Would you like an in-game parser?

[JDR388]

There will also be players that would look to improve with a parser; seeing their numbers might give them motivation to doing higher DPS.

I agree with most everything you just wrote except for two points. First, for someone to want to get better at something they need be intrinsically motivated to do so. Seeing higher numbers on a parser could be one way to encourage that but wouldn't seeing higher numbers from your attacks do just the same thing? To arrive at the point where a player would need a parser to track their progress they would have have already become motivated to join the dps race so it would not add to the number of players that want to do well, only more players that want to compare.


Which leads me to my second and more philosophical point: in my life experience finding new ways to compare ourselves to one another never really gives us the satisfaction that we hope it does. In fact I find the act of comparison, while thrilling in the beginning if we find ourselves on top, ultimately leads to feelings of anxiety, selfishness, and a tendency to dehumanize ourselves and others. In your second paragraph you made this act of comparison the heart of your argument but I don't agree that there is much joy to be had with this idea beyond only the most superficial. This doesn't mean that comparison never has it's place; in high end content it is a necessity. To further the point, those same high end contents are typically played by groups who know and trust each other and are willing to have their data analyzed.

However, you and I do not seem to be talking about this crowd as you consistently frame the use of this tool in the space of a 4 player party so I have to ask the question: Why do you feel the need to compare in that space? What does it get you? Does it have the potential to take from the person you are comparing against? Are those worthwhile things to pursue?

I cant answer those questions for you, but I do have some idea of the typical answers to those questions and I don't think it is a healthy pursuit in the context for which you are arguing.

[Khemorex]

Look, if someone is so thin skinned that they can't handle criticism over a video game then they probably should not be playing it.

just coz its the internet does it mean that you have to forget ur manners ^^

I think people should work more on their rage control ability first , but thats just me :P

[Jijifli]

just coz its the internet does it mean that you have to forget ur manners ^^

I think people should work more on their rage control ability first , but thats just me :P

And just because it's the internet doesn't mean you should call someone an elitist jerk because he said you should start using fire as BLM.

Seriously, 9/10 times I try to help someone they ignore me completely or tell me off for it. No wonder people stopped trying to play nice with it. Instead of trying to think of a nice way to put it, I could just say, "Yo start using Fire I." and get the same response as saying, "Hey, could you try using fire spells in the rotation? Blizzard spells don't do much damage and just help get mp back. You'll get a huge spike in damage if you do."