Would you like an in-game parser?

[Nalien]

Right? I'll never understand that attitude. "Wahhh! Someone told me my DPS is bad so I quit!" ... errr how about you just get better? Go check the official forums or do a google search to find a guide on your class, read up, and practice? o.O

What's really odd is that they don't even need to be told their DPS sucks... A personal parser could let you walk out with a number, nobody else would know that number and it would be meaningless in isolation... It would satisfy a lot of people who want a parser, because they can talk and compare, while people who don't care can just continue to plug their ears and ignore empirical evidence that they're doing their rotation "wrong"*... Those of us who want to improve would have better tools to do so, while those who prefer to remain ignorant... Continue to remain ignorant...

Perhaps the only issue is when people ask for proof to join statics, but I somehow doubt the people who'd hate a parser are getting far in that regard anyway, and if they are... They're probably worrying over nothing...

*Perhaps "wrong" is the wrong word, if someone wants to play Ice Mage, that's their right. I have no issue with them doing that, I just have issue with carrying them. People are welcome to play the game however they want, but if you're going to play snakes and ladders differently to how I play it? Don't expect me to want to play with you... A reasonably optimized rotation is what most accept and expect, and a parser helps everyone achieve that... If there are people who still don't want to do that, then that's fine... I don't want to watch video guides before jumping into new content, so I don't. I also didn't burden other people by playing blind when everyone expects people to know the mechanics... Ignore the parser the same way I ignore MrHappy if you want to play differently... A personal parser really isn't open to abuse...

[Lemuria]

Those of us who want to improve would have better tools to do so, while those who prefer to remain ignorant... Continue to remain ignorant...

This is exactly why people don't want parsers in-game. This very attitude stinks of "I'm doing everything right, and you're doing it all wrong.". It's basically telling everyone that they need to do every little skill in a very precise order or they're branded as useless. To be honest, it's not a pleasant thought that every single player has to become robotic in their actions to be considered good at their job. It basically robs the game of any flexibility and enjoyment.

It's often not a case of ignorance. Some people may be well aware that their rotations aren't 'optimal', but choose to use a less optimal option because it's more enjoyable for them. Only on very high-end content does DPS really matter, due to the endless DPS check phases. For most fights, no one really cares who hits harder than who as long as the enemy dies. I'd sooner pick the guy who is average but polite, than someone who thinks they're better than everyone else, even if they have rights to that claim.

[Nalien]

It's often not a case of ignorance.

I don't mean ignorant of their rotation, I mean ignorant of their parser results... If you don't care about parser results, don't look at them... Personal parser results give you that right... Like I said, the numbers are absolutely meaningless in isolation, it falls to the individual to make sense of them... If I want to see how well I'm doing, I'll look around to see others results, compare that to my own and form an understanding based off that... If I don't give a flip, I'll not care... I'll remain ignorant of what my results mean... No one will be able to chase down my results and harass me for "poor" numbers, so what's the problem?

Do we really think there will be harassment in the Duty Finder, when nobody can see anything other than their own results? The Duty Finder where "Hello" is typically the only word uttered all run? Even if a personal parser suddenly makes the party chat more active, there is nothing stopping people from straight up lying... I can't see your parser results, you can't see mine...

[ShaneDawn]

This is exactly why people don't want parsers in-game. This very attitude stinks of "I'm doing everything right, and you're doing it all wrong.". It's basically telling everyone that they need to do every little skill in a very precise order or they're branded as useless. To be honest, it's not a pleasant thought that every single player has to become robotic in their actions to be considered good at their job.

Not to be that guy, but one doesn't even have to go for the very best min-maxed rotational effectiveness to maintain a good/decent dps. The case is, however, that a lot of people don't seem even capable of reading through their skill and trait descriptions. The synergies in and out between the two are in plain sight.


While I agree that toxicity is something we should not encourage or have fertile ground to nurture I do think it's not too much for people to at least read their skill descriptions. It takes a special kind of self-centeredness to enter party type content while consciously underperforming for one's own enjoyment. Just how exactly would it ruin the game experience for a person to spend an hour looking at their skill bar and managing their rotation and priorities?

As an example of (one of the) worst type of this type of behavior. There was a BLM in a dungeon, that refused to use any Fire skills, as he wanted to be identified as a wielder of Ice magic. While I respected his decision of roleplay, I initiated a vote kick as that kind of attitude is downright disrespectful of the people around you. We got someone who did his best and all had an enjoyable run.

As for parsers: I am pro-parser for personal parsers on all kind of content. Savage Raiding and everything including (subjectively) challenging DPS checks should have a raid-wide parser.