Parsers make you stupid

[Edenholt]

I would like to have a DPS monitoring tool built into the game that only provides information to a player about themselves. We do not need to see what other players are doing, damage-wise (what's the point.. calling them out on it only gets you reported) and would fix a lot of behavioral problems brought on by parsing.

I think it's important that the game provide players with data they need to be aware of in order to see if changes to their fighting style is improving or worsening their damage output. At a bare minimum the fighting-dummies set up around the game should be providing this information to any player attacking them. If people want to share their personal DPS data with others, that's their call, but the game itself should not advertise anyone's DPS to anyone but the owner of that damage.

You have a fight in which all the DPSes should be doing at least 1k dps in order to kill the boss. One of them is doing 800dps. Nobody can see each other's result, then they start comparing numbers, the person with low DPS most likely will not admit it (let's be realistic here!). Maybe the player with low DPS is having just a silly problem with his rotation that someone else in the group could help him with, but he don't feel like he should be scrutinized by his peers due his low dmg, therefore he silence. But he has no idea how to improve, if he knew he wouldn't be doing such low dmg to begin with and since nobody else has access to the group's real number the group as a whole will fail, they won't kill the boss, will disband. Now, who's benefiting from personal parsers whose results only the the owner can see?

[Gyson]

You have a fight in which all the DPSes should be doing at least 1k dps in order to kill the boss. One of them is doing 800dps. Nobody can see each other's result, then they start comparing numbers, the person with low DPS most likely will not admit it (let's be realistic here!). Maybe the player with low DPS is having just a silly problem with his rotation that someone else in the group could help him with, but he don't feel like he should be scrutinized by his peers due his low dmg, therefore he silence. But he has no idea how to improve, if he knew he wouldn't be doing such low dmg to begin with and since nobody else has access to the group's real number the group as a whole will fail, they won't kill the boss, will disband. Now, who's benefiting from personal parsers whose results only the the owner can see?

In that case your group is out of luck. I'm sorry, but the developers are never going to allow parsers if they can be used to criticize the performance of others, no matter how many "would be useful for this" scenarios anyone can come up with.

A personal in-game DPS meter that shows you and you alone how you're doing (and not anyone else) is the best we can ever hope to receive *because it doesn't open up anyone to abuse*. Again, we do not need to see what the DPS of anyone else is.. not because there aren't legitimate reasons for it, but because players can not be trusted to be mature with that information.

[Melondra]

Parse should be used as a learning tool to gage your own DPS to attempt to make improvements on your self if you wish, they should never be used to conddem another player,se need s to step in on this and start banning people for the used of 3rd party software, they didn't put up with it in FFXI online and it should not be tolerated here.

[m3eansean]

Parse should be used as a learning tool to gage your own DPS to attempt to make improvements on your self if you wish, they should never be used to conddem another player,se need s to step in on this and start banning people for the used of 3rd party software, they didn't put up with it in FFXI online and it should not be tolerated here.

It's how the parser interacts with the log files. From what I hear, SE has no way of knowing if they are being used, because they are not interacting with the log files in such a way to be detectable from the server end. So in short, they can never stop it. Furthermore, they themselves have posted server first clears with high end raiding FC's which clearly show the usage of parsers. SE understands their use as a tool and have commented they wanted to officially sanction 3rd party add-ons starting with Heavensward.

[Ashkendor]

Parsers are great in the hands of intelligent people that want to use them as a tool for self-improvement or for the purpose of figuring out a problem with their static. Like any tool, it takes on a completely different use when you drop it into the hands of a complete idiot. Parsers don't make people stupid. Some people are just born that way.

[DkDerek]

Tell the tanks to get the orbs. Your job is to do damage. Have low dps? You're not doing your job.

If your tank is still being a shitlord, find a way to get orbs, AND do high damage. Moving away from the boss for a split second does not put your dps in the toilet.

[Badkarma]

Tell the tanks to get the orbs. Your job is to do damage. Have low dps? You're not doing your job.

If your tank is still being a shitlord, find a way to get orbs, AND do high damage. Moving away from the boss for a split second does not put your dps in the toilet.

Most orbs should be handled by a combination of ranged and healers.

[Yshnal]

Just the other day I had someone trash talk (no, not giving constructive criticism) about a dps (healer main) because he was doing less dps than what they thought that they should in A3. That after having killed the boss fine two times without any wipe, and even skipping half a phase on both runs... Who cares if we take one minute more, at most, to kill that boss if we're killing it perfectly fine. Their alternative? Break up the party, GG. Honestly, I was as tank and I had already looted, but some people really know how to get to my nerves.

Some people are really stupid, and I'm sorry for saying this but it's the truth (ok, I'm not sorry, because it's the hard truth). And that's why I've always said that it's a BAD idea to let the masses access parsers, because for every player that uses them well you have at least ten that don't and create a bad mood in the game. I'm finding more and more people like that these days, as parsers seem to be becoming more popular for some reason.

Please, cut this now while you can by giving us a personal in-game parser somewhere (on the dummies, for instance, as suggested many times), and completely banning any kind of modification or add-on to the game.

[Catwho]

As a bard main, I like to keep an eye on my own DPS via the parse - in case I need to fend off baseless accusations of being the lowest DPS. If my numbers are consistent with what I expect, I'm usually happy even if I am a bit lower than everyone else. If someone is performing more poorly than I am and they're a DRG or a MNK, I laugh it off generally because they need to git gud.

But I NEVER share my parse results outside of my FC's facebook group, and even that inadvertently caused some drama because we have a free company with four bards in it so we can do some serious apples to apples in 8 man content.

[KaijinRhada]

The arguments against meters gets more interesting... If they're doing stupid things with a parser, then they probably have the same problem without concerning other mechanics.