Quote Originally Posted by villadelfia View Post
I don't know where this misconception keeps coming from. FFXIV does not save combat logs to a file, and the combat log available in-game is not sufficient to calculate your DPS because DoT ticks are not represented in it. The parser that everyone uses has two options available for parsing:
  1. Memory reading: This one is less accurate because it has the same issue as the in-game log, being a lack of DoT ticks.
  2. Network Sniffing: This one reads the actual network packets the game sends and receives. It's not possible to detect it from within the game without installing a kernel mode driver, and it's more accurate since it can sniff the dot tick amounts from the packets. Only disadvantage is that it doesn't work when the windows firewall is enabled.

The .log file you are talking about is generated by this program, not by the game. If you don't believe me, delete the log, go hit a striking dummy without your parser running, and try to find the log that the game allegedly saves.
Documents/My Games/FINAL FANTASY XIV - A Realm Reborn/ FFXIV_CHR[character code]/log

The parser has never been perfect at reading dots because it has to estimate crits and such...UNLESS you're using one of the more invasive types you're talking about, and I do not know one single person who uses those. Those ARE potentially against the ToS, and the difference between what you get from that and what you get from reading the logs (or yes...the temporary information in memory which is destined for a log file) is so miniscule it is not worth the risk or hassle.

Parsing programs are going to generate their own log file, but the data is still saved to your PC. People need to chill...and also stop spreading misinformation.