DPS display could easily be solved with a system already in game.

[Ayuhra]

I am of mixed opinions on this one.

I immigrated here from World of Warcraft where DPS meters are fairly ubiquitous. When I played a damage dealer there I found the meter addons a handy tool and valued them as a way to judge my own performance. I liked being able to see where I needed to tighten my rotation or burst harder and when I topped the charts it was nice knowing I was making a meaningful contribution to a fight.

However...

Damage dealer performance is usually seen as a numbers game. If the tank is holding threat and positioning the boss properly without dying you know he's good. If the healers are keeping people alive without running out of mana they're good. If the boss dies.....eh. Success to everyone, DPS doesn't usually get credit there. Why? Because there are many of us and it takes many of us to down a boss. The way people judge our performance is in seeing how much damage we each were individually putting out, which makes DPS meters sometimes feel dehumanizing. You aren't a player, you are a number. If your number is low go home. It really feels awful and stressful to know that you are a number on a chart everyone is watching like a hawk and they will kick you if you go too low because you are replaceable.

Now do I think low DPS should be carried? No.

But I think that having no charts seems to encourage people to try again, since they can't clearly see where low numbers might be. In WoW people tried again but usually only after gutting half the team.

[FrejyaAthenes]

@Ayuhra

Nature of the beast, I guess. Like you said, damagers are a dime a dozen and are often the most expendable in the party. At least having a number attached to will give you some semblance of value. And if you're gonna be a number you may as well be the biggest you can.

[Galaktica]

Someone might insult you for abysmal performance, and that is not ideal but hardly harassment, tanks and healers already deal with this.

No, that's literally harassment and exactly the type of bs people don't want to deal. It may not always be as severe as some people make it out to be, but harassment is still harassment no matter which way you cut it. Just because tanks and healers have to deal with it doesn't suddenly make it okay.

That said, honestly, I have to agree with you that people shouldn't show up expecting to get carried and whatnot, but, I would much rather carry someone than potentially watch someone tear someone else apart because "this number was lower than that number." I'm aware that not everyone feels the same way (clearly...), but that's just me.

[Cynfael]

Personally I still think that the risk of increased toxicity is worth the potentially huge benefit of helping players who wouldn't otherwise be able to gauge their own DPS performance against some kind of numerical standard.

I would expect that very few players who weren't previously trolls would suddenly become such when handed a parser, while players inclined to be helpful and to seek help would have a powerful tool for improving their experience.

[Callinon]

I would expect that very few players who weren't previously trolls would suddenly become such when handed a parser, while players inclined to be helpful and to seek help would have a powerful tool for improving their experience.

Absolutely correct. A troll doesn't need a tool to be a troll. They'll find a way with whatever they have.

Given that, I'd rather have the tools to improve my own gameplay and that of my group/raid. Just because someone will inevitably use it to be a jerk, doesn't mean it isn't a useful tool.

[Gilraen]

Sometimes I wish Square would take the same stance against harassment as other companies, then I don't think anyone would have a problem with parsers, or even iL and some of the other things that somehow polarizes the community. Harassment is at the heart, if not THE heart, if this entire stand against parsers as well as all the other divisive mechanics that have been added over the years (like iL). Stop trying to sweep it under the rug like it's just a smattering of 'dust', it's well and beyond that.

[Calypsx]

I support a dps display for self improvement. I don't support a dps display that the entire party can see though due to the harassment I can see some players getting.

[Rendecrow]

I support a dps display for self improvement. I don't support a dps display that the entire party can see though due to the harassment I can see some players getting.

If you cant see what others are doing dps wise then you can't really self improve much. If your dps is "500" but then you dont know anyone elses dps, for all you know you are top dps.... or bottom. Who knows? If they implement a dps meter, you need to be able to see how you are doing relative to others.

[Calypsx]

If you cant see what others are doing dps wise then you can't really self improve much. If your dps is "500" but then you dont know anyone elses dps, for all you know you are top dps.... or bottom. Who knows? If they implement a dps meter, you need to be able to see how you are doing relative to others.

I can just see my own dps and go "I think I can go a little higher the next time I try this". It's like a personal goal/score kind of thing. I'm not stressing out competing with others this way but I'm slowly improving my own score. That sounds fun to me.

I honestly don't really need to know if I'm top dps or bottom, just if I'm improving over my own past numbers. Plus players generally talk about averages all over, you can look online to see if what you're scoring is decent.

[Cynfael]

I honestly don't really need to know if I'm top dps or bottom, just if I'm improving over my own past numbers. Plus players generally talk about averages all over, you can look online to see if what you're scoring is decent.

I think the context of your specific group and duty experience is too important to omit. Your DPS potential, especially your DPS ceiling, is impacted significantly by the performance of your group (is there a NIN putting up TA? A BRD singing Foe's for casters/Paeon for the TP-starved? Selene buffing the BLM? A party member trying to give you the hug of death by chasing you around with a deadly mechanic?), and comparing your performance with that of similar Jobs in your party is important for understanding how well you are doing given your circumstances.