- For combat logging outside the game, see CVar advancedCombatLogging.
A damage meter is a kind of AddOn which parses the combat log to measure player performance during combat.
The first major damage meter AddOn was DamageMeters in 2005 (AnduinLothar et al.), which synchronised combat logs in raid to record dps over the duration of a boss encounter. Subsequent AddOns now often monitor healing, dispels and deaths.
Reception
Damage meters are very popular. Notable examples include:
- Recount (Cryect et al. 2007), more than 100 million downloads
- "Details!" (Terciob et al. 2013), more than 100 million downloads
- "Skada" (Zarnivoop et al. 2009), more than 30 million downloads
Damage meters are also widely criticised, particularly in group play.[1]
- Reducing DPSers to single benchmark ignores other actions benefiting the welfare of the group. Players may also perceive inferiority on this single basis, whether justified or not. Conversely, it is possible to measure other actions beyond damage.
- During a mid-fight wipe, damage meters cannot account for abilities that would have shone in later stages. For example, classes with
[Execute] mechanics have stronger dps when the boss health falls below a percentage. Conversely, consistent performance below the group norm in early phases could indicate a genuine problem.
It is therefore generally-accepted etiquette to refrain from pasting damage meter output into party chat windows. Regardless if the intent is to praise or condemn, it is preferable to speak about (or /whisper) a single person's damage rather than pasting results for a whole group.
On the other hand, damage meters are commonly acknowledged for their utility when training a rotation with a Combat Dummy.
Limitations
Damage meters are non-authoritative, principaly limited to the combat log range. Players in a dispersed encounter (e.g. large room or split phases) will have incomplete logs. This can be overcome with hidden addon traffic, but requires several players to install the same (or compatible) AddOns for data reliability.
Meanwhile, different meters will measure the same combat log differently, resulting in slight differences in output.[2] This can result from deliberate differences in how each AddOn interprets similar data:
- When combat begins for each player including handling precasting.
- When combat ends for each player including handling deaths and any DoTs that tick after death.
- Whether to include unique damage-dealing mechanics; and if not, how to record the time spent using them in lieu of normal abilities.
References
- ^ Megan O'Neill 2011-05-20. Ready Check: On damage meters. WoW Insider.
- ^ Olivia Grace 2013-03-12. Addon Spotlight: Skada versus Recount. WoW Insider.