Quote Originally Posted by Bonkleberry View Post
One of the reasons I chose to play this game is based on an idea that this game does not allow mods or third party programs, but, from what I am reading and hearing, damage meters, parsers, and even screen overlays are widely used by most players in the end game without penalty.
If you're referring to this part:

"Third-Party Programs or Tools. SQUARE ENIX strictly prohibits the use of third-party programs or tools – including programs and tools that permit automated or “absentee” play – in FINAL FANTASY XIV. Accordingly, the following activities are prohibited:

· Modifying, analyzing, integrating, and/or reverse engineering game software or data.
· Creating, distributing, using, or promoting utilities that interact with the game.
· Exploiting SQUARE ENIX programming bugs or glitches.
· Automating gameplay processes."

I think you misunderstand what 'analyzing' means in this context, clearly SE don't think parsers 'analyze' anything in breach of this clause.