DPS Parser - ToS Violation?

[AntonIdas]

I play MMOs to min/max, to test new strategies, be all I can be, etc. I approach my MMO play the same way an athlete approaches a sport - how can I be better? Do it faster? Hit harder? What stats, for example, are more impactful to my DPS? What the hell even is my DPS? Enter the Parser.

They can also show:
-if people aren't pulling their weight
-if the tank/healer is a dolt
-if there are inherent balance issues with the classes as they are now

This type of program exists in every MMO I've played yet. And I'm pretty sure its technically illegal in those games too - but no one really cares.

[Kosmos992k]

Enter the Parser.

They can also show:
-if people aren't pulling their weight
-if the tank/healer is a dolt
-if there are inherent balance issues with the classes as they are now

Wait, hold on, are you (you elite gaming athlete you) saying that you cannot identify when a tank or healer is being a dolt, or when a DPS simply isn't pulling their weight (or for that matter is pulling too much aggro) without an extra tool to tell you? What's next, let your iPhone and Siri do it?

Whatever happened to people using their brains? If you need a DPS parser to see when someone is doing crap damage, or blowing through their MP quickly, you obviously are not paying much attention while you play.

[svann]

Wait, hold on, are you saying that you cannot identify when a DPS simply isn't pulling their weight without an extra tool to tell you? If you need a DPS parser to see when someone is doing crap damage you obviously are not paying much attention while you play.<snipped irrelevant text>

Im interested to know how you determine when someone is "doing crap damage" without using a parser? Could you explain that please?

[Kosmos992k]

Im interested to know how you determine when someone is "doing crap damage" without using a parser? Could you explain that please?

It's simple, I watch the course of the battle and watch how long things take to go down, how many groups of adds come along and how much pressure I or the healer are under.

Look, you enjoy your game however you like, I don't really care, but I don't find much enjoyment in any game when it is reduced to a mathematical exercise in maximum efficiency for DPS. I've played a lot of games in my lifetime, and the most funI have had in any of them was when a fight went badly and yet we still pulled it out by the skin of our teeth. Highly efficient, fast, battles that are performed according to mathematical precision may turn you on, but for me, that's just running a program and not very much fun. I'll trust my judgement every day over a soulless piece of code.

[svann]

It's simple, I watch the course of the battle and watch how long things take to go down, how many groups of adds come along and how much pressure I or the healer are under.
.

That doesnt tell me how you can tell which dps is slacking. OMG why cant you just be honest about it? You cant tell which dps is slacking without a parser. And maybe you dont care. Thats fine if you dont care. Play how you want. But be honest whatever you do. Dont say you can tell who is slacking when you cant.

[KisaiTenshi]

That doesnt tell me how you can tell which dps is slacking. OMG why cant you just be honest about it? You cant tell which dps is slacking without a parser. And maybe you dont care. Thats fine if you dont care. Play how you want. But be honest whatever you do. Dont say you can tell who is slacking when you cant.

You can tell who is slacking because either they are taking too much damage and need to be raised the most often OR the tank takes too much damage making the healer unable to heal the DPS's taking damage.

The game really does boil down to a simple strategy of:
a) Tank is to take all damage
b) Healer is to heal only the tank
c) DPS is to avoid taking all damage

A party with 1 tank and 1 healer and 6DPS is going to try speed-run by removing the safety of having two healers. You're right you probably can't tell which DPS is slacking in this configuration because this configuration lets 2 DPS slack while doubling the work required of the tank and healer.

Personally I think if you need any tool or service not provided by the game itself to play the game, then you're just a bad gamer. This goes equally for botters, spammers, gil buyers, people who multiclient/multi-box, game modifications, etc. Likewise if the game developer (particularly in freemium games, but subscription games are just as bad) makes certain necessary things only available by paying extra, then the game is broken by design (eg mounts, inventory capacity, "revive right here",etc) The worst thing that FFXIV does is not providing a mount before joining a Grand Company, but if you bought the collecters edition you got one.

[ZohnoReecho]

Personally I think if you need any tool or service not provided by the game itself to play the game, then you're just a bad gamer

So if I try to gather precise info I'm a bad gamer?
Go tell the same to the car racing world. I bet they tune their cars following their feelings.

[Gonzothegreat198]

It's simple, I watch the course of the battle and watch how long things take to go down, how many groups of adds come along and how much pressure I or the healer are under.

Look, you enjoy your game however you like, I don't really care, but I don't find much enjoyment in any game when it is reduced to a mathematical exercise in maximum efficiency for DPS. I've played a lot of games in my lifetime, and the most funI have had in any of them was when a fight went badly and yet we still pulled it out by the skin of our teeth. Highly efficient, fast, battles that are performed according to mathematical precision may turn you on, but for me, that's just running a program and not very much fun. I'll trust my judgement every day over a soulless piece of code.

FYI, all battles in this game are based on this kind of precision. Especially once you get to the raids from the way they talk about Coil, if you don't care for that type of precision, then I would suggest you not try raiding.

[AntonIdas]

Wait, hold on, are you (you elite gaming athlete you) saying that you cannot identify when a tank or healer is being a dolt, or when a DPS simply isn't pulling their weight (or for that matter is pulling too much aggro) without an extra tool to tell you? What's next, let your iPhone and Siri do it?

Whatever happened to people using their brains? If you need a DPS parser to see when someone is doing crap damage, or blowing through their MP quickly, you obviously are not paying much attention while you play.

Because the hate meter is a totally inaccurate way to gauge dps, never mind that moves like Quelling Strikes are a cross-class ability. As for tanks and healers, I want to know how strong their peak heals are, how much healing the tank needs, how "spiky" the tank is - maybe they aren't popping cooldowns at the appropriate time and are sponging mp.

I want to quantify it, because gut feeling often has no basis on the parser results.

Unfortunately for some of the above posters, I'm more than happy to remove weak links from the parties when attempting something difficult. Hell, everybody vets gear sets when doing things like Titan HM or Coil - it's a waste of everyone's time to take someone who isn't geared yet, or can't effectively play their job, because there's only room for 8 people and everybody needs to be capable.

[Glyini]

Wait, hold on, are you (you elite gaming athlete you) saying that you cannot identify when a tank or healer is being a dolt, or when a DPS simply isn't pulling their weight (or for that matter is pulling too much aggro) without an extra tool to tell you? What's next, let your iPhone and Siri do it?

Whatever happened to people using their brains? If you need a DPS parser to see when someone is doing crap damage, or blowing through their MP quickly, you obviously are not paying much attention while you play.

Wait you are able to watch the drg in a highly moblie fight to see if hes clipping his dots and using jump at the right time. He can look like hes doing fine while flubbing 40% of his damage. Heck where you time the jumps in your rotation alone can change a drg dps by 5%