Abilities can't be used till animation ends.

[Strifex]

Really?
Because there is countless of MMO out there that separate the movement section of your animations from your upper portion, to allow you to move and cast.
In games like WOW, GW2, etc. Abilities that are advertised as "instant" cast are truly instant as well. These will instantly stop your previous animations and merge/sync with a new animation; making it seemless and while not perfect, it's more than good enough.

Yet, none of the problems we have here, exist there.

^ This is exactly what I'm talking about. I don't understand why FFXIV has these problems... :/

[Strifex]

Probably, and I can even agree that it should be reflected, but it also doesn't make the combat broken.

I do not believe combat is "broken". I believe it is unresponsive and that's not a great user experience. That is the whole point of my thread

[ChewieFlakes]

People are pouncing on this guy like lions, wow. I'm still enjoying the game but it is without a doubt the clunkiest mmo i've ever played. Even TSW was smoother. The net coding is horrible and the animation locks on top of the long GCD make combat feel slow, unresponsive and clunky. There's no justification for this... Combat animations aren't that important visually; you'll mostly be watching UI elements, incoming AoE, enemy position, etc. If that was really their reasons (aesthetics) then they wouldn't let spell effects be cancelled by one another. For instance, if I use Misery's End and then another spell right after, the whole effect of Misery's End won't show- it will be cancelled out in favor of the next spell.

[Espon]

I have, you are wrong, sorry. Try pressing the button more than once.

You shouldn't have to repeatedly mash a button to ensure it doesn't go off, that just makes combat feel unresponsive. This is the first MMO I've played where skills can delay effects and the use of non-GCD instant abilities, and it can get downright frustrating at times. Far too many times I've tried to use something, only to find it hasn't gone off yet.

[tymora]

I don't see a problem with animation lock. It is just a different style of play.
Different game -> different play. Simple.

[Itseotle]

Just popped in here to add my 2 cents.

I play a DRG main, and have cleared all content, so I consider myself at least a decent player, but I have never had issues with animation locks. Playing as DRG, you not only have your GCD abilities but a score off off-global abilities to weave in between, and yet I can still execute flawlessly in fights like Titan EX and Twintania. I'm not saying this system is perfect by anymeans, but I am saying it is very playable and once you get the feel for how your class works (and master it) the animation locks you wont even notice.

[Strifex]

I don't see a problem with animation lock. It is just a different style of play.
Different game -> different play. Simple.

If that's how you feel, that's fine. But doesn't it seem odd that theres animation lock AND a global cooldown? In terms of gameplay do they not meet the same goal? They prevent you from using a move until another move is finished to avoid "spamming gameplay". The difference is the GCD gives you a visual queue to tell you, "hey! your moves are ready!". The difference is animation lock offers no visual queue in the UI, only by watching the animations themselves will you know that a move is finished and you can use another. I feel that there should be one or the other and GCD offers the best experience in terms of notifying users in a simple noticeable manner.

[CUTS3R]

I feel that anyone who says the "animation lock" is fine never played WHM and watched the benediction animation on a dead body.

^This.


/10char

[Mikara]

This game has no animation lock, it only has ability delay. Animation lock =/= ability delay, please use the correct term in the correct place.

FFXIV 1.2 had animation lock, you used an ability and you were LOCKED IN PLACE until the animation finished, you couldn't move, you couldn't use another ability. All you could do was hope and pray you were alive by the time it finished.

[Ryusajin]

My problem here is the existence of an invisible ~1sec lock that prevents you using two abilities back to back, regardless of GCD. I would not have an issue with it if it was reflected in the UI like the GCD is.

Makes me sad every time I deactivate Cleric Stance right after I finish casting, only to realize in the middle of my next spell Cleric Stance stayed on.