ToS vs Recommended Peripherals

[Ryans]

Considering macros only make you perform worse in combat, I say who really cares? You can get guaranteed HQ on 2 star recipes with two macros so being able to do it in 1 button press isn't an issue either. Those products alone don't allow you to be a farm bot or anything of the like so it's not hurting anyone or giving you an unfair advantage.

[Spot]

Considering macros only make you perform worse in combat, I say who really cares? You can get guaranteed HQ on 2 star recipes with two macros so being able to do it in 1 button press isn't an issue either. Those products alone don't allow you to be a farm bot or anything of the like so it's not hurting anyone or giving you an unfair advantage.

I do understand where the argument against using macros and the lag/queuing comes into play, however that doesn't apply to most of the software macros on keyboards. For example; you could put a few actions on a random hotbar that does not even need to be shown on the screen, give them a keybind in game and then set your keyboard macro to activate one/all/in order with a single button without having to hit the actual keybind combo or deal with the in game macro issues. Logitech's macros will let you set key push and release with user set timing down ten thousandths of a second. On the crafting side of the house, you can set whatever rotations you want off of one key, and there are some very significant things you can do to make life easier as a crafter that I'm not going to dive into. Is giving an unfair advantage? No, think of it like how fishing is with a PlayStation controller with vibrate on.

All I see are keyboards and mice. I don't see any hardware that automatically generates and uses its own macros.
It's a violation of the ToS to "create or use". It's not a violation if it sits there on your hardware unused, even if the option is available.

Almost all of the products that SE recommends on their site include hardware and software for making macros. Even a simple mouse that has extra buttons that do. . say 1-6 or something, are still macros. Some of the products require the software to update the bios or drivers. The G600 mouse even has onboard RAM that saves your macro settings which can me used when the mouse is moved to another computer without needing any software put on the computer it was transferred too. As for "create", the end user is not creating any software. They are using what is provided with and supplied by manufacturer. The real question is "use". Why would SE even use the word "unauthorized" when talking about software in the ToS if there were no such thing as authorized software? If there was an absolute restriction against it, then I would imagine that SE would word it that way. It leads back to the question about what the status of the software for products that SE has recommended for FFXIV is. You have a valid point that while having it is not a violation but using it could be. Maybe SE sees it that way, maybe they don't, but they have not clarified it. Valid points can be made for either side. This is why I initially said the ToS was vague.