Astro changes 5.1

[Shurrikhan]

Mouse-over is still far smoother than what controller users have to deal with.

I never said it wasn't. I was just clarifying that it's not access to mouseover macros that make mouse usage strong. It's the mouse itself.

This game is designed for both PC and console users, meaning that the developers need to consider that any and all systems flow smoothly on both setups they have programmed this game to use: controller, and keyboard/mouse.

Agreed.

Now, the controller setup for FFXIV is honestly really good—KB+M offers no inherent advantage in the majority of situations over controller, and vise-versa.

Disagreed.

Cast Lustrate on Alliance B member 4 in the space of your cast and then return to your former target. Go. I'll wait, since you're on controller.

Virtually every other job can be played with very little reliance on macros on both systems...

...if and only if you ignore all situations that may require immediate targeting of an ally not immediately to your left or right tab-positionally or immediately above or below on the party or enemy list...

A job flows well on one setup, but not the other. So we should shift the blame to the second system, despite no other job experiencing any limitations like AST has? I’m sorry, but that doesn’t seem logical.

An inferior means of control being largely excusable just because the game is usually so lenient (especially if your m&kb cohealer covers for you) doesn't suddenly make the system fine. Spot-heal one in 8 members who took unexpected damage. Silence via Head Graze the one in 10 mobs casting a dangerous spell or as necessary to draw it towards the tank. The controller, much like tab-targeting, shows its shortcomings in any situation that requires rapid targeting among a high number of choices. That it's finally more obvious doesn't mean the issue wasn't there.

This is not true. There is no other job in this game that requires a slew of macros in lieu of repeated D-pad mashing in order to play optimally—even those like DRG that have targeted skills like Dragon Sight. No other healer requires a person to set up up to 7 different macros for a single skill the way AST does. This is a problem that lies exclusively with the system the developers designed for AST.

There's not a single other job that requires rapid targeting? Are you absolutely certain of that? Absolutely certain?

Let's ignore for the fact that the quote you're replying to specifically is referring to healing tasks and party- or alliance-targeting. True, Dragon Sight, Nascent Flash, Intervention, Heart of Stone, the Blackest Night, and Nature's Minne don't typically need multiple macros, since they only have one target they'd usually need to affect (lead dps, co-tank, or target of target), but would you, as a controller player, want to handle any of those without a macro? On M&KB, it's a non-issue, even if the party list gets scrambled or the one I need to affect isn't target-of-target when they normally would be. Makes zero difference. I move my mouse. I click. I move it back. I click. It's done in the .5s queue time of any give skill.

But, no, there's no advantage there in mouse and keyboard. None. Everything except AST, a controller can do as well as mouse & keyboard. Not a control scheme issue at all, only a card one. /s

You realize had Expanded Balance not been so overpowered, you'd have had the exact same problem with the old card system? Sorry, but that too would have required rapid targeting. Likely more so, in fact.

TL;DR: It is a controller problem, and if you ever want to see more interesting healer tasks in encounters, handling AST cards is the minimum of what controllers need to be capable. Otherwise we should just give up the charade of parity between control systems altogether or accept that all future fights will be bottlenecked in the same way as you're finally noticing with AST cards.

[Corbeau]

or accept that all future fights will be bottlenecked in the same way

Congrats, you've cracked the code behind this game's raid design!

[Shurrikhan]

Congrats, you've cracked the code behind this game's raid design!

It doesn't have to be, though. If enough people complained about the handicap of the controls itself rather than merely refusing any and all systems that make its flaws obvious -- be they fights that require snap-healing on a target other than just oneself or the tanks or systems like AST's cards -- we could perhaps get any of the plethora of features that other games have used to bring controllers nearer to parity: target scan, smart targeting, secondary focus targets, setting targeting schemes, conditionals, not actively disadvantaging macro usage just for a further pretense of difficulty that will disproportionately hurt controller users and those with physical handicaps, etc., etc.