Something need to be done about BAD DPS.

[Totobi]

There really needs to be some sort of in-game guide on how to play your class atleast somewhat competently, perhaps tied in with the job quests. It is incredibly frustrating how regularly you meet DPS who cannot even out-dps a PALADIN IN SHIELD OATH.

[Kaedan94]

The game could outright tell you what the absolutely best rotation for DPS is and there would still be plenty of Bads. It has nothing to do with availability of knowledge... knowledge is abundant.

It comes down to attitude, plain and simple. There are simply some players that are either too lazy or too apathetic to be bothered. No amount of hand-holding will make them improve.

[StrejdaTom]

Official ingame parser or even only a parser that would be tied to dummy would be a nice start.. especially if it would show average DPS for each job.
There even could be a quest when your job master would send you to a dummy and you would have to reach a certain number to finish that quest. He could give you a few advices how to reach that DPS.

Of course the quest wont say don't come back untill you do 800 DPS. It could be - fight the dummy until it is nearly broken.

[KaijinRhada]

Official ingame parser or even only a parser that would be tied to dummy would be a nice start.. especially if it would show average DPS for each job.
There even could be a quest when your job master would send you to a dummy and you would have to reach a certain number to finish that quest. He could give you a few advices how to reach that DPS.

Of course the quest wont say don't come back untill you do 800 DPS. It could be - fight the dummy until it is nearly broken.

As much as I am a proponent for DPS meters, it won't be a magic fix for people that just don't give a damn about how well they perform. It's certainly a great tool to use if you have the knowledge and drive to improve; the former can be easily found, but the latter is something that some people just don't have, or they don't bother with. As Kaedan94 said above, it comes down to their attitude. It's only going to show you how well you perform, not how to.

I mean, even with the game lighting up buttons for you and tooltips giving out as much information as it does, people still mess that up. If they can't be bothered to do basic rotations or priorities, I'm not going to expect them to be able to optimize it.

P.S. I still want a parser. >.<

[BreathlessTao]

Yeah, why not just allow us to script the absolute best rotations and AoE dodging, so that the game can do it? Then every job would be doing the exact same things all the time and we wouldn't be hearing all this BS whining about bad DPS.
As extra punishment, our faces could be ripped off, our bodies snapped in half, and our souls thrown in the deepest pits of hell, never ever to see daylight again. So that we'd surely not ever come back to ruin your game for you.

[Laerune]

A guide wont do much, even if there is a guide telling them which skills to press in what order. People would still be "I pay for this, so I will play whoever I want".

Maybe what SE needs to do is make dungeons/fights less pew pew based and more strategy, giving players more to do during a fight then doing damage.

[Pison]

Of course, there are those of us that have certain ... problems, making optimal gameplay not something that can be commonly done. Whether it's due to hands not pressing the buttons your mind is telling it to, or a complete inability to focus on more than one or two things at a time. I, for instance, cannot keep track of cooldowns/buffs/DoTs/AoEs to move out of the way of, as well as doing perfect rotations without messing something up regardless of how much practice is put into it due to some limitations my brain can process at the same time. I've played Bard, and only Bard, since 2.1 and I'm only an average player that can play to the absolute best every once in a while.

But I know who I am, and I stay out of content that's too much for me. No EX Primals or Alexander for a while, until Echo comes into play.

[StrejdaTom]

Yeah, why not just allow us to script the absolute best rotations and AoE dodging, so that the game can do it? Then every job would be doing the exact same things all the time and we wouldn't be hearing all this BS whining about bad DPS.
As extra punishment, our faces could be ripped off, our bodies snapped in half, and our souls thrown in the deepest pits of hell, never ever to see daylight again. So that we'd surely not ever come back to ruin your game for you.

OP made quite a valuable suggestion and you come with what? Throwing around scripts and body ripping..
There is absolutely no way to improve some players except taking them by hand and showing them what to do, asking developers to do that is somehow ok, especially when they introduce mild dps checks that some people cannot pass.

Of course, there are those of us that have certain ... problems, making optimal gameplay not something that can be commonly done. Whether it's due to hands not pressing the buttons your mind is telling it to, or a complete inability to focus on more than one or two things at a time. I, for instance, cannot keep track of cooldowns/buffs/DoTs/AoEs to move out of the way of, as well as doing perfect rotations without messing something up regardless of how much practice is put into it due to some limitations my brain can process at the same time. I've played Bard, and only Bard, since 2.1 and I'm only an average player that can play to the absolute best every once in a while.

But I know who I am, and I stay out of content that's too much for me. No EX Primals or Alexander for a while, until Echo comes into play.

Not sure what your UI looks like, but it helps to have certains skills on monitor twice. Once with bigger icons around the place you watch the most. That way you will never miss bloodletter, buff, barrage + empyreal etc., also you can use macro that hides the hotbar with mega huge icons every time you aren't doing some hard content so it doesn't ruin your game experience.

I might even show you my UI but it might scare you.

[WingsOfAzrael]

let people learn how to play their class, isn't that what trying new classes is about? the fact is not everybody is gonna be able to play a class to its full potential

[FoxyAreku]

We're in a community where people think a bard not using cooldowns is a playstyle choice.

(Actual discussion I had in a dungeon once...no joke!)

No amount of hand holding will fix it.