Advanced Combat Tracker vs FF Logs

Advanced Combat Tracker is a free Windows desktop tool for parsing MMO combat logs through plugins. Hosted plugins are listed for EverQuest II, Final Fantasy XIV, Rift, Age of Conan, Aion, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and The Secret World. It can parse logs in real time, import complete log files, or look up older encounters in its History Database. Tables and graphs show combat from an encounter overview down to individual actions; Encounter VCR and Encounter Timeline provide graphical encounter views. Spell timers and custom triggers can respond to matching log lines, capture part of a line, play sounds, or start timers. Exports include formatted text, HTML, XML, and web pages, with FTP uploads and ODBC connectivity also supported. Its .NET plugin system accepts precompiled assemblies or C# and Visual Basic.NET source files. The download page lists ACT Setup version 3.8.5.288 and points users to Microsoft .NET Framework 4.8.1; .NET Core and .NET 5–8 will not work with ACT. An installer and ZIP archive are available.

FF Logs provides combat analysis for Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIV. Players can record encounters, upload reports, and examine combat activity in real time. The site lists raid progress, speed, and execution rankings, along with job balance statistics. Its Deaths Statistics show how often players die, which mechanics are involved, and how much overkill occurred. FF Logs also supports match history, player profiles, team statistics, leaderboards, and live statistics. The homepage links to a downloadable app; subscribers receive ad-free viewing within uploader applications. For developers, the public GraphQL v2 API uses client credentials, while access to private reports through the private API requires user permission. API authentication uses OAuth 2.0. FF Logs has a free plan, with paid subscriptions starting at $2 a month for Silver. Higher tiers list older-report access, increased API limits, and Discord roles or channels. Supported access includes web, Windows, macOS, Linux, and API.