Sequence while in Party-Targeting mode
It appears to me that everybody out there has been quick to yell out 'foul!' on their first attempt to understand the new moded targeting system. After quite a few hours trying it out, I'm ready to concede that the universal condemnation seems premature. However, I can empathize with the many that don't get why the party-mode rotation wasn't assigned to a 2-button combination, like they did with the camera distance, in order to prevent accidental mode switching. Having said this, I must confess that after further acquaintance, and besides the design quirk mentioned before, the system seems to make sense... Or at least it does OUTSIDE the party-targeting mode:
Many of us (especially healers, but not only) are still scratching our heads trying to figure out why SE's chief targeting designer (CTD), whoever she or he might be, decided to have targets rotate positionally (in the order in which they are standing on the ground, as it happens with enemies, for instance). A much more logical sequence (it seems to me) would've been the one the game used before--and the same one FFXI used before that: Namely, sequencing the targeting according to the party-member-list order, displayed in the party frame, on the right side of the screen. Even if we end up using the < and > directional arrows, as we are now, your target cursor should move SEQUENTIALLY, UP and DOWN that list; this would make the job of healers that need to heal a specific, off-side player much easier, rather than having to go from left to right, hoping the party members don't move too much and positions get shuffled, thus making the targeting of that hapless, off-side DD require yet one more full party target rotation.
Even better, in my opinion, would be to assign the mode-toggle to a 2-key combination, and the UP and DOWN arrows to rotating through the party list (regardless of current mode), while the < and > arrows remain assigned to the current function of targeting positionally, from left to right, according to mode.
One more much-needed feature is the ability to quickly target oneself FROM THE CONTROLLER, to be able to cast AoE heals and buffs around our current position.
Finally, yet another change I would like to see enacted is the addition of a more vivid and evident highlighting for the currently targeted party member.
What do you, fellow adventurers, think about these ideas?