FFXIV ACT Installation InstructionsTODO: act is a thing you want so you can be awesomeWe'll also add the following helpful plugins:. Adds overlay support to conveniently display information in game. A nice DPS overlay that's customizable via an easy-to-use control panel. Advanced custom triggers with better organization.Installing ACT + FFXIV Pluginand run through its installer.On first run, a setup wizard will start. Follow along to select the FFXIV Plugin by clicking Get available parsing plugins, choosing (66) FFXIV Parsing Plugin from the dropdown, then clicking Use this plugin.On the next screen, answer No when asked if ACT is being used for EverQuest II, then click OK Cancel Close instead of choosing a log file. The FFXIV Plugin doesn't read on-disk logs, so there's nothing to more to set.

Consistency on real-time combat log reading, damage and healing are always accurate with ranking web sites such as warcraftlogs. Low CPU Consumption. This is a fact as the only other dps meter I believe was called bgm or something. If there will be one for windows, I want one for mac as well.

Configuring OS PermissionsACT should always be run as Administrator and excepted from Windows Firewall to make sure it works properly. This is because ACT uses memory reading and packet inspection to collect accurate data, which Windows doesn't allow by default.To prove these steps are necessary, open ACT and try Plugins FFXIV Settings Test Game Connection. Without sufficient permissions, ACT will fail to parse correctly:Making ACT always run as AdministratorFind the shortcut used to launch ACT, then right click Properties. In the Compatibility tab, check Run this program as an Administrator and hit Apply.

This ensures ACT is run as Administrator every time.Excepting ACT from Windows FirewallIn the Windows Start Menu, type Windows Firewall and choose the normal version (instead of Advanced Security).On the left, click Allow an app or feature through Windows Firewall. In the new window, click Change Settings, then Allow another app.Browse to where ACT was installed and select Advanced Combat Tracker.exe. The default install path is C:Program Files (x86)Advanced Combat TrackerAdvanced Combat Tracker.exe, but it may be elsewhere if changed during installation.Under Network Types, select both Public and Private, then click OK. Finally, click Add and OK to finish adding the exception.Back in ACT, try Plugins FFXIV Settings Test Game Connection again. It should be all clear. If not, try working through this permissions section again.Configuring Other Options Changing Encounter TimerSome bosses have long periods without fighting that confuse ACT into thinking one fight is actually two.

This split result in DPS being measured separately for each half, which isn't comparable to DPS measured as one across the entire fight.To fix this, go to Options Main Table/Encounters: General and set Number of seconds to wait after the last combat action to begin a new encounter to 30.Disabling Clipboard Auto-ExportBy default, ACT copies a text version of an encouter's result to the paste buffer after each fight. This is annoying because it interrupts copy/paste and you may not paste what you expect.To disable this, go to the Options tab, then uncheck Output Display: Text Export Settings Export to Clipboard after combat.Troubleshooting Missing DPS Graph - 'No combatants with compatible data to graph.

Try another sorting method.' The DPS Graph can fail to render if the chosen sorting options are unset or unsortable.

To restore the defaults,. Open Options Main Table/Encounters: Encounter View Options. Highlight EncDPS in the list, then click the box to the right of Sort #1 below the list. Highlight Duration in the list, then click the box to the right of Sort #2 below the list.If Sort #1 and Sort #2 aren't visible below the list, scroll down using the far right scrollbar (instead of the list's scrollbar)FFXIVACTPlugin.dll - Plugin Initialization FailedACT sometimes fails to attach to the game despite proper settings and running as admin. It shows Plugin Initialization Failed for FFXIVACTPlugin.dll on the Plugins tab, has a completely empty FFXIV Process ID dropdown under FFXIV Settings (not even an automatic option!), and generally doesn't parse DPS.This happens after certain game updates where the game launcher itself is also patched. The launcher patcher will run as admin, which subsequently runs the launcher and then the game as admin for that session, which blocks ACT from reading the game.To fix, simply restart the game so it runs without elevated privileges. Installing Extra PluginsACT alone is helpful, but it's hard to check DPS in real time (especially without a second monitor!), it's not very pretty, and some features could be better.

This can all be fixed with extra plugins. Overlay PluginThe allows for displaying extra information 'in game' by floating windows over the client, as if they were extra UI elements. Applications include DPS meters, spell timers, threat meters, and more. SetupIn Final Fantasy XIV, Go to System Configuration Display Settings and set Screen Mode to Borderless Windowed.

The overlays are secondary windows that float over the main game window, so true fullscreen is not supported.Download and before extracting. If OverlayPlugin is already installed, update it from that link since newer features will be required later.In ACT, go to Plugins Plugin Listing, browse for OverlayPlugin.dll in the extracted folder, then click Add/Enable Plugin. Note that there are several DLLs with similar names (e.g., OverlayPlugin.Common.dll), so be careful to choose the standard OverlayPlugin.dll.On the OverlayPlugin.dll tab, make sure an overlay of type MiniParseOverlay exists.

DPS Rankings OverviewThese rankings are created using SimulationCraft, a program that is highly tested and trusted for simulating in-game encounters with characters.We use SimulationCraft because simulators permit a high degree of control by allowing us to use specific talents, rotations, gear, possible boss mechanics, etc. To arrive at repeatable results that can be compared across specs and time. Also, simulators allow us to average out results from thousands of fights to get a feel for how a spec performs all of the time and not in one amazing fight.If you are curious to learn about the simulation fight encounters of Max and Real, we recommend to read our past articles that describe them in.

Common QuestionsThe damage meters for my boss fights look very different than these rankings. Why?There are any number of reasons why in-game results will differ from simulated (or log based) results. A few common differences include the following. Fight Length: Dungeons and LFR raids often have shorter fight durations which can result in much higher DPS as the value of DPS cooldowns is greatly increased in short fights. Multiple Targets: The current DPS rankings offer strictly single-target and splash-AoE (1 main target+2). There are scenarios in-game where there are a lot more targets which can allow for much more aggressive AoE.

Player Variables: Skill, latency, gear, a lucky string of crits, etc. Can all significantly impact in-game DPS. Rankings can help represent general trends, but they’ll rarely predict the outcome of a specific encounter with all its unique factors.How do these rankings compare to other sources that use raid logs to show spec comparisons?Raid log sites offer a perspective on how some of top players are performing with each spec. These rankings can be helpful to understand how specs are faring in the current raid tier and often reveal unexpected synergies between specific specs and boss encounters.