Lol no one really wants to talk about this =P I forget that this is the internet and for people to wan't to post the argument has to be sarcastic / trollish / ignorant xD

I am bumping this in the hopes that we can have a decent discussion without the flaming or elitist attitudes. I might have missed some good points for allowing combat meters / parses and their might be down sides other then the elitist flaming/trolling that I am missing. I am obviously biased for parse programs so I know my opinion is only one side of the coin.

First off, I raided end game content for years in Everquest 2. We used a program called ACT. Some individuals (myself included) like the challenge of figuring out the best ability rotations / gear combos to give us optimum dps output. The meter, is almost entirely for myself. To be completely honest, for now I would be totally content with only being able to have a personal DPS meter that no one else could see. For the most part I really don't care what other people are doing as long as they aren't getting face rolled by mobs aoe's when they should have moved their butts out of the way. I never looked at ACT and saw someone who did worse than me and said "OMG YOU SUCK". Most of the time I realized that as an end game (and somewhat hard core) raider I was performing at a level because I really wanted to try to be the best. That doesn't mean that I should expect anyone else to do the same. in EQ2 Almost all content was clearable by the everyday player. There were only a handful of zones that were exceptionally difficult. This is how it should be because you really need to create content for those fanatics (like myself) that is incredibly challenging and requires precision team work to the level that requires intense parse scrutiny and teamwork like clockwork. There are ALOT of us out there and it's a good compromise to keep us happy despite the easier regular content. The rest of the content (which is the mass majority) is for everyone as is there to keep everyone happy. YES of course there will be kids that spam and are idiots with the dps meters and parse programs. There will also be elitist jerks who think anyone that isn't the best is beneath them (at some point I think those individuals lose sight of the fact that this is a game and everyone enjoys their game a little differently). Please bring us a combat log and allow us some way of tracking DPS even if it's only on a personal level. Those of us that really care will eventually start sharing numbers and specs and we can start at least the very basics of figuring our characters out. Some of us crave the challenge of getting the MOST out of our characters (that does not mean that everyone has to. Some people like to get every damn collectable and achievement in every game they play. I don't have the patience for this. Combat logs at the very least are not in the way and easily ignorable. Having a personal DPS meter could be optional and so once again ignorable by those that don't really care. As for dps meters ruining group combat because people see only the parse. This is a very shallow argument. IF (which is almost NEVER). I ask someone to leave a group it has nothing to do with their dps 99% of the time. IF I ask someone to leave it is because they will not follow instructions and are causing group wipes due to breaking CC or standing in (very obvious) aoes. I understand the casual gamers fear or reluctance for the damage meter but there HAS to be a way for those of us that are willing to spend the time tackling the nigh impossible content to squeak every last bit of performance out of our characters. Right now I feel like I'm just taking a guess based on "how fast" a mob dies. This guessing is taking away from some of the fun as gear and CA's are just kind of a whatever looks cooler and is slightly better kind of feel to it. I don't know what gear to hold onto (if any) I can't optimize in any way. I hope some form of Parse system gets implemented soon so I can start getting into the gritty details. I LOVE the story and its taking me forever to level because I want to listen and watch every little cut scene but I am so far from feeling like my character is approaching the completeness or optimization that she could be that I am only half satisfied =( *EDIT* I also have to add that the Parse programs allow for timing monsters different AOE abilities and what not which is INCREDIBLY useful for figuring out when not to be standing around or near them =P Or when to throw that interupt or CC. When used for this function parse programs are actually extremely useful for more casual players as it can help coordinate strangers to move their butts in a more cohesive fashion =P

I am level 23 almost 24 and only half way through Balmorra or whatever that planet is called. Most of my extra levels came from running some extra instances, checking out ship battles and experimenting with PvP. I am now 5 or 6 levels above all my quests. To those that are having the oppostite problem ... SLOW DOWN Theres a TON of lore items to find that are worth like 500xp a pop. Run an instance again and make difference choices because sometimes you get different bosses. I dont really view it as an issue as I can still do all the quests and get all the experience (and hell it makes it easy to do the "group" quests). I have not been questing with anyone, the character im talking about is my solo only character. I would say theres no trick or secret to it, the people that are out leveling content are the ones that are probably just spending a little extra time to check out all the features of the game.