5 reasons why PS4 players need a parser in game

[Sebazy]

And if you can advance that far with just SSS, then why add a parser?

Because SSS is a flawed concept that is far too detached from the realities of savage/ex content whilst it's current.

Picking up a rotation and doing it in a sterile environment is one thing, actually applying it in Savage is another. Not to mention SSS has no means of demonstrating the need to hold or push DPS, keep GCDs going through movement mechanics, preserving stacks and buffs through movement, multi dotting. It's not even much use for working out an opener with the fixed time limits.

It's a pretty obvious rush job in my eyes which is a shame as it could have been so much more useful and interesting than what it is.

I also would like to know why you'd refuse information given to you.

Afraid of change imo =(

[Nyxn607]

Afraid of change imo =(

I don't necessarily think it has to do with being afraid of change. I think it as difference of want and need. PS4 doesn't need a parser and honestly PC doesn't either. As long as you can clear content without one, there is not a need for it.

If people are asking for a parser for the sole purpose of clearing already cleared content a fraction faster, then it is a want, not a need.

[Sebazy]

I don't necessarily think it has to do with being afraid of change. I think it as difference of want and need. PS4 doesn't need a parser and honestly PC doesn't either. As long as you can clear content without one, there is not a need for it.

That's a good point and I suppose a big portion of this debate hinges on the difficulty of the upcoming raid tiers in SB.

If we see another Gordias, then I disagree, very strongly infact. Both A3S and A4S required a level of play optimisation that the overwhelming majority wouldn't be able to achieve with either a parser or at the very least, strategies derived from parser data. (And before the 'but muh SSS!', that doesn't teach you how to push DPS on Hand of Pain or burn key points of A4S in time to pull of the wonky strats the majority required to beat it)

If the future consists of Creator grade raids though, then as much as I might appear as a zealot for parsers, I actually agree with you there. Absolute top tier DPS was pretty much optional in Creator from the get go, right from week one either your raid had strong DPS and you can skip a good chunk of mechanics, or you had slower DPS and thus had more mechanics to deal with as a result. Even Zurvan tells the same tale, it's a shame it wasn't quite tuned right and that people promptly lost their minds over it.

[Lambdafish]

If the future consists of Creator grade raids though, then as much as I might appear as a zealot for parsers, I actually agree with you there. Absolute top tier DPS was pretty much optional in Creator from the get go, right from week one either your raid had strong DPS and you can skip a good chunk of mechanics, or you had slower DPS and thus had more mechanics to deal with as a result. Even Zurvan tells the same tale, it's a shame it wasn't quite tuned right and that people promptly lost their minds over it.

Don't forget the super hard tier that the devs hinted at that comes after Savage. PS4 players would most certainly want parsers for that.

[SpookyGhost]

I don't necessarily think it has to do with being afraid of change. I think it as difference of want and need. PS4 doesn't need a parser and honestly PC doesn't either. As long as you can clear content without one, there is not a need for it.

If people are asking for a parser for the sole purpose of clearing already cleared content a fraction faster, then it is a want, not a need.

That's cool and all, but we're talking about a hypothetical world where they did implement the parser and you're opting out of it by disabling it for yourself. I feel like that's pointless if the parser already exists, you're just denying yourself information.

e: Also I don't really buy that optimal openers only exist because of parsers, it doesn't take a mathematician to do the maths necessary to work out what's a gain or loss based on potency alone. Parsers help you get a concrete number to prove your work (though simply just showing the maths you did would work just as well), but they're not necessary for actually figuring out your opener.

A parser (in terms of one that just displays damage dealt, crit rate, misses, etc) is basically useful for one thing: Knowing how much damage you're doing overall and at certain phases of the fight (and how much you're critting + missing). I think a better argument that puts parsers in a better light is that we wouldn't know the accuracy cap for any of the raids without having a parser. You could sift your way through the entire combat log or stare endlessly at your floating damage to see if you missed, but it's far easier to just have the parser track it.

There's two reasons I believe people are against parsers:

1.) They're afraid they'll get called out for not pulling their weight.
2.) They feel like they'll be unjustly called out for not pulling their weight when they've needed to sacrifice DPS to handle mechanics or their gear simply isn't high enough ilvl to pull the numbers others are expecting of them.

Both of these already exist, people just don't say "you're pulling low numbers, bye". They either kick you or just say that they think you're underperforming. There's also the helpful instances that people often overlook (because it's easier to paint with big broad strokes) of people who actually can see you're pulling low numbers and help you. This doesn't even include people who can see that they're pulling low numbers and excuse themselves or ask others for advice on how to get better.

Parsers give valuable information in a game where DPS checks exist and the end goal is to make the boss' HP reach zero. The amount of useful information gained from adding a parser far outweighs the microscopic amount of toxicity that would get introduced from the fraction of a fraction of players on PS4 (no toxicity would be gained from PC players as they already have parsers). It's, frankly, insane to me that people are still arguing against parsers in 2017 when PC players have had them since the game launched.