The single biggest issue holding back FFXIV needs to be specifically addressed.

[Dreadnought]

http://youtu.be/SuG76leVAbo This video is a pretty funny take on the problem... I agree with the OP it is something that sticks out like a sore thumb

hahaha that was absolutely awesome and yeah i totally feel the effects of the delay. its really terrible.

[ArchMage]

This is a pretty big issue, especially when you consider all the focus on restructuring the battle system. What this does is makes it a very difficult situation when you encounter various monsters that require your character to stand at certain positions at specific times. (Any abilities that require you to move to dodge the attack or cast at specific position will be affected.)

I would go as far as to say that it greatly limits the amount of monster abilities and different strategy that could be created by the developers, as well, because players cannot move in a timely manner to counter those abilities to implement that type of battle where monster abilities require reflex (or a fast counter strategy of any kind.)

This is not even the only area where the client to server handshake is ultimately slow and affects gameplay. But, it is a very clear presentation of an area that can and should be better, for both the player and the developing team.

[Keith_Dragoon]

http://youtu.be/SuG76leVAbo This video is a pretty funny take on the problem... I agree with the OP it is something that sticks out like a sore thumb

LOL

/10chars

[alexi14]

Yoshida has not turned this game around. On the contrary, he's just creating a WOW clone. I used to be the biggest FF fangirl ever. Now, I can't wait to the day I hear the news about SE giving up on FFXIV, or merging everything into 3-4 servers because noone plays anymore. That will be my sweet revenge for crushing my dreams of a nice FFXIV

[AmyRae]

Yoshida has not turned this game around. On the contrary, he's just creating a WOW clone.

But I like logging into FFXIV and seeing all the orcs, dwarves, trolls, and gnomes running around, PvPing in the open world or in Battlefields, collecting XP for exploring new worlds, swimming in the water, or getting around on flying mounts in a seamless environment!

What? That's not in FFXIV at all? Oh wait, I must have been playing WoW.

[Coldfire]

But I like logging into FFXIV and seeing all the orcs, dwarves, trolls, and gnomes running around, PvPing in the open world or in Battlefields, collecting XP for exploring new worlds, swimming in the water, or getting around on flying mounts in a seamless environment!

What? That's not in FFXIV at all? Oh wait, I must have been playing WoW.

Orcs? Ixali! Dwarves? Lalas! Trolls? Just look at the forums! Gnomes? Just wait for the expansion! PvPing? A flamewar can hurt people way more than beating up their weak characters! XP for exploring new worlds? What for? Everyone is R50 already!
Blame yourself if you take me seriously <.<

[Kidkaze]

This issue must be what causes that annoying situation for me in DH. Being a mage, I sometimes cant heal the tank who is 3ft in front me on a incline cos apparently they are "too far away".

Im adding my signature to this, in hope that the devs will see this and raise this issue with Yoshi, so we can get a response soon enough. Power of a united front - GO!

[Coldfire]

Did anyone bring up this topic in the japanese forums yet? There seems to be quicker replies there.

[Alkoun]

Did anyone bring up this topic in the japanese forums yet? There seems to be quicker replies there.

That's a very good idea.
Adding my signature. Please fix this. It makes playing a healer embarrassing.

[Dargoth_Draconia]

Yoshida has done a remarkable job turning this game around. Each and every patch things get better, yet one issue consistently remains with no end in sight. We've all experienced it, knowingly or not, because it has an influence on every single aspect of the game.

-Have you ever been running throughout town, and seen a character(or enemy) in front of you jump into the ceiling or through walls?
-Have you ever attempted to heal somebody running next to you, only to be told they're out of range?
-Have you ever seen an enemy go Red with nobody in sight, only to see a party member run up 5 seconds later and attack with a melee strike?
-Have you ever done DH and seen one of the Eyes charge up their stationary AoE far away from you, then proceed to watch it 'glide' along the floor while charging until its right on top of you?
-Or, perhaps, experienced something like this?

[SIZE="5"]*[/SIZE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIJCQs-R7X4 [SIZE="5"]*[/SIZE] (I thought they added youtube embedding? :/ )

An extremely simple video that I think adequately shows the very root of the problem. While the video itself may seem 'trivial', rest assured the cause behind it is the same as in all the above examples.

I am, of course, talking about the horrid Server/Client relationship in Eorzea. These things happen to a very small extent in any online game, but to nowhere near the extremity of in FFXIV. All frustrating occurrences to say the least, and I think I'm being pretty kind phrasing it that way.

I've given nearly a year of leeway waiting for this to be fixed. It's crippling to all facets of gameplay, and quite frankly it's pretty darn embarrassing. All the content in the world won't make the game enjoyable if this has to be tolerated, and I shudder to think of the amplified effects it will have when we're moving at Chocobo speeds.

Every patch we hear about the 'server upgrades/optimizations', when are you going to get to the one that truly matters?

I have only seen that like in the first couple months of the game. I literally never see it anymore, so I naturally thought all of that got fixed. Now the other thing that still seems to happen to me for no reason is game crashes at the worst possible times and actually some areas are extremely laggy where they used to not be like around Nophica Wells Aetheryte point.