Just realized something: FFXIV is a terrible DPS player's DREAM come true...

[AphraelAmarantha]

Parsing isn't bad.

Sorry but I disagree with you. Parsing has always been a cancer in MMOs and it gives players the excuse to be toxic jerks and wave their e-peens around as if it mattered. Knowing your mechanics imo is far better than trying to do high dps. If you are dead, then you aren't doing any dps.

[Krotoan]

Parsing isn't bad. They should implement it in the game and keep individual records for players. Then they should reward dps players for playing at or above those records. Gil rewards or cracked clusters and the like. Encourage people to excel, y'know? Maybe use a rating system to keep them locked out of content they aren't ready for, the same way schools keep pre-algebra students from attending trigonometry courses. Not to punish, but to wait until they're prepared.

What would keep people from eating AOE's just to hit these records? "I needed to be behind to get the potency bonus".. "If I moved I'd stop my casting and lose DPS" . I ask this because I have a friend who does EXACTLY this. Doesn't like to move unless something is going to DEFINITELY kill them because otherwise "THE DEEPS" will go down. They put extra pressure on the Healers and stress out tanks. This would encourage the hell out of this kind of behavior.
I'm not against parsers, but I know the playerbase well enough to know that most of them cannot use them responsibly or maturely.

[Arrius]

Sorry but I disagree with you. Parsing has always been a cancer in MMOs and it gives players the excuse to be toxic jerks and wave their e-peens around as if it mattered. Knowing your mechanics imo is far better than trying to do high dps. If you are dead, then you aren't doing any dps.

You know what's even better? DPS that do both, doing damage and evade mechanics, at the same time realiably and on a acceptable level.
And that shouldn't be the exception, mind you - This is a standard which each player on the DPS role should strive for.

However, people seem to enjoy rather being carried at times than to make an effort in learning their job, or outright refuse to be helped out just because they "don't pay my sub".
To solve this, and avoid possible mudslinging in party chat (which many probably don't want to do, as arguing with stubborn people who aren't seeing the wrongs in their doing is quite the emotional strain), players rather like have solid evidence.
And this evidence can be used in form of a official parser, as everyone would see the numbers and have all reason to address that player who is underperforming on a noticable level.

Getting all defensive here because 'elitists' will use it for their own gain is mostly a overblown thing, as the community here is rather relaxed about such issues and only really steps in when underperformers are affecting the party.
Of course, some might use it to be obnoxious with the numbers, but you do have the option to report them for harassment, of which I heard and read that SE drops quite the hammer on those.

So, if you're confident with the DPS you do, and there are means to report people reliably to have them set straight if they abuse the numbers, what else is to speak against parsing to uproot the bads?
Unless the community as a whole makes an effort to raise the standards. Which I doubt they will do, because it would require effort from their side. And keep in mind - If the players would do decent enough in duties, regardless of role, we wouldn't have this problem in the first place.

[Selova]

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You can disagree all you want, but you're still wrong. The issue you have isn't against parsers, It's people in the community that misuse them. Mechanics also aren't the be all end all to encounters either. You could execute mechanics of a fight perfectly, but if your personal performance suffers because you can't handle juggling mechanics and performing on a optimal level at the same time, You'll just eat the enrage every single time. Parsers are a tool designed to help players overcome dps hurdles, know what went wrong and how to improve their personal performance. Just because you had some bad experiences with people using them incorrectly doesn't mean it's the parsers existence that is to blame. Toxic players will always find a way to bring down others, parsers or not.

[Shurrikhan]

Sorry but I disagree with you. Parsing has always been a cancer in MMOs and it gives players the excuse to be toxic jerks and wave their e-peens around as if it mattered. Knowing your mechanics imo is far better than trying to do high dps. If you are dead, then you aren't doing any dps.

Even though in all but the most lenient raids knowing mechanics is essential to high DPS and high DPS is essential to clears?

EDIT: You're asking for a bare minimum of performance that can only apply outside of serious content. Generally, both are required. And having information to tell you how your decisions fared only helps in that purpose.

Also, in WoW, Rift, and GW2, parsers have been also a gateway to good advice, team spot-checking and coordination, and realistic expectations, all fairly opposite to toxicity. XIV has been kind of the outlier in how negatively their use may appear, but I think that has more to do with the slightly higher portion of players than normal who are actively disinterested in playing well, and the fact that any serious play in this game is generally made or broken by DPS (checks).

[AphraelAmarantha]

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If SE wanted players using parsers, they would have put one in. Instead they ban people who get caught using them. That should tell you people something. Also, SE is not the only one. SEGA bans people for using them in PSO2 as well. I'm certain other games also ban them. If you want to use parsers, go play a game that allows for their use like Echo of Soul or something.

Also another thing to think about: you can't get to optimal DPS if you are failing mechanics. Knowing mechanics come first, then you can work on optimizing your rotations.

[Nestama]

Also another thing to think about: you can't get to optimal DPS if you are failing mechanics. Knowing mechanics come first, then you can work on optimizing your rotations.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't not try to keep your DPS up while also learning mechanics. Throughout my times learning Lakshmi EX, Susano EX, V1S and V2S, I always made sure my DPS would always be decent, while at the same time keeping an eye out for mechanics. It gets you comfortable with the fight much quicker, too.

As Arrius said, if someone were to harass/be toxic toward you because of a parser, then you can easily report them and the GM's will be quick to toss them into gaol. Blame the player, not the tool.

[Zeonsilt]

What would keep people from eating AOE's just to hit these records? "I needed to be behind to get the potency bonus".. "If I moved I'd stop my casting and lose DPS" . I ask this because I have a friend who does EXACTLY this. Doesn't like to move unless something is going to DEFINITELY kill them because otherwise "THE DEEPS" will go down. They put extra pressure on the Healers and stress out tanks. This would encourage the hell out of this kind of behavior.
I'm not against parsers, but I know the playerbase well enough to know that most of them cannot use them responsibly or maturely.

People already doing that. I have a best friend, who is playing a Monk, and every-single-time he charges (copying certain someone) ahead of tank (which is me) and screaming "MY STAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACKS!"
Good thing i'm always 2 step ahead and can charge also (as a warrior).


Remember, folks! If you're playing a Monk, you need to meditate and you gonna become one with your stacks.

[AphraelAmarantha]

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Putting them in a gaol doesn't solve the problem. They should be permabanned. :/

[AxiomPITCH]

My personal favorite implementation of a scoreboard is the Nexon hosted version of Vindictus, particularly because it is so simple. It doesn't even show a numerical parse. It merely shows the time taken to down the boss at the end of the encounter, and underneath it is the name of the player who did the highest % of damage. However what I don't like about it is that it's a pop up screen page, taking up the entire screen. It becomes something that you click to exit instantly after you see the name of the highest dps.

But what I hope for in XIV in regards to an in game parser is something resembling the active time maneuver mechanic or job meters in size, a UI element visually condensed and to the point, popping up for everyone after combat is finished, for example, between mob pulls or after boss encounters displaying the time taken in the encounter, the player boasting the most damage (not a number, but a %), and the player contributing most to the LB gauge.

This would give players incentive to play correctly, ie. a dps using their emnity abilities instead of trying to be #2 on the emnity bars because there's no way for other players to see that they're doing the most damage if their party members do not have a parser, or perhaps a healer or tank wishes to shoot to be the first on the limit gauge, pushing health to the limits. This would also somewhat curb number circlejerks and lynch mobs, however I will be the first to admit that numbers matter above all else in testing damage rotations and strategies. Which is why I prefer time and percentile for something simple and inclusive without forcing [bad] players to be completely in the spotlight, 3rd party parsers are overloading with information, too much to condense into something that's not a pop-up page at the end of fights.