Realm Reborn = downgrade?

[Volfield]

I disagree that "change" = down grading in this case.

FFXIV 1.0 was not the latest and greatest in game animation, even if it was highly detailed. Yoshi P and other developer frequently use the words "heavy" and "Inefficient" in referring to how animations are handled.

Your words: They changed the animations to have better movement.

Better movement does not explain the need to make the character strafe 24/7 (or be in a permanent strafing mode).
The lack of confirmation of a toggle option for this otherwise stupid system is worrying enough for both Gamepad players on PC and possible newcomers from the PS3 Side.
Let me give you an example:
FFXIV's current movement and camera are easily stand alone either playing on keyboard, keyboard and mouse if needed and/or gamepad.
Final Fantasy XI was the same, it catered to all 3 options.
Guild Wars 1 and 2 are not the case, they force you to turn the camera via the Right mouse button and acquire targets efficiently using the left mouse button and move with AWSD or Arrow keys. This makes for a clunky movement for those new to the game mechanics and completely alienates the gamepad users. And if you want to play with a gamepad, the game forces you to turn left or right resident evil 1-2 style.

For old XIV veterans and new players coming from XI, this might pose a big problem getting adjusted and might even kill the game for people with problems with their body that forces them to play 1 handed or in a diferent matter (ib4 stupid jokes) or even have a special support to be able to play the game.

I'm completely disregarding the stupid jump mechanic and silly animations that make the game seem like i'm playing counter strike 1.6 by the way, with the legs turning and the body facing whatever the center of the camera is and all that jazz.

To wrap this up: Since the Devs/Reps/GMs aren't addressing this concern or bothering to answer the players (because they know this, they know how the movement/camera will function in 2.0, they're either scared to admit it sucks or it's so broken and unfinished they can't even confirm the details) But an answer would make these threads go away.