Going on 2 hours of radio silence after logging in to find my character in GM jail

[Veis_Alveare]

But that just the thing. Life isnt fair look while I feel for the player getting a ban the fact of the matter is THEY CHOSE to use third party software in direct violation of the Terms of Service was the punishment harsh absolutely. However what you as people are saying is that if someone breaks rules knowingly they shouldnt be punished by that logic string nobody should be punished for anything they ever did knowingly.

Can you see the problem with that line of thinking? That said Maybe I'd have gone with time served since they could do nothing anyways for four hours.

You're ignoring the pick-and-choose mentality SE is using to enforce a (completely stupid and pointless) rule.

Imagine you're driving and the speed limit is 65mph. You do 70 because everyone is doing 70, not doing 70 would literally be impeding the flow of traffic. You're harming no one, in the middle of a big pack of cars all going the same speed with no issue... and you get pulled over. Just you

Does that seem unfair? If you've got any common sense at all the answer is yes.

Punishing people for things that just plain aren't enforceable is dumb. Punishing people for things that don't impact the game or other players of enjoyment of the game is dumb. Punishing people for picking up the slack and implementing a system to cover an obvious gap left by SE themselves is monumentally stupid.

[kidalutz]

You're ignoring the pick-and-choose mentality SE is using to enforce a (completely stupid and pointless) rule.

Imagine you're driving and the speed limit is 65mph. You do 70 because everyone is doing 70, not doing 70 would literally be impeding the flow of traffic. You're harming no one, in the middle of a big pack of cars all going the same speed with no issue... and you get pulled over. Just you

Does that seem unfair? If you've got any common sense at all the answer is yes.

Punishing people for things that just plain aren't enforceable is dumb. Punishing people for things that don't impact the game or other players of enjoyment of the game is dumb. Punishing people for picking up the slack and implementing a system to cover an obvious gap left by SE themselves is monumentally stupid.

Except it is enforceable as the case in point has proven. Secondly there literally is nothing a parser does that Picks up slack. It's a simple packet scan that produces a number layout so you can read everyone's numbers, not something you actively need to be able to play, nothing it does cant really be figured out by your own brain, as to your improvement or lack thereof.

1. Memorise the fight once you do that you know when you're going to have to move with relative ease this ensures you aren't examining floor particles. Hey look at that DPS picked up right there, no death, proper movement DPS gain.
2. Know your rotation. Once you got your rotation understood you'll be able to maintain for those times when you have to move. Once more DPS Increases.
3. Constantly Optimise. Streamline your movements tighten them so you're only needing to do a minimum of movement before you can get back to dealing damage keep your gear melded even if you're planning to replace it asap eat the proper food, have the proper potion going.etc.etc.

Constant practice and due diligence. a parser is just going to give you data but it's not going to improve your ability.

[Kaedan]

Constant practice and due diligence. a parser is just going to give you data but it's not going to improve your ability.

ACT does, though. That's why world firsters use it. It tells you well in advance of mechanics. Sure, you still have to remember what to do for each mechanic, but it "takes the edge off" in terms of needing to remember timing. So it very much does give an advantage and will improve someone's play.

[SerLuke]

ACT does, though. That's why world firsters use it. It tells you well in advance of mechanics. Sure, you still have to remember what to do for each mechanic, but it "takes the edge off" in terms of needing to remember timing. So it very much does give an advantage and will improve someone's play.

Wait it tells you what mechanics are coming up before they happen? Like I get joining voice chat where a player helps with callouts but having software that does it seems to start to boarder on cheating since it gives an advantage over people who don't use third party software or people on PS4.

[kidalutz]

ACT does, though. That's why world firsters use it. It tells you well in advance of mechanics. Sure, you still have to remember what to do for each mechanic, but it "takes the edge off" in terms of needing to remember timing. So it very much does give an advantage and will improve someone's play.

So cheating in other words.

[Jollyy5]

...

I too am not a huge fan of that, but it's something you have to download/set up separately.

Personally I just want to know my numbers and see what I did during a fight so that I can do better next time.

[Hash_Browns]

Wait it tells you what mechanics are coming up before they happen? Like I get joining voice chat where a player helps with callouts but having software that does it seems to start to boarder on cheating since it gives an advantage over people who don't use third party software or people on PS4.

ACT does, though. That's why world firsters use it. It tells you well in advance of mechanics. Sure, you still have to remember what to do for each mechanic, but it "takes the edge off" in terms of needing to remember timing. So it very much does give an advantage and will improve someone's play.

I was unaware that ACT could even do that.
I don't believe parsers are cheating, as long as it's just showing you the numbers.
However, I would consider that cheating.

[Vahlnir]

I was unaware that ACT could even do that.
I don't believe parsers are cheating, as long as it's just showing you the numbers.
However, I would consider that cheating.

It's basically the DBM of FF XIV. DBM does the same thing in WoW but they allow addons by default and even design a lot of boss fights around it (DBM). But they are not allowed here according the ToS so...while I wouldn't consider it cheating, I would definitely consider it as a breach of the ToS.

[Hash_Browns]

It's basically the DBM of FF XIV. DBM does the same thing in WoW but they allow addons by default and even design a lot of boss fights around it (DBM). But they are not allowed here according the ToS so...while I wouldn't consider it cheating, I would definitely consider it as a breach of the ToS.

Personally speaking, my belief is that if something gives you an unfair advantage - it becomes cheating.
Parsers gives you raw data of your numbers, and you can use that to better yourself - but you would be the one bettering yourself. Call outs give you a an advantage in the sense that you will never have to truly react to anything, or learn the mechanics. However, to be fair at the end of the day I'm not going to get bent out of shape about it because FFXIV (outside of the PvP) is a co-op game, and it doesn't exactly effect me. I can understand where people are coming from when they say they don't consider it cheating.

[Liam_Harper]

Constant practice and due diligence. a parser is just going to give you data but it's not going to improve your ability.

This is false.

As an example, a couple of times people have asked me for help. I checked fflogs (no I don't upload anything there, that'd be naughty) and someone else had posted a few logs including them. With that data I could pick out every single flaw in their rotation and give them a fully detailed explanation of how to improve. In some cases they'd been playing like that for months, read guides, beaten SSS and would never had been given any indication they were doing it wrong or why.

This actually applies to me too. I used to think I was a good Samurai, read the guides, beat SSS, practised a ton. Then one day I got curious to see if anyone ever logged me, looked at fflogs and learned I was grey parsing Seiryu. I was shocked, but it gave me a real push to analyse indepth, neglect important details far less, push more uptime and eventually I pushed my performance by a good 20-30%.

In WoW where parsing is legal, Skada was by far my most valuable tool for raid leading because it let me see everything. I could see who was missing what mechanic, what needed focus, where mistakes were happening, adapt new strategies and guide my group towards beating the encounter. It was amazing. I truly miss that.