elping others is rewarding and meaningful. By sharing your knowledge and lending a helping hand you make a positive difference. By providing advice and support you build values, and strengthen community bonds. You feel a sense of belonging, and enrich your own life by socialising with other people.

Tibia is a great place to meet others and many new friendships have started to blossom here. One of the outstanding attributes that defines the Tibian community is the compassion and willingness to help others.
In Tibia, there have always been players helping others in various ways. Back in 2003, the first tutor system was introduced as a further means to support and encourage them. Since then, a considerable number of players has joined the ranks of tutors. Naturally, we also experienced fluctuations in the number of tutors.
We should not forget that helping others is not bound to the tutor position. Not all players who enjoy helping have become a tutor. Likewise, not all tutors follow the tutor code of conduct and make a good helper.
Due to evolving needs and challenges, the tutor system has also undergone changes since its implementation to meet new circumstances. In order to promote and emphasise the idea that helping others can be a joyful, beneficial experience for everyone, it was recently revamped on a larger scale.

One of the key features of the new tutor system is the possibility to reward someone who gave a helpful answer with a "Thank You!". These "Thank You!'s" are meant as an incentive; we want to encourage more players to be active in the help channel and on the support boards by providing recognition for their efforts. If you reach a certain amount of "Thank you!'s" within a specific time frame and meet some minor requirements, you will automatically become a tutor instead of having to pass a tutor test. Depending on the number of "Thank you!'s" a tutor has received a certain number of stars is shown below the tutor's name in the forum.

It is important to point out that the tutor position does not give you any special ingame powers or advantages. Of course, there is no shame in being a proud helper and displaying your status so that others can recognise you as a tutor.

There are also players who are great helpers but do not want to show their tutor stars or do not hold the tutor position yet. After all, many players do not need a reward for helping others to make it worthwhile because it is truly a reward in itself. It is a good feeling if you can brighten up someone's day, solve a problem, and change his or her game experience for the better. As many dedicated helpers pointed out in response to the new tutor system, they do not want to count "Thank you!'s", and do not expect or even ask others to give them a "Thank you!" in return for an advice.

On the other hand, if someone provided a helpful answer, you can give that person some sort of recognition with the new "Thank you!" system. It is like a virtual pat on the back to encourage someone to keep up the good work and to recommend him or her to others ? even if that person does not expect or want anything in return for helping out. Being able to thank someone for a quality statement, a helpful or insightful answer is a small but nice gesture to show appreciation and to value the contribution of others.

There are some well-known places where players ask for help, the most prominent being the ingame help channel and the public support boards. So if you would like to help others, actively using the help channel is a good way to provide advice to the best of your knowledge, and also to learn new things about Tibia, the community, and maybe even about yourself.
The support boards in the Tibia forum cover different areas in which players may come across a problem or a situation raising questions about billing issues, technical difficulties or game-related matters.
A helpful answer in those public places will not only reach the player who asked a question but also those who just follow the channel or thread and read along. There may even be players who can add further information, help with explaining or translating.

Even though you can only receive "Thank you!'s!" for helpful answers in the aforementioned communication channels, it may also be rewarding for you personally to help others in private messages, guild channels, game chat, and so on. You can also help others through positive actions or by contributing to the community in a nurturing and supportive way: organise an event, join the staff of a fansite, get creative in a contest, etc. Even simple things such as giving away some items, or healing someone in need are a great way to support others. By setting a good example, you can inspire and influence others. There are many ways to spread the spirit of giving and helping others.

Sometimes, you may come across players who give wrong information in the help channel or on the support boards. In fact, this is a concern shared by quite a few helpers. If you are an experienced player, though, and see someone who gives a wrong or incomplete answer, you can, of course, contribute with your knowledge and put it right. Everyone needs some help sometimes and not knowing everything does not necessarily make someone a bad helper.

Also, players who only want to get "Thank you!'s" out of vanity reasons may still be a valuable asset to the community and help others. As Grimrath, the customer support member who is currently the contact person for tutors, puts it: "Maybe some of them will become real nice long-term helpers in the end." So do not let yourself be bothered by "Thank you!" hunters. There are different motivations behind trying to become a tutor, and Grimrath adds that "there will always be players who try to abuse the system and we will not be able to change their behaviour." So instead of questioning the intentions of other players, let us rather focus on the positive things we can do.For example, you can promote the beneficial experience of helping to encourage others to lend a helping hand. There may be players who think that they do not have what it takes to be a good helper. Encouraging those players to give it a try is probably far more satisfying than worrying about those who do not really care.

You do not need to be tutor to be able to help others, of course, but being a part of the tutor team is a great experience. Tutorship can also open the way to forge new friendships, and foster a sense of belonging and identity similar to other sub-communities or smaller groups such as guilds, for example. There are many tutors who will back you up, offer advice and comfort. The valuable support they give can guide you through difficult situations, for example when a player was not satisfied with an answer or when you were not able to solve a problem. Also, Grimrath has an open eye, ear, and heart for your concerns on the private tutor board. He helps tutors with difficult questions, and provides guidance. Of course, you can also have a good time with other tutors, both ingame and on the private boards.

In anyway, we would like to thank all of you who spend time and effort to help others. Whether you answer a question, provide advice, give away something, or help someone else in whatever small way you can ? you make an important difference in the lives of others, no matter if you are a tutor or not.There are many features that make Tibia unique. One of them is the great community full of helpful enthusiastic players and their continued efforts to reach out and help. Thank you!

Do you have any fond memories, funny or magic moments, interesting experiences of helping others to share with us? Are there any special people in Tibia who helped you a great deal? We would love to hear your stories in our feedback thread.

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