Parsing Rules (Updated for 7.2)
These rules are already active. They are based on feedback from users and polls we've made throughout the tail end of Endwalker and discussions with top players and speedrun teams.
They apply both to speedrunning and regular runs.
If you have any suggestions or questions, please join us on Discord to discuss.
What is allowed
Resource runs (starting the second half of a boss with gauge from the first half). As an example, P12 Part 2 had players go through the entirity of Part 1 without wiping when pushing into the second half of the fight, to start it with extra job gauges for a stronger initial burst.
Limit Break generation strategies and tech. (Getting a large amount of limit break gauge on pull by getting the party low enough HP and then healing up as the fight starts). That also includes using low item level weapons and or broken weapons for weaker heals, to constantly generate limit break gauges.
Weaving that is possible within the game's limitations. Anything which can be naturally weaved between two GCDs is allowed. Similarly, longer weaves which cause an appropriate delay of the next GCD are allowed. This includes triple weaving.
What is NOT allowed
- Current list of plugins that if found out will disqualify your run entirely: -> Mechanic Overlays (e.g., Splatoon) -> Camera Zoom Hacks (e.g., Cammy, Ez Zoom)
Keep in mind that we will update this list in the future with new plugin names if we deem them to be problematic enough to be considered cheating. Which means that if footage of a player using a plugin we deem as such is released, we will blacklist the log and add it to the permanent list.
If there are plugins that are egregious that we aren't aware of, please let us know as well.
Botting of any shape or form. That includes automation of: Rotations, defensive usage, clicking off buffs ,buff alignment, etc
Weaving that isn't possible within the game's boundaries. That includes weaving things like several dragoon jumps with a potion, quadruple weaving of any sort on a regular GCD, weaving abilities with very large animation locks, etc.
Bringing any buffs from outside of an instance into an instance or from a wipe to a new pull. This includes any buffs that your party cannot provide and ones that can be provided by your party. As an example, inviting a summoner to searing light before you start up an instance or just popping all your cooldowns then queueing into an instance to start a fight with them. That includes dungeon and raid runs.
Speed hacking, log editing, generally hacking in any way for an advantage. Such as not sliding on ice, damaging a boss out of melee range, faster casting than possible, etc.
Offenders will be permanentely banned with no appeal process if caught doing any of these.
Repeat offenders of any of these violations will get their character banned from rankings with no appealing process
Weaving Detection
We've written out code that sources the real animation lock durations from packet data and using that (with some special cases) to validate whether the oGCDs that are used in between any 2 given GCDs fit in the time delta of those 2 GCDs.
We have a 20 ms simulated amount, and with the way it is designed, it will not punish players that use tools to alleviate ping issues. It should only catch cases where the user has an unfair advantage due to said tools.
Speedrun Rules
As of 7.2 we will be mandating the top team for speed for each fight to upload a vod of the clear, with at least one point of view and preferrably several if possible. This is to combat botting and automation of cooldown usage we've seen in the past. Without vod proof of the teams judging if a run is legitimate or not is much harder.
We also request that all teams participating in speed ranking competitions upload logs of their process (wipes included) if your run gets scrutinized and you have no reports of wipes uploaded we are free to blacklist the run if we deem it to be cheating.
Future strategies and tech
We will be reviewing these on a case by case basis, feel free to post it in our Discord servers or reach out to our team to inquire if a strategy you found out/want to do is allowed by us. We may also poll these if it has a larger community impact as well.
Contact Us
As always, we love to hear your feedback. Please join us on Discord to share any feedback and suggestions, or to ask any questions.
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If you have any support questions, please reach out to our support team at [email protected].