Discussion: How Can We Handle Botting Better?

[Lastelli]

The impact of parsers can be (and has been) explained in other topics, so I won't even touch it. Suffice to say, Square-Enix's ToS shouldn't really be treated as "these third party programs are ok, but these other ones aren't." If they do decide to crack down on them--they'll probably take all of them in one fel-swoop.

The combat content in this game is build around the idea of dps and healing checks. Therefore, parsers are a useful tool that perfectly integrates into the game's structure. The very existence of the battle log proves that we are supposed to do something with this data. I've said it already, but SE should update their tos to unequivocally legitimate the use of parsers, even if they don't want to provide an official one, because right now, considering how parsers are a vital part of the raiding community, their existence undermines the credibility of the tos. This game cannot live without parsers. They won't take them down ever, period. They know they are used by the same people that attend the fanfest, that stream savage and ultimate and rise the interest in the game.

The point is: parsers are here to stay and the actions of the dev team actually suggests that they fully accept them. If we want to talk about botting, let's forget about parsers because they're fundamentally different things.