ACT/Riftjunkies combat parsers

We were discussing DPS meters this morning in gchat and there was interest in ACT, so I thought I'd post a link I used to set ACT up:

http://forums.riftgame.com/showthread.php?45549-Advanced-Combat-Tracker-%28DPS-Meter-Spell-Timer-etc.%29-with-Rift.-ReadItIWorkedHard.

There is a DPS meter from Riftjunkies, which I have never used, but I've heard from discussions that the ACT one is considered more accurate.

I would encourage people who are interested in this to use this as an educational tool to help figure out how they can improve their performance. I have found it useful in that regard.


» Edited on: 2011-04-27 04:08:36

» Edited on: 2011-04-27 11:00:01

Personally I prefer the Rift Junkie Parser. It is presetup how I would want to have it to begin with. I don't believe it is less accurate at all. I have tried ACT as many people would tell me that RJ was bogus and that ACT was ohhh soo much better. And that really depends on the person, they both have their pros and cons. Here is what I found them to be. RJ Parser ----------- Pros: Everything is setup and ready to go It is accurate for what it is tracking The ingame overlay is sleek and to the point Cons: Can't change many settings for what it parses specifically ACT ----------- Pros: You can customize settings to your heart's content Can get voice warnings when a defined actions happens (such as boss casting a spell) It is accurate Cons: Setting it up without a guide can be complicated for many (sometimes even with one) I found the default settings terrible and had to be changed before I could use it The sheer number of settings to change can be daunting I found the in-game overlay unattractive (though there may be options for changing that in different ways that I didn't find) Breakdown: If you want a parser that's easy to use and setup then Rift Junkie Parser is for you. If you prefer the ability to fidget with any setting imaginable then ACT would be a better choice.

I would have to agree with Eldris. I use both, well just started using ACT, and i find that ACT is just to much there. Dont take my word on it.

That's strange, because most of the discussion on the forums seems to indicate that the Riftjunkies parser overstates DPS due to how it measures the start and end of encounters. If you're comparing numbers though it shouldn't matter as long as everyone is using the same product. I have never used the Riftjunkies parser, but I did not have any issues with ACT (I basically followed the link I posted above to configure things - a one time setup - and since then all I ever do is turn it on and off). and I typically set the overlay to top center of my screen so it's pretty unobtrusive. And I didn't have any interest in the spell timer nor custom notifictations, so I haven't fiddled with those at all. That said, I will probably try the Riftjunkies parser to see how I like it, since the recommendation here seems so glowing.

ACT has been around a very long time and has a proven track record across several MMO's. That is where it gets the reputation of being more accurate. It does have way more options due to it being around for so long. But there is a reason why it is the goto parser for most of the larger raiding guilds that migrated from EQ2 and WoW. They trust it's values and have independently verified it. The parser from Riftjunkies gives you what ACT does in a much more simplified fashion. It's easy to use and is reasonably accurate. It is true that there have been complaints about accuracy issues due to how it and when it calculates fight duration times. It's a relatively small variation + or - 30 DPS or so, but there is a variance there. But if you just want a good indicator of what's going on then it'll do the job just fine. I've used both in Alpha and now in Live. I currently use ACT because I prefer accuracy over ease of use. And because I like to numbers crunch and theorycraft lol. But I didn't have much of a problem with the parser from Riftjunkies either. And Charlatan is correct when you say it depends how it's being used for. I'm a healer and since I'm not interested in HPS or DPS, then either parser is accurate. Same goes for Tanks who are measuring incoming damage taken. It's when you need to measure actual DPS that becomes a problem with Riftjunkies. Also, while ACT is very complex, you can set it up very easily with a small tutorial. And later on, it gives you much more data at your disposal. If you have questions about it, I've played around with it and can help you out.

I haven't used ACT in depth enough to say for sure but I assumed the small variance was from RJ counting overkill damage and ACT not. I don't see how they could have different ways of calculating battle duration as I am 90% sure that information is in the combat log file. I followed the link and was surprised by the fountain of knowledge. When I downloaded ACT it was just the parser and the plugin from the site. It had a very limited tutorial, but it got the job done. After a brief perusing though I think I might read through it all later and give ACT another shot, at least to further compare it to RJ parser after modifying all of the settings similarly.

I've used the RJ parser and haven't noticed any major discrepancies. I recently picked up Xanadu (http://java.net/downloads/xanadu-parser-rift/UserManual.pdf) which seems to have the best of both worlds. It's configured 'out of the box' to do about what you would expect it to, but it's also highly configurable. I do bemoan the apparent lack of an opacity setting for the HUD (it can be difficult to read the text at times) but the ability to 'replay' a fight might be a feature of interest for some people.

Both parsers use a different means of calculating encounter time, thus the differences in DPS numbers. Riftjunkies starts combat the first time someone does a damaging hit to the mob and ends combat on the last damaging ability to the mob. Sometimes, due to DOT's and overkill damage, the end time can be different than expected. Healing, both before and after the last ability does not extend the time used to calculate DPS but may extend the timer for the encounter as a whole. You can find this information on their own forums posted by the developer of the parser. ACT has even more information on their website and forums. If you get geeked up by math then you can over there and read all the posts, although most pertain to EQ2 and not Rift. Combat parsers are like scales that tell your weight. It doesn't matter so much how accurate the numbers are. You just want to establish a baseline of what your DPS is and then be able track improvements thereafter. PS: ACT has a beta version out with an enhanced Rift plugin. I'm currently playing with it but it does give you even more data lol. ;0

» Edited on: 2011-05-01 00:19:00