Originally Posted by steele1743

so...the helper has to be online to be available then?

No, not necessarily. If the helper was online at the time you first logged in, then as long as your session does not time out or expire, even if that player logs off or is no longer online, you'll still be able to utilize that player as a helper. You can test this by checking your friend list, noting down when the last time they were online, and then checking the available helper list. If, however, you are playing during a time when many players are online, then more than likely, your list will be populated with other players, and will "drown" out those from your friend list. Again, this is not abnormal behavior, but simply the fact that the game recognizes that some players do play during off-peak hours, and rather than punishing those players, the algorithm tends to be more lenient and helpful. There has been times, like during a holiday for example, where I've seen the only available helpers are those that are really low level/new players. That hasn't happen in a few months now, but color me surprised to say the least.