Discuss: Are DPS meters bad for MMOs?

[Kazumac]

I just want something in place to kinda restict people from taking away from the enjoyment of the game by bullying/harassing/discriminating against others based on that info.

It's already there in the form of vote kicking harassers, repeating them to GMs and plain old just not playing with people you can't get along with. If you refuse to use these tools to improve your experience in game I don't know what to tell you. There's no way to prevent or limit harrassment from other players outside limiting our abilities to communicate with each other or turning this into a single player game.

The only thing at question is whether or not we should have a tool to help us better understand our performance. The harrassment issue is there already with or without a parser. Kicks or complaints about low dps will still exist without it, they'll just be uninformed and players will have less tools to help themselves improve (potentially even increasing the harrassment because it is difficult to get better . Maybe even leading to a larger divide and elitism?). The community is not not nicer to one another without parsers . The community is just merely uninformed without them.

[Archulak]

Just feel like throwing my 2 cents in but if they do end up putting in a parser that only shows your dps in game(a common suggestion in this thread), it won't stop anyone from being able to see others dps because people would still use the parsers that are currently available.

[Kazumac]

Just feel like throwing my 2 cents in but if they do end up putting in a parser that only shows your dps in game(a common suggestion in this thread), it won't stop anyone from being able to see others dps because people would still use the parsers that are currently available.

Exactly, I've said that a few times. Though even if they gave us this it would be of a benefit to PS3/4 users who are out of luck in the current environment unless they have a parsing friend.

[QiLymePye]

Exactly, I've said that a few times. Though even if they gave us this it would be of a benefit to PS3/4 users who are out of luck in the current environment unless they have a parsing friend.

And maybe this is the disconnect, because I play on PS4. My understanding is that the parser will allow you to not only see certain info better, but interpret it. Im having a hard time understanding why people are saying its already in the game? I don't see it. Where can I go to view it so that I can see what type of info it disperses?

[QiLymePye]

Or better yet, they can make one and put it in the cash shop!!!! lol..jk...just trying to lighten up the mood....but.....what if?????

[DenariusJay]

I really don't like the idea of parsers during a run unless its absolutely private. If they had an ingame private parser that shows your DPS that only you can see, then I would be fine with that - actually it would help a lot to see where your lacking during certain phases in fights, it can be used as a tool for self improvement instead of what we have now, which is just a whole lotta guessing.

[Kazumac]

And maybe this is the disconnect, because I play on PS4. My understanding is that the parser will allow you to not only see certain info better, but interpret it. Im having a hard time understanding why people are saying its already in the game? I don't see it. Where can I go to view it so that I can see what type of info it disperses?

I'm sure google can help you find it I won't link to something directly that promotes breaking of TOS. As we are discussing the benefits of a parser knowing how current ones work is helpful as an example of something to be added to the game. Typical parsers show data in a mix of graphical and summarized information such as averages, ability breakdown, overheal percent, miss percentage etc. and a lot of other metrics. They are usually way more than just your average dps over the course of a fight. So you can really dig into the details if you so desire which is especially helpful for stuff like healing where raw healing per second really isn't a very useful metric in most cases.

[Archulak]

And maybe this is the disconnect, because I play on PS4. My understanding is that the parser will allow you to not only see certain info better, but interpret it. Im having a hard time understanding why people are saying its already in the game? I don't see it. Where can I go to view it so that I can see what type of info it disperses?

That would be a big disconnect. Currently, even though parsers are against the tos, on PC there are at least 2 that i know of that people use(most that I've heard of use one called ACT). It tells you everything that the battle log does in a condensed and easy to read form(as well as estimating the amount of dmg that dots do which is something not in the battle log). This includes the exact dmg value of every skill that every party member and enemy has used and the time that they were used at and weather or not anything crit. They also tell you hidden values like the exact hp of mobs. Some people also use them to play sound effects based on what the boss they're fighting is going to do(ppl count this as an unfair advantage but anyone can do this in game using macros to count the time between skills they just have to hit the timer macro when the phase changes, it just requires 3 less button presses per fight).

So basically they give you all the information the game currently does, plus a little bit extra, and make it really easy to read. So really anything less that comes from the devs will be nice for PS players but if any PC player really wants to know they could just use what's already available.

[juniglee]

And maybe this is the disconnect, because I play on PS4. My understanding is that the parser will allow you to not only see certain info better, but interpret it. Im having a hard time understanding why people are saying its already in the game? I don't see it. Where can I go to view it so that I can see what type of info it disperses?

Technically it is in the game, under your Battle Log.

For what it's worth, the parser apps generally read from those logs, and present it in a nice, presentable, and readable manner. Because surely you do not want to sift through 300 lines of text, looking for your own numbers, and doing your own maths...

[Kazumac]

snip snip

Agreed and to follow on I think it is a big advantage in terms of ease of use. I made my own macro for divebombs in T5 etc but I'm sure it would be easier with a parser.

I personally believe this to be the biggest roadblock to SE officially saying parsers are ok... Since a good part of their population can't use it if it was allowed and that is unfair. Also it takes non insignificant resources to develop (and to make a good one) it's probably not up on a priority list. Maybe the cash shop idea is the answer... Lol j/k please no.