[Suggestion] Parsing alternative, -Better-? Solution!

FFXIV desperately needs a way to inform players of their performance, and to encourage them to improve.

Parsing is very clearly something Square-Enix does not want to endorse. (I personally support this choice.)

So let's take a look at something that Square-Enix themselves have successfully implemented that helps give players an idea of how well they are performing.

I want to introduce the idea of:


-Time Champions-




In Final Fantasy XI, after completing a trial fight, players are presented with the time taken for them to complete the trial, and then the time of the player who completed the same trial the quickest, as well as that players name and the job they completed it as.

FFXIV could add this feature, to give players an idea of their performance levels, but take it a step further.

Once you complete an instance, of any kind, dungeon, trial, etc, the duty finder selections you used, would present your settings Time Champion.

Example:
If you queue'd in regular no setting duty finder pug, "Standard Time Champion" would appear.

-Standard Time Champions

(players who use duty finder with no settings selected, just random pugs.)


-Undersized Time Champion

(solo players who used the undersized feature)

-Minimum Item level Time Champions

(Players who formed a group and tackled the duty at minimum item level.)

Not only can this potentially make "old" content more fun and relevant, as this could create a sort of encouragement for player improvement and competition.

But this also is a form of friendly competition as there is no real way to berate players.

This also does not slow down progression, as say how maybe my other suggestion for instanced striking dummies would, or really have any negative connotations. (That I can think of immediately.) It also has proven quite fun, and seemingly been only a successful feature in FFXI.

Thank you.

This doesn't actually give the individual an idea of how good/bad they were doing in a group setting.

I'd still welcome anything that makes dungeon runs more interesting, though.

While I approve of the general idea, I can see a few problems with the specifics of your suggestion.

1. The fastest time is not something most players will or should care about. More likely than not it will be set by a group of hardcore raiders with a static, and will be an unrealistic goal for the average player.

2. It would measure the performance of the group, not the individual. A weak player would be boosted by the stronger members of the group and be left with an overinflated opinion of themselves.

3. The players who don't care about improving themselves will ignore this and will continue to join parties they have no business being in.

To be successful, the performance measurement system will need to measure individual and not group performance. This can be achieved in group content by measuring DPS instead of time. A solo proving ground, should one be implemented, will need to contain mechanics and not just a passive striking dummy. The performance measurement system will also need to provide a realistic and relevant goal. You don't start training for sports by comparing yourself against the world champion. A good point of comparison is the DPS required to beat the fight before enrage. Mechanics training would not be amiss either. And finally, to really solve the problem of players joining content they are not qualified to be in, the system can't be optional. As long as it's possible to ignore, there will be players who think their right to have fun trumps everyone else's.

This idea sounds worthless as a parsing alternative. Might as well bring mythic plus if this is your idea.

People would be bringing in only the best AOE classes, and the like, to rush through the content to get the best time. This would have no bearing on an individual's performance. Dungeon example for clarification.

As the others have said, it's not really a bad idea in a vacuum but I'm not really sure I support the idea as is and I also don't think it would really solve the parser issue. First, it would just enforce the "fast is best" mentality that is already hurting dungeon and encounter design in the game. Second, it wouldn't really work as a personal training system which is where the success of an ingame parser would be. It would be all about the group and individual players wouldn't get any feedback on their own success/failure.

Or a person could look at their skills, come up with a rotation based on that and not need a parser at all because they can tell how well they are playing based on their rotation.

I can't speak for everyone of course but I find it quite easy to come up with a rotation just by looking at my skills and not using any outside help to do so. Last time I decided to compare what I came up with, with a rotation a person who uses a parser came up with, it was the same freaking thing.

No ingame tools or third party tools needed other than your own brain.

You don't need a parser to come up with the correct rotation, but it can be useful in perfecting your skills. Some people simply find it motivating to see a number related to their performance and being able to improve it.

A parser can help fine tune a rotation on fights, and burst phases. The only alternative for a parser, is an SE supported parser. Nothing more, nothing less.

Speedrunning rankings, even for "casual" content like dungeons, is already a thing on FF logs.

Most people don't care, and still won't care if it becomes officially supported, and even if it was and people did care, there'd still be no way for a DPS to isolate their own performance.

If a duty needs a time requirement, it will enforce it via DPS/heal checks. Otherwise, it doesn't need it, so let the party decide how long they want to spend to complete a duty without a timer nonsense.

As for encouraging people to improve, there is already a mechanism for that: other people. It's just a matter of using that mechanism correctly as it's a double-edged sword that can discourage instead if used incorrectly.