The future of the parser = Calculator lol , there the same thing.
If there is a numarical value associated with any text output you will have them... end of story.
In fact you can even remove numbers and change it to AMAZING , CRITICAL , DEMOLISHING HIT! I can still make a parser after a few days that will ratio out the avg.
Banners , displays , overviews and audio triggers = stop watch , what do you think we did before addons ?
Instead it will become a audio trigger over act or discord , eitherway it will happen if VR puts in any type of script period.
Also I think you are not even realizing how trivial the content will be without the above , every single fight will be tank and spank. There will be no complex fights without the above added.
Damage meters like anything can be used in a positive manner or negative way. I personally have never used one but have been coached by those using them to increase my dps in a helpful and constructive way. I'm neither for or against them. perhaps they are generally used in a negative way. But its not the meter being mean to ppl its the people using them in a negative manner thats the problem. Removing them from the game isn't going to decrease toxicity in the community. There are always going to be top tier guilds who are perhaps more harsh in dealing with what the feel is someone who is under performing in their raid group. That being said this is just my opinion
It is interesting seeing these threads and many cases of people talking past each other. Also lots of psychology/mind reading aficianados who seem to know what people are thinking when they take a certain stance(without that person expressing said thought). I made this case long before on the older forums, but many on both sides are making solid good faith arguments.
1. The Meter is just a tool...Yes it is. And yes, contrary to the thread topic, the data needs to be there. However, as Uncle Ben once famously said, "with great power comes great responsibility." Which brings me to point number 2.
2. Humans generally take the path of least resistance... The more obstacles you place in front of them, the less will overcome them. I remember having the ACT parser back in Rift either in beta or shortly after launch(before the API editor got put in). Not a lot of people had it though. It wasn't all that hard to set up, but there also wasn't a big RiftUI site with lots of mods for you to D\L all in once place. People on the Rift forum talking about it knew where to find it, but those who would get it were generally the good folks who wouldn't use it as a cudgel in a PUG dungeon. So I'm all for third party apps not integrated thru the UI for tracking damage.
3. Yes, people can be toxic. If someone is setting out to be a jerkwad, you will not be able to do much to stop him/her. Some can also descend to being a jerk based on outside forces. (Think of the many normally sane people who went crazy because "Orange Man Bad" or "Cheeto Jesus Saves".) Making the damage parser harder to set up can reduce potential of the latter(descent to madness) but won't help the former(set out to be a jerk). Which brings me to why I would be at peace with that with THIS game: Pantheon's community by its very nature(team oriented and difficult) and game entry model(purchase and separate sub) will limit the toxicity you see in other MMOs with more robust API editing tools...
4. If they are able to keep things like DBM and such out, devs won't be designing encounters around them. What has been said on this topic I'm not that well versed on, but this does make sense.