No, it is obviously not "Debugging 101", but it doesn't require a CS degree to debug. It's at the level of debugging re-entrant code -- something I learned 15 or 20 years ago when I was new to LV. It's something that beginners aren't expected to know (as with many aspects of LV), but they shouldn't ignore or gloss over it either.
I have never found it useful to probe 'Actor.lvclass:Actor Core.vi'. My main running actors have several block diagrams; they have several methods, and probing within the methods has proven more useful for me. (And, as mentioned above, a simple override to 'Receive Message.vi' for an actor will provide the actor's PDC wire for probing every message/reaction without having to resort to opening the innards of the AF. But I still find it more effective to probe within specific actor methods.)
I have never had to modify actors in any unusual way in order for their methods' block diagrams to open so that I could probe. This includes the block diagrams of Actor Core overrides (which I find rarely requires probing anyway). For those actors which I implement an Actor Core override, their FP opens when they're launched -- the purpose of the override is to present a GUI, in nearly every case. (If I need a "helper loop" for an actor, I prefer to delegate to a second actor, not the Actor Core override.)
It's still not complicated, even with re-entrancy: double-click to open, Ctrl-E, set a breakpoint, run the actor, wait for the BD to open (in a clone, but it's still a BD), probe wires. Very easy, very quick.
