Macro Line Length limit, Is it time for a change now?

The macro has had a line limit of 15 lines since the beginning of the game.
In the last couple of expansions we have received crafting skills that take additional steps (aka lines of the macro) but provide great efficiency of the durability, quality and/or CP. This pattern of skill deployment plus the general increase in CP cap has increased macro length. Fitting macros within 2 buttons is challenging already and will only get worse.

Currently:
Basic Touch > Standard Touch > Advanced Touch combo
Basic Touch > Refined Touch (superior to Preparatory Touch)

In recent expansions:
Observe > Focused Touch
Observe > Focused Synthesis

Reference:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Laraul

Each macro consists of 15 lines, each line has a max length of 181 characters, for a total of 2715 characters. An average macro line is only about 30-80 characters. If they simply removed the line limit, but kept the character limit to 2715 per macro, it would allow users many more lines per macro w/o changing the existing file format.

---

I am not asking for the line limit to be removed but I do think it is time to increase it.
The macro screen has approximately 25 lines of space.
I would think an increase to 22 lines for each macro would be appropriate.

What do you think?

To be honest, I'm not sure if something will be done. Macros weren't meant to automate crafting. Automating small crafts is a thing, but automating a complex, 30+ steps craft might not be something meant to be automated, trivializing the whole process of getting the craft done.

Even though, I'm of the thought that craft materials or items meant to be created in high quantities should take no longer than 25 steps. On the other hand, I don't see a problem for end products and other staff you only make a couple times taking 40+ steps. After all, those things are meant to be something significant, requiring a certain measure of work to achieve.

Asking to get complex things done with just a button press or two is as if you were asking not to play the actual thing. What makes the crafting system unique is the feel of it. You are supposed to be tinkering with your tools: some hammering here, a bit polishing and there you go with your handicrafted plate. Using macros, on the other hand, feels as if you throw the staff on a machine, press a couple buttons and things get done on their own.

Longer macros would only kill the very pourpose the crafting system was built for. And yes, I agree with the idea, and being something optional, those willing can still go full manual anyways. However, and the reason I doubt anything will be done, I doubt any other thing made with macros would actually benefit from adding a couple lines of space. They just don't use as many. And the difference between using 2 macros to 4 or 5 is just a couple extra button presses, which compared with making 50 or 60 button presses is a meaningless difference.

TL;DR: I might be wrong, but I don't see this request will achieve anything at all. There's no need for longer macros besides crafting, and it kinda kills the pourpose the crafting system was made for. It still should be enough to automate producton for bulk materials, but for anything requiring a lot of steps, there's a reason why (or should be), and macros can still be used, even if taking a couple extra macros than before.

As a prodigious user of combat macros, I wouldn't say no to more lines. Each line is a frame, and as hardware has improved the game's framerate has increased, meaning that (without wait commands) macros take place over shorter windows of time than they once did. More lines means more customization and tuning for macros to make them comfy. Though that said, it's not like macros are in bad shape now, especially since there are plenty of ways to adjust the framerate even for console users.

But if I had to choose between more macro slots and more lines in each macro, I'd definitely choose more macro slots.