Why not an ingame damage tracker?

[KenzieLynch]

If you can't figure out for yourself why this would be a bad idea, and why it would be so unfitting in the type of game that ARR is, then I can't help you.

[Seig345]

Personally, there already is an in-game damage parser.

When the final boss dies, that means the DPS was satisfactory. :3

[Mcshiggs]

Personally, there already is an in-game damage parser.

When the final boss dies, that means the DPS was satisfactory. :3

Some people want to know who wasn't pulling their weight when the final boss doesn't die so the issue can be fixed.

[Xaphire]

Personally, there already is an in-game damage parser.

When the final boss dies, that means the DPS was satisfactory. :3

This is true of easy content. It was important to know who was pulling their weight and who wasn't when we were progressing through coil in average item levels of 60-65. The use of them also helped find meaningful number for gear choices to maximize output.

[Iymala]

Any game that has dps checks on fights should have a parser to help people better their own play and to help teams build effective combinations for fights. If this was a puzzle game with dps as a side focus than, yes, I could understand the clamor for not having a parser, but it is not. The players who always vehemently stand against parsers can play with people who do not value the feedback they give, but there is no reason to deny the whole community a parse because you are afraid of being called out for being sub par.

[Ehayte]

What about a personal parser for each player that shows them their own DPS, but you can check or uncheck it to share with your Group, FC, or Alliance at will?

[Miitan]

It's quite clear that no one would EVER use a parser to check their own dps and try to work out how to improve it.

Parsers are obviously just there so you can ridicule other people with low dps.

Obviously.

[Seig345]

What about a personal parser for each player that shows them their own DPS, but you can check or uncheck it to share with your Group, FC, or Alliance at will?

I was thinking something along these lines. That takes care of the "I wanna see how I'm doing" issue.

The problem with this whole parser vs no parser thing, is it tends to boil down to the same thing as the forum White Knight vs Troll arguments, where both sides simply slap the respective labels on each other and ultimately make no progress in the argument. Here, it's elitist jerks vs slackers. You're inevitably going to have elitist jerks who are gonna start sniffing at people who don't meet whatever 'standard' they set as 'necessary' for a dungeon, kinda like the whole iLvl 90's only thing. Meanwhile you'll also have people who don't want to be told how to play the game.

Maybe it should just be FC only. PUGs are going to be hit or miss, and you're going to find yourself 'needing' that parser to tell people what's what in just about every single PUG. FCs are going to be the only setting where you're going to see any real 'progress' from using the parser to see someone else's DPS. In PUGs it's likely to just be used as a means of deciding who should be vote kicked, which isn't going to teach people to 'play better', it's just going to teach them to hate harder.

The 'Well then the 'elitists' and 'slackers' can just stay away from each other' bit doesn't quite work with SE wanting as little player division as possible. That's why PS3 (and soon PS4) and PC can play together, and that's why the in-progress button on the DF is an inclusive option, not an exclusive one.

[Karnyboy]

I agree, as it stands now from a personal point of view the segregation already is happening. Open your party finder, what do you see?

"Experienced players only..."
iLvl requirements well above the required or necessary.

It's mostly passive aggressive elitism alongside the obvious elitists.

I would personally like an in game dps read out in detail because I like to improve myself, but have nothing for comparative data. I will probably leave this game if the UI ends up bloated like WoW.

I'm supportive of certain UI graces from third parties, but in WoW it got so bad if you didn't use xx add on then your pve/pvp experience was at a disadvantage of someone who did. It then becomes less about player skill, but who has the right add ons doing the work for them.

[RegnumMagik]

While I don't want parser to ruin people's experience, I don't want mine to be ruined either.
When there's dps race in bosses, i need to know who aren't meeting the standard.