tm) ), I just wanted to say that this is reasonable limitation to avoid such cheats. And yes, it is two way streeet, because it can be done in other way around too with love potions, so this is just common sense. I didn't know about this limit but I would be very badly surprised if there wouldn't be any.

BTW, great thanks to my former mentor, who was really nice even if we couldn't talk a lot - he/she was sending daily messages in Hungarian Google translate was enough to understand them, but I wasn't brave enough to replay, lol.

 

As a noob I can say that it was very unclear that mentor gifts are not the same as five-a-day gifts. They really should distinguish them, at least in message log.

 

@farmer_broke

YO!
I am just saying that without 12h (or other) limit it would be easy to cheat using multiple accounts, so the limit (this or some other) is good. I am not saying that ppl now are cheating.

And... I am a new player! Fresh and shiny! So yeah, I know how hard it is. And you know what? I sent love potion to my mentor only once, because somehow I came to the conclusion that sending sugar is better. You can't blame me really - I am a noob! And my mentor never specified what he/she wants to get (surprisingly, some other low-lvl players that became my friends sent me messages asking what I want to exchange with them in gifts), so how should I know?

My point is - don't blame newbies, maybe devs if anyone. I would send love potions every day if I knew they are important.

 

Sure. Just give noob 1h of some useful buff whenever they send mentor a gift. And noob should have access to this more visible: not a hidden button in farmhouse, but something like event or buff buttons on main screen. This can disappear after 40lvl.

 

farmer_broke - ( Hi cutie chickie ) You are so right that it is a steep learning curve for new players!!! This is why I do not hit my chickies with an ask for love points in the 1st few messages.....if at all.

I believe the 12 hour hold to delete is a good thing. Why? Because they (mentor & chick) may be on completely different time zones. Or there is something going on with one of them...to prevent them from logging into the game for a brief period of time.
I believe it's our(mentor's) mission to aid and inspire newbies to keep playing this fabulous game! We all know how difficult & confusing it is to start a new farm...for the 1st time.

I tend to lose chicks at level 3 a lot. I think new players join, get started on a farm....and then get overwhelmed or realize this is too slow a game for them. There are thousands of games out there competing for player's time.....and yes, money. I don't get upset about it anymore. It just wasn't a good fit for them.

 

@farmer_broke, you can't always assume that I am saying exactly the way I am thinking


OK, that might be harsh, but...
As @Brookeham said, many players will resign on low lvl, like lvl3 or something. Should we try really hard to keep them? I think not. Most probably they were just checking the game and they didn't liked it. There are so many games in the world... may the force be with them!

But I think there is completely different story with these lvl4+ players. They liked the game initially and we (why do I say we? I am noob too... YOU!) should do whatever possible to befriend them. BUT. Srsly. I do believe that such players know how buffs work - at least the simple ones Or even if they don't - with big pink button in the main interface - they will learn by experience. And they will learn that it helps, so they will use it. In current system they send gift and... nothing happens! So why should they care? They don't even know if their mentor being so high lvl and almighty cares about their gift - maybe he has already over 9000 love potions? Therefore: action should cause reaction.

 

Hi fluffy I think farmer_broke was referring to your last words in this post, they don't go with the "family friendly" style which is required. So you might want to edit them right away before someone does it for you While we are on the subject of forum rules, you might want to note that double posting (two posts right after one another with no one else posting in between) is also not allowed. Anyway, welcome to the forum

 

(He liked it tho...)

Double post was by mistake, my browser messed with posts order. I'll try to behave

 

Thanks Meba
It was my understanding that chicks, like neighbors, have an activity thermometer that drops when they are no longer actively playing and that when it drops from a full green bar to a blinking red that they are removed just as neighbors are over time. It takes about a month for that to happen. So if I get a chick that is blinking red, I know they have not played in more than 2-3 weeks.

 

This is broke again. Left original menter as planned. This worked out well as that mentor did not write to welcome me to the game and sent no gift. No luv sent and no luv lost.

A new mentor was assigned in about 30 - 45 minutes. (The farm was working quests to level up from 5 to 18 .) Before I knew it, there was a pear tree followed by an igm welcoming the farm to the game. The mentors language is german. I wrote one word: Hi. I sent luv points immeditely. Before I knew it another igm was received thanking me for the luv points. The igm included a message in English offerring assistance. I wrote back askig for egg farms to do the timed quest while the farm has nothing. We have a chance to communicate further, a chance most do not take advantage of.

For me there is no learning curve. All is a step by step routine. For the new player this is not routine. The first mentor which I left did nothing and the second mentor was himself. I don't think there is anything else a mentor can do. The new player is overwhelmed and the mentor is not a priority. There is too much to learn.

FYI, there is a definite order to complete the quests in order to get all the land quickly and with few ccs, I doubt a newbie would know to ask. I posted for neighbors yesterday and have more than enough and the meadow is completely opened as part of the routine. Four neighbors have written which is unusual to happen in a day. It must be the name of the farm. All are very nice and welcomed the farm to the game.

When I first began openning farms I remember not checking the mail. Now I do routinely. The first message was very short and nonintrusive. I think it's a good plan of action to write a short igm to welcome. I would not expect a response immediately if at all. I sense there are some good people here serving as mentors. Good luck with your efforts.

 

I have had them disappear, but it takes a long time -- well over a month.

A lot of people will come and try a free game and then quickly decide its not for them. Some may eventually return but just start from scratch with a new name, etc. (by that time they may have a new computer, new email, etc and may not even remember or care about earlier farm).

For those who are actually interested in playing, though, making a chick go to the chickadee forum to find the points is expecting a lot. I know I only discovered it after I was already a chick for some time. A quick pop-up saying something like (your mentor sent you .. [a chicken pen]... you can send them love point as a nice thank you (or something similar) would help both sides, I think.

That said, there is a careful balance. Some people want lots of help, but others feel its an intrusion.

 

Caution, though. Manure is one of those things that can be taken as an insult if the person receiving it does not understand the importance of it.

 

Not to mention, the manure pile size is small for chicks. You might just overrun the pile and it would be wasted.

 

The gifted amount of manure is 20 so if you have good communication with your chickadee, it can be a good strategy for lower levels that are not trying the event. It could be a good market lesson (with sales commission). If no communication is established, it could be both as woody and Sweet Cassie describe.

 

I've been getting New Chickadees at levels 3 and 2 with the thermometer in red...These Chicks do not get a welcome letter as, in my eyes, they are not playing...also never level up but I do give a week to see if there is any action, then I delete them. I like the new Chickadees that change their chick picture, to me that means they have done some research and have taken it among themselves to look further into this game. I stopped asking for return gifts about a year ago and my welcome letter is short now. It goes something like this....

"Hello Chickadee, I'm your new Mentor. If you need any help with this game, feel free to ask me anytime. Today I sent you a Chicken Coop, you will find this item in your inventory. The more you level up the better the daily gifts get...Cheers!"

If I get a response or a question then I help.

 

Beware the blinkers for those of us that are over zealous in removing them (that would be me too!). I recently got a blinking chick that I was going to delete but thought I'd send a message and behold - a reply came! Said chick is still blinking but has leveled up, strange things and all that!

 

@TCRooster, I had a Chickadee blinking 'RED' all the way to level 40 and graduated, as they logged in just enough to harvest and plant. I sent a note over and said, "you are in the red and this could give your NAB's a reason to delete you". The level up was super slow though, and was probably a 2nd or 3rd farm etc...So yah, never know but at least you gave the chickadee a chance.

 

You'll love this - I just got booted by a chick! All I did was said hello and threw some PF; maybe I should have thrown poop instead . @DBAYES I'll have to see if I have the patience to wait then!

 

TC - I was also booted by a chick but perhaps it was an accident? There are reports from other players that they thought they were closing the nest but actually were leaving the mentor. Since the mentoring program began after I started playing, I don't know what it looks like from a chickadee's view point. Is there a confirmation button to leave the nest? I don't know if it would help or not as it is easy to get into 'clicking mode' and click before not just reading but actually processing what the popup says.

 

@TCRooster, I too have been deleted once and pretty sure it was an accident (like pnp said) or maybe not...LOL!
@puppiesnponies. I had CJAT (miss her) as a Mentor for one of my little farms (that I don't play) and the icons look the same as the Mentors icons...Send Gift, Message (in green) and Leave Mentor (in red). Easy to accidently click when in a hurry!