What is the point of "no mods" if it is not enforced?

One of the reasons I chose to play this game is based on an idea that this game does not allow mods or third party programs, but, from what I am reading and hearing, damage meters, parsers, and even screen overlays are widely used by most players in the end game without penalty.

So, in order to play in the end game, I am forced to play cookie cutter because these illegitimate programs are tracking my every move and exposing me for not being completely min-maxed to other players. On one of the promotional pages for these third party programs, a part of the pitch for the program is 'on screen indications to check if teammates are using skills in the right order and on time so you can tell if they are pro or not at a glance'.

This is very discouraging information for me as a new player who bought this game because the main rules page bans mods and third party programs from being used.

From what I know, when they are caught they are reprimanded. The problem is that someone has to report them, and most people don't reveal they are using them unless to people who wouldn't report them. You'd just get kicked if you weren't up to par.

That being said, there's a much bigger problem with RMT bots than harassment from parsers imo. I actually haven't encountered anyone using them myself, but I have seen a crapton of bots running through dungeons and making a mess of things.

I am not worried about harassment. It just becomes a reality of the end game that I would be forced to cookie cutter my build to my role and use these programs myself if I want to be included in anything serious. Cookie cutter builds are just boring and steal fun from the game, but third party programs expose my computer to unmoderated access that can potentially cause damage and violate my privacy or compromise my identity.

Unfortunately, there really isn't a way to play any job in this game in a "not cookie cutter" way effectively. The best rotations, stats and cross-class abilities for each job are well known and there aren't any valid alternatives. Parsers don't affect this fact in any way, and it's quite easy to notice if you're following the correct rotation without one (a parser only shows if you're using that rotation effectively).

Also, while it's true that probably every single one of the static groups doing the highest level of endgame (basically Savage) in this game is using a parser to see they have what it takes to beat a certain DPS check, there are a lot of individual players who are playing at that level without using a parser themself (especially the PS4 players who couldn't do that in the first place).

The way i see it,those tools can actually make you a stronger player if you use it for good.

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Originally Posted by Taika

Also, while it's true that probably every single one of the static groups doing the highest level of endgame (basically Savage) in this game is using a parser to see they have what it takes to beat a certain DPS check, there are a lot of individual players who are playing at that level without using a parser themself (especially the PS4 players who couldn't do that in the first place).

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I never considered the PS4 players when posting. I feel better about the situation now. I am not at the end game, yet, so I am not experienced with what is actually expected of players and, from what I was reading and hearing, it seemed this third party stuff was a must have. But, if PS4 players can play at the top level and they do not have access to third party programs, then I do not have to fear being forced to use third party programs or the game/community being balanced around the use of third party programs. Thank you.

As mentioned, the PS3/4 players don't have access to any of those 3rd party programs. There *are* a lot of dps checks but there is also an in-game mechanism for checking your numbers. Once you get to level 60 you will get access to "Stone, Sea, Sky" where you will have 3 minutes to 'kill' a practice target based on the trial you are testing for. If you can kill the dummy in time you should be ok.

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Originally Posted by Bonkleberry

One of the reasons I chose to play this game is based on an idea that this game does not allow mods or third party programs, but, from what I am reading and hearing, damage meters, parsers, and even screen overlays are widely used by most players in the end game without penalty.

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If you're referring to this part:

"Third-Party Programs or Tools. SQUARE ENIX strictly prohibits the use of third-party programs or tools – including programs and tools that permit automated or “absentee” play – in FINAL FANTASY XIV. Accordingly, the following activities are prohibited:

· Modifying, analyzing, integrating, and/or reverse engineering game software or data.
· Creating, distributing, using, or promoting utilities that interact with the game.
· Exploiting SQUARE ENIX programming bugs or glitches.
· Automating gameplay processes."

I think you misunderstand what 'analyzing' means in this context, clearly SE don't think parsers 'analyze' anything in breach of this clause.

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Originally Posted by Pintsized

clearly SE don't think parsers 'analyze' anything in breach of this clause.

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It's not that they aren't in breach of that clause. The most popular ones are (because of how they integrate themselves into the game's client software). But SE has acknowledged the fact that they can only enforce the rule when they know about violations, and the only way they have access to that information is if you discuss it in chat. (Plus you'd usually need to be reported to the GMs for it before they'd see the violation, since just because they have access to chat logs doesn't mean they read it all.) The result is that it's a rule people can get away with breaking so long as they don't harass anyone enough to be reported for it.

(The only parsers that aren't against the rules are ones that rely on you dumping the combat log to a text file and then running the parser separately after the fact and loading that text file into it as input. Those ones don't integrate into the client software or intercept communication between the servers and client, so they aren't breaking any rules. But they don't give their numbers in real time either, which is why the rule-breaking ones are more popular.)

To be fair, most people aren't going to give you shit for not being totally min/maxed to the extreme. What they WILL give you shit for is not even trying, which is much easier to notice with those tools than otherwise.