DPS Parser - ToS Violation?

[choke]

A lot of people argue "did you kill the boss or not" and then "does it matter what your dps was". Well to make an analogy, it's like taking a formula 1 car to the racetrack that isn't equipped with a speedometer and saying, "well did you cross the finish line"...

Dps meters are great tools. No, they're not just for determining who does the highest/lowest dps(though that is one of its best features), it's also for looking at who is taking the most/least damage, and then watching what each one of them are doing for certain mechanics(which is its best feature). They are fantastic tools, to say otherwise is naive.

Yes, they can be used to badger and intimidate (typically newer) players and to point fingers at "who is doing low dps" or who is "taking too much damage", etc but you nay-sayers have to keep in mind that these people exist whether or not DPS meters exist. These people are still going to badger and intimidate regardless.



And yes I want one to know how much DPS I'm personally doing. It's great way to determine if something I've changed recently (such as rotation for certain fights or positioning, etc) is effective.

[darkvision]

It is definitely not against the ToS. The line of the ToS that was quoted was referring to data mining, which has nothing at all to do with parsers. Parsers don't hook into anything, they just literally parse the text logs. If you would rather read the logs and do all the math yourself, then go for it, but just know that is exactly what parser does.

Actually the one that the OP is on about actually gets the information by hooking on to the FFXIV process and gathers information from the memory. it also has plans to gather alot of information from the game that is not available from logs and then supplying that information to a central database.

The parser that the OP is talking about IS against the ToS

[Zarkhov]

Whoa some of you people are taking it way too seriously. The DPS parsers are and always have been excellent tools as well as create some FRIENDLY competition in a raid group which results in overall dps increase. I do agree you cant always go by who is number 1 in the group. For example #1 DPS took 16k damage on a coil fight, however #2 took 1k damage in a coil fight. I would still be talking with #1 about trying to pad the meters and not evading damage. It would be a friendly conversation and give the #1 guy something to strive for, being #1 with lower damage taken.

You don't have to get a DPS parser if you don't want to, but honestly if you are running with someone that has one its not a bad idea to ask what your dps is and try a few things to improve it and then ask again. In my raids I don't really care what anyones DPS is as long as they are trying hard to win and the boss is dying. I really would only use it to monitor damage taken and possibly over healing(0-30% overhealing is acceptable).

Just like I tell the guys I raid with, if you get a DPS parser use it for self improvement and don't worry about comparing against the rest of the DPS. For example, a bard is continuously helping with mana return though this does affect his dps. Everyone understands this in my groups and no one hates on said persons damage. On the other hand I have a guy doing close to 300dps which he managed to get that high using a parser for self improvement and he strives to keep it up there since he knows where his peak is. Super friendly dude, he doesn't brag or belittle people as he is only using it to monitor his performance.

[choke]

There seems to be a lot of disagreement among the community whether this/these tools are allowed. Can SE please answer this once and for all?

[LadyVaJedi]

It sounds like cheating to me.

[choke]

It sounds like cheating to me.

It's cheating if the tool did things like doing actions for you or making you automatically avoid damage, or any other direct advantage over other players. These tools do not do anything like that, just provide information in an easier to read format than the combat log.

[Sove92]

This is just like the speeruns, people always want to ban whatever methods they don't happen to like. In this case, it usually happens because *"too low DPS" kick* is totally a parser's fault.

It is true that DPS parsers are used by people who use it to harass DDs for doing too low DPS, but they are also used by people who just want to see how much damage people are doing for improvement purposes.

From what I have seen, it is usually BLMs who end up being harassed for too low DPS. These people are either trolls or they forget the fact that BLMs can't move when casting, this is compensated by a higher damage output, but when you add bad enough luck and get constantly targeted with AoEs, you are almost inevitably doing much less DPS than normally. >_>

[Ervin]

I just wonder what happened to playing games for fun instead of putting more work into them than your daytime job.

[choke]

I just wonder what happened to playing games for fun instead of putting more work into them than your daytime job.

You've got to start thinking of mmo's as modern day hobbies. They take substantially more time than other game types. Either play a lot, or fall behind.

[ZohnoReecho]

I just wonder what happened to playing games for fun instead of putting more work into them than your daytime job.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTJQTc-TqpU
What's not funny for you can be funny for someone else

It's funnier to play a game or watch a "let's play" on youtube? Some people prefere the latter.