Built-in Parsers

[Wolf_Heartnet]

I agree Kikix. Parsers are necessary and this game needs it desperately.

[akaneakki]

Last time someone asked him Yoshi P literally walked off stage. So no, it will never be implemented in any way.

You mean when someone asked him for PERSONAL parser? :')

On a serious note, people can't expect to be in a group of 7 others or even in pugs where dps check is clearly not happening because their own dps is low. A parser would help them improve but they don't want to so dont expect yourself to be in a group.

[Silica-chan]

SE should just ban this topic off their forums, this is getting old

[Baingoleth]

I've only been playing FFXIV for about a month but I would like to add my thoughts coming from an MMORPG that has a very good parser.

Lord of the Rings Online doesn't have a built in parser but it does have a robust plug-in API. Of course, someone made a parser with it. The parser was built to be part of the UI and is very accurate showing all sorts of statistics in real time. It used to show numbers for the whole party and there were problems with some people making hurtful comments about other player's numbers.

Eventually, Turbine decided to make impossible for the game client to get other people's combat statistics in an effort to stop the fighting over statistics. It worked. The problem went away completely. They way it is now, players can get pretty much any information about their numbers that they would ever need and that's all. No one asks for anyone else's numbers. Sometimes people volunteer that information but usually it just inspires people to friendly competition .

[Baingoleth]

Having access to a parser can help players get better at learning skill rotations and can help them know what gear sets are more effective than other gear sets.

They way FFXIV is now, most people who want statistics use ACT and get to see the whole party's numbers. Within the first few weeks of playing, I saw too many disparaging comments in the novice network about other players numbers and I ended up leaving that chatroom because I don't want to hear that negative chatter.

It doesn't seem like it would make much of a difference if an in-game parser was added or not to stop the hurtful comments made about other player's statistics. There is a parser and it shows you your whole party's statics already. I would rather see SE do like Turbine did and prevent the game client from seeing other player's numbers. Then if SE added an in-game parser PS4 players could see their statistics also and no one would have any ammunition to give other people grief over their numbers.

[DaulBan]

The don't ask, don't tell policy is kinda silly in my opinion. I'd go copy paste what I said in another thread but essentially there are two different sets of people who can play FFXIV. Those who play on PC and have the option to check their DPS and can either do so or not, and those who play on PS4 and just don't have that option. SE really should consider implementing parsers for PS4 if only because it kinda sucks if you are stuck on the wrong side of the demographic and want to improve or just... Know.

They have rules about harassment, they should just enforce them. At the same time people should be allowed to be honest about what's wrong with people in the group.

If I'm in a Shinryu party playing MCH and I don't have a parser, when someone kicks me out of the blue I'm going to be upset because I thought I was pulling my weight. I popped refresh when needed, managed my aggro, debuffed the things worth debuffing. I'd rightly be upset about the fact that I was removed from that party. As-is, the person running that party who is parsing has no way of telling me why I had to go. 2.3k DPS as a MCH in Shinryu is kinda bad, and they know that it wouldn't be hard to do better but if you open your mouth a GM might just put their foot in it for good measure.

There are people on the OF who say they'll literally report someone on the spot if they have the slightest inclination that they're parsing basically on principle. Do they say 'you need to work on your rotation' and risk someone reporting them for their not-so-cryptic words? What's the right choice?

For not getting banned? Just silently kicking people and moving on. That seems kinda meh to me.

[BillyKaplan]

If people really want parsers for self improvement, I wonder why not more people have suggested personal parsers. You'll see how much damage and heals you're doing, just no one else. This being an MMO and a community, it won't be long before people know not only how they are performing, but other people's numbers as well. However, it will be done in a situation where no one can use it as a weapon against you because no one knows your numbers unless you tell them. And that can easily lead to situations where people see their numbers are low and seek guidance, instead of feeling uneasy whenever someone goes 'you want a tip?' or any other polite alternative. You're still being called out for under-performance, if not outright harassed for it.

Any other parse that lets you see other people's numbers will be usable as a weapon and lead to harassment, and if it's built-in we'll have to put up with the harassing crowds who currently don't do it because it's against the ToS who'll be allowed to roam free. I agree that if you see harassment happening you should report it, but knowing how toxic people get with this already, I can't blame the devs for preferring to leave it out altogether.

[kikix12]

If people really want parsers for self improvement, I wonder why not more people have suggested personal parsers.

You, and the person before you, haven't read a thing past the word "parser", either.

First, you. Personal parsers are no solution because knowing that you have it, people in the party will tell you to post your numbers and, if they will have a reason to believe you are lying, will want you to make some proof, like upload a screenshot somewhere. I know, this is ridiculous as that would take more time than finishing the dungeon with not-as-efficient DPS would...but hey. People are ridiculous at times.

Second, THERE WILL BE NO NUMBERS SHOWN TO ANYONE UNLESS YOU CHOSE TO DO SO!!!

I AM SUGGESTING AN OPTION THAT WILL BE ENTIRELY BINDING FOR THE ENTIRE RUN!!!

Is THIS clear enough! You turn parsers off, you WILL NEVER be in a party where ANYONE will have any numbers visible at all. You turn them on, you will ONLY be paired with people that have parsers on, so everyone will see them. Second option will make person with parsers on LOSE THEM for the sake of faster queue, if that's what they prefer.

SO STOP TALKING ABOUT PEOPLE KICKING OVER NUMBERS. Nothing will force you to use the parser (thus letting others use theirs) if you don't want to risk getting kicked.

[BillyKaplan]

You, and the person before you, haven't read a thing past the word "parser", either.

I think ultimately it doesn't matter because you just explained yourself why most of these options won't work, anyway. And yeah I thought about the 'forcing people to show their numbers' bit later. But they can go around that by declaring such thing to be considered harassment and call it a day. Not that it stopped anyone ever because even on these forums, rude messages are regarded as 'harsh, but just'; people just won't see the difference and things will go on as they are.

You turn parsers off, you WILL NEVER be in a party where ANYONE will have any numbers visible at all. You turn them on, you will ONLY be paired with people that have parsers on, so everyone will see them. Second option will make person with parsers on LOSE THEM for the sake of faster queue, if that's what they prefer.

I get that you're offering this to get around the difficulty discussed prior, but ultimately in the content that really matters, people will really want their parsers, and while it is their choice, you're reducing the amount of people you can team up with for endgame content. And that's also the content you'll queue for pre-made, so queue times won't matter.
As for the faster queue, no dps ever will use a parser at all in real queueable content, and that will kind of miss the mark, wouldn't you say? Other than that, any option that fragments queues is horrible, awful, and likely will not see implementation for this reason alone if no others.

Bottom line is, we don't have any parsers in the game because no matter how you spin and twist it, people will find some way to use it against other players.

[kikix12]

But they can go around that by declaring such thing to be considered harassment and call it a day.

They'll be kicked for "gameplay difference", so it's not going around anything. Personal parsers won't work. No way they can work. They are there, you're going to be forced to use them or get kicked (well, sometimes, since there are still people that don't care).

I get that you're offering this to get around the difficulty discussed prior, but ultimately in the content that really matters, people will really want their parsers, and while it is their choice, you're reducing the amount of people you can team up with for endgame content. And that's also the content you'll queue for pre-made, so queue times won't matter.

In pre-made parties, people already severely reduce the amount of people they can team up with. So what's the difference?! And if someone will want the parser no matter what, I'd believe they STILL use ACT and similar. And they still would not be able to say anything about it if the party officially have no parsers. So worst case scenario...it's the same as is now for some content while it'd help in some other content for some people.

As for the faster queue, no dps ever will use a parser at all in real queueable content, and that will kind of miss the mark, wouldn't you say? Other than that, any option that fragments queues is horrible, awful, and likely will not see implementation for this reason alone if no others.

Of course DPS will use queues. And there are already options that fragment queues, like the language. The problem with queue is not the lack of people to play it. It's the absurd amount of DPS compared to tanks and healers.

Also, people still "segregate" the queue, instead they do it after it pops. If someone does not want to go with under-performers, they will "disconnect" themselves, initiate kicks and what not (possibly blindly), annoy others to get kicked or just outright leave and take the penalty. Just this weak, I had a party where half of the people just up and left the duty several seconds after it begun, for whatever reason. No one could even manage to really do anything before it happened.