Would you be opposed to SE implementing a program to scan for addons/parsers?

[CelestiCer]

To me it seems like 95% of all Third party tools/mods purpose are " Non-Combat ", making I guess the tiny 5% of programs used for Raiding the once that really gets hammered by both the community and Square. If they added the following? I am pretty sure players would be more open to the idea.

Non-Combat adjustments and features added

• Placing housing wherever you please using x y z coordinates
• Limitless Glamour Dresser, from anywhere.
• Orchestrion music player anywhere, as long as you unlocked the soundtrack
• Music that is playing is noted at the server tab
• Location reminder of where you are exactly at the server tab
• Updated Friends list
• Updated available Hairstyles and customizations
• Updated Search functionality and faster way to check adventure plates
• Updated Portraits and friendlier to use
• Market Board update
• Party ready checker
• Updated Chat functionalities
• Chat Bubbles
• Being allowed customize every part of the HUD
• Updated search for Emotes
• Being allowed to color every piece of Glamour ever
• Being allowed to color every Fashion accessory ever
• Mouse tracker
• Updated features for color blind people
• Timer schedules updated and allowing you to add your own reminders
• Name tags / FC tags customization options
• Precise highlighted stat tiers of each of your stats in character menu
• Precise highlighted stat improvements when comparing Gear
• Update Hrothgar and Vierra hair
• Updated Crafting interface
• Updated Minimap
• Updated Partyfinder
• Updated........

The list goes on but its endless on how many things are improved upon or updated through available plugins/addons/mods for when you're not combat. And Square has to compete against all of it. Be it majority really don't need any of it to play the game? but you're playing FFXIV essentially on crack, and taking that crack away is not going to be received well.


In Combat adjustments and features added

• Updated Party-list, functionalities and customizations
• Showing Party-members mitigation/selfheal cooldowns on party list
• Option to remove name plates of party members for Job icons
• Death Recap to showcase how you died to what
• Ping Reducer (XIVAlex/NoClippy)
• Personal DPS meter

I believe this is about what raiders want regarding " Combat features " when you're in Combat. Which is not a lot actually now that I think about it... As much as the Personal DPS meter is a heated debate, there's enough demand for it by players to use it to compare their performances to at least themselves to self-improve and have it in some way be recorded for themselves. FFLogs is evidence for a very large demand for it and if this is denied, unfortunately Square is going to just lose players to it. Not a lot, but paid subscriptions to them are still subscriptions.

[Midareyukki]

snip.

That list is endless. Especially when you get to character customization. Some stuff is understandable that they aren't in the game properly, since this is an MMO and you kind of need to render everything rather than boast how many polygons your team can make xD
But some stuff is pretty standard and not available to every race. A more robust character creator would let you use those options, but the one we have now is self-limiting. The options you have available on one race won't be in another, even if they theoretically share the same aspect (muscle sliders). Because that slider got repurposed for something else that the new race has that the other race didn't. So overall, character customization can't be built upon in the current system because it would have to sacrifice something else in the process.

Plus, Square Enix has been implementing features originally allowed by third party tools for a while now. You think showing what's physical and magic damage was all they did? Keep in mind that there are tools out there to modify your character and the environment in Gpose, and parts of it got added into the game when they started gaining traction. Especially the feature to freeze the time and weather. That wasn't there, it only got implemented when that posing tool rose in popularity back in Stormblood.

...btw, for the group that insists content shouldn't be cleared with stuff allowed by third party tools, explain to me the purpose of SE revealing what's physical and magic damage if not for mitigation purposes. Clearly Square Enix deemed that feature to be popular in demand (after like ten years of people insisting btw). Now there's no real need to use third party tools to reveal that. Seems to me the minmaxy part of the game is full force, Square just needs to figure out which to implement and which not to.

Which brings us to parsing. Honestly, what if they do implement parsing tools officially into the game, but make it safe to use? It'd be available only in high-end content. You'd only disclose your parses if you yourself wished it, and to select people (to the party, to your friends group, or fully public). And anyone caught coercing you to reveal them against your will would be considered harassing. That way you guys wouldn't need to feel anxious about your parses being public and being used to harass you, which is already prohibited anyway (unlike WoW, the devs actually do hammer down on people who harass you with parses, so really you have the power to make those guys shut up).

Plenty of stuff that third party tools have done have been slowly implemented into the game. Clearly SE sees the benefit of them and wants to bring them into a more legal side. Which is exactly what everyone wants. If there's any criticism I have is that it seems Square isn't looking into fixing their UI and QoL with proper thought and feedback. People have been asking for the Magic/Physical thing for years, and they only implement it because third party tools enabled it. That's not right. People suggest these things for so long. Why do we have to wait for a given tool to make them available for Square Enix to realize that this is what fans wanted?

That doesn't mean Square will enable cheating though, like zoomhacks.
But parsing? Yeah, there's a beneficial reason to implement it. They just need to do so responsibly.
And everything else? Yeah, there's a reason people insist "Square, third party tools can do this, please work on making it your own". Just go into any viera/hrothgar thread, someone at some point said as much.