Shots Fired: A Machinist Guide

[Serilda]

Sorry to interrupt the nice QR discussion but I have a noob question.

I've been spending more time on my Machinist lately (only level 51 at the moment) and I'm noticing that it's becoming quite a squeeze to manage my skills using the cross hotbar alone. I play on PS4 and prefer to use a pad, and I'm accustomed to playing casters. BLM in particular fits very nicely onto a few toggled hotbars even with the new level 60 mechanics, and with healers it's simpler as most skills fit neatly into specific categories, but MCH is proving a little tight for me already - especially as I have less preparation time between skills and there are so many cooldowns and procs to get used to. I have an unused bar up at the top of the screen to help monitor my buff cooldowns and it's noticably longer for MCH than any of my other jobs already (hoping I'll be able to play more instinctively soon).

I wondered whether anyone else has any tips for getting the most out of this job within the confines of the interface? At the moment I feel as though I'm reshuffling my abilities on a regular basis as I learn more about the best way to put each skill into action.

I could use more macros to save space (stacking macros, not macros with /waits), but I find them clunky and prefer to avoid them unless there's a big reason to put something in a macro over assigning it a button. I'm considering using a hotbar switch macro for Gauss Barrel, for example, though I don't yet completely understand how much time I'll spend swapping that on/off until I've unlocked the skill and tried it out on the field.

As some people seem to be dismissive about console gamers I want to say that playing on PC and/or using a keyboard/mouse for battle isn't an option; I don't even have a PC and ten years of playing XI makes me want to stick with a controller for this game. I have played other MMOs with a keyboard before so I know what I'm missing and I still want to persist with the pad. Thank you for understanding.

I'm not exactly an amazing player and I won't be bringing this job to any cutting edge content unless that improves, but at the very least I want to be able to solo and play with my friends without letting them down or growing extra hands. I've seen some great gameplay tips in this thread so in terms of the interface alone, does anyone have any good tips from their own experience?

[seekified]

Sorry to interrupt the nice QR discussion but I have a noob question.

I suggest using the Extended Crossbar system (enable in Character Config > Hotbars > Cross, then go to Sharing tab and untick crossbar 8). I can fit all MCH skills on two crossbars including crossclassed skills. Basically, keep all main rotation and attack skills on crossbar 1. On crossbar 8 which you can now access with L2+R2 and R2+L2 you put cooldowns and autoturret controls.

What I've also done is enable two vertical hotbars and moved them next to my crossbar and copied my cooldowns to those so that I can easily track the cooldowns without swapping bars all the time. I use this system with all jobs and it really flows for me. I main DRG which is another fairly button-intense job and ever since I switched to this method I have a lot more brain power left over for fight awareness.