One of the reasons WoW had 14 million subscribers

[TunaTime]

I thought one of the reasons were chinese players or RMTs / Bots?

[Reynhart]

It's a question of pace. If you don't like it, nobody's forcing you to play it. This is not some sort of twitch action game. If people don't like the ATB system in, say, FF VII, they don't play it, either, and go play some more real-time action type RPG like an Elder Scrolls game or The Witcher or whatever. Keep in mind though that there are people who enjoy the combat system's pace the way it is.

You're still missing the point. These abilities are described as "instant cast", so why aren't they ? If someone complains that Medica doesn't heal in AoE as described , will you reject with a "go play another game" too ?

This is what's wrong with the so-called "White Knights", they love the game so much that they can't stand even valid complains.
Or is it because the OP use the tabou W-word ?

[Ryuni]

I like how all the white knights are completely disregarding his actual point to the thread and focusing on the word "WoW".... Instant cast abilities that aren't instant lol

Because there is already a much better, constructive thread about the slow server polling issue on these forums.
There's no reason for people to take this thread seriously.

[Judge_Hellboy]

Instant abilities? No where I see them called Instant. They are off the GCD which gives them slightly more freedom to be used while not tied up to the GCD.
What sense would it make if the silence effect from Spirits Within instantly happened before my character even stabbed the enemy.
There is a level of fluidity to the actions and how you chain them together.
It's kind of like a fighting game. How come when I press PUNCH while in the middle o a Kick my char doesn't immediatly apply damage and then throw the punch for it?
That doesn't go without saying some of FFXIV:ARRs OFF GCD actions need adjusting because I believe they do.
While I too believe some changes are needed I feel the change you're looking for is not the exact answer we we need.

[Moirear]

One minute we're being told we have to do real-time dodging to avoid AOEs and if we don't react fast enough it's our own problem but apparently abilities labelled "instant" that don't go off instantly (not an unreasonable request) is OK? What is FFXIV? If it's not an action game then they need to stop making me dodge like I'm playing one; and if it is then my abilities need to match the pace my feet are expected to move at (which apparently is so fast that on occasion I'm required to be able to see into the future o.O).

I'm gonna draw a comparison to other FF games here. They begin easy, and get harder as you progress, especially when you do the optional content. The games may have a fixed ATB system, but it's possible for stuff like Speed attributes or Haste spells or items to fill those ATBs faster and faster and have enemies that pummel your party with all sorts of attacks the further you get into the game. The pacing remains even though the combat gets faster and you have to react more quickly; when you're fighting a higher stage of Kefka, it's not the same speed of combat as when Terra, Wedge and Biggs are fighting in Narshe, but the pacing is maintained within the confines of the ATB system.

In FFXIVARR, when you progress further into the game, you have to react more quickly to AoEs and positioning. But the GCD still stays in place and the pacing is the same. It's still more tactical, and not really a twitch game. The latter being something which I also enjoy (GunZ or DMC for example), just not here.

You're still missing the point. These abilities are described as "instant cast", so why aren't they ? If someone complains that Medica doesn't heal in AoE as described , will you reject with a "go play another game" too ?

This is what's wrong with the so-called "White Knights", they love the game so much that they can't stand even valid complains.
Or is it because the OP use the tabou W-word ?

You're complaining about something that some other people may like the way it is, then resort to calling them names when they disagree with you. Do you seriously expect them to give you any respect?

[Ryalin]

Anyway, on the "instant" abilities, I believe its an issue with game balance and timing.
If they made it truly instant, they would have to totally restructure how many of the strategy based bosses are fought. Which is most of the appeal in the battle system in the first place.

And in my humble opinion, so they should. I'd much rather play a strategic game that was difficult but where I can press commands that actually respond when I press them. Personally I do not find it particularly fun or strategic to spam a button to attempt to make it go off on time.

[Jwrigh7784]

One thing people fail to mention when talking about the subscriber numbers of WoW... There are some countries (Korea for instance) where players can pay for game time in one hour blocks instead of monthly. Blizzard counts each one hour block as a unique subscriber, so if one player purchases five hours of game time Blizzard considers that as five subscribers. They admitted this several years back however it seems to have been lost in the black hole that is the internet. In reality the number of unique players is far less than advertised because of this one hour block subscription model. People seem to mention WoW like it is the holy grail of the MMO industry but in reality their subscriber numbers are artificially inflated.

[Slatervonjager]

There's also a reason why WoW no longer has a player base that large as well, cause it sucks.

And if you think a large player base means that a game is better then another, then your mistaken. Cause if we're gonna talk player base, then allow me to introduce you to my friend League of Legends, which makes your WoW's player base, now and at it's peak, look like garbage.

[Oriachim]

Such a rude community. Wow...

[blitz72]

One of the main reasons WoW had so many subscribers was peer pressure.

Or maybe you know... It actually is a well made game?? Off topic though.

It's a question of pace. If you don't like it, nobody's forcing you to play it. This is not some sort of twitch action game. If people don't like the ATB system in, say, FF VII, they don't play it, either, and go play some more real-time action type RPG like an Elder Scrolls game or The Witcher or whatever. Keep in mind though that there are people who enjoy the combat system's pace the way it is.

The pace is fine, but a slow, unresponsive, sluggish combat system is acceptable?