As a controller user on either PC or PS4, here's how I layout my bars.


1) Weapon Drawn Hotbars. Set three hotbars to be not shared among classes. Then make one of them your Main Bar (we'll call it 1). Then, disable auto sheathe and make L3 draw weapon only (not Draw/Lock Target). In essence, this makes it so you only have one bar of skills accessible when fighting. These are your primary rotation/skills.

2) Quick Bars. Make a second unshared hotbar (2) the skills that you use in battle, but not the ones that you use constantly. These can be situational, or long cooldowns. Enable access to them with the L2+R2 combo Seekified mentioned.

3) Everything else. Put stuff that you either ONLY use outside of combat, or non-emergency spells on the last unshared hotbar. These can be accessed using R1+(a Dpad or Face button).

So, as a WHM, my Main Skills are on (1). No matter where I find myself, if I draw my weapon, there they are. If I select an enemy, they are there. And the best part, is since (1) is the only bar available via direct switch, quickpressing R1 in combat never accidentally removes them. My secondary skills (Raise, Sprint, potions, etc...) are on a second hotbar that I can access quickly via L2+R2, but I always come back to (1). And if I need anything on (3), like maybe Protect or Stoneskin II, I can R1+X (if it is actually hotbar 3), cast it, and then quickpress R1 again to go right back to my main bar (1), without fail. These skills could even be macro'd to in

The biggest drawback at first is remembering that you have to draw your weapon first, but just a little practice will take care of that.