Letter to Mr. Yoshi

[SargentToughie]

Finally, DPS is everything in this game. You are considered a good player if you do a ton of damage while still being able to support your party and do mechanics properly. Sorry to say, but you are not going to do amazing numbers if you don’t do mechanics. If you are dead, you do zero damage, raise sickness gimps you pretty badly, and many mechanics that don’t kill outright inflict a damage reduction debuff. Why people think neglecting mechanics magically increases someone’s damage, I don’t understand. It’s just plain false.

I really like your post as a whole, I'm just providing a bit of insight into the whole "DPS players that parse high are greedy selfish toxic people that hinder their party" stigma.

I'm 99% certain that it comes from people that have never actually set foot in savage, and don't have a proper frame of reference for just how punishing, or damaging these mechanics actually are. DPS players in, say, Swallow's Compass are able to stand in orange circles for more damage because they take like... 25% of their HP as a punishment and nothing more. Ergo, people see that and think "Oh there goes that greedy DPS player again, making MY LIFE HARDER FOR THEIR TOXIC DAMAGES!" The first boss in Hell's Lid is actually a perfect example of this. I make a game out of seeing how many vuln stacks I can collect because the damage that swing does is so laughable, yet it's still ultimately a mechanic that's ignored for the sake of my deepz.

They fail to really properly grasp how bad it is to mess up a mechanic in Savage, where one misstep is very liable to kill either you, or another party member.

[LadyKairi]

Important stuff

Thank you for the insight. It’s been a while since I’ve stepped foot into a normal dungeon, so I completely forgot. I’m too used to harsher mechanics. Thank you, again hehe.

[Kaoru_Nagisa]

Sadly the problem with the PS4 is the PS4 itself. To create an installable add on to any game means needing permission directly from the games company to get a license to which Sony gives the okay for it to be uploaded so players can download and install. PS4 has too much red tape and hoops to go through.

Apologies for the late response, I was at work all day:

That is true, but I feel a good way around that would be integrating the parser directly into the game code - rather than making it as an optional add-on.

Obviously for the sake of fairness, one would hope there would be an option in-game to turn it off or on as desired... but at least when I think of SE giving us actual legal parsers for personal (or even open) use, I typically assume it being directly built into the game in some form. If for no other reason than PS4's red tape and hoops regarding add-ons.

[Bourne_Endeavor]

Thank you for the insight. It’s been a while since I’ve stepped foot into a normal dungeon, so I completely forgot. I’m too used to harsher mechanics. Thank you, again hehe.

I concur with Sargent. I've horrible about standing in things I know won't kill me in baby content because why not? Like being the MT in Chadarnook and not getting in the plane or eating a question mark Blizzard III from Kefka for uptime. There just isn't a reason to move when it does laughable damage to a tank, especially since the OT typically has nothing to do, or when a DPS can be healed through regen ticks and maybe Second Wind.

[Squintina]

I'd love an ingame parser (personal or not, either way is fine). Or an ingame "grader", maybe not a pure parser, but something that takes in basic things like: gear, damage, healing (and overheals), active time, and some kind of expected CPM for said job to give a grade letter at the end with a scorecard.

Anything really that allows our PS4 brethrens a more appropriate measuring tool than just training dummies and SSS.

As far as toxic players go and the possibility this might increase such behavior - report them! If it doesn't increase it, great. If it does increase it, we get to clean up the community as long as people take the time to report toxicity. It's a win all around.

[Clover_Blake]

How about this - do you think it's ok to be active approx. 30% of a dungeon? Is that fair to other party members who may be trying harder?

I've been in many runs where not everyone does the same damage. Some people might have worse equip, some might be practicing a new class, some might just be having a bad day. And it's never mattered; the run is always completed all the same. Luckily, even if many people seem obsessed with numbers and stats, this game has never put much weight on competing to see who is doing the best damage, or in making people feel like rubbish if they don't meet whatever the community's new standard is. There are some DPS checks, sure, but they tend to be passed even if not everyone does super shiny damage.

I'm talking about normal content, however. I understand that Savage/Extreme content is more for competitive players, so I guess I wouldn't complain if parses were allowed there. But I'm personally happy that such a system isn't implemented for everything else, as I don't want to be dragged into that kind of competition and pressure. I'm sure I'm not the only one who simply wants to enjoy the content and have fun.

And just for the record, I always try to do my best when I DPS.

[SargentToughie]

I've been in many runs where not everyone does the same damage. Some people might have worse equip, some might be practicing a new class, some might just be having a bad day. And it's never mattered; the run is always completed all the same. Luckily, even if many people seem obsessed with numbers and stats, this game has never put much weight on competing to see who is doing the best damage, or in making people feel like rubbish if they don't meet whatever the community's new standard is. There are some DPS checks, sure, but they tend to be passed even if not everyone does super shiny damage.

I'm talking about normal content, however. I understand that Savage/Extreme content is more for competitive players, so I guess I wouldn't complain if parses were allowed there. But I'm personally happy that such a system isn't implemented for everything else, as I don't want to be dragged into that kind of competition and pressure. I'm sure I'm not the only one who simply wants to enjoy the content and have fun.

And just for the record, I always try to do my best when I DPS.

Yeah but for that normal comment, the overwhelming majority of the playerbase is going to be totally understanding if somebody just says "Hey I'm trying a new job." or they'll obviously understand if somebody is undergeared. Just like I said in my previous comment that you ignored, the existence of a parser is not going to create friction between party members where none would have existed before.

The people that were going to cause trouble with the damage meter would have found a reason to do so anyway. They're just the kind of people that need to belittle others for their own benefit.

[Aylis]

Apologies for the late response, I was at work all day:

That is true, but I feel a good way around that would be integrating the parser directly into the game code - rather than making it as an optional add-on.

Obviously for the sake of fairness, one would hope there would be an option in-game to turn it off or on as desired... but at least when I think of SE giving us actual legal parsers for personal (or even open) use, I typically assume it being directly built into the game in some form. If for no other reason than PS4's red tape and hoops regarding add-ons.

No worries!

Yes I do agree it would have to be more or less an official created by SE thing and injected directly into the games coding and put in a patch rather then a third party add on. Something I've long suspected as to why SE nixxed the add-on customization for the game. Due to the extra work needed to get them installed on the PS4.

I do also agree it's only in fairness an option would be allowed for the players that don't wish to use it can turn it off. I just hope the day comes when SE realizes that its a very useful much needed tool and despite their worries over toxic players abusing it how very important the tool is for those at the upper end of the game. I don't raid anymore but I used to in other games and I know how important parsing can be. Just as an option to turn it off, give those players that do need one to gauge themselves and recruit teammates the option to turn one on. To help start talks about how each of the team can improve and see if they learn.

[Clover_Blake]

Yeah but for that normal comment, the overwhelming majority of the playerbase is going to be totally understanding if somebody just says "Hey I'm trying a new job." or they'll obviously understand if somebody is undergeared. Just like I said in my previous comment that you ignored, the existence of a parser is not going to create friction between party members where none would have existed before.

The people that were going to cause trouble with the damage meter would have found a reason to do so anyway. They're just the kind of people that need to belittle others for their own benefit.

Sorry, too many comments. I picked one, but my answer works for all.

I disagree that things wouldn't change if parses were allowed. A game that focuses on competition (highlighting the players that do more damage and giving notice of the ones who did the least) is not going to be the same as it's right now, nor are people going to be as quiet if the game itself is giving them green light to judge others. Again, I find FFXIV relaxing because it doesn't focus on competition but on team work (unlike the previous game I played, which felt vastly different), and it doesn't pressure people to meet any sort of weird standard beyond the minimum to take bosses down. This is just my personal opinion, of course, but I can understand where Yoshida's coming from.

[Ultima]

Sorry, too many comments. I picked one, but my answer works for all.

I disagree that things wouldn't change if parses were allowed. A game that focuses on competition (highlighting the players that do more damage and giving notice of the ones who did the least) is not going to be the same as it's right now, nor are people going to be as quiet if the game itself is giving them green light to judge others. Again, I find FFXIV relaxing because it doesn't focus on competition but on team work (unlike the previous game I played, which felt vastly different), and it doesn't pressure people to meet any sort of weird standard beyond the minimum to take bosses down. This is just my personal opinion, of course, but I can understand where Yoshida's coming from.

You have no proof that things would change if parsers were allowed because they already exist and are seen on-stream by the developers when doing content, a grand sum of people use them or benefit from their existence due to the resources created from the data. The game doesn't become competitive by showing that Shoeless Jim is doing 6k DPS and Sally Skillclick is doing 3k DPS. What it does is it that makes people wonder why Sally isn't giving her best for the team? You know, that thing that teamwork is founded on? You're suppose to give all you can and then some for the sake of the team. You have a distorted idea of teamwork if you think the bare minimum is acceptable in a team and I would not want you in my group because that is not relaxing. Having people who are so lazy that they don't want to strive to do the most they can for the team is incredibly stressful because it means I have to pick up the slack on content that has been current for months. Doing the same piece of content over and over, we naturally want to get it done faster and faster until we've reached the fastest we can.

That doesn't mean I'm going to kick people and demand the best of the best, it means I want the general community opinion to be "I am playing with 3/7/23 other people, I shouldn't waste their time by just doing enough to clear the fight." You can pass a course with a C, but I'd rather we all aim for an A and be thankful when we achieve a B when it was difficult and all strive for an A when it's brainless like "Expert" Roulette is. I'm sick and tired of people disrespecting me and everyone else by refusing to learn their rotation or to even use their AoE skills during a MASSIVE PULL or even refusing to use the ranged/mage LB when called upon.

When you're in a team and one person is just sliding by or mooching off your efforts, you remove him or in a school setting you tell the teacher that they're not working and they straighten up or they get an F, be thankful that SE doesn't just Duty Fail people for being slackers, though I wish they did when someone is netflixing.

Added bonus: People who play brainless jobs like SAM where they've had their rotation since level 50 and still can't maintain it by EXR are an example of why people are removed from groups.