Oh I understand the need to train combat skills and all. This is not a 'jump right in and try stuff out for yourself' type of game anymore. I never trained combat because I didn't have to, and because I played so infrequently building a wall was the highlight of my day. lol Now I have to, or quit I suppose.

Like I said before, all this does is add yet another way that newbies rely heavily on veterans. This is not a theme that should be present in an apocalyptic survival sandbox.
This thought crossed my mind, though I won't agree that it should never be present. Finding people to teach you how to survive would, realistically, be part of an actual apocalypse. However, it does reduce the number of styles of game-play you could previously take part it. Can a new player start out on their own and make it on their own? Probably not at this point. And, due to the small population, whatever veterans are willing and available for 'noob-support' could become gods in short order if they so choose.

ETA -- This type of discussion probably doesn't belong in the patch opinions thread. Sorry!